Executive summary of our report: http://www.slideshare.net/eteigland/chasing-the-tale-of-the-unicorn-a-study-of-stockholms-misty-meadows
Stockholm currently has some of the most successful high-tech startup companies in the world. New findings from a research team at the Stockholm School of Economics suggest that infrastructure, networks, business climate and supportive policies are key factors that explain Sweden’s success. The research report is part of the Innovative Internet project, funded by the Internet Foundation in Sweden, IIS.
This report presents the preliminary results of The Innovative Internet project, a three-year project funded by the Internet Foundation in Sweden, IIS. The project’s primary objective is to examine how the internet and digitalization have influenced entrepreneurship and innovation in Sweden.
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Chasing the tale of the unicorn: Executive summary
1. 1
Chasing the tale
of the unicorn
Executive Summary
Albin Skog
Mats Lewan
Michael Karlström
Sergey Morgulis-Yakushev
Yixin Lu
Robin Teigland
May 2016
2. 2
Stockholm –
“The unicorn
capital of the world”
Sweden, and in particular its capital city of
Stockholm, is remarkably competitive in the
IT-sector. This is especially true when look-
ing at the amount of highly-valued start-ups
that Stockholm has produced during the last
few years (figures 1 and 2).
When counting the number of “unicorns”,
i.e., high-tech startup companies that achieve
a valuation of at least USD 1 billion within
10 years, Stockholm stands out as the city
with the most unicorns per capita in the
world and as a region second only to Silicon
Valley. This is one reason why Stockholm in
the international press has been called “The
unicorn capital of the world”.
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Sweden Norway Denmark Finland
Number of exits
Exit value
Number of IPO
Company value at IPO
263
$23,7 Bn.
$10,5 Bn.
$7,4 Bn.
$6,3 Bn.75
58
91
Figure 1. Nordic exits and exit value per country 2000-2014.
Source: Blomqvist, Daniel. 2015. Nordic tech is on fire – almost 10% of global BUSD exits over past 10 years.
Creandum. March 16.
Nordics Rest of EU US
Rest of the WorldChina
GDP GDP GDP
GDPGDP
BUSD
Exits
BUSD
Exits
BUSD
Exits
BUSD
Exits
BUSD
Exits
2%
9% 27%
66%
22%8%
12%
13%
36%
5%
0,1x
1,1x
4,5x
0,3x 3,0x
Source: Blomqvist, Daniel. 2015. Nordic tech is on fire – almost 10% of global BUSD exits over past 10 years.
Creandum. March 16.
Figure 2. Nordic exits and exit value per region 2000-2014.
3. 3
Among others, our study reveals
three important
factors behind
the success:
1)A long history of multinational,
engineering-based firms
2)Longsighted public initiatives
and supportive government
policies
3)The 1990s IT Boom - Not just
a bubble that burst
4. 4
A long history of
multinational,
engineering-based
firms
Sweden boasts an extensive history of numerous
multinational success stories, which can help ex-
plain today’s unicorn boom. On the one hand, Swe-
den was home to Alfred Nobel who established the
Nobel Prizes - perhaps the world’s most prestigious
awards inspiring innovation, while on the other
hand it hosts a wide variety of multinational compa-
nies, such as Ericsson and Atlas Copco, that date as
far back as the 1870s.
At an early stage, these multinationals realized the
limited potential of the Swedish market for their
products and focused their efforts on building a
global market. The Swedish home base facilitated
continuous innovation as it provided the necessary
inputs such as highly skilled labor, specialized ma-
chinery and a research infrastructure as well as so-
phisticated demand and domestic rivalry not only
on price but also on quality and service. Knowledge
spill-overs due to advanced suppliers and related
industries further promoted continuous upgrading
and innovation.
Additionally, a strong engineering culture encour-
aged a focus on problem-solving through collabora-
tion – a collaboration supported not only through
dense formal networks between firms and their buy-
ers, suppliers, firms in related industries and even
competitors but also through strong informal net-
works established through university and close geo-
graphical proximity.
This long multinational history has led in part to to-
day’s underlying climate that encourages continuous
innovation and a driving interest to “make things
better”, a guiding principle that a product or service
is to be primarily developed for the global market-
place, and an international orientation and skillset
in Swedish industry, and even in trade unions, en-
abling individuals to deal with high levels of risk and
uncertainty.
Photo: Holger Ellgaard
5. 5
Swedish governing bodies on different levels have
introduced some longsighted investments to facili-
tate the development and accessibility of IT and the
Internet. Two of great importance are the Home PC
Reform and Stokab.
Home PC Reform
The Home PC Reform, which became effective in
1998, made it possible for employees to rent a per-
sonal computer under favorable conditions, paying
for the rent with a pre-tax salary deduction. After an
agreed period, often three years, the computer could
then be bought at a second-hand market price.
Between January 1998 and December 2001,
375,000 households received their first computer
through the reform. As a result, approximately one
million individuals, or around 11% of the Swedish
population at that time, obtained their first comput-
er. Many of today’s entrepreneurs were children in
these households at that time and were able to gain
their first experiences with computers at a young age
– preferring to play with them inside during the long
cold and dark winters.
Stokab
The city of Stockholm founded the municipal fiber
infrastructure company, Stokab, in 1994.
Following a model almost unique in the world, Sto-
kab built a network in the city based on dark fiber,
i.e., unused optic fibers available for fiber-optic com-
munication. The network was then made open for
any company to install its own equipment on the
network to use the fibers. Stokab then reinvested all
profits in further expanding the network.
In the following 19 years, Stokab invested SEK 5.4
billion in the network, resulting in benefits for the
municipality, the county, businesses and end users at
a value of around SEK 16 billion, or around USD 2
billion at today’s exchange rate.
Supportive government policies
While Swedes do pay among the highest taxes in
the world, individuals living in Sweden have access
to a generous social welfare system. For example, the
system provides free education, highly subsidized
healthcare and daycare, paid parental leave, and un-
employment compensation. This helps take a con-
siderable financial burden off the entrepreneur while
potentially encouraging a more risk-taking attitude.
Longsighted public
initiatives
and supportive
government policies
6. 6
While the IT boom and bubble of the 1990s en-
couraged the first wave of IT and Internet startups
in Sweden, it is more common to think of the IT
boom just in terms of the bubble that burst. Indeed
it has been suggested that the 31 most notable IT-re-
lated companies listed on the Stockholm stock ex-
change at the time lost over SEK 300 billion in value
during the crash, or USD 36 billion.
However, our study shows that there is a strong con-
nection between the IT boom and burst and the
current wave of startup success. While the major-
ity of the startups of that time did not succeed in
the long run, the experiences and resources that the
people gained and the networks that were created
should not be underestimated in terms of their in-
fluence on today’s competitiveness of Sweden’s high
technology sector.
Today these experiences of having not only succeed-
ed but also failed combined with money made by
various entrepreneurs during the IT boom are be-
ing fed back into a well-functioning entrepreneurial
ecosystem. Highly connected informal and formal
social networks of entrepreneurs and experienced
business people, especially in Stockholm, create a
conducive environment in which entrepreneurs can
easily access the resources necessary to move their
startup from just an idea to a player in a global mar-
ketplace.
The 1990s IT Boom - Not
just a bubble that burst
7. 7
Potential
•FishBrain
•FootWay
•Fyndiq
•iZettle
•KnCMiner*
•LeoVegas
•MAG Interactive
•ShapeUp
•TicTail
•TrueSoftware
•Zound Industries
This report is the first in a three-year study
of the influence of the Internet on entrepre-
neurship and innovation in Sweden.
The first area of our investigation is the uni-
cornphenomenoninStockholm.Assuch,we
have examined 15 startups, comprising 4 uni-
corns and 11 potential unicorns, i.e., startups
that are considered to have the potential to
reach unicorn status.
Unicorns
•Avito
•Klarna
•Mojang
•Spotify
Unicorns & potential
unicorns today
unicorns
* Just after our study concluded, KncMiner filed for bankruptcy due to a variety of
factors.
8. 8
of the startups, we find a different clustering. Of the
four that have a high level of international diversity:
Avito, Klarna, Mojang and TrueSoftware, three are
already unicorns (figure 4). Judging from this, one
could speculate that TrueSoftware in this perspec-
tive looks to be in a good position. If we, however,
consider the fourth unicorn in our dataset, Spotify,
which has an international diversity value of zero, it
makes things more complicated.
These findings indicate that there is no one “recipe
for success” when it comes to the attributes of the
individuals holding leading positions in the startups.
Our first step was to collect publicly available at-
tribute data, e.g., age, gender, board memberships,
about the founders, CEOs, and other people hold-
ing leading positions in these startups, such as board
members, from their founding until January 2016.
Looking at the 15 startups as a snapshot of their
mean values over their lifespan, we find that they
cluster into four groups (figure 3). This clustering is
primarily driven by the average age of the individuals
and the diversity of the ages of the group of individ-
uals holding leading positions each year.
However, when examining other variables we find
that these four groups no longer hold. For example,
when we look at international and gender diversity
What makes
a unicorn?
Avito
FishBrainFootway
Fyndiq
iZettle
Klarna
KnCMiner
LeoVegas
MAG
Mojang
ShapeUp
Spotify
Tictail
TrueSoftware
Zound
5.0
7.5
10.0
12.5
15.0
1965 1970 1975 1980
birth year
agediversity
Avito
FishBrainFootwayFyndiqiZettle
Klarna
KnCMiner LeoVegasMAG
Mojang
ShapeUpSpotifyTictail
TrueSoftware
Zound0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3
gender diversity
internationaldiversity
Figure 4. Gender diversity and international diversityFigure 3. Average birth year and age diversity
9. 9
0
5
10
15
2008 2010 2012 2014 2016
year
SDofage
Companies
Avito - 1
FishBrain
FishBrain
Footway
Fyndiq - 4
iZettle - 5
iZettle
Klarna - 6
Klarna
KnCMine
LeoVega
MAG - 9
Mojang -
Mojang
ShapeUp
Spotify -
Tictail - 1
TrueSoftw
Zound - 1
Spotify
Fyndiq
5
10
15
2008 2010 2012 2014 2016
year
numberofcompanies
Companies
Avito - 1
FishBrain - 2
FishBrain
Footway - 3
Footway
Fyndiq - 4
iZettle - 5
Klarna - 6
Klarna
KnCMiner - 7
KnCMiner
LeoVegas - 8
MAG - 9
Mojang - 10
ShapeUp - 11
Spotify - 12
Spotify
Tictail - 13
TrueSoftware - 14
Zound - 15
Zound
10
20
30
40
2008 2010 2012 2014 2016
year
numberoflinks
Companies
Avito - 1
Avito
FishBrain
Footway
Footway
Fyndiq - 4
iZettle - 5
iZettle
Klarna - 6
Klarna
KnCMine
LeoVega
MAG - 9
Mojang -
Mojang
ShapeUp
Spotify -
Spotify
Tictail - 1
TrueSoftw
Zound - 1
Zound
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
2008 2010 2012 2014 2016
year
ratioofexpatriates
Companies
Avito - 1
Avito
FishBrain - 2
Footway - 3
Fyndiq - 4
iZettle - 5
iZettle
Klarna - 6
Klarna
KnCMiner - 7
LeoVegas - 8
LeoVegas
MAG - 9
Mojang - 10
Mojang
ShapeUp - 11
Spotify - 12
Spotify
TrueSoftware - 14
TrueSoftware
Zound - 15
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
2008 2010 2012 2014 2016
year
ratioofexpatriates
Companies
Avito - 1
Avito
FishBrain - 2
Footway - 3
Fyndiq - 4
iZettle - 5
iZettle
Klarna - 6
Klarna
KnCMiner - 7
LeoVegas - 8
LeoVegas
MAG - 9
Mojang - 10
Mojang
ShapeUp - 11
Spotify - 12
Spotify
TrueSoftware - 14
TrueSoftware
Zound - 15
0.1
0.2
0.3
2008 2010 2012 2014 2016
year
ratioofexpatriates
Avito
FishBrain - 2
Footway - 3
Fyndiq - 4
iZettle - 5
iZettle
Klarna - 6
Klarna
KnCMiner - 7
LeoVegas - 8
LeoVegas
MAG - 9
Mojang - 10
ShapeUp - 11
Spotify - 12
Spotify
TrueSoftware - 14
Zound - 15
0.1
0.2
2008 2010 2012 2014 2016
year
ratioofexpatri
iZettle
Klarna - 6
KnCMiner - 7
LeoVegas - 8
LeoVegas
MAG - 9
Mojang - 10
ShapeUp - 11
Spotify - 12
Spotify
TrueSoftware - 14
Zound - 15
Figure 6. In how many companies each person in a leading position
is involved
Figure 7. Total number of companies that startups are linked to
Figure 5. Age diversity of the startups
We further explored the development of our 15
startups over time. For example, during the past
nine years, the diversity of ages of individuals hold-
ing leading positions showed a general tendency to
increase in the startups as a whole (figure 5).
Network embeddedness
In addition, we found that the startups are quite well
connected both directly and indirectly in Sweden.
We examined the networks of the 15 startups by
looking at the companies the startups are linked to
when an individual holding a leading position at a
startup is also holding a leading position at anoth-
er company. Figure 6 shows the average number of
companies that each individual holding a leading
position at a startup is involved in while figure 7 in-
dicates the total number of companies to which each
startup is linked.
In general, we find a tendency for the startups to
increase their network activity on both dimensions
through the years.
Startups
10. 10
Connected to each
other, to some extent
Tofurtherunderstandthestartups’networks,
we also collected network data about all the
other companies to which the 15 startups are
linked. We called this set of second and third
level connections the “Cloud”.
We find very few direct connections among
the startups. This indicates a broad set of
Figure 8. Social network visualization of startups connected today through the cloud.
individuals involved within the startup eco-
system. However, when we expanded our
investigation to include the indirect connec-
tions created by individuals holding leading
positions together at a third company, we do
find a more connected network with seven of
the 15 startups interlinked (figure 8).
A in the garden Handelsbolag
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Frihag AB
Fr..landers J..rn Aktiebolag
Fyndiq AB
F..lt Communications AB
F..rvaltnings AB Lappk..rret
G-TED AB
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Good Sport Foundation Sweden AB
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HeatCore AB
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Hope Retail AB
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IFE Group AB
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Ident Inkasso AB
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Industrif..rvaltningsaktiebolaget Kinnevik
Inksong Holding AB
Investment AB Kinnevik
Invik & Co AB
J Gunnarsson F..rvaltning AB
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JdG F..rvaltning AB
Johan Persson Holding AB
Jonas Bostr..m Holding i Sollentuna AB
Junior Living Holding ABJunior Living Librob..ck AB
J..mf..rs..kring i Stockholm AB
K Opportunity AB
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KRJ Holding AB
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adalIT
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isMobile AB
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11. 11
A small group of
experienced key individuals
Furthermore, we examined to what degree
approximately 100 influential individuals
from the first wave of IT boom companies
were active in the current second wave. We
found some direct and indirect connections
indicating how a few actors can provide the
necessary resources such as capital, experi-
ence, and know-how within a startup net-
work (figures 9 and 10).
Figure 9. Direct connections between first and second wave
Figure 10. Indirect connections between first and second waves
Blue Tail
Cell Network
Tradera
Jane Walerud Klarna AB
Jan Carlzon
Johan Brenner
Fyndiq AB
iZettle AB
Cell Network Markus Bäcklund MAG
Magdalena Bonde Spotify
eTrade, Tradera Johan Brenner iZettle, MAG, Tictail
eTrade Mattias Miksche LeoVegas
HiQ Hans Karlsson Avito, Klarna, Mojang
Ken Gerhardsen Fyndiq
Icon Medialab Magnus Lindahl iZettle
Erik Wikström FishBrain, ShapeUp,
MAG, Tictail
Jobline Lars-Henrik Friis Molin FishBrain, MAG, Tictail
Per Sunnemark Spotify
Sendit Hjalmar Winbladh FishBrain, MAG, Tictail
Spray Johan Ihrfelt FishBrain, MAG, Tictail
Tradera Daniel Kaplan Klarna
First wave
company
Individual Cloud Second wave startup
CLOUD
12. 12
In Stockholm alone there are more than
22,000 technology companies, and 18% of
the city’s workforce is employed in technol-
ogy-related roles, with the most popular job
being a programmer.
Rapidly expanding
Since 2008 21,000 of the 43,000 employ-
ment positions in the ICT & Digital sector
have been created (figure 11).
Heavy concentration
Companies are heavily concentrated all with-
in a distance of around 6 km within central
Stockholm (figure 12).
This heavy concentration of companies in-
terspersed with universities, government and
publicsectororganizations,incubators,accel-
erators, and co-working spaces along with a
large number of restaurants and coffee shops
within the same area does much to facilitate
informal networking within the city.
Stockholm’s
startup geography
Figure 11. ICT & Digital Startups in Stockholm founded 2008 or
later, darker shades indicating higher employment density.
Source: Sölvell, Örjan, Fohlin, Carl & Protsiv, Sergiy, Ekosystemet ICT & Digital: kartläggning av styrkeområden i
Stockholmsregionen, Länsstyrelsen i Stockholms län, Stockholm, 2015.
13. 13
Not too small,
yet not too big
One aspect highlighted by many is Stock-
holm’s trusting, “pay-it-forward” culture,
characterized by serial entrepreneurs sharing
their expertise and reinvesting in startups as
well as by experienced business leaders, en-
trepreneurs, students, and others both from
Sweden and abroad sharing knowledge infor-
mally at a variety of networking events.
Thus, while Stockholm is large enough to
host the right multi-disciplinary skill set, it is
still small enough to accommodate a highly
open culture and trusting relationships that
allow for deep levels of knowledge sharing
and collaboration, even among competitors.
A stone’s throw away
Of the 15 startups, 11 are located very close
to each other - just a 10 minute walk, in the
Norrmalm district in Stockholm’s inner city
(figure 13).
Figure 12. Locations of unicorns and potential unicorns in
Stockholm
Figure 13. Closeup of the location of unicorns and potential
unicorns in Norrmalm (numbering is the same as in the
previous figure).
14. 14
Center for Strategy
and CompetitivenessAuthor contact
Albin Skog:
albin.skog@hhs.se
Mats Lewan:
mats@matslewan.se
Michael Karlström:
michael.a.karlstrom@gmail.com
Sergey Morgulis-Yakushev:
sergey.morgulis-yakushev@hhs.se
Yixin Lu:
y2.lu@vu.nl
Robin Teigland:
robin.teigland@hhs.se
Graphic design:
Albin Skog
Part of an ongoing project
Thisreportispartofathree-yearprojectfrom
2015 to 2018 financed by IIS - the Internet
Infrastructure Foundation. We plan to ex-
tend our investigation beyond the 15 startups
to other companies in Stockholm as well as in
other cities such as Gothenburg, Linköping,
Malmö, and Umeå.
The Center for Strategy and Competitiveness
(CSC) was founded in 2005 and focuses on five re-
search tracks: Strategy and Market Systems, Interna-
tional Business, Knowledge in Networks, Clusters,
and Competitiveness Policy.
CSC works in a trans-disciplinary tradition involv-
ing theories from Strategy, Management, Interna-
tional Business, Economic Geography, Economic
Sociology and Economic History.
CSC is a research center at SIR, Stockholm School
of Economics Institute for Research. SIR is a nation-
al research institute for the economic sciences, with
a focus on Business Administration in the broadest
sense.
More information on CSC can be found at http://
www.hhs.se/en/research/centers/csc/
Read the whole
report on iis.se
This is the Executive Summary of the longer
report which you can download at iis.se.
Feel free to contact us
Ifyouareinterestedincontributingorjoining
our project in some form or fashion, please
drop us an email. And if there is anything you
think we have misrepresented or failed to
cover, please let us know.