Throughout 2024, ACT | The App Association’s team has been active worldwide, and this summer was no exception — we embarked on a trip to Stockholm in an effort to engage with leaders in the local technology ecosystem and discuss the relationship between the startups there and the United States. During the trip, we had the opportunity to host a breakfast roundtable at the U.S. Ambassador’s residence, bringing together Swedish tech leaders for insightful discussions on fostering cross-border collaboration and innovation.

Working with Stockholm’s sensational tech community

Stockholm, home to a large number of businesses that have achieved tremendous global success, is one of the fastest-developing technology hubs in Europe. Over the course of our trip, we aimed to better understand the force behind Stockholm’s tech boom by hearing first-hand accounts from founders about what it’s been like to start a business in Stockholm and their global strategies for future growth.

With the help of our local friend and tech community builder, Jonas Almeling, and the U.S. Embassy in Sweden, we created an event that facilitated crucial exchanges between Stockholm’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and policymakers, while providing tremendous value for both groups. With Jonas’s expertise on the local technology ecosystem and the U.S. Embassy’s interest in discussing their SelectUSA program—built to facilitate job-creating business investments within the United States—we hosted a significant group of entrepreneurs and scaleups with global focus for a dynamic discussion over breakfast at the U.S. Ambassador’s residence.

 

Our embassy event

The event featured remarks from the U.S. Ambassador to Sweden, Erik Ramanathan, and our very own executive director, Chelsea Thomas, about the importance of global cooperation and digital trade considerations. Nearly 30 companies gathered over coffee, breakfast pastries, and their passion for advancing the global app economy. Thegroup featured businesses from a wide variety of tech verticals including artificial intelligence, digital healthcare, climate tech, privacy, and cybersecurity.

 

 Our breakfast roundtable fostered engaging conversations about how to improve the flow of funding to European startups, highlighting the unique value VC firms could find in the region due to more reasonable valuation compared to other markets. Participants also discussed critical, eye-opening topics, like the best strategies for entering the U.S. market and the challenges posed for some Swedish businesses by differences in the U.S. regulatory framework.

Future events

We left Sweden with a far better understanding of what it’s like for startups in Stockholm, Sweden, and Europe writ large. While it is apparent there are many great aspects to building a startup in these places, there are also many areas where we can work together to help improve the innovation climate. We learned it’s crucial to remember that once a business publishes itself online, they become global and need to be able to find ways to operate internationally and navigate a complex patchwork of regulatory frameworks from place to place. Hopefully by working together, we can all make this regulatory landscape more manageable for SMEs in the future.

For other insights on this event and to learn more about why these conversations are crucial for SMEs around the globe, check out some highlights and tune into our latest global Tech Swamp podcast episode here.

 

 

 

More photos from our event