I have a principle in life: I don’t complain about things. I either accept them as they are or do something to change them.
Over the years, I’ve caught myself complaining a few times about the lack of early-stage funding and support for startups in Iceland. So I had to decide: either stay quiet or take action. I chose to take action. My inspiration came from my last trip to Oslo, Norway, where I got to know the local startup community and met with various people in the ecosystem. I noticed that it was much better organized and structured than the Icelandic scene. That didn’t surprise me too much, as Norwegians are generally more organized than Icelanders. We tend to approach everything with the “Þetta reddast” mentality.
One thing that really struck me was something an investor told me. He mentioned that they had around 10–15 angel networks in Norway, and I realized that we don’t have a single one in Iceland. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that even though I’ve been an active member of the Icelandic startup scene since 2008, I personally know no more than four or five angel investors in the entire country.
Over the last few days, I’ve been working on building a group of angel investors in Iceland, and I’m hoping to start a conversation about how we can create more angels, improve access to them, and help them invest more effectively. I don’t yet know exactly how we’re going to do that, but I hope they’ll be open to discussing ideas and coming up with solutions together.
What I’ve seen in other countries is the creation of angel networks that allow investors to collaborate, invest together, and learn from each other. These networks also make it easier for founders to connect with investors, since they only need to approach a single entity instead of dozens of individuals. Often, these networks organize pitching events where several companies can present to the angels. In Norway, I also saw that they run angel investing seminars where people interested in becoming investors can learn all about the process. I’m considering attending one of these seminars myself next year, and perhaps other Icelanders would like to join me. Maybe we could even start hosting such seminars here.
If you have ideas on how we can improve the angel investor landscape in Iceland, I’d love to hear them. And if you’re an investor who’s interested in becoming an angel, reach out to me and I’ll include you in the conversation.
Frumkvöðull í meira en 20 ár. Stofnandi 7 fyrirtækja og Frumkvöðlar-samfélagsins. Skrifar um ferðalagið — gott og illt.
Meira um Hauk →