Nordic Tech Week 2025: Three keys to global expansion for Nordic tech companies
- Marie-Louise Cleeren
- Sep 23
- 4 min read
Last week, I attended Nordic Tech Week 2025, in Kungsträdgården in Stockholm, where a number of interesting panel discussions were held on how to support tech startups and their scale-up journeys. They highlighted key success factors as well as some structural challenges facing Nordic tech companies seeking to scale on the global stage.
My main take-aways fall into three categories: Mindset, Execution, and Policy/Capital. Let’s dive in.
Sisu and the 10x mindset: Flipping modesty into global ambition
To succeed globally, scale-ups must embody Sisu. This Finnish national trait describes extraordinary determination, perseverance, and courage demonstrated in the face of extreme difficulties, even when success seems impossible.
Key mindset shifts for leadership:
Embrace perseverance: Rovio, the creator of Angry Birds, had developed over fifty games before achieving global success with its 52nd game.
Up your ambition levels: Nordic culture often nurtures "small minds, small plans, and small asks" (perhaps because of the modest size of our countries). To go global, you must fundamentally shift your mindset to "big ideas, big plans, big asks."
Set 10x goals: Whatever long-term goal currently seems ambitious for your tech firm, executives should consider multiplying it by 10x or 30x.
Think global: Nordic startups have to think global from inception, building products and services for worldwide markets, as our domestic markets are too small to achieve any meaningful scale.
This "big plan" mindset is critical for defining the large total addressable market (TAM) necessary to justify major B2B investments and marketing strategies.
“Nail it before you scale it”
Practice deep customer obsession and prioritize “Safe Wins”
Successful B2B scaling relies on foundational execution and strategic product delivery. This means ensuring that the offering solves a problem customers are willing to pay for, thereby maximizing genuine customer value.
B2B marketing and product teams must adopt "customer obsession," ensuring that product development is driven by what will ultimately be better for the customer.
Leaders should prioritize 'safe wins' – solving common, major problems that customers are genuinely willing to pay for – rather than chasing "quick wins".
This focused approach ensures the foundational B2B value proposition is solidified and validated.
Jeanette Carlsson (Tech Nordic Advocates) recommended, "Nail it before you scale it."
Product delivery based on strategic impact, not internal demands
Effective leadership requires making tough strategic decisions about resource allocation, especially in product development, which directly impacts B2B marketability and value.
Strategic assessment to determine what development efforts will deliver the greatest strategic impact and value for the business.
Avoid basing product development or marketing efforts solely on the demands of the "loudest people in the room".
This ensures resources are directed toward solutions that fix the biggest problems on the market, yielding the biggest returns, often requiring relentless passion and vision over a minimum of 10 years.
Stick to your vision
"You're only delusional until you succeed, then you're a genius."
Future-proofing Nordic tech innovation: Talent, Capital, and Trust
Sweden "punches above its weight," with its startup ecosystem ranked among the top 10 countries globally (acoording to StartupBlink, April 2025) and leading Europe in number of unicorns per capita (according to Business Sweden (May 2025). However, to stay competitive on the global tech scene, panelists agreed that Sweden has some challenges to address:
Capital coordination challenges
Capital exists in the Nordics, but it is unfortunately "poorly coordinated". This lack of coordination makes it more attractive for tech startups and scale-ups to move their businesses to stronger capital markets, such as the US, either to seek funding or pursue exits. This depletes the Nordics of valuable tech innovation and talent that would otherwise contribute to societal impact here.
Stop the talent drain
Attracting and retaining talent is identified as one of the most important actions Sweden can take to grow the Nordic tech scene.
One of the panelists suggested an immigration reform: International tech students should be offered a 5-year (semi)permanent resident visa, subsidies, or tax cuts to be able to stay in Sweden, contribute to innovation, start businesses, scale (or fail and start over). Currently, valuable engineering and entrepreneurial talent is lost when international employees are laid off and forced to leave the country (as seen in the Northvolt case).
Leverage the “Nordic Trust Factor” as a global B2B differentiator
Trust is a major strength of Nordic culture and business – "we do what we say". In a turbulent world characterized by increasing uncertainty, this reputation for integrity is a valuable characteristic that can differentiate Nordic tech companies and build long-term relationships with international corporate clients.
Stimulating ecosystem collaboration is essential, particularly connecting startups with larger corporations to ensure faster scale-up opportunities.
Text and photos: Mimmis Cleeren
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