Alt for Norge: The biggest mistake founders in Oslo can make and what reality TV can teach us to prevent it.
7.3 billion Norwegian kroner (approx. 7,300 million Euro) is the value of scaleups - essentially a startup going through rapid growth - in Oslo. The problem for many founders is trying to find the right talent to grow despite a shortage of highly skilled tech professionals in Oslo. To further complicate the matter, even though over half a million people have moved to Norway to help fill those positions, many leave within 10 years.
I want to tell you a story about how I, an immigrant from the US, left a stable job to run a fast-growing company alongside my Norwegian co-founder Anne.
There I am, sitting in my office and grinding my teeth. The tin of makrell og tomat I ate for lunch made the office smell vaguely fishy. The fan on my laptop whirred as it tried to cool down while I slammed each key in response to an email from the university’s accounting department. I read it again for the 2,183rd time. “We can’t accept the 300.000 kroner [approx. 30,000 Euro] payment from your funder in the United States because they won’t accept our contract”. The university’s contract was written in Norwegian and the American funder wanted it in English. I am at a breaking point and this was not the first time. I don’t belong here.
Two years later, I left my job, Anne and I started Inclusive Creation, and are navigating the ups and downs of hiring a new team. I am eager. I belong. And Anne and I work hard every day to make sure our team feels like they belong. The lesson? For immigrants, like myself, feeling connected to your new home is vital. This is why Anne is the hero of this story. She is the reason the four of us feel like we belong.
When a company starts to scale, I imagine a lot of founders think “Where are we going to find talented people to join us?!” My first thought was whether Anne and I could help the rest of our team connect with life in Oslo. That’s why hiring a team is like shopping at a loppemarked. You have to beat all the second-hand shop owners from grünerløkka who are looking to triple their investment in every knickknack they can find. You see, the big consultancies can afford to offer billion kroner salaries to 6-year-olds who show a passing interest in Minecraft. But you have to work smarter, and if you want to attract the best talent, looking abroad can help you scale quickly.
The challenge isn’t attracting people to come to Norway. Show them a nice video of the Northern Lights and hand them a job contract. But they will stay if they feel like they belong. The lesson for scale-ups, incubators, and business developers in Oslo is that you cannot rely only on Norway’s high quality of life, absolutely stellar weather, and world-renowned cuisine to keep talent. You have to give people a sense of belonging.
Alt for norge is a reality tv show that pits Americans against each other to see who can be the most "Norwegian”. Alt roughly translates to everything. I want you to remember the word “Alt”. The talent you need is willing to give alt to come to Norway and I want you to give ALT back - Accept, Learn, Think.
ACCEPT that they are going to miss home. If they complain, it’s not because they hate it, it’s because they want you to empathize with them. If they complain about the food, take them to the shops in Grønland. You’ll probably come away with more recipes and ideas for dishes than you could ever imagine. If they complain about the cold, explain how many pairs of ullundertøy and brodder they’ll need to survive the winter. If they complain about the dark, introduce them to the ways of hygge.
LEARN about them and their culture. If you want to make an immigrant cry with happiness, give them something that reminds them in some small way of their home. If a coworker ever bought me a box of Kraft macaroni and cheese or girl scout cookies, I’d probably break down into tears of joy.
THINK about what it took for them to get here. A lot of immigrants come from humble backgrounds. Even if they’re highly educated or wealthy, they may not have come from a place with the safety and security of Norway. Think and reflect on their resilience and strength and acknowledge and validate their experiences.
Immigrants have given Alt for Norge to work at your company. Can you give ALT back to them?
