Was at the Sweden – US entrepreneurship forum yesterday. Various speakers on entreneurship from both sides of the Atlantic. I think the mindset gap is about as wide as the Atlantic (positively and negatively for both countries. I guess you just have to try and see which parts are best for the way you want to live your life, and steal the best ideas!)
It was a mixed day in a hall that was half-full with civil servants from various government bodies pretending that they are actually assisting entrepreneurs instead of the reality which is a massive bureaucracy and jobs for the boys (or girls) and are mostly used as an extra funding source for Universities. I could go on a big rant here about a culture of grants versus a culture of actually getting customers, but I can’t be bothered.
The positives were the speakers from Silicon Valley (I think that’s Americas version of Silicon Glen) and the new ambassador to Sweden who was an Internet entrepreneur and helped run Obama’s widely successful Internet fund raising campaign during the election.
His main point for entrepreneurs was to be a farmer and not a hunter. Instead of the hard sell, shouting at 100 people until one of them finally gives in (example: banner-ad advertising) try to organically grow customers (example: valuable facebook application).
Easier said than done, but definitely the right path…
Did he give you any clues for the minileague?