Tag: Articles

“Banks as big, one-stop-shops are, in our view, on their way out” – An interview with indó cofounder Haukur Skúlason

This week, challenger bank indó announced €1m in funding. Following that announcement, Northstack interviewed Haukur Skúlason, cofounder of indó, on the opportunity. This was originally a part of the Memo, our newsletter with deep dives and commentary into the ecosystem. Our questions are in bold, answers in italic. A new bank, something that hasn’t happened… Read More “Banks as big, one-stop-shops are, in our view, on their way out” – An interview with indó cofounder Haukur Skúlason

Kristinn Árni Lár Hróbjartsson

Another year, another record: The 2019 funding & exit report

Do you like Northstack? Posts and analyses like these are made possible by our helpful community of supporters. Click here to support Northstack with a small monthly donation. While 2018 was a very good year for startup funding in Iceland, with capital deployed almost reaching the record numbers of 2015, the year that just passed… Read More Another year, another record: The 2019 funding & exit report

Kristinn Árni Lár Hróbjartsson

NetApp doubles down, Arion Bank the Venture Capitalist, and more on Kría

The following is a post from the Memo – Northstack’s weekly opinion and analysis column on recent news in the tech, venture and innovation sector in Iceland. You can subscribe here. Minister promises not to “invent the wheel” and asks the industry to join her in publicising the topic At last week’s Iceland Venture Capital… Read More NetApp doubles down, Arion Bank the Venture Capitalist, and more on Kría

Kristinn Árni Lár Hróbjartsson

Þórdís Kolbrún: “With Kría, we’re providing oxygen” – an interview with the minister of innovation

What follows is an interview I conducted with Þórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir, the minister for innovation and industries, on the biggest policy announcement from last week’s event: Kría, the Icelandic Venture Initiative. This interview was first published in our newsletter, The Memo. Disclaimer: I’ve been consulting with the ministry on this topic and others. Bold… Read More Þórdís Kolbrún: “With Kría, we’re providing oxygen” – an interview with the minister of innovation

Kristinn Árni Lár Hróbjartsson

Reinvent the Pen: How an Icelandic Startup Is Tackling Diabetes

One day while visiting his father, Sigurjón Lýðsson realized a gaping hole in the medical treatment of diabetics: there was no straightforward way to monitor injections of insulin. Insulin pumps were too expensive—and though insulin pens might abound, patients could easily lose track of measurements and dosage. For Sigurjón, the issue is personal. His father,… Read More Reinvent the Pen: How an Icelandic Startup Is Tackling Diabetes

Kristinn Árni Lár Hróbjartsson

Already Surpassing 2017: The Iceland H1 2018 Funding Analysis

Published a little late, this report looks at funding activity for startups and tech companies in Iceland in the first half of 2018, Jan 1 through June 30. The year started with a bang with three notable investments announced in the first ten days of 2018. We’ve tracked one monster round ($75m+): a $150m round in Arctic… Read More Already Surpassing 2017: The Iceland H1 2018 Funding Analysis

Kristinn Árni Lár Hróbjartsson

Just One Click: Car Parts, Instantaneous Orders and a Late-night Email to Jeff Bezos

The company started with a basic idea: help businesses streamline and automate their sales processes. The usual administrative headaches ensued. Late one evening, in a fit of bleary desperation, a cofounder concocted an email to Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s CEO and the world’s richest man. And that’s when things started taking off for Clicksale, a small… Read More Just One Click: Car Parts, Instantaneous Orders and a Late-night Email to Jeff Bezos

Kristinn Árni Lár Hróbjartsson

Better Boats: An Icelandic Startup Sets a New Course for the Shipping Industry

The global shipping industry is a sprawling network of companies with a presence on every continent save Antarctica, responsible for delivering around 90 percent of the world’s goods. Its vessels move massive amounts of raw materials across national boundaries, shaping the ocean into a highway for trade. However, the industry is highly pollutive and grossly… Read More Better Boats: An Icelandic Startup Sets a New Course for the Shipping Industry

Kristinn Árni Lár Hróbjartsson

The Year of the Seed Round: The 2017 Funding Report

The past year had several interesting highlights when looking at the funding landscape. The $240m monster round invested in WuXi NextCODE, the first investment from Index Ventures, and the first Icelandic startup (that we know of) to receive investment from only foreign sources – Authenteq. In this funding report we’ll go over the highlevel datapoints… Read More The Year of the Seed Round: The 2017 Funding Report

Kristinn Árni Lár Hróbjartsson