How did you come to this, Lillian Wikström, CEO of KI Innovations?
– We want to provide the best possible support to our start-ups, which often do not have the financial means to participate in costly events, seminars and courses. As members, they get free access to a range of value-adding activities that we think may be relevant to them.
– In addition to the exchange of experiences in our incubator, we also see the value of meeting and exchanging experiences with life science companies at a national level.
Why is it important for small, start-up life science companies to network with investors and other life science companies right from the start?
– The lessons learned at an early stage stay with you for the rest of the journey. A good network is now more important than ever, which means creating these contacts more widely and at an early stage. We have very experienced coaches and good networks of expertise, business and capital available in the Stockholm region, but we see the value of national and international contacts.
What do you think your companies would benefit most from this approach?
– To be honest, I don’t think that the companies are currently aware of SwedenBIO’s offers, but we know that there is an interest in the international network meetings such as BioEurope and others, but that the cost has previously been too high. I also think that the courses offered could be of interest to companies.
This reduced fee offer applies to companies affiliated with you and other incubators that are partner organizations of SwedenBIO. What are the benefits of being linked to an incubator?
– All incubators have their offerings and strengths, but if I speak for our incubator program DRIVE, we offer an incubation process that includes several years of business coaching, training, networking and development. As part of the process, contact mediation is also offered between entrepreneurs and experts, investors and researchers, among others.
– Being linked to an incubator also gives you a context and a sense of belonging. You become part of our DRIVE community with a focus on sharing experiences. It feels very good to be able to offer our incubator companies a favorable membership in SwedenBIO and thus access to an even broader network and community.
