Do you have a good Idea? A startup dream?

Do you have a good idea either for a business or a product. But you don’t have the team to execute on it? We’re at the other end of the stick. We have that team ready to take off. We’re on the lookout for viable product-dreams that we can build business around - together with you.

Come and pitch your idea to us!

Too good to be true? Nope, it’s genuine. Sometimes you’re just lucky!

We call ourselves software angels a rare breed of early stage business angel investors, software developers and hands-on business developers.

Here’s how the process works with us - each step is potentially leading on to the next:

1 - Make contact

It begins with you contacting us. Call: +45 20 87 25 30. This is only a 5-10 minute call, so call us right away. We’ll introduce each other, exchange contact details and you mention your idea, only in headlines - no secrets revealed yet, we just need to get the gist of it.

2 - Non-Disclosure Agreement

If your idea is still somewhat of a secret and you’d like to safekeep it and only reveal it to as few as possible. Then we will prepare and forward a mutual Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA) before we continue. We both sign it before anything is pitched. It protects your idea.

3 - Interview

We meet and you present your idea. If you are in Copenhagen like us, we’d be happy to meet in real life. But if it’s more convenient we can do a video conference. You don’t have to prepare much. Just come with what you have. We will facilitate the interview.

4 - Assessment

We will assess your idea, quite thoroughly. We have developed a framework for idea assessment which touches on business development, product development and software development. You will get detailed feedback on your idea and how we envision taking it to market and developing it into a product and a business. This is guidance, free advice. Even if we don’t continue together, you’ll have this assessment report for free.

5 - Joint Roadmap - workshop

If we’re in mutual agreement - that is; we think your idea is viable and you like our team and our way of working. Then we will continue with a joint roadmap workshop. This is where you - and your team if you have one - get to meet our team and through a facilitated workshop, dive straight into the nitty gritty details on building a company together. We have templates and stadards for everything: term sheets, shareholder agreements, board constitution, company valuation, budgets, market forecasts, communication infrastructure, business plans, websites, SoMe strategies, entire tech stacks, vesting programs etc. If you have any of these details prepared already in your own flavour, then we’ll compare and merge it together. The purpose is simply to not sit on our hands. “If we’re gonna do this, we’re gonna do this”.

6 - Startup launch

We have come to terms. Papers are signed, The work is planned, now let’s work the plan. We launch the company together. We’re in business.

Is it really that simple?

“Yes” and “No”.

The six steps may seem simple when listed. But they are really distilled from years and years of combined experience with building several businesses, products and software applications. As well as giving advise and mentorship to countless others.

And be warned that the steps are progressively harder to overcome, they are not all as easy as the first and last ones; “Call us” and “Sign here” respectively.

So “Yes” - In theory it’s easy. But in real life, we’re forming a real startup so “No” it’s not a walk in the park. The most important ingredient is hard work. And we’re just getting started.

We can even give you a glimpse of the steps that follows, but they are not as important right now, because if we’re going to take these steps, you’ll be onboard and part of the team.

• Build an MVP or a pretotype
• Build a short feedback loop with customers/users
• Establish market fit (confirm a genuine value proposition)
• Get money from market (sell!)
• Iterate more features based on feedback

Several different paths lies open from here; Build to sell, build a profitable business, build a delicious and sustainable workplace with happy colleagues.

…What’s your dream?

Who’s on our team? about our team?

Lars Kruse

Click to see Lars' LinkedIn profile

CxO profile. Has worked as CEO, CMO, CTO, Board chairman in both permanent and interim positions. Consultant, software developer, facilitator, personal mentor and coach to tech and leader talents and professionals. Holds an M.Sc in Computer Science and Communication and a master in Business Coaching (leadership). Has launched 6 companies and has 22 years of experience as an entrepreneur. Has been the employer and leader of hundreds of (mostly) software developers and specialists through time. Lean evangelist, DevOps thought leader, public speaker, blogger, business angel, investor, pizza delivery, bicycle repairman, janitor, handyman.

Simon Grønborg

Click to see Simon's LinkedIn profile

T-shaped tech lead profile. Has worked as CTO, tech lead, system architect, product owner, software developer, UX-designer, market analyst, cloud infrastructure architect. Holds a B.Sc in Computer Science. Has launched 2 companies. Has led go-to-market strategies for SaaS products. Has hands-on-expertise in user involvement, A/B testing, customer segmentation, data driven product development, automated deploys. DevOps and Serverless evangelist and a true believer in The Startup Way.

Other members

Some team members are in stealth mode

Lars and Simon will definitely be involved. But other members of our team are still in stealth mode. Mostly because we don’t yet know exactly what roles are needed to set a business around your idea until we hear more. But rest assured that we do have the means and connections to set the right team.

What about the money?

We need to establish market fit before we ask for external funding. To establish market fit we need to build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) or a pretotype.

Trust us - we know this path.

We are investors ourselves, and we have some of our own money to kickstart the company. If you -or someone on your team - wants to chip in with start capital too it’s welcome - although it’s not a requirement.

MVP’s are not expensive and our team will work for sweat equity (will work for shares). We can apply for soft funding if necessary. So to begin with, we’re sufficiently covered.

We honestly believe both in the startup wisdom “Think Big, Start Small, Scale Fast” as well as “Before you get money from funding, get some from the market”.

When or if the time comes, where we need to get external funding, we have access to business angel investors who would like to come along on an adventure. We can even lead an investor syndicate ourselves. But let’s not go there unless or before we have to.

Suitability filter

• “Will any idea go? Or are there any game rules?”
• “Yes! There are rules!”

We have setup a short suitability filter. Ideally you, and your idea, should match all five statements below. That would give us the best start.

Crowd values

Look at the CROWD values. This is our compass. Whenever we’re in a decision vacuum and can’t move, we go back and find the answers in our values. Please consider; can these values work as your compass too?

Software in the equation

In order to utilize our team best, your idea has to have software in the equation. We’re software angels. If your idea is not for a software product, then there are probably others who can help you better.

There is a vision

Is there a vision behind your idea? There has to be! Building a product is one thing, but taking it to market is storytelling. There has to be a good story which you can relate to. Ask yourself “why” do you want to build this product? It has to offer a value outside yourself. “Because I wanna get rich” is not a good answer.

It’s a new beginning

Your idea has to be at an early stage - a fresh start. It’s not a problem if you already have market analysis, business plans, a team, maybe even a company. By early stage we refer mostly to the health state of your idea. We don’t start up with any kind of debt. Not technical debt, not organisational debt, not relational debt, not debt of gratitude, not fiscale debt. If you have any of these debt items, you must be ready to throw them overboard and start anew with us.

It’s sooner rather than later

Our team is ready to set sails and get started. Even the best ideas are worth nothing without execution and we’re anxious to get started and establish that fabled market fit. If you’re not ready to get started yet. If your idea is for the future, not for now, then hold that though - and get back to us when you’re ready.

You probably have loads of questions that still aren’t answered above. We’er looking forward to hear from you - call NOW!