WHAT IS STARTUP FORUM?
Startup Forum is an online network arena for entrepreneurs with international background living in Norway who want to learn how to start a business in Norway.
Startup Forum is a tool that is offered to agencies/organisations like NAV, Etablerertjenester, høyskoler, næringsklynger, næringshager, coworking spaces, startup labs etc. wanting to facilitate for startup immigrants in the district how to start a succesful business in Norway.
The online startupprogramme is based on a methodology developed through the regional innovation program funded by Akershus fylkeskommune and Asker kommune in 2015 and 2016. The programme was developed by a Askershus Næringshage in colloboration with Inclusion AS and Campus Nooa.
Since 2018 Startup Forum has been supplied by Inclusion to startup business support providers in Norway wanting to offer English speaking entrepreneurs in their district a tool to enable insight into how to succeed in starting a business in Norway
By participating in Startup Forum startups with immigrant background will get a basic understanding of what it takes to quickly establish your enterprise in Norway, get access to a large collection of all the startup tools (necessary documents, check lists, «how-to» videos» etc.) in one place. Another benefit of participating in Startup Forum is that the participants will get individual tailor-made mentor assistance helping them to progress with their business project. All communication in the Startup Forum arena is in English. Startup Forum was arranged for the first time in 2015 and the second round was held in 2016. Participants have come from nearly 30 nations including New Zealand, India, Thailand, Peru, Brazil, Serbia, UK, Spain, China, India, Philliphines, USA, Norway, China, Spain, Malaysia, Holland and Australia.
Startup Forum consists of:
- An online startup course covering issues such as: building the right business model, choose right corporate form, company registration step-by-step, office management, tax, accounting, other obligations, sales and marketing plan, how to succeed with business in Norway, how to develop a network in Oslo and Akershus
- A lot of practical startup tools tailormade for entrepreneurs with foreign background living in Norway. This includes templates of the most relevant documents you need in the startup process, several how-to-videos (for example: «How to register an enkeltpersonforetak?», «How to find an accountant?», «How to do a simple market survey in Norway?») checklists on what to do regarding business obligations related to accounting, book keeping , taxation and VAT as well as step-by-step guides for marketing and sales activities , easy-to-use business model tool, a simple business plan etc.
- Individual follow-up assistance from your personal e-mentor who will help you to progress with your business project
- Access to a resource section giving participants insight into tools and networks for further help with their startup efforts.
- Access to the Startupforum in 12 months from course start
Online course description:
The course methodology is in addition to the development based on two pilot projects taking place in 2015 and 2016 based on the Inclusion founder Paul Bø´s experience from assisting more then 1000 startups with immigrant background to start a business in Norway combined with the renowned online academy Nooa (www.nooa.no ) many year´s experience with online teaching.
The start-up course is organised into four study modules. At the end of modules there is an assignment to be submitted for evaluation, with the purpose of helping the entrepreneurs to progress in their start-up efforts.
Course content (in short):
Module 1. The Business Model
Module 2. Marketing essentials – crash course in marketing. Introduction to essential marketing tools
Module 3. How to sell in Norway?
Module 4. Company registration: Registration of company, VAT, employees and accountant
Module 5. Taxation, bookkeeping, office management and other obligations
Module 6. Accounting, bookkeeping and other obligations
Target group:
People with entrepreneurial aspirations living in Norway who either are in their early stages of startup or are considering starting up their own business.
Study materials and resources:
All resources you need for the startup course are online and included in the course.
This will typically include checklists, development tools, instructional videos and a lot of other useful startup tools.
Certification:
When you have passed the final assignments, you will receive an Open Badge verifying your Course completion. Your badge is shown in the picture and you will receive a link to your personal badge. If you like, you can share your badge on LinkedIn, Facebook etc.
NEED MORE INFORMATION?
If you are an English speaking startup living in Norway, looking for a tool that can facilitate your enterprise launch we recommend you to contact your supervisor at organisation you are connected to and ask them to contact us to get more information about this tool.
If you are an agency/organisation (NAV, Etablerertjeneste, Høyskole, Næringsklynge, Næringshage, coworking space, startup etc.), please feel free to contact us to get a demonstration on what Startup Forum can do for startup immigrants living in your area
Please contact us on paul@inclusion.no or telephone (+47) 400 888 14 if you have questions or/and if you want a demonstration of the online startup training tool.