Tampere Based M-Files Gets €6 Million To Globally Expand Their Metadata Driven Enterprise ECM
M-Files is a company that is disrupting the Enterprise Content Management (ECM) field by getting rid of the standard folder structure and introducing an enterprise-wide document management system that is based on metadata. Basically their solution does not care where the data is but rather what the data actually represents.
According to the CEO, Miika Mäkitalo "one way to understand the M-Files metadata-powered approach is to look at the iPhone. When you put music on the iPhone, you don’t put it in a music folder, the device just knows it is music and it shows up where and how you expect it, grouped by artist, genre, date, etc. This is what M-Files does for information management, and when companies experience it, the effect is a revolutionary change in their business. Think Enterprise Document Management 2.0, or the combined power of Dropbox AND Documentum but for enterprise-scale businesses."
Swedish Online Fit Solution Virtusize Pens Deal With ASOS
The problem of finding the right "fit" in online shopping is difficult but challenging. We haven't covered Stockholm-based Virtusize yet, which is a shame because it's an interesting solution to solving online fit. Rather than the robot-based solution we've covered with Estonia-based Fits.me, Virtusize offers a 2D measurement solution. Measuring a flat t-shirt with a tape measurer isn't as cool as a robot, but they claim scales better and offers an easier solution for their customers.
"The big difference that separates us is that we start with the garment rather than the body," says Peder Stubert, co-founder of Virtusize. "It's much more intuitive and clear for the consumer."
Google, Aalto University, And Cursor To Focus on South-Eastern Finland
It's such an obvious metaphor for Finland's economy it seems to reach into cliche. In 2009, Google bought an old paper mill in Hamina, in Eastern Finland, and threw a datacenter inside. As Finland transitions from a tree-based to internet economy, new partnership are forming to make the best of Google's investment for South-Eastern Finland's regional economy, which has become somewhat economically depressed after the pulp and paper industry has moved out of town. The two biggest cities of the region, Kotka and Hamina showed unemployment rates of 17.2% and 12.6% respectively (compared with the Finnish national unemployment rate of 7.8% and the Eurozone's 11.4%).
The Helsinki-region's Aalto University and Startup Sauna are no strangers to creating new clusters. Their student entrepreneurial revolution has helped create quite the startup scene in the suburbs of Helsinki, and now the two organizations are working with financial support of Google and Cursor, the Kotka-Hamina Regional Development Company to organize new activities and contribute to the region's entrepreneurship scene.
What Did Hammerkit Pivot To And What You Can Learn From It
When ArcticStartup was on tour to the UK thanks to UK Trade & Investment, we had the chance to meet innovative and exciting companies that were based in the Liverpool Science Park. One of these companies happened to be the Finnish Hammerkit, a company that have seen it all and was forced to change directions, adapt to the environment and fight to survive. As opposed to overnight success stories, Hammerkit is an example of all the hard work that startups need to go through in order to make it out there.
At the meeting, we had the chance to speak to the brand new CEO of the company, Simon Bartolo, who replaced Mark Sorsa-Leslie in February 2013. Bartolo shared his insight and plans for the future.
Helsinki's Clerkd Music App Plugs You Into The Local Beat
Helsinki has a new music app that's becoming the talk of the town. Started by a group of students from Helsinki, Sydney, and St. Petersburg, Clerkd launched last week to help you find and play new music.
The app mixes together music discovery with a local angle, allowing you to follow your friends and tastemakers, like bands, blogs or whoever you want. On top of that the map view lets you see whats popular nearby by giving each genre its own color. After selecting a location, you can just press play to get a playlist what music has been played in that general location though Clerkd.
Stockholm Police Stops And Fine Drivers As Uber Comes Under Regulatory Pressure
Since launching in January, Stockholm has grown to become the fastest growing Uber market. With this increased demand comes increased attention from the traditional taxi companies and regulators.
Now Stockholm's transportation agency is identifying Uber drivers and denying them permits required for Uber's service, as well as stopping and fining Uber drivers on the street through the police. The transportation agency's explanation is that the permit for cars without a meter can only be given to companies that run members of the Swedish royal family, or senior managers in corporate positions. In Uber's terms, they've challenged the status quo, and now they're getting pushback.
Roaming Will Be Killed By The Nordic/Baltic Region. Roamer From Latvia Joins The Race Battling Roaming
Roaming. The ArcticStartup region is going to get rid of that beast one way or another. Whether it will be Ukko Mobile, Skype, HolidayPhone or the new kid on the block, Roamer remains to be seen.
With Ukko Mobile focusing on data sim-cards only, HolidayPhone sending you a bunch of sim’s by post and Skype demanding internet - in addition to the roaming killing name, Latvia based Roamer also probably has the best promise. If they are able to deliver, that is.
Influads Aims To Disrupt Online Ads Industry By Creating A "Free Ad Network"
Let’s talk about online ads for a second. They are absolutely everywhere but most visitors don’t click on them because they are annoying, irrelevant and intrusive. While most publishers without millions of visitors get no more than a couple of bucks for perhaps a coffee. Overall, the only real winners are the companies in between, dealing the traffic and getting most of the advertisement revenue.
Influads, a Copenhagen based company is aiming to change all that by creating the worlds first completely free ad network. They have launched in 2011, got pre-seed funding from Kima Ventures and built a profitable company with over 700 publishers worldwide.
Creandum Gets Back To Their Roots At STHLM Startup Hack
I guess we'll finally see in practice what great ideas VCs bring to the table. Stockholm-based Venture Capital firm Creandum is getting their hands dirty at the next STHLM Startup Hack, competing against hackers and designers in the same 12 hour competition. The event is taking place on the 11th of May, and looks to be like an awesome time. It's being thrown in a church, Skeppsholmskyrkan, with support from Spotify, Glesys, and Amazon, as well as Tictail and Uber.
Staffan Helgesson, General Partner at Creandum says "We're great believers in ecosystems and STHLM Startup Hack is a great initiative to further strengthen the community. Therefore Creandum is very happy to be a part of Stockholm Startup Hack and participate with our own team. Come and beat us!"
Infogr.am Starts Monetizing Their 300k Users With Pro Features
Whether you want to create an exciting infographic depicting beer prices in Europe, your overview of the Formula 1 season or on a more serious note your Nordic/Baltic Investment Survey - look no further than Infogr.am, as long as you have the data, that is.
Infogr.am went through the Startup Sauna accelerator in 2012 and has since been growing at a very impressive rate. As of today, they have created more than 700 000 Infographics and add more than 100 000 every month. They also have over 300 000 users at Infogr.am.
Helsinki's Meetin.gs Relaunches With Facelift And Mobile Focus
Do you find your day filled with scheduling meetings, meeting people, and then trying to manage the to-do process afterward? If you haven't done so before, it might be time to check out Helsinki-based Meetin.gs, who has relaunched with a nice facelift and a mobile focus. Their product manages to wrangle together all the loose strings associated with professional meetings by plugging into popular business tools.
To schedule a meeting, Meetin.gs now offers a fully brandable "meet me" page, which enables uses to create and publish a calendar page that makes it easier to schedule a meeting time, which solves the problem of that awful email chain where suggested times are pinged back and forth. This service plugs into the user's calendar, so occupied time slots are automatically blocked out. Meeting location is also included, so transit times and meeting durations can be accounted for.
Oslo's Swipe Launches With World Record Attempt
The digital eyes of Europe are on Amsterdam today as The Next Web's sold out European Conference gets underway. Leading the Norwegian contingent is Swipe, one of 20 finalists in the eagerly awaited Microsoft BizSpark Startup Rally.
Co-founders Horia Cernusca and Håkon Eide have been hard at work perfecting their presentation software since winning Oslo's last Startup Weekend. Today they unveil their product, billed as "a new way to deliver and watch presentations - from any device to any number of devices, in real-time".
Survey Results: Local Startups Valued Over €1M, Average Funding €197k
Just a couple of weeks ago, we asked our readers how much money they were raising and now we have the answer. Well, we have "an answer", considering the tiny sample size and complete anonymity. Still we were happy to see some very interesting and impressive numbers that speak for themselves, but at the same time there is still plenty left to analyze.
To make the results as pleasing to the eye as possible, we put together an infographic outlining the major findings. We are going to provide some analysis below. So without further adieu:
Strong Swedish Focus In The European Commission's Tech Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards
The Next Web's conference is kicking off, and with it is the European Commission's Tech Entrepreneur of the Year Award. What's noticible is the number of Nordic entrepreneurs up there on the list, especially Swedish entrepreneurs, who grabbed three out of the ten spots. Finland also makes an appearance through Rovio, naturally.
The list can be found here, but here's the copy-paste:
Copenhagen's Be My Eyes Connects Blind And Sighted Through iPhone App
Alright, everyone get out your wallets - because after writing about plenty of apps that make some minor inconvenience in life slightly less inconvenient, I'm excited to write about a new app that may have some real-world impact. Copenhagen-based non-profit startup Be My Eyes is helping connect sighted volunteers with the blind community through video and voice over a smartphone app, and has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help implement their idea.
So if a blind user needs help checking what the expiration date is on a can, for example, they can load up the app and call out to the network of sighted volunteers. This opens up a live video stream where volunteers can "be the blind person's eyes" to respond to questions and describe what they see. That's awesome.
Wahlforss and Berggren From Soundcloud And Readmill Give Back To SSES Students
Eric Wahlforss, co-founder of SoundCloud and Henrik Berggren, co-founder of Readmill, may be now based in Berlin, but they're staying in touch with their Swedish roots by offering a scholarship (well more like an awesome weekend trip) to two Stockholm School of Entrepreneurship students. This is the second time they're giving away this opportunity, and the deadline for SSES students is May 15.
Over the course of a weekend, the two students interested running their own internet company someday will have the chance to run through Berlin to meet entrepreneurs, investors and business angels of the Berlin scene. It also sounds like a good excuse to check out Berlin's famous nightlife.
ThingLink Releases Facebook Integration For Rich Images
Helsinki seems to have two major trends going at the moment. Gaming companies, and startups like Kiosked and Publishzer that are adding interactivity and engagement to images. But with this movement is ThingLink, a startup that adds interactivity to images to drive more engagement. Founded in 2010, they now boast over 130,000 publishers using the platform, including a number of giant newspaper and web publishing properties.
Now when publishers share ThingLinked images to Facebook, they're able the offer the same image tagging functionality right in the Facebook newsfeed. Uses need to click the images first to get the tags to pop up, but now publishers can drive Facebook users to more text information, videos, or links.
Keep Your Eye On Norway - A Startup Scene Is MESHing Together
This past week we had the opportunity to participate in MESH's 1 year anniversary, and finally check out co-working space that's bringing together the community necessary for an entrepreneurial ecosystem and making some noise about it.
A startup ecosystem is sorely needed in Norway. There are some cool startups popping up there, but despite having the same population as Helsinki and a major tech companies like Opera located in Oslo, you really don't hear of many startups outside the oil and gas industry.
But MESH is making a movement happen by being a grassroots space 'by and for' entrepreneurs. Their 2500 m2 building located right in Oslo's city center offers around 50 desks and 9 offices. On top of that they have an entrepreneur-geared cafe, a new bar (which divides into three meeting spaces during the day), and a nightclub with a retractable roof, which doubles as an event space for 400 people. It's... a nice place.
And the space is growing in cool areas. On top of constructing a bigger community space, they're adding a sound studio for artists that need equipment, and right now they're putting together a Maker Space with 3D printers and hardware tools for hackers and artists to come up with new inventions.
Rocket Internet Is Heading North - Launches CupoNation in Finland With Norway And Russia Next On The List
Rocket Internet is one of those companies that create a lot attention and there are mixed feelings about what they do. However, it is hard to argue with their success, as most of the companies that are a part of Rocket Internet are largely highly profitable.
Innovative Ålesund Welcomes Pixar, Kodak and Lego
Set in Norway's picturesque fjord region, little Ålesund is a centre of expertise for the maritime sector, hosting over 200 companies and 17 shipyards. Local institutions offer niche education such as a Masters in Ship Design and a Bachelors in Biomarine Innovation. Silicon Valley it's not, but Ålesund is a hidden success story of technological innovation - Norwegian style.
On 22 and 23 May Ålesund plays host to the annual InnoTown conference. Rather than focusing on the successful local industry, InnoTown invites an impressive line up of innovators from around the world to share their stories.
