What Start NHH does

Start NHH is an independent student interest group (interessegruppe) at the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) in Bergen, Norway, founded in 2001 to promote entrepreneurship and innovation among NHH students and the broader Bergen student community. The organization runs a portfolio of programs rather than a single product: ScaleCenter is a pro-bono incubator that places student teams into sustainable growth companies in Norwegian energy and ocean industries; She Innovates is an annual event focused on female entrepreneurship; Gründerdagen is a career fair for innovative businesses held as part of NHH Career Days; Drivhuset is an annual climate conference; InnoCafé is an informal entrepreneurship discussion series; and Start NHH also facilitates local participation in Venture Cup, the Nordic region's largest student business plan competition. Membership is limited to NHH students, recruited through bi-annual intake at the start of fall and spring semesters, and the organization operates as part of a larger "Start" network that includes Start BI and Start Bergen.

The organization has no proprietary technology, software product, or AI/ML capability. Its offering is fundamentally a community-and-events model, delivered through physical campus engagement at NHH and through structured event programming. ScaleCenter is the closest analogue to a service line, providing student workforce (pro-bono) to early-stage and growth-stage companies, with SEB as the headline corporate partner and StartupLab Bergen as a knowledge partner since 2019.

Start NHH's business model is sponsorship- and partnership-funded. The organization manages its own finances independently from NHH and does not charge students for membership or event participation. Revenue is generated through corporate sponsorships (e.g., SEB for ScaleCenter, DNB and Bergen Municipality for Drivhuset) and knowledge-based collaboration agreements (e.g., StartupLab). No products or services are sold, no pricing model exists, and no revenue figures are disclosed. As a non-profit student organization, growth is not measured in commercial revenue but in program breadth, sponsor relationships, and member activity.

Name

Start NHH

Legal name

Start NHH

Website

https://startnhh.no

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Start NHH is an independent, non-profit student interest group at the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) in Bergen, founded in 2001, that promotes entrepreneurship through events (She Innovates, Gründerdagen, Drivhuset, InnoCafé) and a pro-bono student-workforce incubator called ScaleCenter serving sustainable growth companies in Norwegian energy and ocean industries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Student Entrepreneurship Programs

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA)

Keywords

• Student entrepreneurship
• Startup incubation
• Innovation events
• Entrepreneurship education
• Pro-bono consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Bergen

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Sponsorships and partnerships: The organization secures financial resources and knowledge-based partnerships through corporate sponsors and collaboration agreements. The Marketing group is responsible for securing both financial and knowledge-based partnerships.
2. StartupLab partnership: Knowledge-based collaboration where StartupLab provides expertise and workforce support to ScaleCenter startups, while Start NHH provides student volunteers.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Start NHH is a non-profit student interest group at the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) that promotes entrepreneurship and innovation among students. It runs a portfolio of programs including the ScaleCenter pro-bono startup incubator, the She Innovates gender-equality event, the Gründerdagen career fair for innovative businesses, the Drivhuset climate conference, InnoCafé discussion sessions, and the Venture Cup business plan competition.

Product overview

Start NHH is a student interest group at the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) that promotes innovation and entrepreneurship. Rather than a single unified product, Start NHH offers a portfolio of programs and events: ScaleCenter (a pro-bono incubator supporting sustainable startups in Norwegian industries), She Innovates (gender equality and innovation evening event), Gründerdagen (career fair for innovative businesses), Drivhuset (annual climate conference), InnoCafé (informal entrepreneurship discussions), and Venture Cup (Nordic business plan competition). These programs work together to support student entrepreneurs at various stages, from inspiration and networking through to incubation and competition.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ScaleCenter: A pro-bono incubator for sustainable growth companies within key Norwegian industries such as energy and seafood.
• She Innovates
• Gründerdagen
• Drivhuset
• InnoCafé

Products and services

• ScaleCenter A pro-bono incubator program for sustainable growth companies in central Norwegian industries such as energy and ocean sectors; student members provide workforce support to startups while gaining practical experience.
• She Innovates An evening event focused on innovation and gender equality, featuring talks from female entrepreneurs, panel discussions, networking, and entertainment, aimed at NHH and Bergen students.
• Gründerdagen An annual career fair for innovative businesses held in autumn as part of Career Days at NHH, providing startups a platform to profile themselves among students.
• Drivhuset An annual climate conference organized each autumn by Start NHH, focusing on sustainability and the green transition in business, with partners including DNB and Bergen Municipality.
• InnoCafé An informal café-format event for students to meet and discuss entrepreneurship topics.
• Venture Cup The Nordic region's largest student business plan competition, encouraging commercialization of ideas through workshops, lectures, and mentoring from professionals.

Quantifiable outcome

• Organized She Innovates event promoting female entrepreneurship and innovation
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• StartupLab BergencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Knowledge-based collaboration established in 2019 where StartupLab and Start NHH help each other with workforce and expertise when needed. StartupLab helped develop the old Jentemiddagen event into She Innovates and hosts inspiration workshops before Start NHH's local final in Venture Cup. The partnership aims to ensure more good startup companies in Bergen.
• SEBcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSEB partners with ScaleCenter to support sustainable growth companies. In 2023, the partnership refined processes to reduce friction and improve quality of work. SEB provides continued confidence in Start NHH's students.
• DNBminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDNB is a partner for Drivhuset, the annual climate conference organized by Start NHH focusing on sustainability and innovation in business.
• Bergen kommune (Bergen Municipality)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBergen Municipality is a partner for Drivhuset, supporting the annual climate conference focused on sustainability and green transition in business.
• Start (Organization Network)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStart NHH is part of the larger Start organization network. In Bergen, related chapters include Start BI and Start Bergen, creating a broader ecosystem for student entrepreneurship support.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• HEC Paris Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute: Institutional innovation and entrepreneurship hub at HEC Paris, supporting student-led startups through incubators, events, and programs. Comparable in being a leading business school-affiliated entrepreneurship platform, though operating at a much larger, formal institutional scale.
• Enactus: Global student organization present in over 30 countries that runs student-led entrepreneurship and social enterprise projects on university campuses. Comparable in being a student-led entrepreneurship platform, but operates at a much larger international scale and with formal non-profit structure.
• Junior Achievement: Global non-profit delivering entrepreneurship, work-readiness, and financial literacy education to students from elementary through university. Comparable in mission to inspire student entrepreneurship, though it operates at a much larger, formal institutional scale.
• StartupLab: Larger Norwegian startup hub/incubator with a Bergen branch that has an active knowledge-based partnership with Start NHH. Comparable as a Bergen-based entrepreneurship ecosystem operator, though it operates as a commercial incubator rather than a student interest group.

Direct peers

• Start Bergen: Sister chapter of Start NHH within the broader Start organization, also based in Bergen. Operates as a student entrepreneurship interest group at the Bergen student level, making it a direct peer in geography, mission, and ecosystem.
• Venture Cup: Nordic region's largest student business plan competition, explicitly partnered with Start NHH as a local host. Closely comparable as a student entrepreneurship competition/program operating across Nordic universities with workshops, mentoring, and pitch events.
• Start BI: Sister chapter of Start NHH in Bergen operating under the same Start organization network, serving students at BI Norwegian Business School. Directly comparable as a student entrepreneurship interest group at a Norwegian business school with similar event-driven and community-led GTM.

Emerging players

• WHU Entrepreneurship Center: Entrepreneurship center and student-run initiatives at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management in Germany. Comparable as a top business school-aligned entrepreneurship hub offering events, mentoring, and incubation for student founders, though operating at a more formalized institutional level.
• Stanford BASES: Business Association of Stanford Entrepreneurial Students — a student-run organization at Stanford GSB/University that hosts the BASES Challenge, startup treks, and entrepreneurship programming. Comparable in being a student-led entrepreneurship society at a leading business school, but with significantly larger resources and scale.
• Oxford Entrepreneurs: Student-run entrepreneurship society at the University of Oxford. Comparable as a student-led entrepreneurship interest group providing events, community, and founder support at a top university, though operating in a much larger international market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/StartNHH
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/startnhh
• Instagraminstagram.com/start_nhh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Start NHH