During TechBBQ, we saw amazing ideas and innovations being developed across Europe. We spoke with Keyvan Thomsen Bamdej, Head of PR & Communications at TechBBQ, about Europe’s potential, the challenges facing its startup ecosystem, and what comes next.
What did this year’s TechBBQ tell you about where the startup ecosystem is heading?
I’m quite fortunate to get to travel and meet many different founders, startups, corporates, speakers, media, and operators from the European startup ecosystem. I’ve attended Slush in Helsinki and Web Summit in Lisbon numerous times, and lately the Tech Arena in Stockholm and VivaTech in Paris. This gives me a front-row seat to where our continent is headed.
While the raw energy and builder optimism of the participating local Nordic founders at TechBBQ, Slush, and TechArena always remain high, the macro takeaway this year is clear: Europe is waking up to the urgency of tech sovereignty.
We as a continent must make it far easier to build, scale, and keep world-class companies in Europe. We cannot continue to lose our most promising scaleups to the US or Asia simply because we lag in access to late-stage growth capital or fragmented market support. Public and private leaders are finally aligning to build an environment where founders have the capital, talent, and institutional backing to build global unicorns right here on European soil. The rapid rise of Nordic market leaders – such as Lunar, Pleo, and Flatpay in Denmark, and Klarna, Spotify, and, more recently, Legora and Lovable in Sweden – underscores the Nordics’ and Europe’s massive potential. Our priority must be to foster an environment that retains and scales these high-growth companies across the continent.
According to a 2024 report from the Danish Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with TechBBQ, Sweden generated 31 unicorns from 2000 to 2024, with only 6% resulting from relocation. Over the same period, Denmark developed 12 unicorns, of which 67 percent have since left the country.
The short explanation is that Sweden creates and retains more unicorns because it offers deep local growth capital, flexible talent recruitment, and tax policies that encourage founders to stay and reinvest. In contrast, Denmark suffers from a shortage of late-stage domestic funding, forcing founders to accept foreign venture capital that often mandates moving headquarters abroad. This funding gap is compounded by higher Danish capital gains taxes and stricter visa policies for skilled foreign hires. As a result, while Sweden benefits from a self-sustaining flywheel of local tech exits, Danish scale-ups are structurally pushed to relocate.
Lastly, according to a recent Forbes article from May 2026, Stockholm is now the city in the world with the highest concentration of unicorns outside Silicon Valley. On the Dealroom site, Sweden is listed as having 48 unicorns and Denmark 15.
What is your advice for innovators when the initial hype wears off, and challenges persist?
As someone who works in an environment that thrives on overcoming challenges, I can only say: never, ever give up. Hype is a fantastic high-octane fuel to get off the ground and ride the momentum as far as it takes you. But the real work begins when the noise dies down, and the spotlight fades. That’s when discipline, consistency, and perseverance are your best guidelines and friends. My best advice would therefore honestly be: set an audacious, clear, visionary – yet tangible and realistic – goal, but anchor your daily execution in real value creation. Building a lasting company isn’t about social media validation; it’s about solving real problems for real customers when nobody is watching. Stay true to your core mission and don’t give up halfway. Even when the going gets tough. Instead, build an advisory board and share your struggles with them; you’ll find they love supporting your business’s growth and mentoring you.
What’s next for TechBBQ?
Well, we’ve only now wrapped up 2026, and we’re currently evaluating everything – big and small – and the work for 2027 is already in motion. We have a competent and experienced team, and our priority is now evaluating what resonated, where we can eliminate friction, and how we can elevate founders’ and investors’ experiences even further, as well as, of course, continuously creating an impactful event with a diverse program and representation from the global startup ecosystem. We will be staying at Bella Center Copenhagen for the coming years, which gives us the physical runway to add deeper industry-specific tracks, higher-value curated matchmaking, and an even stronger international lineup.
Which innovations or developments surprise you most at the moment?
In a market currently dominated by AI hype, I’m deeply impressed by the meteoric rise of Flatpay and the execution from CEO and Founder Sander Janca-Jensen and his team. Seeing a Danish fintech scale with that level of speed, simplicity, and operational discipline, achieving unicorn status in record time while solving real merchant pain points across Europe, is both rare and inspiring. It’s a powerful reminder that fundamental product-market fit and relentless execution still beat pure hype every single time. In addition, I’m continuously amazed by the global pull of the Nordics. I see it directly through the work we do at TechBBQ. We’re drawing incredible interest from international public entities, private companies, media, speakers, investors, and, in general, curious minds who consider TechBBQ a must-attend event. Furthermore, as you and your readers are aware, the Life Science and Deep Tech track is gaining significant international momentum, so it’s a very interesting time for the Danish/Nordic/European innovation and startup scene.
And finally, when should we mark our calendars for the next TechBBQ?
What a lovely last question. Yes, do please save the dates – and join us next year! TechBBQ 2027 will take place on September 8-9 at Bella Center Copenhagen. We look forward to welcoming the global ecosystem back to Denmark. Reach out to me or our team if you’d like to collaborate with us.
Photo:
Larry Miller, Chairman of the Jordan Brand at Nike, and Keyvan Thomsen Bamdej, Head of PR & Communications at TechBBQ, at the main “BBQ Stage” in 2025, Bella Center Copenhagen, for the 13th edition of TechBBQ. Larry Miller visited Copenhagen and TechBBQ for the first time after Keyvan and he met at Web Summit 2023. After his visits to both events, Larry said he would love to return to the continent in the coming years to reconnect with the European startup scene. Photo: TechBBQ / PR
