Grab a chair on the booming Stockholm tech scene - enjoy 480 days of paid parental leave, flat hierarchies and clean air

With a mission to increase awareness about what Stockholm has to offer in terms of work and quality of life, Invest Stockholm and the Stockholm tech community aim to attract international talent to join one of the fastest growing tech scenes in the world. In a new campaign called “Grab a Chair,” international talent from different countries share how Stockholm is good for you.

In a world where startups compete for talent on a global market and where company benefits and perks tend to look increasingly similar wherever you go, Stockholm startups have a unique selling point – Stockholm is just good for you. Consider a 40-hour workweek, a minimum of five weeks of vacation a year, 480 days of paid parental leave, clean air and nature just around the corner. Add values in the form of flat hierarchies, gender equality and ethnic diversity at work and you get Stockholm: a booming tech scene that is quite unlike any other major startup hub in the world.

Investments in Stockholm’s tech scene have exploded in recent years. In the first six months of 2016, a total of USD 1.2 billion was invested in Stockholm-based startups – more than what was invested in all of 2015, which was also a record year, according to a breakdown by Nordic Web, a resource on venture capital for the Nordic startup scene. The huge investments combined with a shortage of programmers mean that Stockholm must attract more international talent in the coming year.

"In recent years, the growing tech scene in Stockholm has been screaming for more talent. It’s important that we work together to spread the word about the benefits of moving to Stockholm", says Katarina Berg, CHRO, Spotify. "We aim to attract top talent. It's key for us in order to build a competitive business globally."

Spotify is one of the nearly 40 companies collaborating on the "Grab a Chair" initiative.

“Stockholm produces the most unicorns per capita in the world after Silicon Valley, and talent is attracted to our tech scene thanks in large part to our reputation. What we didn’t know was what international talents appreciate about the city once they had moved here. When they told us how their quality of life had changed to the better, we realised it was time to share their stories to increase awareness of what Stockholm has to offer”, says Anna Gissler, CEO of Invest Stockholm.

Hear why Full Stack Software Engineer Ioana Voicu, Acast, Marketing Manager Hana Aljoofri, iZettle and Growth Designer Rahul Lindberg Sen, Spotify don’t regret their move to Stockholm, and watch the main video about the advantages of moving to Stockholm.

Ioana from Acast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui6urdp7Jtk

Hana from iZettle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFiU6fxsHqg

Rahul from Spotify: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyLGO103bx4

Grab a Chair: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Whdw_xlGS-s

Curious about moving to Stockholm?

For daily inside information, follow @movetostockholm, visit movetostockholm.com, or meet up with Invest Stockholm at Stockholm, CA in Los Angeles on October 15.

For more information, please contact

Marie Sundström, PR and Marketing Manager at Invest Stockholm,
marie.e.sundstrom@investstockholm.se,+46 (0) 761 22 80 50

Julika Lamberth, Business Development Manager at Invest Stockholm,
julika.lamberth@stockholm.se +46 (0) 761 22 80 86