Inspiring Gathering for International Growth and Scaling Strategies
This week, there was a gathering for the companies included in the portfolios of Construct Venture and OBOS Oppstart. How can thumb wrestling be relevant when learning about negotiations? Several participants may have had a small "aha" moment when Stein-Erik Mellemseter from Alpha Negotiations invited the audience to engage in various activities, including thumb wrestling. The exercise demonstrated how both parties can benefit from cooperation rather than competition.
The theme of the gathering was scaling the business, internationalization, and negotiations. Mellemseter, who has extensive experience in both Norwegian and international finance, shared seven concrete negotiation tips. Birte Steen from Verdane Elevate provided advice and insights on building a revenue engine that scales through different phases, while Andreas Sjölund from the digital delivery platform Ingrid shared his experiences on taking growth companies abroad.
An Annual Event
Construct Venture is a venture capital investor specializing in construction, civil engineering, and real estate. OBOS Oppstart invests in promising early-stage companies relevant to OBOS and the construction and real estate sectors. This week, they invited participants to a portfolio day, which has become an annual event.
In addition to the companies in the Construct Venture and OBOS Oppstart portfolios, selected industry players, co-investors, and board members were invited to the gathering. The goal is to create a platform for new insights and relationship building.
- Great Arena for Picking Up Tips
Frida Rustøen from the investment company Idékapital found the portfolio day program highly relevant.
- We work with companies that face challenges related to international scaling every day. So it’s exciting to hear perspectives from those who have been through these journeys and done it before, she said.
Minuendo is a company specializing in advanced hearing protection. Tom Trones from Minuendo appreciated the opportunity to meet other companies in Construct Venture’s portfolio.
- I think there is too little learning between startups in Norway, and this is a great arena for picking up tips. There’s a strong focus on expertise, which is really useful for the phase we’re in, Trones said.
Meeting Others in the Same Situation
The team at Construct Venture, Sjur Ringøen and Jan Fossgård, were very pleased with the gathering.
- Bringing together our portfolio companies for knowledge sharing and relationship building creates valuable synergies. It gives the companies the opportunity to meet and brainstorm with others facing similar challenges and targeting the same customer groups, which is incredibly useful, said Fossgård.
