esi: Who are you, what do you do and what makes you an expert on your start-upcountry?
Ida: We are the national network organization for the student-driven entrepreneurial societies in all the Danish universities. We seek to support entrepreneurial student-driven activities through our member organizations, in order to co-create a stronger entrepreneurial culture for Danish students. We are experts in creating strong interdisciplinary collaboration, on a national scale, through joint projects, networking and knowledge sharing. We want to bridge the gap between the established ecosystem and the grass root organizations. Speaking on behalf of our member organizations, we want to obtain a strong political voice in matters of entrepreneurship.
esi: What is cool about your start-upcountry, what inspires you and keeps you thriving?
Ida: In Gate to Create people inspire us. We think that our own network of student-driven entrepreneurship societies, houses some of the most innovative, creative and entrepreneurial minds in the country. We believe that one person can make a difference but that a network of people can create a revolution. That is what is so fantastic about Denmark; we are experts at communicating, sharing ideas and building on the ideas of others in a cozy way and above all, doing it across disciplines and hierarchies.
esi: What makes you shake your head about your start-upcountry, what needs to be improved?
Ida: Denmark has a good start-up support structure. However, the talent pool of would-be entrepreneurs is not as big as other countries Denmark is compared to. It seems as though it is difficult to make entrepreneurship attractive for a broader segment of the Danish students. Since 2007 there has been an increased focus on lifting up the Danish entrepreneurial and innovation environment. This has meant that an immense amount of resources has been catalyzed to the environment. However the pace of the development has left the student-driven activities out, as it requires a great deal of resources and bureaucracy to get a piece of the ‘funds pie’. In Gate to Create we want to bridge the gap between the student-driven entrepreneurship societies and the more established, bureaucratic ecosystem. We believe that strong collaboration between these two groups is crucial, if we are to create a better entrepreneurial culture with a greater talent pool of would be entrepreneurs in Denmark.
esi: What’s some cool fact we are likely not to know about your start-upcountry?
Ida: There is a custom of settling even the most important business deals and partnerships under the influence of beer in small smoky pubs.
esi: Thank you for the interview.
About the interviewpartner:
Ida Waerling is Managing Director of Gate to Create and brings experiences from the BioTech sector.
