On September 30, ESBRI’s Estrad offers both research-based knowledge and entrepreneurial experiences – and the awarding of ALMI Företagspartners’ “Mentor of the Year 2013 for existing companies”.
The thresholds for entrepreneurship have been lowered over the last decade, thanks to technological and institutional changes. Maker movement, hacker space and D.I.Y. are just some of the terms that have entered the vocabulary. It’s about combining technology and traditional craftsmanship, thinking innovatively and creating something new – without waiting for big business to do it for you. A hacker is no longer a computer geek breaking into secret databases, rather an individual who quickly creates new services and products. Often using unconventional methods. Special hackathons bring together like-minded people to solve a problem together for a limited time.
Crowdfunding is another English loanword that has taken hold in Sweden. When many small organizations and individuals come together for funding, more entrepreneurial ideas can be tested. Cloud services such as Dropbox free up resources, thereby helping to lower the barriers to entrepreneurship. Small and new businesses are also helped by online platforms for marketing and distribution, such as Etsy.
So what does this development mean? A revolution for entrepreneurship – or mostly just cosmetic changes to the same old capitalist system? The issues are discussed by Howard Aldrich.
After the lecture, Marie Ahlgren, Head of ALMI’s Advisory Services business area, will present a recent report on young entrepreneurs in Sweden. It has been developed for ALMI’s new mentoring initiative where young entrepreneurs get access to a mentor, a training grant and a network. The Mentor of the Year for existing businesses will then be selected. The award is given to the mentor in ALMI’s nationwide mentoring program who a jury considers to have made outstanding efforts for his or her mentee, and thus is a role model. After the award ceremony, the winner and Marie Ahlgren, among others, will discuss mentoring and the importance of a mentor for the growth of a company. The afternoon ends with a festive mingle!
Please note that the lecture will be held in English while the award ceremony and subsequent discussions will be in Swedish.
