Why are we shy about the money?
One of the main goals of Norðurskautið is to create a platform for discussion, opinion and information about the Icelandic startup and tech scene. In the long term, we want to help make Iceland succeed and make the tech scene an attractive industry to work in.
We model ourselves after similar sites based in Silicon Valley, that deliver news and analysis, mixed with operator, investor and journalists’ opinions on the day-to-day happenings of the industry.
A big, and crucial, part of their discussion, is the discussion of money. How much is being invested, by whom, and in what companies? This data is generally accessible through news, speculation and websites such as Crunchbase.
Therefore it surprised us how little founders were willing to share about their funding status. Total investment and identities of investors have been kept confidential within the company, or strictly off the record.
Obviously, disclosing fundraising information during financing is bad practice, and we completely understand that. On the other hand, financing information should, in my opinion at least, be as public as possible. Why are founders shy when it comes to funding info? Why are the identities of investors confidential? Is it a request from the investors?
Some might think ‘What does it matter?’
If we want to create an attractive environment we need talent, and one way of getting talent is showing people that the startup and tech scene is not a fad. If there’s money involved, people are getting paid and people believe in the projects – so much that they invest their cash in it. Furthermore, we need these data to do aggregate analysis of the industry.
If we want to build a long term startup and tech industry in Iceland, we shouldn’t be shy about the financials.
