Over two full days in the Media Cluster Headquarters, MCB, Norwegian startups and scale-ups will have the opportunity not only to pitch to Horizon Ventures, but to connect with them, their portfolio companies founders and a range of other investors. A massive opportunity, says Vallestad.
– Norway lacks growth capital, and it is almost impossible to get big international investors to attend local pitching events and demo days. If we as a nation are going to attract global funds we need to present Norway as a destination. We need the full ecosystem to work together to create a national platform and summit where capital meet a very curated selection of the best of the best Norwegian companies. This is what we are aiming to do with Accele8 Game Changers in Bergen, October 22-24th
Horizons Ventures is a leading private investment fund, headquartered in Hong Kong and owned by Li Ka Shing, and has companies such as Facebook, Slack, Zoom, Perfect Day, Impossible Foods, Spotify and many more in their portfolio. Every year they bring together the full investment team, all founders of portfolio companies and leading individuals for a private TechCracker gathering somewhere in the world. This year they have selected Norway, and before TechCracker they will spend two days scouting for investment opportunities.
Silje Vallestad.
Never before has a large global venture fund chosen to come to Norway with their full team, and to make it even more exciting we decided to put on a two day investor summit bringing together leading investors from all over Norway and the world to meet the most exciting Norwegian startups and scale-ups. The invite only Game Changers Investor Summit is hosted in Bergen, and will include a mini-conference with the founders of some of Horizons most exciting portfolio companies as speakers, a demo floor for companies selected to pitch, seminars and social events. In addition to Horizons Ventures, investors such as PayPal Ventures, Creandum, Ferd, Northzone, 8 Roads Ventures and many more are getting involved.
– The deadline for applications is August 31st, so you need to fill in the form URGENTLY if you want to take part, Vallestad continues.
– Companies pitching at the summit are selected based on application, and handpicked by (1) Horizons Ventures and (2) the Acceler8 Electorate with leading Norwegian and International investors.
Both startups and scaleups are encouraged to apply.
– Norwegian founders often think that pitching events are for early stage companies and that you should only pitch investors when you are in a fundraising process. Both are wrong assumptions. The Game Changers Investor Summit has a solid focus on scale-ups, and pitching investors when you do NOT need money is always a good strategy. The time to close a deal when you need the money will then be much shorter, says Vallestad.
Deadline for application is August 31st (apply here).