This is my second blog post in a series of blog posts from Innovative Sweden at Stanford University; a week-long event sponsored by the Swedish Institute.
Innovative Sweden is the first stop on a worldwide tour including Toronto, Washington DC, Rio de Janeiro and more.
Previous blog posts: Introduction.
Phew… I’m totally exhausted from a long, but fun and enlightening, day at Innovative Sweden.
Today’s topic was The Future of Mobile and companies such as Sony Ericsson, Ericsson, and Innovationsbron were sponsors.
The day started with an opening ceremony with Swedish hors d’oeuvres and lunch buffet by Chef Pelle, which was to die for… I could not stop eating, and wine from West Wines that produced the wine for the 2010 Nobel Banquet. The exhibitors and startups that were pitching were still dropping in from the airport after a long flight from Sweden and others looked somewhat jet lagged, but excited.
After opening speeches by Annika Rembe, Director General, Swedish Institure; Barbro Osher, General Consul of Sweden in San Francisco; and Dr. Arthur Bienenstock, Professor Emeritus Stanford University, Special Assistant to the President for Federal Research and Policy and Director, Wallenberg Research Link Stanford University, the sessions and panel discussions started. The speakers and panelists were true experts in their areas and it was very interesting to hear their views on the future.
Since it was a lot of information to soak in the coffee breaks with kaffe och kaka were really appreciated and also great for networking and talking to people. All of the exhibitors had booths in the exhibit hall, where guided tours were also offered. I was quite amazed by all the cool inventions and ideas these Swedish startups had created, and eager for the evening’s pitches.
Twenty five startups (many of them were also exhibitors at the event) had 1 minute each to pitch (+ 2 minutes Q&A) to a panel consisting of VCs and experienced entrepreneurs, e.g. Nicolai Wadstrom, BootstrapLabs and Wendy Lung, IBM Venture Capital Group, on why they should receive funding.
All the companies pitching seemed great, but the ones that stood out to me were Saplo and Solvatten. Saplo basically because its CEO Mattias Tyrberg pitched in a bright green suit. Solvatten because of their incredible product, a portable 10-liter container designed to purify water saving millions of lives.
What a great event! I can’t wait for tomorrow when the topic is The Key Factors In Creating Innovative Hotspots.
-Anna
Don’t forget to follow my tweets @herringbonefm. #InnovativeSweden
I also posted a few photos on Facebook.
Watch the different sessions livestreamed via the Swedish Institute’s Bambuser channel.
