Recently, Digital.NYC has been speaking with New York City based groups helping non-U.S. companies set up in New York City and gain access to the U.S. market. The Nordic Innovation House has recently opened here in NYC. Marcos Dinnerstein, Editor of Digital.NYC spoke with, Silve Parviainen, Director, to learn more about the Nordic Innovation House.
Nordic Innovation House – New York (NIH-NY)
Silve Parviainen, Director
What companies does the Nordic Innovation House look to work with?
Nordic Innovation House works with companies from the five Nordic countries; Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
Do you look for specific sectors or stage of development - both?
To benefit of our services, the companies should be a late stage startup or in an early growth phase in the US market. We expect them to have a product in the market, or a prototype ready to showcase. The product or service should be a natural fit to the North-Eastern US market. So, while we are not limiting our program to certain verticals or sectors, we are mindful of the match of the company with the NYC ecosystem. Many of our companies are in “hyphen-tech” areas – edutech, fintech, medtech, adtech, mediatech, designtech, retailtech – which is a good description of New York ecosystem as well.
We assume that the companies coming to our program have some initial sales or some traction already in home or other test markets, and have the financial runway at least throughout their planned New York stay.
What benefits does the program offer and how long do you work with companies?
We offer soft landing to high quality Nordic companies in an early growth phase. Our services aim make it less risky, easier and faster to access the US market.
The services include guidance on practical matters, matchmaking, networking, advice on strategic issues and finding the right mentor for our companies. We also provide our members with access to our extended network of entrepreneurs, investors, consultants, service providers, industry & subject matter experts and other valuable members of the NY/North East ecosystem.
In addition, we will organize events and workshops for learning, networking and pitching purposes.
There are also separate competence & go-to-market programs, that are available for qualifying companies at separate cost.
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