CEO of Innovation Norway asks entrepreneurs to dare to fail

The key message of Anita Krohn Traaseth, the CEO of Innovation Norway, to the 300 plus entrepreneurs and innovators joining StartUp Day Think Big, Think Global was not to be mistaken:

- You must dare to make mistakes. You must dare to think big. There are many startups in Norway that holds a lot great competence and knowledge, and now is the time to go global with your business idea.

Dare even more!

StartUp Day, a free, monthly event by Oslo Business Regions designed especially for entrepreneurs and startups, hit Oslo Business School, BI Nydalen, this Thursday Sept 24. In addition to encourage everyone taking part to dare even more, Anita Krohn Traaseth also shared what she thinks is the number one competitive advantage of businesses coming out Norway.

- You can only be best at innovation and knowledge, not on volume. We are 5 million people in this country, that’s about the size of downtown London, said the CEO of Innovation Norway.

The crisis within the oil industry is huge challenge for Norway, a nation that has built a fortune on oil. At the same time, Anita Krohn Traaseth emphasized that this also represents an opportunity for innovators and entrepreneurs.

- We have no choice but to innovate, and Norway has never seen the number of startups that we see to day, she said.

Be targeted

From Innovation Norway, Anita Krohn Traaseth also brought her colleague Gro Eirin Dyrnes, director of their office in Sillicon Valley. Dyrnes shared knowledge on how Innovation Norway can be of help to startups going overseas with their business idea. She also spoke out loud on how important it is to be targeted.

- Norwegians often set many goals. Be focused, be targeted, set one goal and work hard to achieve that one goal, said Gro Eirin Dyrnes.

Speakers who also contributed with their knowledge and advice from the stage were Jan ropes (CMO, Telenor Business Internet Services), Geir Sand Nilsen (EdTech Foundry), Pål Reinert Bredvei (Documaster) and Børge Dvergsdal (Konject).

The Next StartUp Day is set to happen on Thursday October 15th at the Oslo public library, Deichmanske. The topic is hardware and the making movement, and the event will be part of the program at Oslo Innovation Week.