SMIL is where startups move forward fast, together

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About the session

Some startups scale beyond $100M. Others stall at $5M.

The difference is rarely the product. It is the go-to-market: hiring, leadership, customer focus and team alignment.

This session explores what happens when founder-led sales stops being enough, how startups build a scalable sales motion, and how AI is changing the way companies sell and buy.

The session combines practical lessons, real-world examples and live startup pitch reviews on stage, where founders from the audience can test their sales narrative and receive direct feedback in front of the room.

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‍About the hosts‍

The session is hosted by founder, investor and board member Louise Ferslev, together with AJ Tennant, former GTM leader at Facebook, Slack and Glean, where he helped scale each company beyond $100M in revenue. Today, AJ is founder and investor at Tenacity Capital, helping startups build stronger go-to-market engines and scale beyond founder-led sales.

About the session‍

The biggest tech stories are not just happening in Silicon Valley. They are happening right here, too.

At SMIL’26, Prompt goes live with a special edition exploring the forces shaping the future of startups, technology and ownership.

But instead of just reporting on what is happening, this session asks a harder question:

Are we, as a country and ecosystem, funding the very companies we later lose?

From AI and cybersecurity to capital flows, infrastructure and acquisitions, the conversation connects global tech dynamics with Danish startup reality.

Built as an open and interactive live session, the audience helps shape the discussion through questions, reflections and perspectives from the room.

‍About the hosts‍

The session is hosted by startup advisor Simay Arikan and features founder and investor Maiken Paaske, together with Marcel Mirzaei-Fard, and Henrik Moltke, hosts of DR’s tech podcast Prompt, exploring how technology shapes society, business and power. Joining them is Berserk founder and former Humio CTO Kresten Krab Thorup, bringing deep experience from scaling European technology companies and navigating the realities of AI infrastructure, ownership and tech sovereignty.

About the session

Noise is becoming one of the biggest invisible pressures on our nervous systems, focus and mental health.

Fifteen years ago, we barely understood the importance of sleep. Today, it is a key health metric and a full industry. Sound and noise are at a similar turning point, with the World Health Organization calling noise pollution the second largest public health crisis.

This session explores how noise impacts founders, teams and everyday wellbeing, and what small changes can help create more calm, focus and mental clarity.

Built as a practical and interactive experience, the session combines research, reflections and live exercises around sound, silence and nervous system regulation, inviting participants to actively feel the difference themselves.

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About the hosts‍

The session is hosted by startup ecosystem builder Louise Bech Junge and run by Anders Cederholm Nielsen, founder and CEO of Arturel, art collector and former silent club owner. Through years of exploring the relationship between sound, silence and wellbeing, Anders now works on bringing more calm, focus and intentional sound design into everyday life.

About the session‍

What would you ask an investor if no one else was listening?

This isession gives founders the opportunity to sit down face to face with experienced investors for short, confidential one-on-one conversations about fundraising, readiness, traction, founder challenges and the questions most people never ask in public.

Participation in this session requires a short application submitted in advance here.

Instead of a traditional panel or pitch format, participants rotate between private conversations with investors from across venture capital, corporate venture and angel investing, each bringing a different perspective on what makes startups stand out and what investors actually think behind closed doors.

The investor lineup consists of:
→ Susanne Eskildsen, Senior Manager at EIFO
→ Jupe Arala, General Partner at Vendep Capital
→ Mathias Brink Lorenz, Managing Partner at Delphinus Venture Capital
→ Andreas Green Rasmussen, General Partner at Ugly Duckling Ventures
→ Martin Schorling Overgård , Head of AURA Ventures
→ Peter Mægbæk, serial entrepreneur and angel investor

Together, they bring experience from venture capital, angel investing, corporate venture and scaling technology companies across Denmark and the Nordics.

Built as a highly curated and confidential format, the session is designed to create honest conversations, direct feedback and meaningful connections between founders and investors without an audience, stage or performance element.

The session is hosted and moderated by Dominika Wilinska from Startup Aarhus.

About the session

Hiring international talent sounds exciting in theory.

In practice, many startups struggle to make people stay.

Startup Culture from Hell is a brutally honest and interactive session exploring what actually shapes international startup culture in practice. From onboarding and belonging to flexibility, loneliness, expectations and everyday team dynamics, the session looks at why global talent leaves and what startups often misunderstand about building international teams in Denmark.

This is not a traditional panel or generic “war for talent” conversation.

Together with the audience, the session will build the ultimate nightmare startup workplace for international talent, using humor, real experiences and honest reflections to unpack the small cultural habits, behaviours and decisions that quietly push people away.

Participants will work in small groups, share experiences from their own companies and hear directly from founders, operators and international professionals navigating these questions in real life.

Expect audience interaction, uncomfortable truths, practical examples and hopefully a few moments where people leave thinking:

“Oh no… we actually do that.”

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About the hosts‍

The session is hosted by Karmen Raamat, Head of Operations at Truestory, together with Nanna Panduro, CEO at Gastromé, and Nicklas Walsted, Co-founder and CEO at Swap Language.

Together, they bring perspectives from hospitality, startup operations, international communities and company building, opening an honest conversation about what works, what fails and what founders should think differently about when building international teams today.

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About the session

Failure is one of the most common founder experiences. It is also one of the least openly discussed.

At SMIL’26, FailForward and Startup Aarhus invite founders, investors and operators into an honest conversation about failure, setbacks and the pressure to always appear successful in public.

This session explores what happens when things do not go to plan: failed launches, difficult decisions, burnout, shutdowns, pivots, hiring mistakes and investor conversations that changed everything.

The format is personal, reflective and interactive. Rather than polished founder stories, the session creates space for real experiences, audience reflections and open dialogue about how startup ecosystems can become better at learning from failure instead of hiding it.

Because building ambitious companies also means navigating uncertainty, mistakes and moments where things fall apart.

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About the hosts

The session is hosted by Roxy Dat, founder and host of FailForward and TechBBQ, together with Anders Søndergaard, co-founder of Coana (acquired by Socket Inc.), Karen Rafael, founder of Bloom Advisory and People Advisor to founders and VC investors, and Emil Bruun Blauert, Principal at Good Food Capital, Partner at WNEAT and co-director at Postevand.

Together, they open an honest conversation about failure as part of the founder journey and explore how stronger startup ecosystems are built when people share not only wins, but also setbacks, doubts and lessons learned along the way.

About the session

At SMIL’26, the Danish Chamber of Commerce invites founders and ecosystem partners to an interactive session on sales, commercial dialogue and building business relationships.

Sales is hard, especially for startups trying to build credibility, land the first customer and enter dialogue with larger organisations. What does it actually take to move from interest to partnership, and what do larger companies actually look for when engaging with startups?

This session explores sales from multiple angles: B2B, B2C, the buyer perspective, the entrepreneur perspective and the role trust, messaging and credibility play in commercial dialogue.

The conversation also opens up around barriers in sales and business development, including confidence, networks, communication and access to the right decision-makers.

A practical and honest session about what works, what doesn’t, and how to move from dialogue to deal.

While the session is particularly aimed at women in startups and business, it is open to everyone interested in sales, growth and commercial relationship building.

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About the hosts

The session is hosted by the Danish Chamber of Commerce and moderated by Sharmili Rajagopalter, Head of Regional Policy. On stage are Kamilla E. Henningsen, Senior Category Manager at Norlys, Sune Busk,, Strategic Director & Partner at Pravda, and Ann Catrine Lebech Hoe, co-owner of Skovmøllen.

The session is created together with Aarhus Women Entrepreneurs Network, an initiative established by Aarhus Municipality and Danish Chamber of Commerce to strengthen female entrepreneurship across the Aarhus region through sparring, knowledge sharing and conversations around growth and entrepreneurial life.

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About the session

What actually happens when a founder and an investor negotiate a deal?

This session puts participants directly at the table as a founder, a VC and a startup lawyer walk through a live term sheet negotiation in real time. Together, they unpack the clauses, trade-offs and tensions that shape startup deals long before the signatures happen.

Participants receive a fictional term sheet on arrival and are challenged to spot three hidden mistakes while following the negotiation live. Along the way, the session breaks down key topics such as valuation, dilution, liquidation preferences, board control and founder vesting, while revealing the human dynamics and strategic compromises behind the legal language.

Expect the closest thing to sitting inside a real venture negotiation.‍

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About the hosts‍

The session is led by Magnus Stagsted, Partner at People Ventures, and Søren Munk Hansen, startup lawyer at Highbridge, and Lasse Kjær, founder of Understory.

Magnus works closely with early-stage startups on growth, fundraising and company building, bringing a hands-on investor perspective on how venture deals are structured in practice.

Søren advises startups and investors on venture financing and term sheet negotiations, helping founders understand the legal and strategic consequences hidden inside seemingly simple clauses.

Lasse brings the founder perspective into the negotiation room, sharing the realities, pressures and trade-offs founders face when navigating fundraising and investor discussions.

Together, they turn the negotiation process into a live, interactive learning experience where participants get rare insight into what actually happens when a deal is on the line.

About the session‍

Real challenges from corporates and public authorities. Startups ready to respond. Decisions made on the spot.

Instead of classic startup pitching, this session flips the format. Large organisations and public sector players share real operational and strategic challenges they are actively trying to solve. Startups then work directly with them through rapid conversations, questions and short working sessions before pitching back concrete solution ideas.

The session ends with immediate feedback from the buyers themselves:

BUY: ready to explore further
SCALE: interesting, but needs development
STOP: not the right fit

Designed as a fast-paced collaboration sprint, the format gives founders direct insight into how corporates think, what actually matters in enterprise sales, and how to move from product pitch to real problem fit.

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‍About the hosts

The session is hosted by Tyler Moersch from VELUX and brings together corporate and public sector profiles working directly with innovation, operations and digital transformation.

Speakers include Kristian Tølbøl Rasmussen from TechLAB og Partnerskaber, Region Midtjylland, and Ahmet Hasanbeseoglu from Arla Foods, who works with digital transformation across supply chain and operations, focusing on data, automation and AI in large-scale organisations.

Together with additional corporate and public sector representatives, they bring real buyer perspectives into the room and create direct conversations between startups and organisations actively looking for new solutions, partnerships and pilot opportunities.

About the session‍

Why do so many founders report high levels of meaning and happiness while operating under extreme pressure?

Building a company often means uncertainty, responsibility and constant expectations from investors, customers and teams. Yet many founders still describe startup life as deeply motivating and fulfilling.

In this session, professor Christian Bjørnskov explores what research says about the relationship between pressure, freedom, purpose and happiness. The conversation looks beyond productivity hacks and mental health clichés to better understand why founders think and feel the way they do, and how this affects decision-making, resilience and long-term wellbeing.

The session combines research, reflection and open audience dialogue, inviting participants to connect their own founder experiences with broader insights into motivation, stress and human happiness.

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About the hosts

The session is led by Christian Bjørnskov, professor of economics at Aarhus University and author of Tænkepausen: Lykke. His research focuses on the economics of happiness and how freedom, institutions and life conditions shape human wellbeing.

Joining the session as stage host is Katja Meyer, investor and startup advisor at Aarhus University, bringing perspectives from working closely with founders navigating growth, pressure and ambition in practice.

About the session

What does it actually look like to scale a European tech company from Aarhus?

This closed-door session brings together founders and leaders navigating the realities of growth, fundraising and international expansion. Through an open conversation and Q&A, participants get direct insight into the decisions, trade-offs and challenges that come with scaling beyond startup stage.

The session is designed as an intimate founder room rather than a traditional talk. Participants are encouraged to ask questions, challenge assumptions and share their own reflections throughout the conversation. The session continues into informal drinks and networking afterwards, creating space for deeper conversations between founders and scaleup leaders.

Curated for founders and CEOs only.

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‍About the hosts

The session is hosted by Founders Growth Club led by Alexander Tolstrup together with Jakob Lilholm, co-founder and CEO of Formalize.

Jakob has been part of scalingFormalize from early startup stage to international expansion and a €30M raise, giving him firsthand experience with the opportunities and pressures that follow rapid growth.

Together, they create a space for honest founder conversations about scaling, leadership and what building an ambitious company actually looks like behind the scenes.‍

Request to join here: Thought Leadership Academy by Founders Growth Club

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About the session

Building a startup can be exciting, meaningful and energising.

It can also be overwhelming.

At SMIL’26, Build well, stay well explores what founder wellbeing actually looks like in real life through a highly interactive roundtable format focused on honest conversations, practical tools and shared experiences.

Instead of one stage and one conversation, participants move freely between themed mini roundtables covering topics such as neurodiversity, stress, addiction, chronic conditions, structure, energy, asking for help and healthier ways of building teams and companies.

No panels. No passive listening. Just practical conversations with people who have lived experience and concrete perspectives on how to build ambitious things without losing yourself in the process.

About the hosts

The session is created together with VIA University College and Business Academy Aarhus and brings together founders, practitioners and wellbeing-focused organisations from across the Aarhus ecosystem.

The session opens with Maiken Juul from Erhvervshus Midtjylland and includes roundtable conversations hosted by Sofie Amalie Hedegaard from ADHD-Planeten, Emil Kellermann, Josephine Andreasen, Christoffer Skou and Laura Dragø from Pædagogisk Kapital, Maja Fløe Galsgaard from Migrænehatten, Sebastian Holm Grünberg and Yannik Espen Stougaard from MyPlanio, and Ditte Gade Jakobsen from NeverAnother.

About the session

What if the unicorn path is not the right way to build a meaningful company?

In this session, founders, investors and ecosystem builders come together for an open fishbowl conversation about growth, ownership, impact and long-term value - and the tensions that appear when companies choose a different path than hypergrowth at all costs.

This is not a panel or a polished founder story. It is a live, honest conversation about the trade-offs behind building differently: raising capital without losing direction, balancing impact with scale, and defining success on your own terms.

A small inner circle starts the conversation, while the rest of the room listens, reflects and gradually joins in. As the session unfolds, the boundary between audience and speakers disappears, turning the room into a shared thinking space shaped by real experiences, questions and perspectives from everyone present.‍

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About the hosts

The session is hosted by Karoline Valentin Ry from Deep Green Innovators and brings together founders building companies beyond the traditional unicorn narrative.

The conversation features Rikke Ullersted (co-founder of THE UPCYCL), Oscar Haumann (founder of House of Small), Hadiyah Mujhid (Founder & CEO at HBCUvc + Scout at Ada Ventures) and Alexander Bengtsen (founder of VildIs), who will share honest reflections on funding, ownership, growth, impact and the realities of building companies with different ambitions and time horizons.

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Join us for the official afterparty organised by Formalize. An evening designed to keep the energy, conversations, and connections going!

Capacity is limited to 300 attendees. A valid ticket for SMIL’26 and prior registration are required for entry.

Secure your spot here, once we’re full, we’re full.

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