Unfair Advantage

#19 - Vytas Paukštys Of Eskimi

ArcticStartup — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Before heading off for a summer break with our podcast, we wanted to talk to Vytas Paukštys of Eskimi about their business, which isn't all that usual for a Baltic or for that matter a Nordic startup. Eskimi is doing business in Nigeria and Ghana mostly, but has users from other parts of the African continent as well. And how exactly are they doing? Fantastically, in short. They have some 7.7 million registered users and they're showing more than 1 billion ad impressions a month. In the last month, they signed up a million new users to their service. This company is definitely taking off.

We're also going to be taking a small summer break after this episode. We'll be back with more interviews in August.

Show notes:

#18 - Kaspars Dancis of Cobook App

ArcticStartup — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Getting close to 20 full shows we decided to interview Kaspars Dancis, the CEO and co-founder of Cobook. The company creates an app that goes by the same name and can now be found in the App Store for download. Cobook App is the best, most simple and beautiful address book application out there. As you can see, we at ArcticStartup are quite fond of it. The app has been developed in Riga, Latvia by Kaspars and his brother. They have also joined the European startup accelerator HackFwd just recently and are looking to release a bunch of new things in the coming weeks.

Show notes:

#17 - Taneli Tikka

ArcticStartup — Thu, 24 May 2012 07:00:00 GMT

This week we talked to one of the most well known serial entrepreneurs in Finland - Taneli Tikka. He's been part of many startups, but also built some of his own companies and also bankrupted a few. We talked to him about the ride along all the years and what he has learned, both from the success cases as well as bankruptcies. In addition to this we also discussed a little how the startup environment has changed in the 10+ years from the perspectives of investors and entrepreneurs. Did you know he got 5 million euro investment on a 20 million pre-money valuation on his first company, just based on slideware?

Show notes:

#16 - Mike Reiner of Startup Wise Guys

ArcticStartup — Thu, 10 May 2012 09:00:00 GMT

We've managed to get to 16 episodes already! This week on Unfair Advantage we talk to Mike Reiner, one of the people behind the Estonian Startup Wise Guys accelerator program. Startup Wise Guys is an early stage accelerator aimed at interesting companies who want to tap into the potential of Scandinavia as well as Russia from Estonia. The accelerator announced their first batch of companies a while ago and they're coming from all over Europe. We talk to Mike about the program, how many applications they received and where they plan to take. Join us for another exciting episode and if you like it - please tell your friends and rate it in iTunes, we appreciate it!

Show notes:

#15 - Tine Thygesen of Everplaces

ArcticStartup — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 11:00:00 GMT

In our 15th episode we talk to Tine Thygesen of Everplaces, Copenhagen, Denmark based startup. We discuss location based services and how Tine got into entrepreneurship through her first startup in the e-commerce space in Australia. After selling that to an Australian company she came back to the Nordics to take on more entrepreneurial challenges first with Venture Cup Denmark and later with 23 Video before starting her own company Everplaces. She is also one of the founders of Founder's House, a co-working space in Copenhagen that now has 17 startups and some 70 people working there.

Show notes:

#14 - Antti Ylimutka & Ville Simola of Startup Sauna

ArcticStartup — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:00:00 GMT

This show will crack you up! We interviewed Antti Ylimutka and Ville Simola of Startup Sauna today. We discussed the backgrounds of the incubator/accelerator as well as where it will go in the future. Startup Sauna is one of the most well known and most respected accelerators in Northern Europe that has helped companies raise more than $12 million over the couple of years it has been in existence. Quite impressive, considering how it all got started.

We'd also like to thank our sponsor for this week - Kisko Labs, for supporting the show. Kisko Labs makes people happy by solving their problems with digital services. They've got a neat offering called Kisko Kickstart that will develop an idea into a minimum viable product in five weeks. This helps companies understand how the idea would work in a business environment.

Show notes:

Startup Sauna
AaltoES
AaltoVG
Nearing Bankruptcy, Fruugo Burned Through €40 Million to Generate €100K
Unfair Advantage on iTunes
Our sponsor for this week: Kisko Labs

#13 - Carl Waldekranz of Tictail

ArcticStartup — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:00:00 GMT

In our thirteenth show we talk to Carl Waldekranz, the CEO and co-founder of Tictail. Tictail positions themselves as the easiest, prettiest and most social way to sell stuff online. In the show we talk to Carl about what led them to start Tictail and how they actually went about building the team. There are a lot of great small stories there, we strongly suggest you listen to them. In addition, the company has also worked with Spotify and Wrapp, designing their typeface for both of the companies.

We'd also like to thank our sponsor for this week - Kisko Labs, for supporting the show. Kisko Labs makes people happy by solving their problems with digital services. They've got a neat offering called Kisko Kickstart that will develop an idea into a minimum viable product in five weeks. This helps companies understand how the idea would work in a business environment.

Show notes:

Tictail
Spotify
Wrapp
Keyflow
Tictail's Startup store
Danish Startup Community Unified Against The Entrepreneur Tax
Unfair Advantage on iTunes
Our sponsor for this week: Kisko Labs

#12 - Tommi Holmgren of Cabforce

ArcticStartup — Wed, 4 Apr 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Tommi Holmgren of Cabforce is our guest this week. Cabforce is an online service for booking a cab and pre-paying it before the ride. This is an obvious advantage to business travelers as they can pay the ride with their credit cards and get all the receipts electronically. The service is out in 14 cities in Europe at the moment, but it will be going live in tens of cities during this year.

We'd also like to thank our sponsor for this week - Kisko Labs, for supporting the show. Kisko Labs makes people happy by solving their problems with digital services. They've got a neat offering called Kisko Kickstart that will develop an idea into a minimum viable product in five weeks. This helps companies understand how the idea would work in a business environment.

Show notes:

Cabforce
Our story on the ICT strategy group in Finland
Our story on the Muxlim debate
Unfair Advantage on iTunes
Our sponsor for this week: Kisko Labs

#11 - Instinct And Acting Fast On Problems

ArcticStartup — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 06:00:00 GMT

We missed last week due to some scheduling challenges, but we're back this week a little earlier with our talk show. This week we talk to Petteri Koponen, the co-founder of Lifeline Ventures as well as the former co-founder of Jaiku and First Hop. He's got a colorful past with this companies and in living through them, built up an enormous amount of experience. Lifeline Ventures has also become one of the prominent early stage investors in Finland through their 19 investments. We'd also like to thank our sponsor for this week - Kisko Labs, for supporting the show. Kisko Labs makes people happy by solving their problems with digital services. They've got a neat offering called Kisko Kickstart that will develop an idea into a minimum viable product in five weeks. This helps companies understand how the idea would work in a business environment.

Show notes:

#10 - Interviewing the Interviewer

ArcticStartup — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 06:00:00 GMT

This week, well, this week was different on Unfair Advantage. Our guest on the show is Antti Vilpponen, the Co-Founder and CEO of ArcticStartup. We work in the same office, but haven't talked in detail how ArcticStartup got started and why it does what it does. Instead of having this discussion over lunch or beer, we decided to record it and make it into an episode of Unfair Advantage. We discuss the backgrounds of ArcticStartup, the role of media and also what are some of the ways ArcticStartup sees itself going forward. Fully experimental, so do give us your feedback in the comments!

Show notes:

The first post on ArcticStartup
Our events (at the top of the page)
Unfair Advantage on iTunes
We're getting around 500 full downloads for each episode - want to promote your services to the early adopter crowd? E-mail us.

#9 - The Amount Of Time Put Into That Blackhole

ArcticStartup — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 13:00:00 GMT

This week we talk to the CEO and Co-founder of Flattr, Linus Olsson. Flattr is a social micro payment system that has recently received a €1.6 million investment that values the company at €10 million. We talked to Olsson about the investment as well as their philosophy behind Flattr. The company has also recently announced partnerships with 5by5 Network as well as Instacast, both working in the space of podcasts. Carrying with the interview, we decided to implement flattring to our podcast as well. If you're using Instacast on the iOS platform to listen to podcasts - you can now flattr us through the arrow link at the bottom of the window.

This week we are supported by Gapps.fi - a Helsinki-based company that brings the Google productivity tools to your workplace. They've got a special offer for all those who ping them and say they came from ArcticStartup. Also, they are looking for talented people to work with them in the area of sales and technical implementation. Big thanks to Gapps for supporting the show.

Show notes:

Flattr
Flattr investment news on ArcticStartup
5by5 Networks
Instacast
Powered by the Estonian Mafia
Unfair Advantage on iTunes
Our sponsor: Gapps.fi - a Helsinki-based company that brings the Google productivity tools to your workplace.
We're getting around 500 full downloads for each episode - want to promote your services to the early adopter crowd? E-mail us.

#8 - Wrapp with two P's

ArcticStartup — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 08:00:00 GMT

In our eighth episode we dive into discuss the new rising star of Sweden - Wrapp. We've reported on the company in the past, especially in them raising two rounds of financing worth more than $10 million. The rounds were raised from Atomico Ventures as well as Greylock Partners, both highly acclaimed investors. We talk to Carl Fritjoffson, the COO of Wrapp on how exactly the company got setup and what they are really after. Believe us, there is so much more to the company than simply gift cards. After listening to the show, you're going to understand exactly why the $10+ million makes a lot of sense.

This week we are supported by Gapps.fi - a Helsinki-based company that brings the Google productivity tools to your workplace. They've got a special offer for all those who ping them and say they came from ArcticStartup. Also, they are looking for talented people to work with them in the area of sales and technical implementation. Big thanks to Gapps for supporting the show.

Show notes:

Wrapp
Wrapp in iTunes Store
Wrapp closes investment from Atomico and Greylock
Wrapp is hiring!
Unfair Advantage on iTunes
Our sponsor: Gapps.fi - a Helsinki-based company that brings the Google productivity tools to your workplace.
Want to promote your services to the early adopter crowd? E-mail us.

#7 - Space artifacts

ArcticStartup — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:00:00 GMT

In our seventh episode of Unfair Advantage we talk to Christoph Thur of Ovelin. Ovelin has created a game called Wildchords that has attracted a lot of interest both from consumers, but also from investors. Recently they closed a €1.1 million investment from True Ventures. We talked to Christoph to understand how Ovelin went about creating Wildchords, but also how the game has been distributed and what were the steps leading up to the closing of the investment from one of the top-tier investors in the US.

Our sponsor for this week is Gapps.fi - a Helsinki-based company that brings the Google productivity tools to your workplace. They've got a special offer for all those who ping them and say they came from ArcticStartup. Big thanks to Gapps for supporting the show.

Show notes:

Ovelin
Wildchords demo
True Ventures on their Ovelin investment
Startup Sauna
Midem
TechCity UK festival
WildChords in the iTunes App Store
News: Nest New York To Help Finnish Startups Establish Themselves Stateside
Unfair Advantage on iTunes
Our sponsor: Gapps.fi - a Helsinki-based company that brings the Google productivity tools to your workplace.
Want to promote your services to the early adopter crowd? E-mail us.

#6 - I try not to play Minecraft at home

ArcticStartup — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 06:00:00 GMT

Unfair Advantage has reached its sixth episode and on the show we talk to Daniel Kaplan of Mojang. We've covered Mojang many times in the past and they are the creators of Minecraft, the hugely popular game where you...err.. listen to the show to hear how it's pitched. Daniel joined the company back in 2010 already and he was the first employee. It was only Markus Persson and him back then, so Daniel has enjoyed the company ride quite sometime. Our sponsor for this week is Gapps.fi - a Helsinki-based company that brings the Google productivity tools to your workplace. They've got a special offer for all those who ping them and say they came from ArcticStartup. Show notes:

Mojang
Minecraft
Daniel Kaplan on twitter: @kappische
Rebtel Hits 15 Million Users
Unfair Advantage on iTunes
How have we done so far? Give us feedback by e-mailing us editor@arcticstartup.com or by telling it in the comments below. We'd appreciate it!
Our sponsor: Gapps.fi - a Helsinki-based company that brings the Google productivity tools to your workplace.

005 - Operating Systems Of Our lives

ArcticStartup — Fri, 09 Feb 2012 08:00:00 GMT

In the fifth episode we talk to Estonian investor and serial entrepreneur Allan Martinson. Allan Martinson is the managing and founding partner of MTVP. MTVP is one of the more well known and successful investment companies operating in the Baltic region. In the show, we discuss numerous things about the Nordic and Baltic startup scene as well as the role of accelerators. Martinson also tells us what he thinks needs to be done on the regional scale to get things working better and more effectively. We also want to thank our first sponsor of the show: Kippt.com - it makes bookmarking and reading the web easier (and we'd like to add beautiful). It works well on your browser as well as on your mobile devices like iPad and iPhone. Show notes:

MTVP
Allan Martinson on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Our post on Allan Martinson's thoughts on accelerators in the region.
Kurat.com - the curation tool we discussed on the show
Unfair Advantage on iTunes
How have we done so far? Give us feedback by e-mailing us editor@arcticstartup.com or by telling it in the comments below. We'd appreciate it!
Our sponsor: Kippt.com - bookmarking and reading the web made simple (and beautiful).

004 - They Have To Suffer For Another Ten Years

ArcticStartup — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:00:00 GMT

The fourth episode of Unfair Advantage takes us to Denmark as we chat with Klaus Nyengaard, the Group CEO of Just Eat. Just Eat is originally from Denmark, where it was set up more than 10 years ago. In the last five or six years, the company has seen a huge growth in internationalisation and now operates in 15 countries. Their currently run forecasts that they will deliver somewhere around $750 million worth of food this year. Klaus Nyengaard gave us a very detailed view on their internationalisation strategy both from setting up shop yourself and acquiring existing players in the market to grow. Show notes:

Just Eat
Klaus Nyengaard on LinkedIn.
Unfair Advantage on iTunes
How have we done so far? Give us feedback by e-mailing us editor@arcticstartup.com or by telling it in the comments below. We'd appreciate it!

003 - Do Things In Unconventional Ways

ArcticStartup — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:00:00 GMT

In our third episode we talked to Nikolaj Nyholm, a partner at Sunstone Capital in Copenhagen, Denmark. We wanted to talk to him as Sunstone had recently led a large investment into Gidsy. In the show we also talk Sunstone capital's way of doing business and what areas they see currently hot. He also shares some insight on Soundcloud and Prezi. Oh, and you need to listen in to hear what were some of the hot Nordic and Baltic companies they've passed, but have since then become successful. Show notes:

Sunstone Capital
Nikolaj Nyholm on LinkedIn and Twitter
SoundCloud Reaches 10 Million Users
A Short Update On Prezi The Zooming Presentation Software
Unfair Advantage on iTunes
Our statistics for two shows: over 5000 requests for the files and more than 25 gigabytes of data transferred.
Interested in getting your startup featured/pitched? Contact sales@arcticstartup.com and for €25 per company per show (limited to four), we'll review your company and direct some traffic your way. You will also get a link to your company here in the show notes.
Want to give us feedback? Do so by e-mailing editor@arcticstartup.com.

002 - In the low eight figures

ArcticStartup — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Show notes:

DealDash
Fast Lane Ventures invests in Renthome.ru
trulia Sees Goldmine In Its Collected US Housing Data

Unfair Advantage on iTunes
DealDash open positions: Head of Insights on ArcticStartup and other open positions
Interested in getting your startup featured/pitched? Contact sales@arcticstartup.com and for €25 per company per show (limited to four), we'll review your company and direct some traffic your way. You will also get a link to your company here in the show notes.
Want to give us feedback? Do so by e-mailing editor@arcticstartup.com or calling our Skype account (arcticstartup) to leave voicemail. Please keep it under 60 seconds as the chances of playing it in the show are better.

001 - It'll get better

ArcticStartup — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 06:00:00 GMT

Show notes:

Tunaspot
Startup Weekend Copenhagen
Tunaspot on iTunes App Store (Android version coming out later this week or next week)
Finnish Operator Required To Block Access To ThePirateBay, Among Others
Why Elisa's Blockage Is Such A Big Thing
Spotify Approaches An Actively Drowning Industry
Interested in getting your startup featured/pitched? Contact sales@arcticstartup.com and for €25 per company per show (limited to four), we'll review your company and direct some traffic your way. You will also get a link to your company here in the show notes.
Want to give us feedback? Do so by e-mailing editor@arcticstartup.com or calling our Skype account (arcticstartup) to leave voicemail. Please keep it under 60 seconds as the chances of playing it in the show are better.