Why Oslo Founders Are Done Thinking Small

Founders in Norway are building some seriously impressive tech, but without big ambition, and the right go-to-market skills, many struggle to scale fast enough. 

Lauren Pedersen from Sport AI, Vidhi Kumar from Cardboard AS and Marit Bjerkreim from Telescope, are three founders from rising Oslo startups. We chatted about what Oslo’s startup scene needs to level up and create more international success stories. Join us for a real conversation about thinking big, taking risks, and what it really takes to go global.

The Norwegian ecosystem is in a league of its own, where both founders and investors need to be bolder. Marit Bjerkreim, co-founder of Telescope, a practical tool for managing sustainability risk in real estate, just raised a seed round with international investors. She realised that talking about investment amounts and ambitions from a Norwegian market perspective, was not cutting it to get that first meeting with international investors.

"The amount we wanted to raise wasn’t even taken seriously in the European ecosystem. We ended up needing to double the amount and double our ambition as well. You're measured on the same metrics, even if you raised half as much as your European peers", Marit explains. 

In Europe’s larger markets, capital expectations are higher, and so are the benchmarks for success. This has implications for the next funding round. ”Ambition is what defines how much a VC is willing to risk on you,” says Vidhi Kumar, co-founder of Cardboard, a software that simplifies subscriptions and SaaS management with virtual payment cards. 

Think globally or go home! 

Outside Norway, investors think bigger and take more risks. At home, founders have traditionally started small, thinking Nordic before going global. But that approach is shifting in a growing competitive market.

Oslo based startups are known to be great product builders, but often lack the commercial expertise to deliver a successful go-to-market strategy. “I think, as startups, we need to start getting comfortable with the fact that there is a product side and there's a business side. And you need to have that balance,” Vidhi says.

Still, great products alone are no longer enough. “The local market is not big enough to build scalable and globally competitive SaaS products,” she says, talking about one of the biggest challenges her company has faced. With only so many potential customers at home, it's tough to properly test the product and grow at the pace needed. And without that momentum, attracting the right investors and talent becomes even harder.

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Lauren Pedersen, co-founder of SportAI, a Norwegian B2B sports technology company that leverages AI, computer vision, and biomechanical analysis to provide real-time technique and tactical insights for racquet sports, enhancing performance and engagement for coaches, broadcasters, and equipment brands.

Lauren scanned the market thoroughly to identify potential customers and assess product-market fit.

“We've been looking [..] around. Who are the leading organisations around the world? Where are they based? And also where is the ability to pay?” Lauren says. For her, the real challenge lies in aligning all key stakeholders to build a truly world-class ecosystem.

The three founders all agree – going global isn’t just a choice anymore, it’s a must. Timelines move faster internationally, and the funding opportunities outside of Norway are much greater.

“Norwegian startups must go internationally after the seed stage because the domestic funding ecosystem isn’t big enough to sustain scale,” Vidhi points out. “Indian venture funds, for example, operate on 4–5 year exits, compared to the slower 10-year expectations in Norway.” 

The Catch-22 of startup growth

Founders need to show global ambition to attract serious investment. But achieving that ambition often requires early belief, from investors who themselves can be too risk-adverse. Both startups and investors need to up their ambitions to grow Oslo’s startup ecosystem.

Lauren, Vidhi and Marit believe that if everyone in the ecosystem raises their growth ambition levels, we’ll see more success stories coming out of Oslo. 

Oslo also comes with a lot of advantages when you set up shop here. It’s a small market, making it ideal for building and testing products with an honest customer base that helps you pivot towards growth if you listen carefully.

“I've built products in India as well and they [customers] will not give you a clear answer sometimes. A lot of it is relationship based. You have to loop in other people to get feedback, but people here [in Oslo] are a lot more direct. So I feel like this is a great market for testing,” Vidhi adds.

The message from the founders is clear: The time for small steps is over. To succeed globally, Norwegian startups must scale their thinking as much as their technology. If Oslo’s startups continue to think larger and move faster, they have the real potential of becoming one of the world’s leading ecosystems.. 

“Norwegian startups must go internationally after the seed stage because the domestic funding ecosystem isn’t big enough to sustain scale,” Vidhi points out. “Indian venture funds, for example, operate on 4–5 year exits, compared to the slower 10-year expectations in Norway.” 

The Catch-22 of startup growth

Founders need to show global ambition to attract serious investment. But achieving that ambition often requires early belief, from investors who themselves can be too risk-adverse. Both startups and investors need to up their ambitions to grow Oslo’s startup ecosystem.

Lauren, Vidhi and Marit believe that if everyone in the ecosystem raises their growth ambition levels, we’ll see more success stories coming out of Oslo. 

Oslo also comes with a lot of advantages when you set up shop here. It’s a small market, making it ideal for building and testing products with an honest customer base that helps you pivot towards growth if you listen carefully.

“I've built products in India as well and they [customers] will not give you a clear answer sometimes. A lot of it is relationship based. You have to loop in other people to get feedback, but people here [in Oslo] are a lot more direct. So I feel like this is a great market for testing,” Vidhi adds.

The message from the founders is clear: The time for small steps is over. To succeed globally, Norwegian startups must scale their thinking as much as their technology. If Oslo’s startups continue to think larger and move faster, they have the real potential of becoming one of the world’s leading ecosystems..