Designing a startup incubator for Europe
Lars Hinrich had a vision: to spark a movement of startups in Europe. But he knew that the ecosystem in Europe was very different to that in silicon valley. It required a different approach. Design consultancy IDEO was brought on board to partner with Lars for a unique opportunity to design and build the organisation and its value proposition from scratch.
As part of the team, I led the organisation design component, helping to figure out the recruitment model, how HackFWD would be staffed, what competences it would need, and how its internal values would support its external brand.
HackFWD launched in 2010 and ran successfully for three years. It helped at least 14 successful startups come to life. Amongst those are FlockOfBirds , Infogr.am, and Cobook. You can read more about HackFWD and watch their inspiring talks from their events here.
