AGENDA
DINNER
Tuesday 10th October 2023
Tak, Stockholm
18.45
Dinner
19.45
Opening Remarks
Uday Singh
Founder & CEO, Fast Growth Icons
19.50
Welcome Address
Alex McCracken
MD Innovation Economy Commercial Banking, J.P. Morgan
22.30
Carriages
MAIN DAY
Wednesday 11th October
Grand Hôtel, Stockholm
08.00
Breakfast & Networking
09.00
Opening Remarks
Ben Fletcher
Founder and Chair, Fast Growth Icons
09.20
Welcome Address
Thomas Baekkevold
Head of TMT Investment Banking, Carnegie
09.25
A return to reality
Carl-Magnus Norden
Founder, Volta Trucks
Founded 2019 | Staff 816 | Funding $490m
We all accept that the crazy times are behind us and that future growth and fundraising will be based on cold hard numbers, not vanity metrics, daydreams and narrative. This ‘back to basics’ approach permeates everything: how you manage and motive the team, the approach to funding, and how you make efficient use of your funds. This interview will cover all these aspects of running your business.
09.50
Embrace the uncertainty
John-Markus Lervik
Co-Founder, Chief Strategy & Development Officer Cognite
Founded 2016 | Staff 618 | Funding $225m | Valuation $1.6b+
As your business grows, you will experience different phases where everything changes. This session will talk about what those phases are and what you can do to prepare for them (and what you should leave until you know what you need to do). As well as a list of dos and don’ts, John will explore how you make decisions in an unpredictable environment and how accepting innate uncertainty is key to maintaining speed.
10.15
Roundtable networking and discussion session
10.55
Morning Break
11.25
Hiring for cultural fit
Jenny Wolfram
Co Founder, Brandbastion
Founded 2013 | Staff 130
A case study of a recruitment process fine-tuned over a decade to improve fit. Looking at the key stages of the recruitment process, what questions to ask, who to involve in the decision, and how to use work aptitude tests to assess people. Hiring for a remote-first business means it’s even more critical to get this right first off.
11.50
Roundtable networking and discussion session
12.45
Seated Lunch
Enjoy a three course seated lunch by the chef at the Grand Hotel
14.15
Welcome Address
Dan Stephens
Head of EMEA Sales, Avalara
14.20
Managing the shift from venture to growth funding
Gunnar Nordseth
Co-Founder, Signicat
Founded 2007 | Staff 371 | Acquired
As your business grows and matures, with a proven replicable model, you might become more suitable for growth funding. A lot changes in this transition. You might find that you want to raise money for acquisitions, you might start hiring different, more senior people – including, in some cases, a new CEO. Gunnar will talk you through the Signicat growth journey, how things changed, why they went for growth funding and how they knew they were ready. He’ll cover the deal process and what changed after.
14.45
Roundtable networking and discussion session. Coffee served to the tables
15.45
Taking big bets
Peter Sarlin
CEO & Co-founder, Silo AI
Launch 2017 | Staff 300+
Innovation is key for growth. Sometimes it’s the day to day innovation of continual improvement, and sometimes you need a moonshot. How do you know when to do one and when to do the other? Innovation can be driven by internal opportunities or external pressure (like AI changing the world in software). This session will look at how Silo thinks about innovation and how they transformed through a big bet that worked.
16.10
Closing Address
Uday Singh
Founder & CEO, Fast Growth Icons
16.25
Champagne Reception
17.30
End