North Ventures

Inspired by the recent success stories of young Nordic founders, more and more young people see building a startup as the best and most meaningful way to make an impact. Wave is Europe’s largest student-run VC backing the most exceptional Gen Z founders in the New Nordics at the earliest stage. Founded: 2016 Area focus: Nordics & Baltics Location: Finland, Sweden, Estonia Team: 7 members Stage focus: Earliest - Your First Investment

We have a unique setup that combines venture creation and tech investments within a single organization. This advantage enables us to identify new research and deep tech opportunities with both commercial and impact potential, all within Chalmers’ entrepreneurial ecosystem. We are experts in starting up companies based on deep tech and research in the most effective manner possible. This process allows us to cultivate our own high-quality deal flow in which we invest and become active owners. Throughout the entire journey, we function as investors and venture builders until exit. Profits are reinvested through our evergreen model and allocated to Chalmers to support new, groundbreaking research. Our investment processWe identify market potential in research-based tech We match the team We invest in and startup the company We attract competent capital with external VCs We have active ownership until exit Our deal flow criteriaDeep tech / research based tech University spinouts Global commercial and impact potential Our process: from lab to market We use our long experience to create conditions required for a growth company to start up correctly and with the right structural capital. We are then involved in the startup through competence and capital until exit. Simply put: we take groundbreaking research from lab to market. IDENTIFY: We attract, seek out and evaluate research and technology ideas. The technologies with the greatest potential are matched with entrepreneurs. SHAPE AND START: Create the basic conditions to shape companies correctly and build structural capital. We are involved in starting up the companies and provides additional benefits during that first critical period. VALIDATE & VERIFY: Validating business model, working for paying customers and unlocking the business model. Find the right proof points to validate and verify the company’s unique idea to both the market and investors. SCALE: Becoming sustainable growth companies reaching out to an international market. Chalmers Ventures works with its skills as active owners, provides professional governance and syndicates the right growth capital. EXIT: Chalmers Ventures pursues a positive exit strategy at what it feels is the right time. We can focus our resources on those companies with the greatest potential and positive impact on the portfolio.

We are firmly committed to living and working by these core values: Honesty: We are honest and transparent, informing each other, as well as our portfolio founders, exactly what we think about work and execution. We provide candid feedback in realtime, and we're straight-talkers. Kindness: We always try to remember that we can never know everything happening in someone's life, and try to approach every difficult situation with empathy and understanding. Ambition: In just three years, we have built the most active pre-seed and seed-stage VC fund in Sweden. Now we look across the world to find the technologies and business models of the future, backing the best founders in the Nordic region. Helpfulness: We endeavor to be as helpful as possible to every entrepreneur we meet, whether or not we ultimately invest in their startup. We also try to work with other investors to help them find relevant deals. We invest in founders who live and work by these values: Relentlessness: You have identified a problem to solve and you are absolutely obsessed with developing the solution. You will stop at nothing to solve problems for your customers, and inspire your team to act similarly. Resourcefulness: You leverage all of the tools, opportunities and advice at your disposal. You will always find a way to get the resource you need, even if it seems out of reach. Your hustle is your primary door-opener. Transparency: You never hide from bad news, always keeping your team and stakeholders informed of both your successes and your struggles. You never allow people to operate in silos, championing collaboration. Compassion: You are able to show empathy towards everyone in your organization, even through turbulent times. You never make disagreements personal, and prioritize the wellbeing of the people you work with.

We work with transformational companies seeking strategic and operational expertise, advice and capital. Opportunity In today’s global and connected world, vast opportunity exists for businesses striving to be leaders in their fields, yet this opportunity comes with the significant challenges of successfully building a global business. Mission Our core mission is to deploy our team, knowledge and capital to our partners in order to accelerate their journeys to shape the future. Background With a background of building some of the most transformational business globally we know firsthand what it takes to overcome the challenges of transforming a company into a high-growth, global business.

On the contrary to typical early stage VC fund we are focusing on later stage startups which have already solid business model and growing exponentially. We target companies which are usually post series A, have solid business model and are still in high growth phase. Our investment criteria:100% secondary deals, no primary investment to the company; focusing primarly on the Baltics and Finland, but are open to deals from the rest of CEE and Nordics; preferably post series A, but not a must if company is already in scale up phase; proven business model; scaling phase; exit potential in 3-5 years timeframe; always aiming for a discount from the fair market value. By having a portfolio of successful companies, we are able to provide the investors access to the best deals that are usually kept private and, therefore, offer a kind of "index fund of the best startups from the New Nordics". Our deal process is lean and fast. We do not expect special conditions from the founders (e.g. board position, liquidation preference etc), however we need access to latest relevant management and legal data in order to validate company current situation.