1. Created in Denmark Strategies for Innovation Jimmy Maymann CEO, The Huffington Post 2

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Created in DenmarkStrategies for Innovation

Jimmy MaymannCEO, The Huffington Post

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AGENDA

Introduction

The Macro Story

The Micro Story

The HuffPost Story

Closing Thoughts

INTRODUCTION THE MACRO STORY THE MICRO STORY CLOSING THOUGHTSTHE HUFFPOST STORY

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What makes the difference between entrepreneurial success and failure?Ability to Scale, Cultural Perceptions, Influx of Different Mindset/Foreign Talen

INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION THE MACRO STORY THE MICRO STORY CLOSING THOUGHTSTHE HUFFPOST STORY

Which forces contribute to higher productivity?Business Culture, Government Policy, Collaboration, Talent Pools

How can Denmark catalyze the same kind of entrepreneurial activity?Better understand entrepreneurs’ needs, change cultural perception of entrepreneurs, encourage collaboration

How is HuffPost changing the traditional media landscape?HuffPost being disruptive in media industry

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The Macro Story

$0

$10,000

$20,000

$30,000

$40,000

$50,000

$60,000

$70,000

GDP Per Capita (1980 - 2011) in USD 1

DenmarkCAGR: 5.48%

United StatesCAGR: 4.86%

United KingdomCAGR: 5.07%

IsraelCAGR: 6.07%

1 Source: World Bank

Denmark’s GDP growth

is strong compared to

three economies where

entrepreneurs are likely

to start new businesses:

US, UK, and Israel


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GDP growth is only a snapshot of how Denmark is performing today.

The “new economy” of Denmark will be shaped by these factors:


The Macro Story

1. Entrepreneurial Activity

2. High Tech Contribution to GDP

3. Government Contribution to

Private R&D

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Entrepreneurial Activity

While new businesses

have significantly

contributed to growth in

other economies,

only 5% of Denmark’s

adult population is

involved in early-stage

entrepreneurial activity, as

opposed to 13% in the US.

% of Early Stage Entrepreneurial Activity Amongst Adult Population 2


2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 20120%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

US UK Israel Denmark

Denmark2012: 5.40%

United States2012: 12.8%

United Kingdom2012: 9.00%

Israel2012: 6.50%

2 Source: GEM Consortium

The Macro Story

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Contribution of High Tech Sector to Total Exports (2009) 3

0.6%

1.6%

2.0%

3.3%

High Tech Contribution to GDP

In Denmark, the high tech sector contributes to 0.6% of all

exports, despite the fact that Denmark is the 6th most high tech

R&D intensive country in the world. 4


Denmark

Israel

UK

US

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

3 Source: OECD4 Source: Bloomberg

The Macro Story

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Composition of Domestic Enterprise R&D Expenditures (2009) 5

US

UK

Israel

Denmark

0%

10

%

20

%

30

%

40

%

50

%

60

%

70

%

80

%

90

%

10

0%

Government Investment in R&D

Denmark invests relatively less in private sector R&D.

The US and UK governments have heavily invested in private

enterprise R&D. Israel’s investment is still relatively higher, but it

reached a peak of 11% during the 1990s.

2.58%

4.67%

14.01%

7.89%

Source: OECD Public Funding Private Funding


5 Source: OECD

The Macro Story

Building the worlds leading teen story telling platform

• Social network to connect, collaborate & share

• Tools to develop stories (words, video & images)

• Competitions based on current trends (fan fic)

SERVICE

BUSINESS• Commercial story rights -

books, games & film• Premium services for users• Educational services

PROGRESS2011 (Dec):

•10K users•5K “Movellas”•277K reads•100% web

2012 (Dec):•70K users•40K “Movellas”•2.6M reads•75% mobile

2014 (outlook): •1M users•90% mobile•$100M

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How can Denmark position itself to remain competitive

in the future by catalyzing new business growth in

other sectors today?


Clusters of Innovation

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The United States, UK, and Israel have seen substantial success in cultivating clusters of

innovation.



United States: Silicon Valley Considered to be the most well-developed start-up ecosystem in the world, with over 25 startups that are valued at greater than $1 billion. The Silicon Valley ecosystem – with its high concentration of universities, venture funding, talent, and entrepreneurial talent – increase the likelihood of successful startups

United Kingdom: Silicon RoundaboutUK’s high tech presence surged after the 2008 recession due to efforts by the government to actively accelerate the formation of companies in the area. The Silicon Roundabout has a high concentration of companies in communications and digital media.

Israel: Silicon WadiIsrael is an excellent startup ecosystem due to a healthy funnel of startups across the developmental lifecycle, a developed funding ecosystem, a strong entrepreneurial culture, and a strong supply of talent.

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US

UK

Israel

Talent Policy Collaboration Culture

Denmark


Weak Moderate Strong

In recent years, Israel has systematically created the right environment for innovation


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Case Study: Israel

Israel’s incubator program brings public, private, and academic institutions together with entrepreneurs.

1

Entrepreneur has an idea and

applies to an incubator, based

on the sector of the proposed

business.

2

Entrepreneur gets

training from industry experts

and venture capital fund

managers.

3

Entrepreneur pitches idea to

government and to fund

managers.

4

Israel’s government

contributes up to $600,000

USD. Rest of funding comes

from VC.


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Case Study: Israel

Licensing

Universities from which ideas come can earn

royalties on the business once it

generates revenue

Privatized

System was privatized after 10 years, to

ensure that growth is organic and profit-

oriented

Profit Driven

Seed funding from non-government entities keeps the focus on

profits


Israel’s system is inherently profit-driven rather than developmental, translating to productivity.

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Policy

% of GDP Spent on R&D (2010) 7

Israel 4.46%

United States 2.90%

United Kingdom

1.86%

Denmark 3.06%

Culture

Every 18 year old in Israel must

join the Israeli Defense Force, a

tradition that builds business

acumen and business

relationships amongst young

adults.


Nicknamed “Start Up Nation”, Israel’s innovation policies and culture are conducive to entrepreneurship.

Israel is the world’s top-

spending country on research

and development.

7 Source: World Bank

Case Study: Israel

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The Micro Story

Entrepreneurs have a means-oriented mindset while executives have a goal-oriented mindset.

Manager/Executive sees means and figures out whether they can achieve or define a specific goal.

Entrepreneur sees goal and wonders how he can reconfigure the means.

Culturally, the Danish are more attuned to the Manager/Executive mindset, because of a fear of failure that continues to inhibit citizens from wanting to start a business.


Goal Oriented

Means Oriented

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INTRODUCTION THE MACRO STORY THE HUFFPOST STORY CLOSING THOUGHTSTHE MICRO STORY

Historically, US has had the fewest proportion of adults discouraged to start a business due to fear of failure – Danish entrepreneurs could potentially learn to be less risk averse

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 20120%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%50% Den

mark

Israel

US

UK

Percent of adults who perceive entrepreneurship opportunities but cite fear of failure would prevent them

from starting a business

Source: GEM Consortium

The Micro Story

Administrator

Will include closing slides with thoughts on Denmark and what it can do.

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9 Source: United States Bureau of Labor Statistics10 Source: Kauffman Foundation

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

7%

8%

9%

10%

11%

0.00%

0.05%

0.10%

0.15%

0.20%

0.25%

0.30%

0.35%

0.40%

Unemployment Rate Entrepreneurship Rate

Entrepreneurship and Unemployment Rates in the US (1996 – 2009)

Recessions can make people less risk averse and catalyze entrepreneurship

In the United States, the unemployment rate increased significantly after the 2008 financial crisis – but so did the rate that people founded new businesses

9 10

The Micro Story

Source: PCGA

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-03-28-pc-software-hit-record-USD20b-revenue-in-2012

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Entrepreneurs are distinct from small business owners in that, from the very beginning, they intend for their businesses to scale

SA

LES

(D

EM

AN

D)

TIME

DIS

CO

VER

Y

VA

LID

ATIO

N

EFFIC

IEN

CY

SC

ALE

DISCOVERY – Idea is born and tested.

VALIDATION – Idea is spread to potential customers.

SCALE – Aggressive growth of idea and company

EFFICIENCY – Business model refined and tested.

In DenmarkDenmark’s present income tax structure may discourage entrepreneurs and investors.9

Danish entrepreneurs currently wait too long to merge or be acquired, but this is often needed in order to scale their businesses.10

11 Source: The Economist12 Source: Danish Business Authority

The Micro Story

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The Huffington Post Story

HuffPost combines an award-winning newsroom with coverage across a broad

variety of content


LIFESTYLE

ENTERTAINMENT

NEWS & BUSINESS

TECH & INNOVATION

+ 500 editors and reporters+ 50k bloggers

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The Huffington Post Story

The Huffington Post is a global, cross-platform experience reaching more than 71M

users


CORE SITE LIVE STREAMING VIDEO MOBILE

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The Huffington PostINTRODUCTION THE MACRO STORY THE MICRO STORY CLOSING THOUGHTSTHE HUFFPOST STORY

58 SECA NEW PIECE OF CONTENT IS

PUBLISHED GLOBALLY

1600+STORIES EACH DAY

EVERY

500REPORTERS AND

EDITORS

CONTENT + CONVERSATION

The sheer scale of our operation drives impact by connecting editorial to the social landscape in real-time

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The Huffington Post

The Huffington Post’s digitally native culture has driven its exponential growth


Digitally Native Culture

• No print history – no legacy ways of thinking

• “Winning the internet” is the mantra – the goal is to be everywhere

• Editorial and Tech co-create new products and innovations

• Social media at the heart of every HuffPost employee

• Data-driven culture at every level

HuffPost Unique Visitors

Mon

thly

Vis

itors

(G

lob

al)

2007 2009 2011 20132005

0 MM

50 MM

100 MM

Source: Google Analytics

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What Denmark Can LearnINTRODUCTION THE MACRO STORY THE MICRO STORY CLOSING THOUGHTSTHE HUFFPOST STORY

Strengths

1. Human Capital – create a

pipeline for entrepreneurial

talent, and bring in more foreign

talent

2. Incubators – learn from the

experience of incubators in US,

UK, and Israel to build more

robust, scalable businesses

Opportunities

1. Corporate Tax System – evaluate

income and capital gains taxes to

encourage more investors

2. Entrepreneurial culture – cultivate a

culture of higher risk tolerance and

willingness to experiment

3. More R&D investment – increase

domestic R&D investments

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What Denmark Can LearnINTRODUCTION THE MACRO STORY THE MICRO STORY CLOSING THOUGHTSTHE HUFFPOST STORY

Lower Income Tax

Lower Capital

Gains Tax

Import Talent

Cross-sector

Collaboration

Increase R&D

Investments

Optimize Incubators

Promote risk-seeking,

entrepreneurial culture

+ + + +

Short term

Long term

+Promote private sector

funding

Talent pipeline from

universities to startups

++

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Tak!


Documents

1. Created in Denmark Strategies for Innovation Jimmy Maymann CEO, The Huffington Post 2