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From hatching your idea to taking flight

Small & medium sized businesses (SMBs) play a vital role in helping us build a more sustainable future. That’s why Vistaprint and Drivhuset have teamed up to create Njord Nest, a start-up competition that celebrates those entrepreneurs seeking to realize their dream in a sustainable way. Take part in our competition for a chance to win cash prizes, consulting, training and more.

Stay tuned for your next chance to win...

€2,500 to kick-start your business

€500 credit to spend on marketing materials from Vistaprint

Entrepreneurial courses & individual consulting sessions to develop your business

Logo design & design support

Here's how the competition works...

Step 1: Your sustainable idea

The most important thing you need to enter the competition is a good business idea with a sustainable aspect. Whatever stage you're at, whether you're still in the idea phase or have already started your journey as a start-up, you can still enter the competition and work with our experts. With our goal of building a sustainable future, your idea must include a sustainable aspect. That could be recycling or upcycling materials, improving on existing solutions or an innovative product or process etc.

Step 2: Consulting session

After your idea is submitted, Drivhuset and Vistaprint will review the applications and narrow down the submissions based on several factors, including: idea potential, sustainability impact and the motivation of the entrepreneurs. These selected applications will be asked to submit a more thorough brief to which Drivhuset will conduct a free consulting review. This will be used for us to gain a better understanding of your business and you will recieve valuable feedback at the same time.

Step 3: Entrepreneurial courses

The final 10-15 ideas will be selected to enroll in our start-up program. This course will consist of 6 sessions focused on developing the ideas through sustainable value creation, ideation, business models, segmentation, value proposition and a final pitch. These sessions last approximately 3 hours each will be spread across a 12-week period and include coaching and consulting sessions in between, allowing you to develop, pivot and optimize your idea. All communication will be in English.

Step 4: The final pitch

Finally, after completing the first 5 sessions and working closely with our experts, your start-up idea will be ready to be presented. This will be your opporunity to convince our diverse panel of Nordic judges that your finely tuned business idea can be succesful as well as being a part of building a sustainable future. Once all of the contestants have presented their final pitches, the judges will examine and discuss each idea carefully before proceed to voting, in order to select the 3 winning start-up ideas.

You can find helpful SMB themed articles for your start-ups ideas further down, some of which will be course themes.

Fly down to the articles

Key dates

• Idea submissions: 22nd of February to 14th of March
• Selection process for 60 ideas to submit a more thorough brief: 15th to 19th of March

• Individual consultation period of 60 ideas: 20th to 29th of March

• Up to 15 ideas selected and notified latest by the 2nd of April
• Course start: 12th of April | All courses will be from 16.00 - 19.00 CET
• Final Pitch: 21st of Junefrom 9.00 - 13.00 CET

• Announcement of 3 winners: 25th of June

Share your story

During the courses and after the competition ends, we will be sharing your progress through the course work and important pivots on this site, social media platforms and other online and offline media platforms. This will be a window for the world to see how you are working towards a sustainable future with us and your journey to success. You will inspire entrepreneurs from around the world to follow their dreams and have a chance to share your learnings and knowledge with them to support them in building a successful start-up.

The second application period has ended, stay tuned for the next opportunity

Thank you for all of the amazing and inspiring submissions we have received for this round. We are currently reviewing all of the applications to select the second round of participants. You can expect to hear from us soon if you sent in your application!

The Nest Builders

Vistaprint is the marketing partner to millions of small businesses around the world, empowering each one to live their dreams. For more than 20 years, Vistaprint has helped small businesses look and feel credible through high-quality marketing products and solutions that include signage, logo apparel, promotional products, face masks, flyers, postcards, business cards, websites and digital marketing. With Vistaprint, small businesses are able to create and customize their marketing with easy-to-use digital tools and design-templates, or by receiving expert graphic design support. In 2020, Vistaprint acquired 99designs to expand its design offering via a worldwide community of more than 150,000 talented designers to make it easy for designers and clients to work together to create designs they love. Vistaprint is focused on making great marketing and design accessible to every small business owner, allowing them to create a cohesive brand image for use in-store, online and on-the-go.

Entrepreneurship for Drivhuset is about finding new sustainable solutions to create value for others and for the world. When change happens very quickly, when it no longer works to “do as we have always done” and when both people and businesses see obstacles and problems for a positive sustainable development, entrepreneurship is an important key.

Drivhusets mission is to train, educate, coach and support people with concrete tools and our research-based methods - "Loopa" and "Tookig", so that they can develop, test and implement new ideas that make a difference. The world is becoming more complex, development is very fast and what we perceive to be true today looks different tomorrow. It places increased demands on flexibility, the ability to handle uncertainty, the ability to see opportunities and innovation-supportive leadership, skills that are often described as entrepreneurial. We therefore see training people's entrepreneurial abilities as our main task.

Helpful articles for your start-up

A tool to creating your Business Model
Course theme

Wondering how to design your business model? Find out here with a variety of tips and tools to give you some inspiration. Discover the Business Model Canvas tool, one great resource to help you developing your business model.

What is your Value Proposition?
Course theme

Learn how to write a value proposition!

Your value proposition is much more than your service or product. It’s a whole mix of factors that combine to create value for your customers.

Minimum Viable Product
Course theme

Do you know what a Minimum Viable Product is and how to use it? Discover how to build an efficient MVP in order to check if your product or service is clear and attractive to your customers.

The Loop Method
Course theme

Discover the current loop method here in order to create value for your customers. Matching your solution with your customer ‘needs is one of the most important parts of developing your business.

The Value Creator Tool
Course theme

Knowing and understanding your customers is key to turning ideas into successful business offerings. Read this article to start learning how to use the Value Creator tool to help you identify your customers’ needs.

How to start a small business at home

There are a lot of pros to running a business out of your home - or from behind a computer. You'll have low overhead costs, increased flexibility, and even eligibility for tax breaks. You'll also get the chance to turn a passion project into a side-hustle, create a new stream of income, and learn new skills.

Small Business Shifts in 2021

Regardless of industry, the small business world is ever-changing... especially after a year like 2020. We've seen resilient small business owners continue to shift their offerings and operations in the wake of COVID-19, and have some insights (and inspiration) to share from small business owners all over the world.

Rebrand Your Business

Top 6 reasons to rebrand or refresh:

1. Your offerings have changed.
2. You want your business to be evergreen.
3. Your logo feels outdated.
4. Your branding doesn't stand out.
5. You're struggling to attract new customers.
6. You serve a different geographic area.

A Digital Marketing Checklist

If your small business is ready to dive into digital marketing, you’ve come to the right place. Our 7-point checklist provides a step-by-step guide to launching a successful digital marketing strategy, whether you're starting from scratch or ready to revamp your existing digital marketing strategy.

Coming up with a business name

You could pay a naming agency thousands of dollars to find a name that's new, on-trend, industry-relevant, memorable, and untrademarked. But you're just starting out, and you have other priorities... instead of paying someone to name your business, try getting inspired on your own (it's free!).

A guide to writing your Marketing Plan

Writing a marketing plan may sound daunting to some...but don't worry. We’re here to walk you through how to create a marketing plan, step by step. And once you get organized and put your ideas down on paper, it’s actually pretty easy – and maybe even a little fun.

Social Media tips for Small Business

Lots of small businesses – and business owners – are on social media, but there’s a big difference between sharing pictures and chatting with friends versus using social effectively for low-cost marketing. So, where do you start?