New business development manager for the StartUp Hub
Peter Smedegaard has joined Odense Robotics as the new Business Development Manager of Startups. Peter will take the helm at the Odense Robotics StartUp Hub at the Danish Technological Institute, where he will ensure Hub startups get all the guidance and support they need to realise their potential.
Peter has 15 years of experience within various startup environments and was previously the Investment Manager at Innovation Midtvest and Head of Investments and Portfolios at Syddansk Innovation. He has also been chairman and member of the boards for several companies and is a coach in EU’s Horizon programme.
How will you make a difference for startups?
Over the last 15 years, I have worked with startups within various innovation environments. Startups often have a narrow yet immense knowledge of a specific field, where they are exceptionally strong. Yet then they have some areas, where they need assistance.
As a strong generalist, I help evaluate the company and identify gaps. Even with an advisory board, a company can lack specific competences, which they might not be aware of as their focus lies elsewhere, often on technical aspects. I help ensure their business plan is thorough and that they are well informed of all their opportunities.
I have worked with investments, funding and soft funding from EU and other programmes and this is where my focus lies. I help finalise investor strategies and capital planning. I also evaluate the company’s competences – their needs on a daily basis and/or at a strategic level. I want to use my large network to help the companies in the StartUp Hub and I encourage all our Hub startups to explore my network. I aim to enhance the startups by helping them strengthen their business plans, strategies, network, teams and funding.
What are you most looking forward to?
In my previous jobs, I was often the first person a startup met and this is what I am looking forward to in Odense Robotics; the direct collaboration with the companies as well as coaching and guidance. That is the part I like the most; working alongside entrepreneurs. They are always going 100 miles an hour and they never give up and never back down from challenges, but instead set out to solve them right away. Their drive, enthusiasm and energy is infectious – and the recipe for success. They are experts in their fields and and I specialise in taking an idea from prototype to business. I cannot wait to meet all the Hub startups and help them develop their businesses even more.
What experience can you draw on to make a difference for the industry?
The more successes the StartUp Hub produces, the stronger Odense Robotics becomes – as well as our reputation that the Danish robotics and drone cluster is where the future’s successful companies are born. I look forward to putting my vast experience with startups to good use and securing optimal conditions for startups to flourish and develop and get the most out of their time in the Hub. My background in coaching startups via programmes and through company boards of directors means that I have gained great insights into the inner workings of startups, which I will draw on to further improve the structures and procedures in the StartUp Hub.