Issue 6 — 2013
The Reykjavík Grapevine
with her Makelovenotporn.com project, to successful Icelandic entrepreneurs, such as Helga Waage of Mobilitus. And the conference has moved out of Ásbrú and into Harpa with more events planned such as a hackathon and an “unconference” giving entrepreneurs individual networking access to some of the most influential members of the global startup community.
FUELLING A POST-CRASH BOOM Indeed, Iceland’s startup community has grown in the post-crash environment. “Before the collapse, there wasn’t really any kind of startup environment.
invested in three years ago, which was just acquired by Jive Software Inc for one billion ISK, marking the fastest Icelandic exit and the first one to a Silicon Valley company. When word got around that Bala was investing in startups, he says every entrepreneur wanted to meet with him. “Talking to them, it seemed like everyone felt like they were alone in this journey, which I found pretty strange because Iceland is a well-connected society,” Bala says. “So I started thinking about I could do, and I thought what if we could get a seasoned guy, with ups and downs, to share those experiences with these startups, to build a community feeling. Then I got Brad to come, and that was all I
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all these success stories, the mindset is changing. There’s lots more activity than there used to be, but I think we have a long way to go.”
CONTENDING WITH ICELANDIC REALITIES Also a speaker at last year’s conference, President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson put Iceland’s burgeoning startup community as part of what he called a third wave of innovation, the first wave starting in Iceland twenty years ago with companies like Marel making things primarily for the Icelandic market; the second wave starting ten years ago, with companies like CCP realising that the entire
neurs being a little bit nuts. You have to be a little bit nuts,” Haukur notes. “You really have to put all of your energy, your money, everything you have, into it. It’s very difficult. You have to have that to thrive.” That’s not to say that the Icelandic entrepreneur doesn’t face a unique environment given that there are only 320,000 people in the country. “Usually when an Icelander has a great idea, like to open up an ice cream store, three months later, there will be five or six of them, and everybody will go bankrupt,” Kristján says, bringing everyone to laugh. “It’s because we are a small community. If somebody sees that this guy seems to be pretty successful, he thinks, ‘Why can’t I do it?”
STRIVING FOR ROCK STAR STATUS
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It seemed like everyone felt like they were alone in this journey, which I found pretty strange because Iceland is a well-connected society There was no place for people to get together and communicate,” Haukur says. “After the crash, a lot of very talented people who were laid off from the banks started their own businesses. They created some great companies like Meniga, for example, which is probably one of the hottest companies in Iceland right now.” In addition to Meniga, which provides a service similar to Mint.com in the United States, Haukur mentions CLARA, a software company that Bala
needed, the spark to get this started.” Haukur and the guys are convinced that the Startup Iceland conference will be helpful to other entrepreneurs in terms of making these valuable connections. “It’s a fantastic opportunity to network with a lot of influential people from around the world,” Haukur says. “It’s difficult to compete with Silicon Valley, but we can create an environment where people are motivated to do something and feel like they have a chance of doing it. I think now with
world could be their playing field. “I’ve come to the conclusion that Iceland might serve, and I emphasize ‘serve’, as a location to help this third wave into reality, helping to create an atmosphere and location where people can freely come together and make sure that we can all move forward, irrespective to the attempt of others to put up hindrances,” the president said. “The wildest of the Icelandic nature, and to some extent, the unpredictability, and sometimes the unruliness of the Icelandic people that partly was the reason for the Icelandic banking collapse, but partly is the reason for the creative, innovative sector, helps to create a kind of atmosphere which other people who come from different parts of the world find stimulating.” Although Stefán and Kristján believe that Iceland could play an important role in securing “the freedom to innovate,” which Brad Burnham says is a core freedom being impinged upon by government policy, they don’t buy that Icelanders are somehow special or different that the rest of the world’s entrepreneurs. “I often joke about entrepre-
Thus they emphasise the importance of making connections to the outside world. “We live on a small island in the North Atlantic Ocean and it’s a big leap for us to expand into other countries, but I think that is changing, partly due to this conference,” Haukur says. “We are getting people to realise that they can grow, that they can become an international company.” Eventually, they would like this conference to have the same status that Airwaves has in the international music world. “It took Airwaves how many years to become part of the culture?” Kristján says. “It took a while, but they stuck with it and look where they are today. It’s a fantastic festival. Bands have become successful after playing at Airwaves.” “Airwaves is all about bands, promoting bands out of Iceland, so why not do the same for startups? Entrepreneurs are the new rock stars,” Stefán says
What's A Búngaló? Haukur gives us his elevator pitch
by Parker Yamasaki
matter of fact. “Incremental steps, one year at a time, we’ll get there.” But ultimately they are trying to build a sustainable community. “We can’t just have this conference, the business accelerator Startup Reykjavík, and
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I often joke about entrepreneurs being a little bit nuts. You have to be a little bit nuts these two or three other things going on,” Kristján says. “We need to have these things going on systematically over the course of the year. That’s what the startup communities are all about. We want to do something sustainable. Innovation takes time, patience and effort. We have to be in it for the long-run, to build a community that gives birth to more of these events.”
In the summer of 2009, Haukur Guðjónsson wanted to escape to the Icelandic countryside. After navigating a labyrinth of unhelpful internet resources that revealed only dead ends, he decided to channel their frustration into something proactive. Thus, Búngaló was born. The company aggregates privately owned Icelandic summer homes whose owners want to rent them out when they are not in use. Visitors can browse through over 200 cottages scattered all over Iceland—from downtown Reykjavík to the high countryside, from the Westfjords to the Eastern-most seaboard. These perfectly quaint destinations lack none of the luxuries of a standard hotel room, except maybe room service, as many of them boast BBQs for daytime grillin' and hot tubs for nighttime chillin'. Ready to relax? Check out the website: www.bungalo.com.