Why Denmark, Scott & Christian?

Dear Scott & Christian,

As you know, I have accepted an invitation to join the Danish Competitiveness Council to help Denmark stay relevant in the future global competitive business environment. You are two of the inspirational people that I have decided to reach out to in my task of speaking with inspiring individuals to gather more insight.

Christian Tang-Jespersen and Scott Bonham have been interconnected in business and friendship for the past 15 years. Scott was investor and on the board of Heptagon that hired Christian as CEO – and which was ultimately sold in a multi-billion-dollar deal. More recently, Scott and Christian act as board members on DenmarkBridge, a Danish non-profit organization helping Danish large corporates to get better connected in Silicon Valley and other innovation hotspots around the world.

I would like to have your perspectives on the topic of innovation from outside and inside Denmark. What should Denmark do moving forward to achieve an excellent business position in this arena? What is our moonshot project if we dared to be extremely bold? And how do we make sure that our prioritization can add value to both the largest and smallest companies in Denmark? 

Looking forward to hearing your perspectives – and everyone else is also welcome to join our conversation.

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I would like to have your perspectives on the topic of innovation from outside and inside Denmark. What should Denmark do moving forward to achieve an excellent business position in this arena?

Thank you for the great questions and the interesting theme. The case for innovative solutions to the world’s problems has never been stronger. At the same time, innovation hubs are springing up around the world to address these opportunities. Denmark has many opportunities in front of it and Denmark cannot afford to wait on the sideline.

The basis for building and growing industries is about being connected to the world. Here, Denmark has a big advantage. Denmark by far has one of the best infrastructures when it comes to digitalization. Just jump on Teams or Zoom and you can seamlessly connect to the world. Being a country with a highly educated population with a robust work ethic and strong English skills makes a compelling case for Danish opportunities in a post-Covid world. 

A sensible approach would be to build on one’s strengths and Denmark has many: cleantech, robotics, audio, ag-tech, windtech, and biotech. So, you already have some excellent things going for you. But digging a bit deeper, we also discover something else. Denmark has created some amazing entrepreneurs like Mikkel Svane and Lars Dalgaard who built billion-dollar businesses (Zendesk and SuccessFactors) in Silicon Valley. Unfortunately, most very large Danish success stories have until recently, only taken off when the founders moved to Silicon Valley. So, we should understand better why that is the case. The obvious explanation is the less attractive tax set-up, but we also believe there are other factors that are relevant.

You should zoom in on the willingness to take things a step further. You are only 5-6 million people, meaning you have a unique opportunity to experiment with new technologies. You could include science and research to monitor the development of technologies in close cooperation between private and public organizations.

How important is it for Denmark for its entrepreneurs to build large global businesses based in Denmark?

This is a critical point. It is often tempting for an entrepreneur to sell their business to a larger company early in the growth curve. The financial considerations can be life-changing for the entrepreneur, but the business will become a subsidiary of a larger foreign company. Let’s be honest – very few companies excel as a subsidiary to a conglomerate. But critical mass is, well critical and this does not get achieved in Denmark often enough. Currently, Denmark has no strong tradition of supporting growth companies which is why truly attractive growth companies often seek international funding. This is completely understandable but maybe not the greatest way to build a strong infrastructure and ecosystem. A question for Denmark to consider is how it can it become the best place for maturing companies and create the next Lego, Maersk, ?rsted, and GN?

Denmark is not the only country facing this dilemma. For example, Canada shares the longest undefended border in the world with the United States and has similar challenges. Interestingly, the biggest company in Canada (Shopify) was built by a German entrepreneur (Tobi Lutke) who moved to Canada when he was 22 years old. Shopify is an amazing company that breathes life into merchants that are not on Amazon and is Canada’s first breakaway global success since Blackberry.

Israel is another country that is punching above its weight class when it comes to technology companies and disruption on the global stage. There are many things Denmark can learn from the approach other countries are taking in this regard.

What is our moonshot project if we dared to be extremely bold? And how do we make sure that our prioritization can add value to both the largest and smallest companies in Denmark? 

Here, you will have to identify if there are ways where you can turn your small size as a country into a strength. Being fast, responsive, and proactive, and agile is much easier for a small country. Denmark is a fast and agile country where you can test new ideas quickly, but sometimes, people are not allowed to push the boundaries. If you focus on your strengths and add risk-willing capital, then you have a great opportunity for growth.

When you talk about a moonshot for a country, then the commercial part of the country should lead the way. Perhaps an effective model would start with a small group of business leaders (e.g., Danske Bank, Lego, Maersk, ?rsted, and GN) collaborating on ideas that makes sense for Denmark. Many ideas could be generated and vetted from creating a new hub for R&D and business within the realm of a quantum computing company to policies that encourage talented entrepreneurs and innovative companies to thrive in Denmark. One should keep in mind that creating vibrant Danish companies benefits both the business community and the country. We are convinced that Denmark and its supporters can create the foundation for future moonshots with a sensible use of existing strengths and resources combined with a somewhat more progressive approach to growth.

Moonshots often start with a tangible resolution of a major, systemic problem. An example of this could be bicycles as a potential sustainable solution to growing transportation and climate challenges. Denmark is the most bicycle-friendly country in the world and combining that mindset with new business models, modern bicycle infrastructure, city planning, and Danish design might create globally compelling mobility solutions. 

All companies need to change their culture a bit. You need to celebrate and recognize successes. We know Danes are not used to that. Almost proud of “janteloven.” But you are missing out on a big chance to create something extraordinary through recognizing success and celebrating it. You need to celebrate the bright minds that will take you there. And most importantly, celebrate failure. Great leaders have many failures that they build their experience on. Failures are vital in creating new industries and technologies. Celebrate failures – but avoid repeating them!

And one last thing: become even more curious as a country. If you are constantly curious, creation will happen at all age brackets. It will not just be a young person’s game.