Sydsvenskan featured an interesting column by business columnist Thomas Frostberg about the Scanian ties in Silicon Valley. Thomas Frostberg writes about innovation and entrepreneurship in the Öresund region and has studied the venture capital industry in Silicon Valley. We picked some interesting quotes for you:
In Sweden business gatherings and similar events are by many seen as a necessary evil. In Silicon Valley, it is an essential part of business building. Those who do not prioritize their networking will not succeed in recruiting, finding venture capital or to support their business development.
[Because of the importance of networking] it is not enough to fly over to California a few times per year. Entering the Silicon Valley world demands more; a thing that more and more Swedish entrepreneurs have realized. The most driven entrepreneurs even move their offices there or work both in Sweden and California.
Scanian companies Polar Rose and Neo Technology have received U.S. venture capital, which strengthened ties between Scania and Silicon Valley. This has led to something that begins to resemble a Scanian “entrepreneurial community” in Silicon Valley. New visitors get help from Scanian people and are helped with contacts and introductions to important networks.
Group Skåne Silicon Valley-fans is today large enough to suffice as a network that can serve as a bridge between Skåne and California, with the aim to help more Scanian entrepreneurs to achieve their breakthrough in Silicon Valley.
You can read the entire column (in Swedish) at Sydsvenskan, as well as this very interesting article about four swedes and their stories from Silicon Valley and the article about “the new goldrush” happening right now.
