Finnish Nordic Angel Program Syndicate Invests €115k into Screenful

After months of screening, valuating, sparring and discussing, a Nordic syndicate of 14 angels decided to invest into  - a project management tool which provides project management teams visual dashboards and automated team status reports. ​The deal was finalized on the stage of Arctic15 during Day 2 of the conference. Article originally appeared . 

Together with , Nordic Angel Program received over 270 applications to the joint funding program. The aim was to remodel the funding track that startup conferences usually have done: it was not to decide the investment target by pitching, but to let angels carefully evaluate startups based on their materials and how well they responded to coaching.

Remodeling the funnel was a key factor for Screenful also to participate to the program. Screenful creates functional and clear visual dashboards for project management. Their customers include professional project management corporations as well as other companies that run big projects that need ongoing reporting. 

”We decided to participate to Arctic15 Funding Program/NAP based on the fact that it was not a traditional pitching competition. We wanted to find a great group of investors that can support our goals. For this the program was perfect, and we achieved what we aimed to do”, states Screenful co-founder, Sami Linnanvuo. In addition to the NAP syndicate, they filled up their round together with old investors and  ​

"What will you use the money for?"
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“The money goes to expanding our team and supporting our sales. We look to hire at least two new team members within a year”, Linnanvuo concludes. Screenful was a clear choice for the syndicate. "Screenful has a great product and excellent, coachable team. For an angel investor it is a case where you can add value by your skills, not only by the funds you bring to the table", describes Reima Linnanvirta, one of the NAP Lead Angels. ​

Riku Asikainen describing Lead Angel role at a NAP training sessionTo enable angels to make the best possible decision, they have received practical training sessions on several aspect of angel investing. Themes of the training sessions have covered syndicate building, lead angel role, investment criteria and many other relevant topics. Best practices from each training have been shared with all Business Angels Networks running their own NAPs - EstBAN, DanBAN and BAN Norway. You can read the findings from . In addition, angels from FiBAN flew to meet fellow Danish angels to deepen the investor relations and understand the Danish ecosystem better. was one of the key learnings. ​

Investor Sparring Session to replace startup pitching
​What differentiated the program from traditional way of choosing startup for an investment was that the syndicate never saw startups pitching. Instead, the syndicate met with the Top15, which they together with had chosen, in a Each startup got a thirty-minute slot of private coaching with a group of angels, thus receiving invaluable comments and improvement suggestions. Startups got valuable feedback and angels got to know the startups in more detail than would be possible in a three-minute pitching session. It was also a chance for the startups to meet with their potential board members. ​

The next Nordic Angel Program will take place in autumn together with   ​In addition to Slush deal flow, the program organizes training sessions, online workshops and a possible joint study trip abroad to meet with interesting ecosystem abroad. Interested angels can participate to the next program until October 2018. 

Nordic Angel Program (NAP) is a training and investment program for startup investors operated by Nordic & Baltic angel networks , ,  and  and partner programs in . Visit nordicangelprogram.com and www.fiban.org/NAP

The program is powered by EU's Horizon2020 program.