Athenas Foredrag Norge

What Athenas Foredrag Norge does

Athenas Foredrag Norge (legal entity Athenas AS) is Norway's leading speaking bureau and one of Europe's largest, operating from Tønsberg with 58 employees as a subsidiary of an unnamed Danish conglomerate whose administrative functions are centralized in Odense, Denmark. Founded in 2003, the company matches Norwegian event organizers — corporate, governmental, educational, healthcare, and association buyers — with a curated network of hundreds of professional speakers, conference moderators, and course facilitators organized across 800+ topic categories. Its core products are the Foredragsholdere speaker directory, Konferansierer conference-host roster, Emner topic taxonomy, Kursholdere course-instructor service, and an end-to-end Booking-tjenester agency offering that handles matching, contracting, travel, and logistics.

The business runs on a transaction-fee revenue model: Athenas takes a commission per successful speaker booking, with custom pricing driven by talk length, event size, speaker fee, and location rather than published tiers. Distribution is sales-led and multi-channel: a searchable website at athenas.no, a staffed advisory phone line (911 16 989), email/contact-form intake, and organic social plus Mailchimp newsletters on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. There is no proprietary technology platform or app — the offering is human-mediated advisory and matchmaking augmented by a digital directory. Differentiators cited by the company include the size and breadth of the speaker network, exclusive speakers, co-brokerage access to international talent, rapid response times, and 20+ years of category experience supported by multiple industry awards.

Name

Athenas Foredrag Norge

Legal name

Athenas AS

Website

https://athenas.no

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Athenas Foredrag Norge is Norway's leading speaking bureau, matching corporate, government, education, and association event organizers with hundreds of professional speakers, moderators, and course facilitators on a transaction-fee basis.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Speaker Booking Services

NAICS

Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (7114), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Meeting & Conference Planning & Coordination (HSACADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Venue Sourcing & Contract Negotiation Specialists (THAHACAH), Guest Management (Invitations, RSVPs, Seating, Check-in) (HSACAAAJ)

Keywords

• Speaker booking agency
• Keynote speaker bureau
• Conference moderator services
• Lecture booking platform
• Event speaker matching

Headquarters

HQ city

Tønsberg

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Speaker Booking Agency Fees: Athenas acts as an intermediary/agency connecting event organizers with professional speakers. The company takes a commission or booking fee from speakers for facilitating the match. Revenue is generated through successful speaker bookings where the company matches customer requirements (event type, budget, topic, availability) with appropriate speakers from their network.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Athenas Foredrag Norge operates as Norway's leading speaker booking agency (foredragsbyrå), acting as an intermediary that matches event organizers with professional keynote speakers, conference moderators, and course instructors. The company maintains a directory of hundreds of speakers across 800+ topic categories and all price ranges, providing advisory matching, availability coordination, contract handling, and travel logistics. Customers submit inquiries online or by phone and receive personalized consultant-guided recommendations for their conferences, corporate events, kick-offs, and seminars.

Product overview

Athenas Foredrag Norge operates as Norway's leading keynote booking agency, offering a comprehensive marketplace connecting event organizers with professional speakers, conference moderators, and course facilitators. The platform provides a searchable directory of speaker profiles organized by over 800 topic categories, enabling customers to find presenters for conferences, workshops, corporate events, kickoffs, and meetings. The core offering consists of three integrated products: (1) Foredragsholdere - the speaker directory with detailed profiles, videos, and reviews; (2) Konferansierer - conference hosts and moderators; and (3) Emner - the topic-based browsing system. The agency provides end-to-end booking services including speaker matching, availability confirmation, contract management, and logistical coordination for events. They position themselves as offering speakers across all price ranges with rapid response times and professional guidance throughout the booking process.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Foredragsholdere (Speaker Directory)
• Konferansierer (Conference Moderators)
• Emner (Topic Categories)
• Booking-tjenester (End-to-End Booking Service)
• Kursholdere (Course Instructors)

Named customers14 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Danish Parent Corporation (Odense)coreOthersAthenas is a subsidiary of a larger Danish corporation. Administrative services are delivered from the parent company's office in Odense, Denmark. All decisions regarding suppliers and matters affecting transparency law objectives are made at department leadership level and approved by the CEO.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Inspizio Foredragsbyrå: Norwegian-speaking competitor bureau (foredragsbyrå) offering speaker booking for corporate events in Norway. Direct domestic competitor targeting the same Norwegian corporate and public-sector event buyers as Athenas.
• Executive Speakers Bureau: US speaker bureau specializing in booking business, leadership, and motivational keynote speakers for corporate events and conferences. Operates the same advisor-mediated speaker booking model aimed at corporate event buyers.
• Stern Speaker Bureau: US speaker agency focused on keynote and conference speaker bookings with a curated roster and advisor-led process. Directly comparable operating model and customer type (corporate events, conferences), serving as a model benchmark for Athenas's advisor workflow.
• Speakers Corner Denmark: One of the established Nordic speaker bureaus operating a similar human-mediated advisory model connecting corporate event buyers with keynote speakers. Closest direct competitor in the broader Danish/Nordic speaking-bureau landscape.
• Athenas Denmark (Athenes Foredrag): Likely sister company within the same Danish parent conglomerate, operating the same foredragsbyrå (speaker bureau) model in Denmark with matching advisor-mediated booking across Nordic speakers. Direct strategic peer and likely internal benchmark for Athenas Norge's expansion trajectory.

Broad incumbents

• BigSpeak Speakers Bureau: Large US-headquartered speaker bureau with a searchable online catalog plus advisor support for corporate event booking. Closest US analog to Athenas's combined self-serve directory + advisor model, serving enterprise and association buyers.
• London Speaker Bureau: Long-established international speaker bureau with a global roster and advisor-led booking for corporate events. Comparable business model and target buyer (corporate event organizers), but materially larger scale and broader geographic footprint than Athenas.

Regional players

• Saxton Speakers Bureau: Australia/New Zealand-focused speaker bureau with similar advisory-led matchmaking between event organizers and keynote speakers. Comparable business model and event-buyer profile but operates in a distinct geography.

Emerging players

• Talent Bureau (Speak Inc.): Speaker and entertainment talent agency combining advisor matching with online booking tools for corporate events. Represents the emerging digitally-enabled bureau model Athenas would need to compete with over time.
• GetWeekend: Norwegian platform offering curated experiences and event services for corporate teams; overlaps with Athenas on the corporate event buyer side and represents an emerging digital alternative to traditional advisor-led booking.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/athenasnorge
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/athenas-foredrag-no
• Instagraminstagram.com/athenas_foredrag

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Athenas Foredrag Norge