What Startup Studio LLC does

Startup Studio LLC is a lean innovation and growth consulting firm founded c.2013 in Malmö, Sweden, with a secondary office at the Medicon Village life science incubator in Lund. It serves two parallel customer segments: large enterprises seeking to build internal innovation capabilities and avoid disruption, and individual entrepreneurs/early-stage startups seeking methodology, community, and early customers. The firm delivers value through consulting engagements, training workshops, and open-innovation programs.

Its core technology is a methodology stack combining Lean Startup with the Scrum framework, packaged into several proprietary frameworks: the Lean Growth Canvas (a strategic growth-planning tool built on Dave McClure's AARRR/Pirate Metrics), the FOUR-model (Full Stack Challenge, Ownership, Uncertainty, Resource constrained) for applying startup thinking inside established firms, the Explorer Team Framework (Explore/Experience/Explode/Execute phases), and the Lean Innovation Maturity Model. These are delivered via structured service offerings branded as "Superpower Days" — Knowledge Day, Action Days, Growth Day, and Explore Day — and through a YouTube content platform, Startup Studio TV. The portfolio is consulting and education IP rather than a unified software product; no API, SDK, or AI components are disclosed.

The business model is professional services sold on a custom/quote basis. Revenue is generated through enterprise engagements (kick-off days, governance setup, culture formation, tool deployment), open-innovation programs (startup dojos, hackathons, accelerators such as Internet Discovery Day, Hack för Maten, and the Healthy Habits competition), and workshops. The firm is privately held, appears to be bootstrapped with sponsorship from Cenito Software AB as the main sponsor, and has received non-dilutive government funding from Vinnova. No institutional investors, funding rounds, M&A, or paid enterprise customer logos are disclosed in the source material.

Name

Startup Studio LLC

Legal name

Startup Studio

Website

https://startupstudio.se

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Startup Studio LLC is a Malmö-based lean innovation and growth consultancy serving large enterprises and early-stage startups through proprietary methodology frameworks, workshops, and open-innovation events including hackathons and accelerators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Innovation Consulting

NAICS

Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Venture Studios / Company Builders (FSANAAAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate Venture Studios & Incubators (Build/launch ventures) (FSANAHAC), Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA), Makerspaces & Fab Labs (Open Build Studios) (EDAMADAC)

Keywords

• Lean innovation consulting
• Corporate startup studios
• Growth strategy workshops
• Enterprise innovation training
• Hackathon event organization

Headquarters

HQ city

Malmö

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Enterprise Innovation & Growth Services: Coaching, training, workshops, and full implementation of in-house startup studios for enterprises. Services include kick-off days, skills training, governance model setup, culture forming activities, and tool/method deployment.
2. Open Innovation & Growth Services: Organizes startup dojo sessions, hackathons, startup accelerators, and innovation competitions. May include event sponsorship and participation fees.
3. Superpower Days: Structured offerings including Knowledge Day (unconference), Action Days (rapid building sessions), Growth Day (using Lean Growth Canvas), and Explore Day (discovering new business opportunities).

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Startup Studio LLC is a lean innovation and growth consulting company that helps large enterprises set up and run in-house startup studios, and supports entrepreneurs through hackathons, accelerators, and startup competitions. Its core deliverables are proprietary frameworks and tools (Lean Growth Canvas, FOUR-model, Explorer Team Framework, Lean Innovation Maturity Model), structured workshop offerings (Superpower Days, Lean UX workshops), and enterprise coaching, training, and culture-formation programs designed to embed startup methodologies inside established companies.

Product overview

Startup Studio LLC is a lean innovation and growth consulting company that offers a portfolio of frameworks, tools, and service offerings. Their core product is the Lean Growth Canvas, a strategic tool for growth teams. They provide intellectual frameworks including the FOUR-model (for applying startup thinking in enterprises) and the Lean Innovation Maturity Model. Their service offerings include Superpower Days workshops (Knowledge, Action, Growth, Explore Days), Lean UX Product Experience Workshops, and Enterprise/Open Innovation programs. The company also operates Startup Studio TV as a content platform. The offering functions as a consulting and education portfolio rather than a unified software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lean Growth Canvas A strategic tool for agile teams to focus their efforts on activities that lead to growth, mapping to Dave McClure's Pirate Metrics (AARRR) model across Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Referral, and Revenue.
• FOUR-model A framework describing four characteristics of startup companies (Full Stack Challenge, Ownership, Uncertainty, Resource constrained) that can be applied within established companies to think and act like startups.
• Lean Innovation Maturity Model A five-level maturity model for large companies to assess their innovation capabilities and progress along the lean innovation journey.
• Superpower Days A structured workshop offering comprising Knowledge Day (unconference format), Action Days (rapid building sessions), Growth Day (using the Lean Growth Canvas), and Explore Day (discovering new business opportunities), for companies that want a focused workshop experience.
• Lean UX – Product Experience Workshop A workshop focused on lean UX methodology and product experience design, helping teams understand future products and how customers experience them.
• Explorer Team Framework A framework combining Lean Startup methodology with Scrum, distinguishing between Explorer teams (searching for product/market fit) and Shipping teams (delivering features), with phases including Explore, Experience, Explode, and Execute.
• Enterprise Innovation & Growth Services for established businesses including kick-off days (Innovation, Knowledge, Growth, Exploration), startup studio mindset implementation, skills training, governance models, culture formation, physical space setup, and tools/methods for experiment-driven innovation.
• Open Innovation & Growth Services including Startup Dojo sessions, hackathons organization, startup accelerators, and events such as Hack för Maten and the Healthy Habits competition, aimed at entrepreneurs and early-stage startups.

Quantifiable outcome

• Companies can move from singularity phase to big bang phase more quickly using their strategic experimentation framework
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Malmö Incubator (MINC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 November 2014Co-organizer of the Healthy Habits innovation competition targeting products and services for healthy living among kids and young people. MINC provides incubator resources and startup support infrastructure.
• ALMIcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 November 2014Governmental Swedish venture capital company and innovation competition co-organizer. Provides financing and support for the Healthy Habits innovation competition.
• Idrottsekonomiskt CentrumminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 November 2014Sports economics research center partnering on the Healthy Habits innovation competition focused on youth health and innovation.
• Cenito Software ABcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSoftware innovation company focused on user experience of software services and products. Described as the main sponsor of the Startup Studio.
• SponsmarketminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPortfolio company of Startup Studio, co-participating in the Healthy Habits innovation competition as a partner organization.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Board of Innovation: Global corporate innovation consultancy that helps enterprises build internal innovation capabilities and run startup-style programs. Closely comparable to Startup Studio's enterprise innovation track and dual-track model.
• Strategyzer: Creator of the Business Model Canvas and a leading provider of training, workshops, and tools for business model innovation. Analogous to Startup Studio's proprietary frameworks (Lean Growth Canvas, FOUR-model) and workshop-led monetization.
• Lean Startup Co. Company founded by Eric Ries to teach and certify practitioners in Lean Startup methodology through workshops and courses. Directly comparable to Startup Studio's methodology workshops and Superpower Days.

Broad incumbents

• IDEO: Global design and innovation consultancy offering corporate innovation services including venture studios and capability building. Operates at much larger scale but addresses the same enterprise innovation challenge.
• BCG Digital Ventures / BCG X: Corporate venture studio that builds and launches startups with enterprises. Broad incumbent in the same corporate venture studio category Startup Studio sells into.
• Skunk Works (within corporates) / Corporate Innovation Labs: Internal corporate innovation/incubation units run by large consultancies and enterprises. Represents the in-house alternative to Startup Studio's enterprise studio implementation offering.

Regional players

• Mindspace (Malmö Office): Flexible workspace and innovation community operator with strong presence in Malmö and other Nordic cities. Comparable as a regional innovation ecosystem partner/competitor in the Swedish market.
• MINC (Malmö Incubator): Swedish startup incubator and innovation hub that partners with Startup Studio on programs like Healthy Habits. Comparable as a regional player in providing startup support and open innovation services.

Emerging players

• Startup Commons: Provides frameworks, training, and tools for building and operating startup studios and ecosystems. Comparable through its emphasis on startup studio operations and education.

Others

• Vinnova Innovation Programs: Swedish government innovation agency that funds Startup Studio's Healthy Habits competition. Functions as a major grantor and stakeholder in the Swedish innovation ecosystem Startup Studio operates in.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/startupsmo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/4860461
• Facebookfacebook.com/erik.starck

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Startup Studio LLC