annual report 2017 - sting startups...2017 turned out to be a year of great development for many of...

Annual report 2017 Stockholm Innovation & Growth

Annual Report 2017 | 3

Dear Sting friends,It’s time again to summarize the year that passed. 2017 turned out to be a year of great development for many of the Sting companies. Together, they showed a revenue growth of 40 percent and we’re very excited to see that the aggregated company value almost doubled from 2016 to 2017 and now exceeds 1 billion euro.

Part of this positive development can be explained by the fact that Stockholm and Sweden continue to show great strength when it comes to pro-viding a world class environment for startups to develop and grow. We are happy that interna-tional investors and corporates view the Swedish startup ecosystem as top notch, and it has been fantastic to be part of developing this system in Stockholm over the last 15 years.

On a negative note however, we are deeply wor-ried about the expulsions of talents due to the Migration Agency’s bureaucracy over the last few years. A globally competitive Sweden demands that we can attract and retain the top talents.

From Sting’s point of view, this has always been on top of our minds and we have since many years put a lot of effort into our talent management activities. During 2017, we expanded this service further and now we have a team of 2 persons supporting our startups with recruitment and talent management. In 2017, we were involved in almost 100 recruitments to the Sting companies. Last year was also a record year in terms of accepted companies to our programs. We had a continued strong deal flow to Sting’s Incubate and Accelerate programs and accepted 33 start-ups in total to the 2 programs. Among with these companies, we were excited to welcome the first startups to our newly created Game Incubator.

Another achievement that I am especially proud of is the launch of a new venture capital fund, Luminar Ventures. Based on Sting’s initiative we

teamed up with two successful business angels and succeeded to launch a 50 MEUR VC fund. It has been a dream for some time to establish an early stage VC that can bridge the gap between the angel and A-round.

Also with the aim of providing relevant financing channels for our startups, during 2017 we initiated Propel Capital IV, bringing together 40 qualified business angels to invest in our startups. Propel Capital IV more than doubled in size compared to its predecessor and we were extra pleased to welcome 10 new female investors to the invest-ment company. During 2017, we made 26 invest-ments from Propel Capital, making it Sweden’s most active private seed investor.

Looking at our ambitions for 2018, one focus area is to intensify our efforts to attract more female entrepreneurs to our programs. By finding rele-vant partnerships and through proactive sourc-ing as well as an active communication of stories and role models, we hope to reach our ambition that 50 % or more of the companies that are ac-cepted to Sting have at least one female founder.

We hope that you take your time to read this Annual Report in which we present the develop-ment of the Sting companies. We feel extremely privileged to work with all of the fantastic entrepreneurs and are so happy and impressed to see that many of the companies are well on their way to becoming global growth stars.

Letter from the CEO

A year of growth and expanding our financing channels

Pär Hedberg CEO and founder

4 | Annual Report 2017 Annual Report 2017 | 5

Our Ecosystem

Dramatically increase your chances of success

•

NetworkLocal partners and worldwide network

of investors, experts, potential customers

and partners.

Office space and co-working spaces

THINGS SUP46 Kista

H2 Health Hub Embassy House Norrsken House

PR/Media Relations Support

Communications coaches help you

get noticed.

CoachesOur qualified coaches

help accelerate your startup’s development.

Propel CapitalBacked by 40

business angels. Invests 32k EUR in Sting companies.

Investor Relations

We connect you with the right investors for

your company.Talent Management

Our coaches help you build a winning team.

Sting Business Angels35 private investors

from the tech industry.

Only 5 percent of all startups survive. At Sting, 70 percent of the startups that have gone through our programs are still active. We have coached 240 startups over more than 15 years, which has given us extensive experience in turning startups into international companies. Access to all this knowledge makes you feel like a serial entrepreneur, even if you’re starting a business for the first time.

Startups accepted to Sting’s programs have a business idea that:

• is based on an innovative technology

• clearly solves a major problem in the market

• is scalable

• has a large international market potential

• is developed by a strong team with both technology and business skills

Sting Test Drive• Hands-on training program for early- stage startups• 4 evening workshops • 12-15 cases/batch• Focus: Evaluation and development of business idea

Sting Incubate• For startups with longer development cycles• All industries• 6-18 months program• 3 batches/year, 6 startups/batch• 32,000 EUR in funding is possible• Individual coaching up to 4 hrs/week• Focus: Develop, iterate and scale• Free office space for 6 months

Sting Accelerate• For startups with shorter development cycles• Mainly startups within internet/mobile/digital• 4 months program• 2 batches/year, 8 startups/batch • 32,000 EUR in funding• Coaching 2 hrs/week plus weekly batch meeting• Focus: Commercial launch and scaling of product/service• Location: free office space at SUP46 for 4 months


Join the best

Sting accepts less than 10 percent of the applications received every year. When selected to our programs, you will be surrounded by the most promising and talented entrepreneurs and startups in Sweden.

You will join a large group of successful alumni companies, including Yubico, Videoplaza, Sellpy, Bioservo, Volumental and Barnebys. You will share ideas, challenges and achievements in a great, dynamic work envi-ronment.

At Sting, you are coached by some of Sweden’s leading entrepreneurs and former venture capitalists.

The coaches work closely with you and your team every week, and are always involved in where you are in important activities such as sales, mar-keting, product development, finance, recruitment, etc.

We believe in “fail fast, fail for-ward”. Dare to try things that do not work perfectly: Create a prototype (MVP), measure usage and compare to quickly move towards the operation and business models that work. Speed is the key. Our methods are best characterized as “lean” and iterative. The main methods and tools are “Lean Startup” and “Lean Canvas”.

Our coaching is always based on “pull” rather than “push”, i.e. it’s the coach’s task to help you find and decide what is the right way forward. rather than telling you what s/he thinks you should do. You’re always in the driver’s seat!

Do you want to be challenged and pushed to increase your chances of success? Sting supports carefully selected teams to achieve their business goals faster and smarter.

70%

240Accepted startups

Active startups

3000Evaluated startups

Business Development

Support

John Bjurulf, Mathias Rickle, Givar Shabani, Viktoryia Khromchanka, Andrei Khromchanka and Daniel Gomez, Gigital.

Business Development Support

“2017 was the year when Gigital was born and by the end of that same year we launched our closed beta. We were facing big obstacles in digitally transforming the live music market, but building a great team–we’re 9 superstars to date–and finding the right investors and advisors proved to be the formula for succeeding. Our participation in the Sting Accelerate program greatly contributed to this development. We now have DJs and artists playing at corporate events for the biggest companies in Sweden and customers praising this new way of booking.”


€2.1 €17Million raised by Sting

companies in public financing during 2017 (grants and equity)

Million invested by Propel Capital in 69 Sting

companies to date

Get funded

At Sting, you will get help to:

• Prepare a financing plan

• Manage the whole financing process

• Apply for “soft money”

• Practice your pitch

• Prepare for meetings with investors

• Gain access to Sting’s in- house as well as external network of investors

Sting Business Angels

• A network of 35 private investors with entrepreneurial tech backgrounds

• Contribute with both capital and know-how

Propel Capital

• Sweden’s most active private seed investor

• Backed by 40 private investors

• Invests 32,000 EUR in every Sting Accelerate company and selected Sting Incubate companies

• Frequent direct investments into Sting companies by investors in Propel Capital

Luminar Ventures

• 50 MEUR early stage venture capital fund

• Sting is a co-founder and has a strategic partnership with Luminar Ventures

• Average investment of around 10 MSEK in scalable digital seed stage companies

European-wide Investor network

In addition to our own financing sources, Sting stays in regular contact with the top investors in Europe, creating strong relation-ships that you can benefit from.

Selected transactions 2017

• Yubico: 25 MEUR (30 MUSD) from New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and The Valley Fund among others

• Barnebys: 5.2 MEUR (6.1 MUSD) in two rounds from Industrifonden, Accum Kapital and Inbox Capital among others

• Aifloo: 5.1 MEUR from EQT Ventures

• DPOrganizer: 3 MEUR from Industrifonden, Creades and Inbox Capital among others

• Karma: 3.3 MEUR from e.Ventures and eEquity among others

• Bioservo: 6.4 MEUR IPO on Nasdaq First North

• Mantex: 4.8 MEUR IPO on Nasdaq First North

Raising capital is a necessary and highly time consuming activity for most startups. Sting helps you create the best conditions possible for fund raising and puts a lot of effort into developing our own financing channels as well as building relationships with business angels and venture capital firms across Europe. Several of Sting’s coaches have backgrounds as venture capitalists and business angels, and have supported a large majority of the 240 Sting companies in their fundraising activities.

Financing

€78Million raised by Sting

companies in private capital during 2017

Sebastian Rudenstam and Marie Rudenstam, Beleco.

Financing

“Since we joined the Sting Incubate program in January 2017, we have expanded our team from 3 founders to 11 team members and launched our two services Beleco.com and Belecomarket.com. We have also finalised 2 investment rounds, attracting close to 4 MSEK from Propel Capital investors. We recommend Sting to all companies who are seeking advisers, funding or just access to a great network.”


Emma Nilsson, Thomas Ehrengren, Pierre Köllerström, Caroline Stenberg and Christian Tärnholm, MediCheck.

Build a dream team

After coaching close to 250 startups, we have learned what criteria should guide you when building a successful team and company culture. At Sting, you will receive comprehensive support throughout the entire recruitment process, including help with:

• Understanding the profile you need

• Defining the requirements

• Reaching the right talent networks and channels

• Accessing recruitment tools

• Screening, selection and hiring

Our talent management team puts a lot of effort into constant-ly building and updating pool of skilled persons that could potentially be a match with the resource needs of our startups. The database today amounts to + 2,000 persons and encom-passes a large amount of highly

specialized tech professionals as well as business development, marketing and sales people.

We cooperate with a provider of a digital recruitment tool with the aim of offering all Sting com-panies an effective way to brand their startups and manage ap-plications. Added to that, all our companies can publish their positions on two of the big tech and business recruitment por-tals for free during the program.

As a complement to our case by case recruitment service, we also offer Sting companies the opportunity to participate at niche recruitment match-making events. Additionally, we offer workshops and individu-al coaching in multiple areas ranging from options programs to building company culture, employer branding and conflict handling, all with the aim of sup-porting Sting startups to build great teams.

A startup’s success often depends on the strength of the people behind it. Therefore, we have two dedicated coaches at Sting who specializes in talent acquisition and management. Last year, our talent management team was involved in more than 100 recruitments, making it Sweden’s largest recruitment service dedicated only to startups.

346

287New employees in 2017

(128 in 2017) Recruitments that Sting

has been involved in since 2008

1819Employees in Sting

Companies

Talent Management

Talent Management

“MediCheck had a fantastic 2017. We are proud to have released the first service in Sweden where people can get help from medical specialists the same day, independent of location or the need of a referral, and at the same time offer the medical specialists a dynamic way of working. In April we closed a successful seed round with backers from Sting’s network as well as investors with a background within health, and were able to establish our core team. We’re so excited to have a wonderful team in place and that we grew the business with at least 50 % per month during the fall.”


CASE

YubicoYubico, maker of the YubiKey, provides security technology for strong authentication and encryption. Customers include thousands of

businesses and millions of users in 160 countries, includ-ing 9 of the top 10 Internet companies. The company has grown organically into a global security leader with four consecutive years of profit.

At Sting: 2007Team: 120Funding 2017: 25 MEUROffices: Palo Alto, Seattle, Stockholm, London, Melbourne, LaerMore info: www.yubico.com

VolumentalVolumental’s mission is to transform the footwear industry, combining the world’s fastest high accuracy 3D foot scanning system for retail, with an

advanced AI driven ‘Fit Engine’ that generates highly per-sonalised footwear recommendations. Volumental is now helping thousands of people a day find shoes that fit, and is present in 35 countries. The company added giants like New Balance and hockey equipment company Bauer as customers during the last year, increasing the company’s revenue nearly 19 times from 2016 to 2017.

At Sting: 2013Team: 28Revenue: 1.8 MEUR More info: www.volumental.com

BarnebysBarnebys.com is a search engine for art, antiques and collectibles. Barnebys lists 2500 auction hous-es and dealers around the world

and has 2 million online visitors per month. During 2017, Barnebys acquired two American companies, Simple Auction Site and Collectors Weekly. The company also developed a new white label solution for auctions called Skeleton.

At Sting: 2011Team: 45Revenue: 2.4 MEURMore info: www.barnebys.com

KarmaKarma helps restaurants, bakeries and grocery stores to reduce food waste, increase profitability and get exposed to new customers – while

at the same time reducing their environmental impact. Karma launched in in 2016 and now has 250,000 users and 1,000 businesses signed up. In early 2018 the compa-ny started its internationalization journey by launching in London.

At Sting: 2015Team: 25Tons food saved: 55Latest funding round: 3.3 MEURMore info: www.karma.life

WorldfavorWorldfavor accelerates sustainability by offering a global platform for shar-ing corporate sustainability informa-tion. Worldfavor’s platform enables its

users to manage, assess and visualize their organizations’ sustainability. Today, over 5500 organizations have chosen to exchange data through Worldfavor and the company has added SAS, Hemfrid och Ragn-Sells, among others, as customers.

At Sting: 2014 Team: 11Latest funding round: 0.7 MEUR from Norrsken Foundation et al.More info: worldfavor.com

Bioservo TechnologiesBioservo is dedicated to becoming the world-leading developer of wear-able technology based on bionic soft robotics. The company’s solutions,

which focus on the upper limbs, are used in preventive, assistive and rehabilitative contexts. During 2017, Bioservo was listed on Nasdaq First North. The company’s net rev-enue grew with 24 % on the back of, among other things, the launch of a new version of the grip enhancing device Carbonhand and deepened co-operation with Airbus and General Electric.

At Sting: 2006Team: 25Office: StockholmMore info: www.bioservo.com

Selected Sting stories

Case Case

Joakim Svärling, Urban Nilsson and Andreas Chrysovitsanos, Hatrabbit.

“2017 was the year when Hatrabbit joined the Sting game incubator, we secured an investment from a well-renowned game industry business angel, recruited key talents and set a process for how to develop games for exponential growth in a more strategic way. We also launched our first cross-platform VR/mobile game, Merry Snowballs, receiving amazing reviews globally, and established connections with world leading partners. Hatrabbit is now ready for taking the next steps towards becoming a key player within the future of entertainment.”


Total company valuation year end 2017

Number of companies and employees

Accepted companies Employees in active companies

Company valuation (MEUR)

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 20170

500

1000

1500

2000

18192

240

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

1100

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

1063

Percentage of men/women in Sting

companies

26%74%

Deal flow

Internet/Media 48 %ICT 18 %Health 16 %Sustainability 13 %Other 4 %

Game 1 %

Sting in numbers 2017Public vs private financing (MEUR, accumulated)

Private Financing Public Financing

Revenue (MEUR)

Export revenue

Overall development (number of companies)

Active companies Mergers/Acqusitions Living dead/changed idea Discontinued

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 20170

25

50

75

100

125

150

175

200

225

71%

219

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

06 08 11 140

50

100

150

200

250

66

8

6

77432

4716825

Revenue

0

100

200

300

400

500

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

128

436

Sting in numbers 2017

Evaluated startups 3.000

Accepted startups 240

From the business community 80%

University/research-based 20%

Sting in numbers

2017

ANNUAL REPORT 2017 | 1716 | Annual Report 2017

The Sting CompaniesICT

Airmee is transforming the way goods are transported in cities by making on-demand deliveries accessible and affordable for everyone. www.airmee.com INC

Evam System has developed a system that can warn motorists of changing traffic situa-tions, by using the already built-in car radio/infotainment system. www.evam.life INC

Hubbster has developed a digital tool that helps to support management, managers and co-workers in taking strategies, plans and projects from words to concrete action. www.hubbster.com INC

Need Insight is a modern market research company, specializing in eye tracking analysis and people movement measurements in real world environments. www.needinsights.com INC

Nordic Welding Engineering has developed a method for robust quality assurance of weld-ed structures, that can increase productivity by 50%, reduce production costs and optimize component weight. INC

Tölve has launched the next level of lead generation, combining machine learning, statistical techniques and text analysis of com-panies’ own sales history. www.tolve.se INC

Adaptive Simulations offers a cloud-based service (SaaS), providing customers with fully automated flow simulations. www.adaptivesimulations.com AL

Challengera helps its clients execute on their strategic initiatives while engaging employ-ees in the process via a web-based tool. www.internaldesk.com AL

Cgrain develops and manufactures equipment for quality control of grain, by advanced image processing that analyses each seed in a sample. www.cgrain.se AL

Degoo is a free backup service that gives users automatic online backup in exchange for sharing unused hard drive space. www.degoo.com AL

DoReMIR’s software understands the structure of music and is a “virtual listener”. The user can generate useful scores in real time, simply by playing a piece of music. www.scorecloud.com AL

Dreamler is an online tool that helps groups of people improve the quality of their plans by making process discovery and planning more collaborative and visual. www.dreamler.com AL

Eviware´s SoapUI is the world’s most widely used program for the design, development and testing of web services. Eviware was acquired by Smartbear in 2011. www.smartbear.com AL

GleechI creates software solutions that-enable realistic hand and finger-grasping behavior in computer games, simulation and educational games. www.gleechi.com AL

Henry Labs provides a feedback tool that empowers employees and helps managers stay in the know, spot issues early and build an even better team and company. www.hihenry.co AL

Hive Streaming (former Peerialism) devel-ops global file storage and video streaming technologies. The company was acquired by MPS Broadband in 2012. www.hivestreaming.com AL

IRnova develops and supplies high quality, high performance infrared detectors and related components to infrared module, camera and system manufacturers world-wide. www.ir-nova.se AL

Inkonova provides innovative engineering products and solutions. The central product is the TILT Drone, which is the world’s fastest quad copter with a neutral pitch. www.inkonova.se AL

Inkopio is the leading technology provider of Vendor Management System software in Sweden, that helps digitalize your entire consultant lifecycle from procurement to payment. www.inkopio.se AL

Light Flex Sweden uses lighting technology to create state-of-the-art active-light weara-bles, enhancing personal safety. www.lightflextechnology.com AL

MetaSolutions creates solutions for data management to reduce handling costs and to make data accessible. www.entryscape.com AL

Mind Music Labs produces the world’s first smart guitar, the SENSUS. It is a guitar, a wireless digital audio workstation and a smart Internet of Things device. www.mindmusiclabs.com AL

Nobreach develops runtime self-protection (RASP) for PHP applications, building immune systems for cyber-attacks. www.nobreach.se AL

OptiCaller Software develops software for mobile PBX and Unified Communications. It allows the user to make calls in a flexible manner and at significantly lower costs. www.opticaller.se AL

The Sting companies

The Sting companies

Erika Hjertén, Totta Ogander and Ingrid Sundqvist, Ztable.

INC = STING INCUBATE ACC = STING ACCELERATE AL = ALUMNI = STING CAPITAL FINANCING

““Ztable is an app for riders that lets equestrians develop their riding and share their passion. Since the launch in June 2017, Ztable has gotten more than 20.000 downloads and a fantastic response. We have now closed our first investment round of 3 MSEK with private investors, some of them from Propel Capital, and are well equipped for further expansion. “


Mark Owuya and Jens Karlsson, Woshapp.

Sharp and Soft develops a unique infrastruc-ture for secure and scalable protection of information, a platform for the global operat-ing system of the future. www.sharpsoft.se A

Syntune supplies widely tunable lasers for applications ranging from fiber optic communications to sensor systems. The company was acquired by Finisar in 2011. www.finisar.com AL L

Telcred develops Physical Access Control Systems based on NFC, enabling remote dis-tribution of access rights to mobile phones or other types of devices, turning them into keys. www.telcred.com AL

TranSiC designs and manufactures power transistors in silicon carbide. The company was acquired by Fairchild Semiconductor in 2011. www.fairchildsemi.com AL

Unomaly creates a unique solution for per-forming real time diagnosis and behavioral monitoring of critical IT systems. www.unomaly.com AL

Volumental´s mission is to transform the foot-wear industry, combining the world’s fastest high accuracy 3D foot scanning system for retail, with an advanced AI driven ‘Fit Engine’ that generates highly personalised footwear recommendations.. www.volumental.com AL

Yubico, maker of the YubiKey, provides secu-rity technology for strong authentication and encryption. Customers include thousands of businesses and millions of users in 160 countries. www.yubico.com AL

Internet/Media

Anymaker is a playful and easy-to-use app for 3D creation that aims to develop children’s spatial and analytical abilities. www.anymaker.io INC

Beleco is a marketplace and community for furniture rentals, giving users the freedom to rent, rent-to-own or buy their furniture, both new and second hand. www.beleco.com INC

Cling is a construction management software that helps contractors streamline administration from their first customer interaction to getting paid. www.cling.se INC

Intakt is building an automated, digitised, and user friendly solution that makes it possible to offer a competitive insurance to a large number of users. INC

Skillbreak is a smart social learning platform making it easy to offer, find and book unique local learning experiences. www.skillbreak.com INC

Bukvy creates smart bags and accessories, combining multi-function and classic aes-thetics, for urban people in constant motion. www.bukvy.se ACC

Baetes uses VR, AR and 3D scanning technol-ogies to create a brand new digital shopping experience through virtual showrooms. www.baetes.com ACC

Content Studio is an AI-based and da-ta-driven social media marketing suite that helps businesses discover, compose and share engaging content in their industry. www.contentstudio.io ACC

Cryptolens offers a cloud service with unique AI analytics that makes it easy to launch and protect any kind of software. www.cryptolens.io ACC

Dockstr transforms trade in services and equipment in the offshore and marine industries. www.dockstr.com ACC

Foodla is a marketplace for organic goods in local communities, providing easy access to locally produced food, reducing food waste and reducing transportation. www.getfoodla.com ACC

Knowlocker is the front of knowledge for organizations. It brings together knowledge from multiple sources, and makes it accessi-ble to and useful for those who need it. www.knowlocker.com ACC

Suavoo is a beautytech company that pro-vides beauty services to customers’ desired locations, such as a home, office or hotel, through a touch of an app. www.suavoo.com ACC

Acumem’s ThreadSpotter helps eliminate performance issues by analyzing memory bandwidth and latency. Acumem was acquired by Rogue Wave in 2010. www.roguewave.com AL

Adoveo creates interactive marketing cam-paigns that the consumer chooses him-/herself whether to take part of or not. www.adoveo.com AL

Airinum develops a designed, new kind of urban breathing mask to guard millions of people from diseases caused by air pollution. www.airinum.com AL

Appjobs is as a lead generator for compa-nies and jobseekers to find each other in the gig economy. www.appjobs.com AL

Apprl offers a range of easy-to-use tools that help digital publishers and bloggers to monetize and online stores to sell more by increasing their reach. www.apprl.com AL

Axcrypt is a simple file encryption software for Windows. It integrates seamlessly with your workflow to encrypt, decrypt, store, send and work with files. www.axcrypt.net AL

Barnebys is an easy to use and fast tool for searching objects on auction by the estab-lished auction houses around the world. www.barnebys.com AL

Beatly provides a platform for advertisers to create, manage and follow-up on influencer marketing campaigns in social media. www.beatly.com AL

Billecta simplifies and manages your invoic-ing and accounts receivables and gives you access to constant up-to-date accounts receivable – wherever you are. www.billecta.com AL

Bluecall aims to increase mental wellbeing by offering conversational support by vol-unteers, mentors and certified psychologists through an app. www.bluecallapp.com AL

Boxgard offers a smart, urban, by-the-box storage solution. The pay-as-you-go service is booked online and comes with free pick up, boxes and home delivery. www.boxgard.com AL

Brainville is a staffing and consulting industry network that enables improved cooperation between companies by offering networking tools and scalable information services. www.brainville.com AL

Competencer provides online advisory services, e.g. coaching and therapy. It offers a complete solution, from marketing, booking and payment, to the meeting and follow up. www.competencer.com AL

Daily Bits Of gives you bite-sized courses in personal development – free and frictionless via message platforms you love. www.dailybitsof.com AL

DPOrganizer is a data protection manage-ment software that helps companies around the globe to get control of their processing of personal data. www.dporganizer.com AL

Dreams is a personal trainer that makes saving money easy, engaging and social. It’s a mobile bank service that turns general savings into specific dreams. www.getdreams.com AL

Drool is a niche shopping app for fashion and accessories with highly competitive pric-es where thousands of products are selected to match your personal style. www.zouko.com AL

EdQu´s digital tests covers school subjects that together with powerful analytical tools help students, teachers and school leaders to better understand and improve student results. www.edqu.se AL

Elly Pistol is an online brand in street fashion, whose signature garment is cocky but time-less bomber jackets. www.ellypistol.com AL

Facit.com, a free and brand-independent guide for buying new cars, makes life easier for all new car buyers. www.facit.com AL

Footmall is a shopping engine and mar-ketplace for shoes, offering a wide range of shoes from many different retailers, saving consumers both time and money. www.footmall.se AL


The Sting companies

The Sting companies

z

“Woshapp revolutionizes the way we wash cars today. In 2017, we increased our productivity in terms of numbers of cars washed per month and our climate-smart cleaning method was verified. We also signed deals with major car fleet corporations like Drive Now, attracted financing and significantly grew our team. We are now set to scale our business further during 2018 by expanding to a new market in Europe.”


Gaddr is a universal friend request service that lets you add the same person on up to 35+ social media, games and profiles with one click. www.gaddr.me AL

Geveo develops the web-to-print solution Controlprint, which helps companies to use their brands in the correct way by converting graphic profiles into user-friendly templates. www.geveo.se AL

Gigital is the first completely digital solution for booking live performers for professional and private events. www.gigital.se AL

GoFrendly offers women of all ages and re-gardless of their life situation an opportunity to create new friendships in a safe environment and through a smart and easy matching process. www.gofrendly.se AL

Gro Play makes edutainment games and content to encourage children to learn about social and sustainability issues in an enter-taining and inspiring way. www.groplay.com AL

Haaartland develops cloud-based services for marketers by using machine learning and “sci-fi tech” to support all three process steps; understand, create and publish. www.haaartland.com AL

HappyTail is a social network for dogs, dog owners and people who love dogs. By connecting dogs with dog lovers, HappyTail gives dog owners more freedom and fun dog walks. www.happytail.com AL

Impactpool is the global career service provider for the international development sector, matching job seekers with hiring organizations. www.impactpool.org AL

Jaramba is a digital adventure world where children can freely explore new content based on their own interests. It tailors the user experience to each individual’s needs. www.jaramba.se AL

Just Football wants to digitize the world’s largest sport through an app that makes it easier and more fun to play football. www.justfootballapp.com AL

Karma helps restaurants, bakeries and grocery stores to reduce food waste, increase profitability and get exposed to new cus-tomers, while reducing their environmental impact. www.karma.life AL

Learnster is a learning ecosystem and the first cloud based end-to-end service for learning providers and consultants. www.learnster.com AL

Market2Member develops a SaaS platform that makes it easy for companies to offer advanced loyalty and cash back programs to customers and members. www.market2member.se AL

Match2One makes it easier for advertisers to make automated and hyper-targeted purchases of ad inventory – so called pro-grammatic marketing. www.match2one.com AL

Mathleaks offers comprehensive and peda-gogical solutions in a mobile app to selected math books used in Swedish high schools. www.mathleaks.se AL

Mi.tv is the fastest-growing online/mobile TV guide in Latin America. It’s not only a guide, but a social platform that gives personal rec-ommendations based on users’ preferences. www.mi.tv AL

Mondido is a payment solution that offers a simple and fast way to start accepting pay-ments on webpages and in mobile apps, and smart features to increase and analyze sales. www.mondido.com AL

Musqot is a cloud service within Marketing Performance Management that makes it easier to plan, budget, analyze and optimize marketing in all channels. www.musqot.com AL

Newsvoice.com is a news app and a com-munity, aimed for the US market, that links to high-quality articles with different perspec-tives. www.newsvoice.com AL

Peppy Pals is a mobile game studio that makes kids games focusing on emotional in-telligence (EQ), that encourage collaboration, empathy and help to prevent bullying. www.peppypals.com AL

Poppermost Productions develops SNOW, the first free-to-play, open-world, skiing and snowboarding game. www.snowthegame.com AL

Prettypegs manufactures and sells uniquely designed furniture legs for IKEA sofas, beds and benches. www.prettypegs.com AL

Privlic is an app for position-based commu-nication. Share your position in real time and communicate with anyone in the world or with people in a specific location/city. www.privlic.com AL

Pushappy is a clever tool that makes selling both more effective and fun by using gamification. www.pushappy.com AL

Qasa is an online platform for sublets that offers a safe, hassle-free and personal expe-rience to landlords and tenants alike. www.qasa.se AL

Relation Desk is a social media, CRM and analytics tool to help companies build great relationships with their customers. www.relationdesk.com AL

Rêve is a product recognition platform that allows consumers to recognize, connect and interact with products via digital means, whether online or in physical stores. www.reveapp.com AL

Salesbox CRM brings you the mobile CRM that takes only a few seconds to update. It is an intelligent and mobile CRM system for maximizing your sales. www.salesboxcrm.com AL

Selfiejobs makes it easy and fun to post and apply for jobs within the service sector. The main appeal is a swipe-to-like regime and short video pitches. www.selfiejobs.net AL

Sellpy helps you get rid of stuff you don’t use anymore. Order a Sellpy bag online and fill it, Sellpy picks it up, sells the stuff, and then you split the profits. www.sellpy.se AL

Shopjoy connects the physical and digital world by developing sensors that create rele-vant and personalized communication based on consumer location and characteristics. www.shopjoy.se AL

Signal Signal provides next generation media monitoring for brands in spoken influencer media – podcasts, radio, Youtube and TV. www.signalsignal.se AL

Simply Events is an online digital platform simplifying the life of event organizers by letting them manage everything connected to their events’ online presence. www.simplyevents.io AL

Sniph is a smart subscription service for perfume, which makes it easy to discover new scents. Sniph delivers 7 ml bottles monthly, to be used in a smart case. www.sniph.com AL

Speakerbox has developed a live-streaming platform – an app that influencers can use to broadcast from a mobile, a mobile viewing app and a production dashboard. www.speakerbox.tv AL

Spontano is a digital guide to show you the best events Stockholm has to offer in the coming 48 hours, and lets you buy tickets with just two taps. www.spontano.se AL

Stdiotogo is a tool that helps you to easily create stylish, interesting and engaging vide-os. Without prior knowledge, you can publish viral content with just a few clicks. www.stdiotogo.se AL

Strawpay uses bitcoin payment channels and payment protocol to create small, cheap and secure micro payments. www.strawpay.com AL

Sudio is a lifestyle brand that designs, devel-ops and sells elegant earphones. www.sudio.se AL

Teleguru is a fast-growing telecommunica-tions website targeting the Polish market that helps people choose the right products and services. www.teleguru.pl AL

TPH Marketplace gives you access to sus-tainable fashion around the world and con-nects you with second-hand shops, brands and vintage boutiques. www.tph.com AL

Videoplaza develops an online video-based ad system for interactive advertising formats that optimizes the opportunities offered by web-TV. Videoplaza was acquired by Ooyala in 2014. www.ooyala.com/videoplaza AL

THE STING COMPANIESThe Sting companies

Caroline Dahl, Sten Dahlborg and Patrik Nilsson, Ortrud Medical.

The Sting companies


“In 2017, Ortrud advanced from development to commercialization phase. We filed two patents for our innovative force-sensor technology, CE-marked our first product and secured both our first investors and customers. 2018 will be the year when we start the journey of making pressure indication the new global standard for IV access.”


Virtuell Media runs social internet sites focusing on home construction, providing its customers unique web-based 2D/3D drawing tools through its software MySketch. www.virtuellmedia.se AL

Vyer Technologies creates web-enabled, interactive 3D visualizations that help their customers to present the properties for a broader mass. www.vyer.io AL

Wehype helps brands to understand and reach out to the younger generation in the rapidly growing gaming and e-sports world. www.wehype.it AL

Worldsmarathons is the starting place for all long-distance runners and helps them plan for, train for and complete a marathon in the best way. www.worldsmarathons.com AL

Wopify reduces recruitment time by up to 60%, and helps users search for the right type of jobs by presenting job ads that the user has the highest chance of getting while remaining anonymous. www.wopify.se AL

Woshapp is the car wash that comes to you. Their proven formula saves around 200 liters of water per washed car. Easy, convenient and safe. www.woshapp.se AL

YouModels is an online platform for booking and managing models. It allows advertisers to easily find and “book the look” without contacting multiple agencies. www.youmodels.com AL

ztable is an app designed especially for riders. It contains a training calendar, inspira-tional videos and a social network. www.ztable.se AL Health

Ce-Check´s web-based service quickly and conveniently lists the CE marking directives your product must comply with by analyzing the product and asking a series of questions. www.ce-ceck.eu INC

Meloq develops the EasyAngle, a device that facilitates measurement of joint mobility, one of the most common examinations within physiotherapy today. www.meloq.se INC

Mindmore develops digital neurocognitive tests, including The Minnemera service, a diagnostic tool primarily aimed at primary and inpatient care. www.minnemera.se INC

Qofind develops a new generation of baby monitors that monitor both temperature and motion when the child is sleeping. www.parvel.se INC

Aifloo develops a platform based on neuro-science-inspired research, offering artificial intelligence for sensor-networks, IoT and cyber-physical systems. www.aifloo.com AL

The Sting companies

The Sting companies

Antrad Medical offers blood banks around the world the possibility to thaw blood plasma in just five minutes, a procedure that normally takes 20-40 minutes. www.antrad.se AL

Belly Balance provides services and products related to the treatment of IBS. The company is run by registered dieticians specialized in treatment of IBS. www.bellybalance.se AL

Bioservo aims to be the world-leading devel-oper of wearable technology based on bi-onic soft robotics and are used in preventive, assistive and rehabilitative contexts. Listed on First North in 2017. www.bioservo.com AL

Brighter develops tools that improve the situation and everyday lives of individuals with a medical condition. Listed on First North in 2014. www.brighter.se AL

CathPrint offers a new technology that makes it possible to produce more ad-vanced catheters at a significantly lower cost. www.cathprint.se AL

Challengize, a revolutionary app and web-based team health challenge where all forms of activities count. www.challengize.com AL

Chundsell Medicals develops a diagnostic test, that provides the opportunity to choose treatment of prostate cancer early on, tai-lored to the pathology of the tumor. www.chundsell.com AL

CollaboDoc has developed a proprietary process tool, the Light ER concept, which substantially increases the primary care availability and efficiency. www.collabodoc.se AL

CyberGene develops products for genetic diagnosis that require significantly less resources than current products and can shorten the time needed for diagnosis dra-matically. www.cybergene.com AL

Encare offers products to improve the care for surgery patients, reducing the number of complications by half and limiting recovery time to an average of three days. www.encaregroup.com AL

First Derm provides a mobile medical infor-mation service providing 24-hour medical advice on mobile devices – whenever and wherever you need it. www.firstderm.com AL

icellate sets a new standard for marker-in-dependent processing technology for cell samples for medical diagnosis and research. www.icellate.se AL

Kinexit is an online subscription service bringing individualized movement to those serious about health, fitness, and sports. www.kinexit.com AL

MediCheck offers people with chronic dis-eases a shortcut to specialist doctors online, without the need of a referral. www.medicheck.se AL

Medpeople offers healthcare staffing where licensed doctors and nurses via an app can accept jobs and work as consultants without having to start their own business. www.medpeople.se AL

Neosense supplies intensive care units for critically ill patients with continuous monitor-ing systems for improved control and safety. www.neosen.se AL

ObsteCare provides medical solutions for improving delivery care by supplying reliable services and products, facilitating efficient care in maternity wards. www.obstecare.com AL

Ortrud Medical develops a low-cost device that improves IV accessibility for healthcare professionals and reduces the number of failed attempts. www.ortrudmedical.com AL

PictureMyLife simplifies everyday life for children with special needs, their parents and teachers by providing user-friendly image-based tools. www.picturemylife.se AL

SenseGraphics provides software for devel-oping multi-sensory and haptic applications. www.sensegraphics.com AL

single technologies develops a technology concept that enables high-resolution 3D videos of molecules, living cells and tissue. www.singletechnologies.com AL

SymCel develops a new generation of scientific instruments to make faster analysis possible for the life science industry. www.symcel.se AL

VisueCare is a cloud service that aims to ensure good quality of care and security for residents and relatives in elderly care. www.visuecare.com AL

Game

Hatrabbit creates games and entertainment of the future within Virtual and Augmented Reality, combining new technology with graphics and heart. www.hatrabbit.se INC

Valiant Game Studio is a new indie game studio, which aims to make roleplaying games with focus on social aspects. www.valiant.se INC

Sustainability

Cribble develops children’s toys, based on research in psychology and pedagogy. INC

Nutrient is a foodtech startup developing concepts and processes for producing climate-friendly proteins and nutrients. www.nutrient.se INC

CaCharge offers the ability to charge many cars to the lowest cost possible. www.cacharge.com AL

Cortus Energy develops cost-efficient technologies for the gasification of biomass. The process results in a very high-quality synthesis. Listed on First North in 2013. www.cortus.se AL

Expektra provides solutions for more efficient energy systems and brings real-time intelli-gence to new areas. www.expektra.com AL

FlexiClean, a new filter container for purifying storm water, improves and simplifies the ex-amination and maintenance of storm water drains. www.flexiclean.eu AL

HiNation offers portable energy from a combined light source and charger that runs on 100% solar power. The lamp features bright light and efficient charging. www.hination.se AL

Ignitia produces unique weather forecasts and climate data for the tropics, helping farmers to protect their crops and prepare for severe weather such as heavy rain fall. www.ignitia.se AL

LUP Technologies creates a new information standard for truck freight by making all logis-tical places searchable via a LUP number. www..lupnumber.com AL

Mantex develops a technology and products that optimize raw-material consumption through accurate detection of the composi-tion of biomaterial. Listed on First North in 2017.www.mantex.se AL

Midsummer develops new methods for manufacturing thin film solar cells at radical-ly reduced costs. www.midsummer.se AL

myFC develops high-performance fuel cell chargers and low-cost fuel cell components for portable electronics from cell phones to laptops. Listed on First North in 2014. www.myfc.se AL

Nanocontrol has developed a patented and unique method for cleaning air. www.nanocontrol.se AL

Plagazi extracts biofuel from waste materials and provides the industry with more efficient energy recovery and creates hydrogen gas for fuel cell-based transportation systems. www.plagazi.com AL

SEEC solves heating and cooling needs of properties. SEEC’s patented and unique energy system reduces energy consumption by up to 80%. www.seec.se AL

Solarus manufactures cost-effective solar power technology for large-scale users. Its solar panel solutions generate either electric-ity, heat, or both. www.solarus.com AL

Solelia Greentech lends and sells solar-pow-ered charging stations so that organiza-tions can provide car charging with clean, fossil-free solar electricity. www.soleliagreentech.com AL

surfcleaner collects everything that floats on a surface, e.g. debris, heavy oil or algae, with a new patented energy efficient separation process. www.surfcleaner.com AL

Svenska Aerogel develops and manu-factures significantly more cost-effective aerogel material for a range of industrial applications. Listed on First North 2016. www.aerogel.se AL

Watty develops the first energy data an-alytics tool that can automate the energy efficiency process in buildings. www.getwatty.com AL

Worldfavor develops a digital platform that helps companies move toward sustaina-ble business practices and publicizes their sustainability efforts. www.worldfavor.com AL

Other

Diamorph develops advanced ceramic materials for tough industrial applications.www.diamorph.com AL

Exmet develops technology for additive manufacturing (aka. 3D printing) of com-ponents of amorphous and nanocrystalline metal alloys. www.exmet.se AL

Mercene Labs makes products based on a smart polymer platform that combines the performance of engineering plastics with direct bonding to a multitude of materials. www.mercenelabs.com AL

Orexplore develops portable, easy-to-use equipment for analyzing the composition of non-organic materials, primarily minerals. www.orexplore.com AL

Renzorato develops, manufactures and sells equipment that quickly and efficiently clean all types of pipes and channels. www.renzorato.com AL

Scint-X develops and sells cutting-edge scintillator components that enable digital X-ray detection systems with unprecedented levels of resolution and contrast. www.scint-x.com AL

INC = STING INCUBATE ACC = STING ACCELERATE AL = ALUMNI = STING CAPITAL FINANCING INC = STING INCUBATE ACC = STING ACCELERATE AL = ALUMNI = STING CAPITAL FINANCING


The Sting team – your most dedicated supportersSting has coached 240 startups since the start, which has given us extensive experience in turning startups into international companies. Our business coaches are entrepreneurs themselves and have started and built many ventures. They also have experience from leading roles at technology companies, as well as from the venture capital industry. As a Sting company, you can expect a strong commitment and close support from our whole team.

Top row from left: Raman Ramalingam, Fredrik Rosengren, Hanna Metsis, Peo Nilsson, Gisela Sitbon, Ivar Strömberg, Jonas Lindqvist, Raoul Stubbe, Göran Svanberg. Front row: Maria Ljungberg, Olof Berglund, Andreas Wennberg, Jana Palm, Pär Hedberg, Henna Keränen, Magnus Rehn, Karin Ruiz, Jill Lindström.

The Sting team

The Sting team


Sting is a non-profit organization owned by the Electrum Foundation. The foundation is backed by the City of Stockholm, Ericsson and the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), as well as research institutes and industry and real estate owners in Kista. Sting is both publicly and privately funded.

The Electrum Foundation Board

Jan Färjh chairman (Ericsson)

Karin Wanngård vice chairman (City of Stockholm)

Sigbritt Karlsson (KTH)

Leif Ljungkvist (RISE)

Peter Löfgren (ABB)

Johan Rittner (IBM)

Irene Svenonius (Stockholm County Council)

Deputy Board Members

Uno Fors (Stockholm University)

Frida Stannow Lind (Kungsleden)

Jens Zander (KTH)

Olle Zetterberg (Stockholm Business Region)

Adjoint Board Members

Magdalena Bosson (County Administrative Board)

Pär Hedberg (Sting)

Johan Ödmark (Electrum Foundation)

Sting Board of Directors

Olle Zetterberg chairman (Stockholm Business Region)

Lisa Ericsson (KTH Innovation)

Johan Ödmark (Electrum Foundation)

Sting Advisors

Johan Attby (Fishbrain)

Erik Byrenius (Private investor)

Kerstin Cooley (Moor)

Giovanni Fili (Exeger)

Ludvig Linge (private investor)

Maria Rankka (Stockholm Chamber of Commerce)

Jessica Schultz (Northzone)

Henrik Torstensson (Lifesum)

Caroline Walerud (Volumental)

Johanna Wollert Melin (Trice Imaging)

Sting PartnersOrganization

Main Partners

Resource Partners

Industry & Research Partners

Entrepreneurial Partners

Pär Hedberg CEO & Business Coach ICTHas worked with developing completely new technology companies since 1998. Has conducted “rescue missions” for companies in need and reconstructions, as well as building companies in other countries. Sting’s founder.

Olof Berglund Business Coach HealthHas during 25 years worked in the pharma-ceutical and medtech industries. Has worked with startups as well as major multinational corporations, and been involved in many product launches. Joined Sting in 2008.

Henna Keränen Community & Digital Marketing ManagerPreviously worked in specialist and commu-nication roles at The Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra and as a Consultant at Innolink. Her focus areas have been network building, strategic communications and social media marketing. Joined Sting in 2017.

Jonas Lindqvist Business Coach, Sting GameHas founded and developed entrepreneurial companies within computer games, civilian drones, 3D technology, visualization and Internet of things. Within computer games, he was CEO of the games studio Fabrication Games, which was sold to King.com. Joined Sting in 2015.

Jill Lindström Director of Marketing and CommunicationsPreviously worked in marketing at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, where she lived for many years. Has held various positions within communications, e.g. at KTH. Joined Sting in 2011.

Maria Ljungberg Interim Director of Marketing and CommunicationsExtensive experience from work with startups, primarily in the financing, recruitment and communication areas. Previously worked at IK Investment Partners and the Swedish Venture Capital Association. At Sting between 2008 – 2015 and rejoined in 2017.

Hanna Metsis Project Manager for Sting Day & Interim Event ManagerHas worked in marketing and communica-tions roles in both large multinationals and small businesses. Previously project manager for the Tekla Festival at KTH. Joined Sting in 2017.

Peo Nilsson Business Coach Internet/MediaHas worked in Internet/media for 18 years, starting and building companies. Latest start-up: Booli.se. Broad experience in fundraising, from private investors and VC firms. Has also worked in the VC business, e.g. at CapMan. Joined Sting in 2011.

Jana Palm Project Manager, Sting GameJana is the General Manager of a game accelerator Stugan. She also works at Invest Stockholm on a project funded by the EU to improve framework conditions for game start-ups in Sweden. Joined Sting in 2015.

Raman Ramalingam Tech Talent OfficerHas a core tech (software engineering) academic and practical background. Has experience in content marketing and white board animation video production. Joined Sting in 2014.

Magnus Rehn Business Coach SustainabilityFormer co-founder/CEO of TagMaster. Exten-sive experience as CEO, typically worked with international marketing and development. Joined Sting in 2007.

Fredrik Rosengren Business Coach Internet/MediaFounded Contur Software, an IT company within life science operating in Europe, USA and Asia. In 2011, the company was sold to Accelrys, now part of Dassault Systèmes. Currently active in a number of IT companies. Joined Sting in 2014.

Karin Ruiz Business Coach Sustainability & Health. Has worked in international biz dev, marketing and sales in both startups, multinational corporations and government agencies for 20 years. Was CEO of startup Peepoople for 5+ years. Joined Sting in 2015.

Gisela Sitbon Business Coach Health25 years’ experience as CEO and from leading roles within strategic planning, business development and pharmaceutical research in small and medium-sized companies within the life science sector. Joined Sting in 2012.

Raoul Stubbe Business Coach ICTStarted Proximion Fiber Optics in 1998 and as CEO, and later as CTO, participated in building a VC financed export company. Worked earlier at the research institute ACREO on tasks from Swedish industry. Holds a PhD in physics. Joined Sting in 2005.

Ivar Strömberg Business Coach ICT & Internet/MediaBackground spanning from startups to co-founder and CEO of Tele1/Song Networks with over 1,000 employees in four countries. Has also worked for a private equity firm. Joined Sting in 2010.

Göran Svanberg Back office, finance and internal controllingMany years’ experience as CFO in both Swed-ish and international enterprises, as well as from being a self-employed entrepreneur and employer. Joined Sting in 2014. Linda Wellgrant Event and Office ManagerLived in Sydney where she received her BBA specializing in Event Management. Has worked as event and recruitment assistant, and project administrator. Organizes TEDx events in Stockholm. Joined Sting in 2015.

Andreas WennbergTalent ManagerHas done everything from marketing to web development in early stage startups and is also the founder of 400contacts, an organi-zation that helps newcomers to find a job in Sweden. .

The Team

The Sting team

Sting partners

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annual report 2017 - sting startups...2017 turned out to be a year of great development for many of...

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