TINC brings the Silicon Valley mindset to Nordic startups
A driving force behind Silicon Valley’s successful startups is the growth mindset. It’s about failing fast, learning fast, and growing fast.
Hosted by Innovation Norway and Nordic Innovation House in Silicon Valley, the TINC accelerator program is now in it’s 10th year, and has helped bring the best practices from Silicon Valley to over 180 Nordic startups working towards global expansion. TINC is different in the sense that participating Nordic startups are constantly (but kindly) challenged to utilize a growth mindset, adapt to meet different Valley standards, and encouraged to band together with other entrepreneurs to test product offerings and build trusted relationships.
Here’s a sneak peak at several of the TINC workshops happening this fall, all geared to inspire and level up participating companies' skills:
Pitching and storytelling. There’s an art to pitching to Silicon Valley investors (currently responsible for some of the largest investments in the world, over $25billion in Q1 2021 alone according to Pitchbook), and much of this lies in the power of storytelling in a very short amount of time. Storytelling is culturally an American style of pitching, and TINC brings in an experienced TED talk coach, also known as Chief Demo Coach, Nathan Gold to help companies communicate their story in a clear and concise way such that listeners want to hear more. TINC startups practice and refine pitching to be able to crisply share the value of their business in less than three minutes. It’s not uncommon for companies to focus on technology features which are acceptable in the Nordics but not so much in the Valley. Then the pitches tend to evolve into an eyebrow-raising statement that spells out how traction is gaining momentum for a particular market need. This skill is also tested in TINC, as the accelerator includes a pitch day for a panel of Silicon Valley and Nordic investors.
Scaling sales. Growing sales in one’s home market is challenging, but the rules inevitably change when entering new markets, making it even more challenging for expanding companies. In particular, the US is known for aggressive sales. TINC teaches lean thinking while growing sales, and looks at building repeatable processes. Seasoned US sales coach and mentor, Scott Sambucci @SalesQualia, shares his 20 years of sales experience with the participating TINC companies, who must once again adjust to a new standard as set by the highly competitive US sales environment.
Crystalizing key analytics and metrics. Through interactive sessions with growth mentor Sean Percival (who has roots from 500 Startups), the TINC companies develop key business metrics and set growth targets that are important for investors and customers. While most companies already have mountains of data, it may or may not be what investors or customers are looking for, so it’s about finding the right numbers, that can be backed up and verified to float to the top of discussions.
Short-term experimentation. Another Silicon Valley trait is multiple and fast iterations, and continuously running growth experiments to test the market appetite. With Sean’s support, the TINC companies define and run experiments to practice the skill and trial new ideas that may have been on the drawing board for too long.
Behavioral design. Building habit forming products is key to capturing repeat and loyal customers, and it’s something most companies strive for. TINC works with Nir Eyal, best selling author of “Hooked” and “Distractable”, to help companies evaluate their hooks and take them to the next level.
The X factor. This is hard to describe, but it’s clearly part of the secret sauce included in the Silicon Valley mindset. It is something that has no framework but can be said to be a revolutionary new way of thinking. This is when TINC companies work with experienced mentors that challenge the norms and help in solving complex business conundrums with new ways of thinking.
Insider’s view of Venture Capital. There’s a powerhouse of investors in the Valley, and TINC brings in multiple investors that share an inside perspective into how VCs operate, how companies can best set themselves up to attract funding, as well as differences between the Nordics and Silicon Valley. Arne Tonning, Partner @Alliance Venture helps companies gain a better understanding on how VCs think. Additionally, while many startups are eager to take the first check written, as TINC mentor, Eva Nehari @DNX Ventures states, not all investors bring the same value to the table, therefore startups are encouraged to identify what’s needed from the ideal investor to grow the business.
That’s just a snapshot of the TINC workshops which are designed to inspire, challenge, and provide new focus to the promising Nordic startups that are taking on the world. Stay tuned for our next post that takes a deeper dive into some of the TINC mentors. Find more information on the TINC accelerator program here, and interested startups should keep tabs on the application window that opens twice a year.