The tickets for our next week’s ArcticEvening are now available for booking. Please find the sign-up form for registering to the event below. Note that if you are unable to make it to the event, please don’t sign up. We have a limited amount of space available and would like to get everyone on board. Likewise, if you need to cancel for any reason, please inform us at events(at)arcticstartup.com so that we can reallocate the ticket.
Expect a house filled with like-minded entrepreneurial people, and lots of networking. We will start off with a brief presentation from Jaycut and continue with an interesting panel discussion. See the Stockholm event page for details. If you haven’t been to ArcticEvenings before, have a look at videos from our previous events.
So sign up below and come spice up our wonderful mix of people!
Thank you everyone who made it to ArcticEvening Helsinki last night. The evening was a great success and a special thank you for that goes out to the panelists David O’Weger who covered for Ari-Pekka Salovaara from Severa, Michael Falck from Relex as well as Mikko Kaarela from Technopolis Ventures as well as our sponsors for making the event possible in the first place. Continue reading »
Sponsor: Zokem – Your Life. Share it. Automatically.
http://zokem.com/
Zokem is a mobile communications and lifecasting startup that enables users to automatically share their daily activities to their friends’ mobile phones, to the Internet and to social networking services, such as Facebook and MySpace.
Zokem takes people’s activity information from mobiles to the Internet, not the other way around as most of the existing services do. Zokem offers its users a completely new way to communicate and keep in touch with friends and family by automating many of the normally manual messages between people, where the content is created by people simply living their lives.
Zokem aims to provide its service to all users no matter what device or service they are using. Therefore, Zokem has built a native mobile application to all major platforms (Symbian, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, Android, iPhone and Java), and it is integrated with all major social networking services to enable its users to share their lives automatically through one single channel. Users may also define what information they want to share with different services and friend groups, as in real life.
Zokem is one of over 200 startups from Finland participating in BizSpark program. All startups, building their own software application, earning less than $1M/year of revenue, and that are privately-owned, can participate to BizSpark program.
“BizSpark has been an uncomplicated and easy partnership with nothing but pleasant surprises. It has helped us with tools that start-ups usually lack, and for young companies, like Zokem, there is only an upside in the business. BizSpark is also a good launching pad for being noticed globally.” Zokem CEO Ludovic Gaudé comments.
Startups get a MSDN premium subscription for three years, for each of their developers. Each subscription includes all of Microsoft’s Visual Studio and Expressions Studio developer tools, and all the platform software (Windows, Office, SQL Server, SharePoint, Exchange, etc) that they need to build and test the application. The majority of startups are also building web-based applications, which they’ll host themselves or though a hosting service provider like Nebula Oy in Finland, so BizSpark also provides free server licenses to put those applications into production. The production license allows unlimited use of Windows Server, SQL Server, BizTalk Server, SharePoint Server and Systems Center during the three-year membership.
Startups can enroll on http://microsoft.com/BizSpark. There they’ll see a list of organizations (BizSpark Network Partners) any of whom can enroll them in their own country, or they can contact Microsoft directly.
Note: this is our periodical blog sponsor message.
Zokem is a mobile communications and lifecasting startup that enables users to automatically share their daily activities to their friends’ mobile phones, to the Internet and to social networking services, such as Facebook and MySpace.
Note: this is our periodical blog sponsor message.
Are you a small Web development and design company?
Join Microsoft WebsiteSparkProgram to Ignite New Opportunities.
As the latest initiative in the Spark family of programs, which includes Microsoft BizSpark for startups, and DreamSpark for students, Microsoft is building upon a legacy of working with key communities and providing the additional support, tools and resources needed to help them thrive. The WebsiteSpark Program provides Web professionals with Microsoft software and solutions, together with related tools, training and support, to help their businesses succeed.
The majority of these startups have joined the program through one of over 1300 Network Partners around the world. Network Partners are investors, incubators, user groups, advisors and organizations who provide programs and mentoring and uniquely know the Startup Community. To connect to Network Partners in Finland, go to http://www.microsoft.com/finland/bizspark.
Mr. Porvari’s comments on BizSpark:
“BizSpark has really helped us on building our R&D environment providing free resources, such as support and Visual Studio licenses with MSDN access making significant cost savings, which are vital for any start-up companies.”
Would you recommend other startups to join BizSpark?
“BizSpark has worked for us and it really does not bind us to use any particular technology or software solutions, instead we actually use open J2EE in our cloud computing platform, but can experiment with Microsoft’s solutions on the consumer touchscreen and mobile side freely.”
Note: this is our periodical blog sponsor message.
GWeb2 is the Digital Marketing Cloud Computing Company and they were first ones in Finland to join the BizSpark program. More than 20.000 Startups have already joined BizSpark and more than 180 of them from Finland. BizSpark is designed to help accelerate the success of early stage software startups by providing entrepreneurs fast and easy access to software, support and visibility. This summer GWeb2 was nominated as the Microsoft Startup of the Day.
Note: this is our periodical blog sponsor message.
“Online Contract Bank – A Contract Management Software-as-a-Service from the Microsoft Azure Cloud.”
Sopima takes a different approach to the entire contract management sphere. Sopima service is not an enterprise application that requires an IT project and contract professionals to make it happen. Sopima makes contract management easy and available for all size of companies; from large to small and medium size businesses too. With Sopima, your life with contracts is easier and you get value from day one.
Note: this is our periodical blog sponsor message.
Microsoft BizSpark
BizSpark is a program which offers new software businesses and entrepreneurs access to Microsoft design, development, and production tools with no upfront costs for up to three years. Members can also connect with a nationwide community of Network Partners – investors, incubators, service providers, and entrepreneurial organizations – who are keen to help.
If you wish to become ArcticStartup blog sponsor, please see more information here. If you are interested in sponsoring our ArcticEvening events, please contact events (at) arcticstartup.com.
Note: this is our periodical blog sponsor message.
Tule kuuntelemaan bisnes-maailman tähtipuhujia!
Syksyn ensimmäinen Biznes-aamupäivä järjestetään viikon päästä tiistaina 18.8.! Varaa paikkasi torstaihin 13.8.2009 mennessä ilmoittautumalla projektipäällikkö Hanne Tuomaiselle sähköpostitse i-hatuom(at)microsoft.com.
Biznes-aamupäivät järjestetään:
Tiistaina 18.8. ja 20.10. ja 1.12. klo 9-11.30 Microsoftilla, Keilaranta 7, 02150 Espoo.
Tilaisuutta voi seurata myös LiveMeetinginä webissä, ks. alla.
Ideana on tarjota mahdollisuus verkostoitua, luoda yhteyksiä ja kuulla bisnes-maailman tähtipuhujia. Tarkempaa tietoa ohjelmasta, tapahtumien puhujista ja ilmoittautumisesta.
Microsoft BizSpark is a global program designed to help accelerate the success of early stage startups by providing key resources when they need it the most: software, support, and visibility – with free enrollment. Over 12,000 startups internationally have participated in Microsoft’s BizSpark program, with over 150 new software startups in Finland.
Check the BizSpark site to see if you qualify – most privately held software development startups in business for less than 3 years that are generating annual revenue under USD $1 million can join.
More information is available at http://www.microsoft.com/bizspark/
Last Friday, Microsoft launched a new program called Bizspark that offers startups of different ages and stages tools to take care of their software and hosting requirements. Technopolis Ventures, Veraventure, The Finnish Software Entrepeneurs Association and Venture Cup has partnered with Microsoft in Finland to accept participants into the program.
Startups must meet the following requirements to be accepted into the program:
Be actively engaged in development of a software-based product or service that will form a core of its current or intended business
Be privately held
Be in business for less than 3 years and
Have less than 1 million USD annual turnover.
Despite being a Mac fanatic, I have to give it to Microsoft for pulling this off. They are sponsoring a wide range of products that suit many companies working in the internet space especially. Also, the packages being offered are tailored for companies in different stages of their growth and thus are also bundled together with their capability to pay for the software.
For more information, visit Microsoft Bizspark. You can also find your partners in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the Baltics through this link.
Here’s a video where Ramine Darabiha, the CEO of MySites, is interviewed by Mashable, whose summer tour MySites sponsored. MySites is a Finnish startup that provides a web desktop that lets you store up to 10 GB of photos, music, videos, and other files that you can easily share
I was critical of MySites on my earlier post and MySites has been very active working on the site since. In the video below Ramine points out that MySites is not going after the most savviest of tech geeks, but aims for students and gamers only somewhat familiar with technology who many times use for example Microsoft’s products. This in mind MySites has for example made the desktop icons double clickable just as you would open a file on your desktop.
So instead of going for the ultimate user experience as we know it MySites is going for the familiarity and build the user experience around that. An interesting and brave strategy to not aim for improving the experience, but rather to make it resemble what people have used to using. Even though I still do think MySites has ways to go with the service you can’t blame them for not trying.
Last Friday, Microsoft launched a new program called 
Bitbar
iWillStudy.com
