Next week, Kobben, together with BDO Norway and Kongsberg Innovation, is arranging a two-day conference for start-up and growth companies. Here are several skilled industry people who will give you a great introduction to what is needed to equip yourself for profitability and success.
-CFO Startup Academy is an intensive course where the focus is on building financial skills that provide growth. Together with BDO and Kongsberg Innovation, we are very much looking forward to arranging this event, says business developer in Kobben, Siri Wisløff.
Two intensive days
Co-organizer BDO Norway says that for start-up and growth companies, financial competence is important for the company to be profitable and successful.
-This is because it is crucial to have access to capital and good financial management in order to be able to develop products and services, says Marte Bjørgan Hjelmås in BDO.
-We want to provide a basic understanding of financial management and what is important for survival and building for growth. In addition, we will provide increased knowledge in raising capital - what an investor thinks and how he makes his decisions, as well as what the company itself should think about when it comes to choosing an investor and other partners such as accountants and the like, Marthe explains.
The conference lasts for two days, with the first day focusing on liquidity management and business development. Topics covered this day include the CFO role in a startup, disruption, liquidity challenges in growth, and the introduction of IPR (Intellectual Property Rights).
-Both days will come our partner Advokatfirmaet Tenden, which will talk about IPR and shareholder and option agreements, Siri informs.
The focus for day two will be investment and capital sources. This day comes Malin Bruset from Gro Gro, which produces cold-pressed baby food. She is posing with one of her investors for a panel debate where they will talk about how the road has been and explain it a bit from their respective points of view.
-We hope this hits people and that we have found the right topics. There will be two intensive days with a lot of professional replenishment, and not least socially. It will be an opportunity for the participants to talk together, share experiences and learn from each other, Siri says.
Capital is important
A CFO has the overall responsibility for the finances of the company. This involves responsibility for the budget and accounts, and control over investments and expenses. But of course, the CFO role will be a little different if you work in a start-up company versus a large company.
-Among other things, Bjørn Thoresen, CFO of Gen2 Energy, will talk about the role as CFO in a startup, the breadth it requires and a little about this with capital raising, Siri says.
Gen2 Energy is located at the Research Park in Kobben's premises, and works with the production, distribution and sale of green hydrogen on a large scale. A lot has happened here in a few years. The company, which has gone from being 5 entrepreneurs to now a company valued at NOK 600 million. And there is no doubt that Gen2 Energy has gained good experience with raising capital in recent years. Both at home and abroad, they have entered into agreements and recently got one of England's richest families on the ownership side.
-Perfect for start-up and growth companies
This is the third time BDO and Kongsberg Innovation are setting up this event. They have taken with them the feedback and experiences from the last time and are now running what they call version 2.0.
-The program has been run several times and the feedback has been good. The latest version was run over four afternoons in collaboration with techup at Mesh Community where we had 15 tech startups. This time we run it as an intensive course over two days, and have a special focus on creating networks, experience sharing and discussions, says Marthe in BDO.
The course will be at "Friends at work" in Tønsberg. Easy for people who come from out of town, who can hop off at the train station and wander to the square.
This time they have brought with them the incubators Kobben and Kongsberg Innovation.
-Our job in Kobben is to support entrepreneurs with what they need to scale and establish a sustainable company. This two-day event will provide a good introduction to the CFO role, how an investor thinks and how to raise capital. Perfect for start-up and growth companies, Siri concludes.
