Daniel Isdal Furset: Inside the Brain Trust Elevating Norway's Fintech Game

In the fast-paced and rapidly growing world of fintech, Norway is poised at the cusp of innovation, with a unique blend of tradition and tech-forward thinking. At the heart of this transformation is Daniel Isdal Furset, Secretary General of Fintech Norway.

"People from Bergen are very patriotic," he begins with a chuckle, "some might even go as far as to say 'I’m not from Norway, I’m from Bergen.’” And with a twinkle in his eye, he adds, “I may or may not be one of those people."

At 33, Daniel is a renaissance man of the Norwegian startup world. The imprints of his Master's degree in Innovation & Management from Western Norway University of Applied Sciences are evident in every role he's undertaken. Pitching, business development, sales, investor relations — Daniel's resume reads like a comprehensive course on startup growth.

It's not all tech and business, however. He often oscillates between the realms of academia and industry, with stints as a lecturer. "I’ve worked on and off teaching Bachelor students about innovation & entrepreneurship theories in some form or another," he mentions.

It’s as if every role was a meticulous stepping stone. Whether as the product manager at Link Creative, delving into the world of Python and Django, or as the Head of User Acquisition at Eduplaytion, Daniel's diverse experiences amalgamate to shape his vision for Norway's fintech future.

And while Daniel's roles might sound like a whirlwind, at the core, they all tie back to his Bergen roots and his desire to make an impact.

But for many, Daniel's crowning achievement is his role as the Secretary General of Fintech Norway. For the uninitiated, Fintech Norway is the industry Association by and for fintechs operating in the land of the midnight sun.

It's no coincidence that Fintech Norway, under Daniel's leadership, has been at the forefront of Norway's fintech renaissance. They're not just along for the ride; they're firmly in the driver's seat. When asked about the strategies employed by Fintech Norway, Daniel candidly elaborates, "The most important work we do is making sure our members have a seat at the table in the relevant forums." With regular engagements with Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority, collaborations with Norwegian banks, and even an influential board position in the European Digital Finance Association, they're ensuring a voice for their members, both domestically and at the EU level.

But it's not just about representation. Daniel's keen sense of collaboration is evident in how he positions Fintech Norway. "We partner up and collaborate with other ecosystem players whenever possible," he points out, underlining the importance of co-authoring articles, consultation reports, and hosting events.

‍

‍

While Daniel's prowess in the fintech world is evident, his time as a product manager at Link Creative brings a fresh set of challenges to the table. In an elaborate recount of his stint with a Bergen-based tech startup, Link Development, he delves into "Kulturjakten," an initiative aimed at amplifying cultural offerings of Norwegian municipalities.

Navigating through bureaucracy, securing funding, and engaging in intensive negotiations, Daniel's approach was a blend of innovation and hands-on business development. He admits, "This was the first time dealing with a municipality and all the bureaucracy this entails." But leveraging his innate knack for understanding organizational dynamics, Daniel successfully turned the project into a tailor-made solution for Bergen, ensuring not just visibility but also inclusivity.

Daniel’s insights in this interview are invaluable, not just for fintechs and incubators, but also for anyone interested in understanding the tech venture ecosystem.

In your experience, what are some key challenges that modern-day companies face when undergoing digital transformation, and how do you address them in your lectures to bachelor students?

One of the current issues (and theories) I am discussing with my students is how incumbent companies might struggle with changing how they think about IT and new digital technologies. For many well-established organisations, there’s a challenge in moving away from viewing IT as a commodity (as Nicholas Carr put it in his well-known essay, "IT doesn't matter") or as the machinery that keeps the business running.

Instead, they must find a way to reconcile the mandate to provide a stable and predictable IT environment for the current business with the exploration of new opportunities in a rapidly changing digital and economic environment.

This is of course nothing new—Nicholas Carr already addressed this issue back in 2003—but it’s still a challenge for big organisations to balance going about their business as usual (maintaining the core business) on the one hand, while also exploring, experimenting, and innovating on the other hand (what we call an ambidextrous organisation). A key characteristic of a successful ambidextrous organisations is that it pursues a growth ambition by separating the people responsible for operating a core business from those that explore into new market areas.

In Norway we have many good examples of this. Most recently the neo-bank Bulder Bank, which was born out of the incumbent bank Sparebanken Vest and is now one of the most popular mortgage banks in (Western) Norway.

With your academic background and practical experience, how do you see the role of business incubator services evolving in the future? How can they provide even greater perceived value to startups and entrepreneurs?

I believe incubators will continue to play an important role in fostering new startups and helping them grow into successful companies. However, there is a clear need for incubators to differentiate their service offering based on the maturity of the startup.

I see that many early-stage startups feel they receive great value from incubators in the very beginning, but as they grow this value depreciates. I can of course only speak on behalf of the Norwegian incubators I’ve researched, but three current problems I continue to see them have is:

1. Being able to define the maturity stage of the startups they want to cater to more clearly.
   
   
2. Once this is defined: Focus on finding a balance between a generic and tailored service offering depending on the maturity level of the startup.
   
   
3. Be stricter on creating a better turnaround of startups, where the companies who have passed the maturity threshold the incubator caters to (or the number of years they are allowed to sit in the incubator) is let go to free up seats for new startups.

It is also worth mentioning that access to capital continues to be (one of) the biggest struggles for all startups. I’ve seen different strategies from different incubators on how to help startups with this: the ones who actively try to build up an investor forum/network, and regularly expose their startups to them, seem to be the most successful here. This also means being strict and setting clear expectations to the investors who partake in the network.

Drawing from your Master's thesis on the perceived value of business incubator services, what insights can you share about the factors that contribute most to the success of startups within these environments?

Through my own research I, along with my fellow researcher Håkon Lavik, concluded that there was a significant difference in the perceived value of a business incubator between the incubator managers' and entrepreneurs' perception of the service offering. We also identified seven findings that we believed are possible explanations for the observed discrepancy and that incubator manager’s need to take into account to increase the value they create for the startups:

The service offering of the incubator must be customised to the current needs of start-up companies.

‍Meaning: startups have different needs at different stages. Though it seems obvious when you say it out loud, many incubators fail to practice this in their service offering.

Incubators should have a deliberate strategy around the use of generic and customised services.

‍This is closely linked to the first finding. A generic service offering with a broad reach is good in the beginning, but loses value as the startup matures and needs more tailored follow-up and advice/expertise.

Incubators should have a clear communication strategy for the service offering.

The second finding deals with what is being communicated, this third one deals with how it is being communicated. Our research showed that incubator managers consider communication of their service offerings to be challenging, and that they do not have a clearly defined strategy for how to do this effectively. The entrepreneurs, on the other hand, say that the service offering is communicated in a fragmented and confusing way, and that it is therefore difficult to find the services that are valuable to them.

Incubators should avoid creating unrealistic expectations of the service offering.

‍This is a classic example of the importance of managing expectations, which is closely linked to the communication strategy. If the entrepreneurs’ expectations are high, the literature shows that this can have a correspondingly negative effect on the perception of the actual service offering, which in turn affects the entrepreneur's valuation of it.

Some start-ups don’t realise how valuable the service offering is to them.

‍Both incubator managers and entrepreneurs recognise that being part of an incubator has value, but it is difficult to measure just how much this value is. This is because it’s challenging to truly know  how the company would have developed without an incubation programme.

‍Some start-ups attribute their success to their own skills, but attribute setbacks to the shortcomings of the incubator.

This is a classic example of self-serving bias, where entrepreneurs may overestimate their own contribution and, conversely, underestimate the contribution of incubators to positive outcomes.

‍Differing understandings of roles can create discrepancies.

The fact that incubator managers and entrepreneurs ultimately have different goals and KPI’s is also an important factor to consider.

Incubator managers provide services as a means to achieve their overall goals. Depending on the type of incubator model, this may include creating new jobs, increasing entrepreneurial activity, commercialising research, or regional development. Incubators, especially those that receive public funding based on goal achievement, will therefore have a natural and inherent incentive to value their services highly.

Start-ups, however, are dependent on the incubator's services providing the company with increased profitability, survivability, access to capital and mentors, and so on. This involves a more personal dependency on the programme, where they may feel that they have more to "lose" from a service offering that does not meet their needs, which in turn means that they may be more critical of the services offered.

Can you discuss the role of change and innovation in helping vulnerable organizations not only survive but thrive in disruptive markets, based on your research and experience?

Embracing change and innovation can be a great way for vulnerable organisations to survive if used correctly. A great example of this is a local record shop here in Bergen, Apollon, which along with every other record shop felt the pain of streaming services disrupting the market and offering digital access to music.  

While record and DVD shops were closing down and going out of business en masse, Apollon managed to survive by analysing its business model and finding adjacent industries and sectors it could move into without abandoning its core business. Today Apollon is still a record shop with a wide selection of records and CD’s, but they also have one of the biggest beers-on-tap selections in all of Bergen, with custom made beers just for them via unique partnerships with local breweries. They also frequently host free concerts where up and coming bands can use their venue for free to gain exposure and promote themselves, making them into one of the most popular music scenes in Bergen.

Given your role as the Secretary General of Fintech Norway, the product management position at Link Creative, and your academic endeavors, how do you balance and integrate these different roles to drive your personal and professional growth?

Balancing multiple roles and hats is always challenging, and you are forced to make some tough decisions and prioritise your time. This continues to be one of the biggest challenges for me, as I am a notorious “yes man,” leading me to bite off more than I can chew more often than not.

One solution has been to merge the different roles I have whenever possible. For instance, I only lecture in courses dealing with innovation and entrepreneurship, which means I already know the material well. I even sometimes have the founders come in as guest lecturers.

I’ve also become better at delegating responsibilities and drawing from the wealth of experience that exists in our membership base. With almost 50 members, there is usually an employee at one of the companies who is better than me at a specific task. Finding that person and enlisting their help (if possible) has been a great strategy.

What is your one guiding principle in both life and work?

One thing I always try to focus on is continuous learning: embracing a growth mindset and encouraging myself to stay curious and adapt to changing circumstances.

I also strive to find a healthy work-life balance, where I try to prioritize self-care, family, and personal time alongside my professional pursuits. I try to remind myself that spending one more hour at work isn’t more important than fostering good relationships with my friends and family. This last one is still a work in progress, though.

Photos courtesy of: jörgen Skjelsbæk / SHIFTER, Daniel Isdal Furset