Valley Nordic

Send us Fan Mail How we develop products continues to evolve as new technologies get commercialized. Products that work with Machine Learning (ML) models require a new way of thinking to launch and improve products. The agile/lean approach does not work with ML. We discuss how product managers will have to develop products differently with ML.

Send us Fan Mail We discuss the recent Snowflake IPO and the possible reasons for its sky high valuation. Useful links: 1. Snowflake website: https://www.snowflake.com/ 2. Snowflake S1: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1640147/000162828020013010/snowflakes-1.htm

Send us Fan Mail We are honored to have Matt Papakipos as our guest of honor on this episode. Matt is an entrepreneur and an angel investor who has spent a lot of time with nVidia, Google, and Facebook in their early days in Silicon Valley. Chander and Matt talk about Matt's startup ecosystem experiences in Silicon Valley, Seoul, and Amsterdam. Matt is currently living in Amsterdam with his f...

Send us Fan Mail We discuss Unity Unity Software Inc. and their plan to go public. They filed S1 last week. Useful link: Unity S1

Send us Fan Mail This episode is a joint production of Valley Nordic and Bifrost Talks (a Nordic Innovation House initiative) and it was recorded with a live audience. Our normal greetings were cut-off in the recording. Sorry. The episode begins with what we cover in the episode i.e. 1. GPT-3 (Generative Pre-Trained Transformer v3) and its applications 2. Epic Games and its fight with Apple regard...

Send us Fan Mail We are back after summer break. A lot has happened in the tech world in the last six weeks. We discuss the following highlights:  1. Tech driven stock market  2. Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple's CY 2020 second quarter earnings 3. Special Purpose Acquisition Companies or SPACs 4. Tech CEOs testimonies in congressional hearings  5. California government battle with Uber an...

Send us Fan Mail We look at valuations of tech companies that went public in the first half of 2020 and highlight the companies that might go public in the second half of 2020. The companies that might go public are Lemonade (filed S1), Robinhood, Airbnb, Snowflake, Palantir, Postmates, Doordash, Instacart, and McAfee. Startups that went public earlier this year are listed in the useful links sect...

Send us Fan Mail We review and analyze major announcements made at Apple's latest Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC). Useful links Apple's announcements at WWDC 2020 

Send us Fan Mail We discuss Apps that allow third party developers to publish mini apps within the App. These apps are called Super Apps. WeChat is the biggest Super App. Last week, Snap announced a program to become a Super App. Facebook has been trying to become a Super App for years. Useful links: 1. Snap Minis announcement 2. WeChat 

Send us Fan Mail We discuss the difference between capital markets and money markets. Alliance Venture, an early stage venture firm based in Norway recently raised a new ~$60M fund. We get into nitty gritty of raising a venture fund and how raising money is different for entrepreneurs. Arne is a partner at Alliance Venture.  Useful links 1.  Alliance Venture 2.  Capital Markets 

Send us Fan Mail We discuss the evolution of remote work and its pros and cons. Furthermore, we pontificate on potential changes in society if everyone works remotely.  Useful link: History of remote work

Send us Fan Mail We discuss the purpose of packaging in Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) and how it might change with the direct-to-consumer (D2C) business model. The discussion is based on Chander's blogpost on the subject. Useful link: Changing P in CPG: Packaging In The Direct-To-Consumer World 

Send us Fan Mail We discuss the reasons why companies do M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions) and review the recent acquisitions in the tech space. Also, we talk about the M&A scene in 2020 vs 2019 and themes of 2020 acquisitions. Following are the acquisitions we analyze:  1. Facebook buying Giphy  2. Microsoft buying Affirmed Networks, Softmotive, and Metaswitch Networks 3. Apple buying NextVR...

Send us Fan Mail We discuss how to think about Fintech, what segments startups are targeting within Fintech, and how we see Fintech changing in future. Also, new business models in insurance and banking.  Useful links: 1. Ayden - Most highly valued European startup 2. Credit card payments

Send us Fan Mail We share our views on Quibi, a new streaming service designed for people on the go to watch professionally produced original videos on mobile phones. The assumptions behind Quibi and what mistakes Quibi is making in execution. Useful links: 1. Quibi 2. Differences between Silicon Valley and Hollywood

Send us Fan Mail We are very excited to have Kjell Håkan Närfelt, Chief Strategy Officer, at Vinnova, a Swedish government agency focused on building and funding nationwide innovation ecosystems. Chander and Kjell Häkan talk about incubators, science parks, exit focused venture capital vs dividend based capital. We also discuss the common mistakes early stage startups make. Arne will be back next...

Send us Fan Mail We discuss how technology is being used to end the coronavirus pandemic. We look at the tech in two categories 1) Cure - respirators, ventilators, and treatment 2) Prevention - vaccines, testing, and tracking. Furthemore, we explain how the new Apple/Google initiative works for contact tracing. Useful Links 1. Open Source ventilator projects 2. Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness...

Send us Fan Mail Arne is back on the podcast. We discuss analysis vs. synthesis, linear thinking vs. systems thinking, parts vs. systems and what are the types of complex systems. We explore a new way of looking at the world and how systems thinking can be applied to startups and investing. Chander tried to make it a box-free episode but Arne found a way to sneak in his boxes. Useful links: 1. Sys...

Send us Fan Mail We have a very special guest, Andrew Sherrard, on this episode. Andrew is a former Chief Marketing Officer at T-Mobile US where he managed $1B+ in marketing budget and drove $16B in annual revenue. His un-carrier marketing strategy changed how wireless services are sold in the US. Andrew shares his insights on concept testing, positioning, naming, branding, pricing, advertising ag...

Send us Fan Mail We discuss the education and EdTech segments. Why things have not changed in decades after multiple attempts in bringing technology to education? We also share some examples of successes and failures in education and EdTech. Useful Links 1. Global learning landscape  2. Microverse

Send us Fan Mail We discuss some of the temporary changes in businesses caused by the coronavirus and what permanent changes in society might occur due to the pandemic. We also talk about the current funding situation for startups and possible scenarios on when we will get to the post corona world.  Our thanks to healthcare, delivery, and retail/grocery/pharmacy workers who are are going to work e...

Send us Fan Mail We discuss segmentation of the healthcare market from a startup/investment perspective, why the US healthcare system is highly inefficient, and how product development is different in healthcare. Furthermore, we talk about opportunities for startups in the healthcare market. Useful links: 1. Chander's keynote speech on digital health 2. Genesis of a wearable device  3. Region...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, guest Per-Arne Lundberg, a Swedish game investor and CEO at Amplifier Game Invest AB, is discussing the game industry with Arne. Topics covered include:  The game industry What's going on in the Nordics Investing games Thanks for visiting, Per-Arne.  Check out: https://www.amplifiergameinvest.com/

Send us Fan Mail Arne and Chander discuss how the technology ecosystem works and how it might evolve. The discussion is based on Chander's blogpost on the subject. You can see the blogpost at  https://cdoq.blogspot.com/2020/03/dynamics-of-technology-ecosystem.html

Send us Fan Mail We discuss the complexity of Go To Market (GTM) strategies and focus on how Business to Business (B2B) startups with Software as a Service (SaaS) products reach their customers. Common mistakes that founders make and the multiple channels that are used for getting customers to use new products.