There are many shapes and colors in start-up environments like ours. Incubators, commercial gardens, accelerators, etc. They have many common features, but perhaps differ marginally in target groups. You have municipal, regional and national measures and it can, even for an experienced player, sometimes be a bit messy and unclear all together. What's more, it is the case that many of the roughest start-ups you hear about have never even visited such an environment. So what exactly are we going to do with them all?

Start-ups are volatile and their opportunities are sporadic. This may be random, but it may also be that they get their opportunities during pandemics or other circumstances that mean that the established players do not have the same ability to reorganize or pivot, as it is popularly called.

Here, start-ups can emerge, turn around and deliver their services and products. Sometimes they make it, and sometimes they don't. But regardless of whether they have their window of opportunity, they can rely on environments like Kobben to be there. We are present and contribute regardless of the above-mentioned circumstances. And here lies part of the strength of our environment. We have funding that is partly predictable and, as a result of its public origin, is fairly independent of economic cycles and unpredictable external influences. This means that entrepreneurs and young companies have a network and a supporter who has the stamina to lift them up even when things are going badly.

If we imagined a model where communities like us were funded solely by private income from established businesses and the sale of services to start-up companies, the community would not have the same muscle mass in good times as in bad times. We would be forged on red-hot iron in good times, but would not be able to offer much more than a lukewarm fire and warm thoughts when things went badly. We would bring great innovation gains to society when things were going well, and not so much when things were going badly. We believe that our function must be just as strong, if not stronger, when times are tough.

We believe that environments like us should help to promote new solutions and technologies when we need them most. Our strength is our perseverance, even when the rest of the markets are slowing down. Because that's when we need innovation power the most.