Past Results

For the past eleven years the Entrepreneurial Days has not only grown larger, but has also become global in scope with American business leaders networking with their Swedish counterparts. What makes this business-to-business event so worthwhile and successful is that it brings together entrepreneurs and experts from a variety of fields – all sharing their expertise and knowledge of American and EU markets.

Previous Entrepreneurial Days have taken place in Stockholm 1997 and 2000, Göteborg 1998 and 2002, Malmö 1999, Austin Texas 2002, Uppsala 2003, Växjö 2001 and 2004, Washington, D.C. 2005, Umeå 2005, Lidköping 2006, Chicago 2007, South Sweden 2007, San Diego (April) 2008.

Why participate in the Entrepreneurial Days?

Computerized, prescheduled, branch-to-branch meetings are the backbone of the E-Days event. Over the past few years the county boards and universities are more actively engaged in program development and matchmaking that can be described as the Business Accelerator Program that spans over three years.

There is no doubt that Business Matchmaking has become the Entrepreneurial Days’ biggest attraction. The majority of the attendees come to participate in the Matchmaking and develop new business connections across the Atlantic. 82% of the participants took part in the two day services Business Matchmaking meetings. To maximize your participation in the Swedish American Entrepreneurial Expo, we recommend that your company registers for the Business Matchmaking Service, where prescheduled meetings are created. For each event we schedule around 800 business meetings. The Business Matchmaking Service is designed to help you find potential partners, distributors, agents, and/or consultants that meet the specific needs of your company.

“The success of Visualeyes can be directly related to our meeting at Edays”

Building relationships takes time and requires consistency. However, some find their matches quickly. Kenneth Konet, tells the story of how Matchmaking helped him get in contact with Visualeyes:

When I partook in the Edays in South Sweden one of my interviews was with Mr. Lars Ericson, C.E.O. of Visualeyes AB, located in Sundsvall, Sweden. We had a 15 minute meeting and felt that each of us would have some possibilities of developing Visualeyes internationally and their unique RAYZER auxiliary lighting system for the automotive market ,“ says Kenneth Konet.

“The matchmaking has become the most popular conference feature, and we call it the ‘core of the conference,’" says Gunilla Girardo, President of SACC-USA. The Business Matchmaking Service is designed to help you find potential partners, distributors, agents, and/or consultants that meet the specific needs of your company. There is no additional fee for conference attendees to take advantage of this service. "When you sign up for Business Matchmaking, you describe your company profile and what types of contacts and advice you are seeking. From this information we help set up relevant meetings for you,” says Girardo.“

Trends in number of participants and matchmaking meetings

In South Sweden’s Entrepreneurial Days, we had a record-breaking 950 confirmed participants, of which around 230 were international. About 1,150 pre-booked business matchmaking meetings took place. Among the U.S participants were representatives from 26 different states including large delegations from Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, California, Michigan and Colorado. There were also participants from Argentina, Belgium, China, Finland, Germany and Great Britain.

Quotes

"You went beyond my expectations for this event. This was my sixth event and definitely the best. We now have three potential products to launch on the American market."

Leif Boman, CEO, 3GLogix

“This event was mutually positive. We will absolutely come back.
I am very impressed with the entrepreneurial spirit and innovation capacity within mobile enterprise and IT in Sweden. The Entrepreneurial Days is an excellent opportunity for Swedish companies to interact with large distributors and potential clients."

Urban Gillström, President, Ericsson Enterprise AB

"I have been to many events around the world but my two days in Sweden are definitely among the best. The whole event was very well-planned, focused, personal yet professional and it was also set in a wonderful surrounding."

Magnus Melander, CEO, Wbird

“This event ties together entrepreneurship and trade, bringing visions to reality for the 21st century.”

David Bohigian, Assistant Secretary,
the U.S. Dept. of Commerce