Norrsken Impact Accelerator 2023

The Norrsken Impact Accelerator brings together a global collective of entrepreneurs and investors in Stockholm, Sweden. Among them are founders of more than 50 unicorns and companies such as Klarna, Mojang, Soundcloud, Kry, Good American, Meltwate, Voi, Rekindle and Brilliant Minds.

We are an accelerator investing in the best startups solving the world’s biggest challenges. We target pre-seed to early-seed startups that leverage technology to create and scale innovative solutions to new and old societal and environmental challenges.
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We are sector agnostic and accept startups in any area of impact. We’ll invest $125k in return for 7% of your company using a “post-money” Simple Agreement for Future Equity (the “YC Safe”). We invite the selected startups to Stockholm for a dedicated 8 week sprint with support from successful and experienced entrepreneurs, including unicorn founders. The program will culminate in an iconic investor demo day, when startups pitch to hundreds of investors and potential customers. Why? To use the power of entrepreneurship to solve some of the greatest challenges facing our planet today, such as poverty, disease, food waste, climate change, pollution, health care and mental illness.

What we are looking for?

We target early-stage startups that leverage technology to create and scale innovative solutions to new and old societal and environmental challenges.
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We support startups in any area of impact and across all verticals. Each year, we’ll also highlight one or more verticals in which we’ll bring a little extra domain-specific expertise.

• Impact
  We invest across all UN SDGs and do not limit ourselves to a specific vertical, but we demand that impact is intentional. We are looking for companies where impact is an intrinsic and non-negotiable part of the business model. When this is the case, we can give you the tools to manage your impact, but focus on what we do best – helping you grow the business. You will further get support on measuring the impact of your business.
• Business model
  We don’t think you need to sacrifice profit to make an impact. When impact is baked into your business, if you achieve financial success, your impact scales too. We’re looking for startups that have the potential to become impact unicorns – companies whose work will positively impact the lives of 1 billion people.
• Technology
  Software or hardware, we invest in innovations that use technology as a tool in creating and scaling solutions.
• Stage
  We’re ideally suited to supporting companies at an early stage (pre-seed to early-seed). This means you’ve identified a clear market opportunity and path to market with your product. You may have built or are building your MVP, you may have free-trial users or paying customers. Essentially, you’ve gone beyond just the idea and have something to show. However, we are happy to also support startups who have made more progress and fast-track your success from your base starting point.
• Geography
  We accept companies from anywhere in the world. The accelerator takes place in Sweden. We require 2 co-founders from each startup to come to Stockholm for 8 weeks over the (European) summer to sprint on their businesses with our support.

What you get

• $125K Investment
  Upfront pre-seed investment of $125k. There’s no fee for the program so you keep the full $125k.

• Unicorn Mentors
  Dedicated 8 week sprint at Norrsken House Stockholm with mentorship from world-class founders who’ve faced the same challenges as you, including unicorn founders.

• Top Investors
  Meet hundreds of top investors at Demo Day. Continue to receive warm introductions to the right investors during and after the sprint.

Why Stockholm?

• We’ll get you super cheap high-quality housing
• A beautiful place to spend the summer
• Europe’s unicorn factory
• The most sustainable country in the world
• Highly engaged investors
• Norrsken House