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"Am I Danish?" That is a question a lot of adoptees are asking themselves these days. The government recently introduced legislation restricting adoptees' access to unemployment benefits as if they were non-Danish citizens. The minister responsible was warned but chose to push the legislation through, regardless. Legislation like this raises universally confrontational questions like:  "Where do I belong?" "When am I Danish enough?" Meet my life partner, Sidsel. She is a schoolteacher.  Her native language is Danish, and so are her passport and parents. But she also has a strong connection to India, where she was born. Over the years, we had many talks about what it means to belong. She says it's exhausting to listen to politicians constantly define, trademark, and gatekeep Danishness as if it is right reserved for the few chosen ones. Excluding not just adoptees, but foreigners in general. And I can very much relate to that. The population's outrage was so massive that politicians immediately had to revoke parts of the legislation. But the whole situation does make you wonder. What does it even take to become Danish?  And who decides who belongs? We all do 🧡

"Am I Danish?" That is a question a lot of adoptees are asking themselves these days. The government recently introduced legislation restricting adoptees' access to unemployment benefits as if they were non-Danish citizens. The minister responsible was warned but chose to push the legislation through, regardless. Legislation like this raises universally confrontational questions like:  "Where do I belong?" "When am I Danish enough?" Meet my life partner, Sidsel. She is a schoolteacher.  Her native language is Danish, and so are her passport and parents. But she also has a strong connection to India, where she was born. Over the years, we had many talks about what it means to belong. She says it's exhausting to listen to politicians constantly define, trademark, and gatekeep Danishness as if it is right reserved for the few chosen ones. Excluding not just adoptees, but foreigners in general. And I can very much relate to that. The population's outrage was so massive that politicians immediately had to revoke parts of the legislation. But the whole situation does make you wonder. What does it even take to become Danish?  And who decides who belongs? We all do 🧡

Owl Ventures, Educapital, Brighteye Ventures and Sparkmind.vc are hosting an EdTech Mixer in London during Bett Global, on Wednesday January 22nd at 6pm. We are delighted to open it up to the EdTech community in London or visiting London next week for an evening of great conversations, light food, and drinks. You can RSVP here: https://lu.ma/trtv99bv #bettglobal #edtech #londonevents Jenny Wang Andrew Solomon Shreyaa Khemka Hege Tollerud Alexandre Glaser Marie-Christine LEVET Kai Talas Benoit Wirz Géraldine Fillet Litzie Maarek Alex Latsis Vesa Laakso Marko Kyyrönen

It's insane how we are doing 3000+ coaching sessions per month with just one client 🤯 Would have taken loads of human coaches before AI. A human coach might do 20 sessions per week, 80 per month. It would have required more than 35 human coaches to deliver 3000 sessions. Some clients are now planning to scale to up to 40,000 employees e.g. to drive innovation agenda, AI adoption (ironically) and employee engagement, and in theory would have required 3500+ human coaches without AI?! Sometimes I have to pinch myself: is this actually true? The coming decades are going to be interesting.

🚀 Bist du bereit, mit uns Bildung neu zu denken? 🚀 Bei Complori statten wir Kinder mit den Kompetenzen aus, die sie für die Zukunft brauchen. Dazu verwandeln wir Screentime in wertvolle Lernzeit – und suchen jetzt neue Mitstreiter:innen, mit denen wir unsere Vision aufs nächste Level heben können. Diese drei Rollen sind bei uns zurzeit offen: 1️⃣ Senior Content Marketing Manager: Du entwickelst eine umfassende Content-Strategie, die unsere Geschichte erzählt, Engagement schafft und eine starke Bindung zu unserer Community aufbaut. 2️⃣ Senior Performance Marketing Manager: Du treibst unser Wachstum über alle Kanäle hinweg voran und stellst sicher, dass wir noch mehr Familien erreichen, die von unserer Plattform profitieren. 3️⃣ Sales Manager: Du arbeitest mit qualifizierten Leads, schließt Verträge ab und baust starke Kundenbeziehungen auf. Du übernimmst die Verantwortung für die Sales-Pipeline und treibst unser Umsatzwachstum voran. Was jede dieser drei Chancen so besonders macht: 💡 Ein Produkt, das Familien begeistert 💪 Ein leidenschaftliches Team, das für Erfolg brennt 💰 Unterstützt von Top-Investor:innen 🎯 Ein Unternehmen, das die Bildung der Zukunft gestaltet 🚀 Die Möglichkeit, in einem Early-Stage-Startup richtig durchzustarten Für welche dieser Aufgaben du dich auch interessierst, sie haben eins gemeinsam: Sie sind mehr als nur ein Job – sondern vor allem die Gelegenheit, Teil eines Teams zu werden, das richtig etwas bewegt: Gemeinsam gestalten wir eine Zukunft, in der Kinder nicht in erster Linie Konsument:innen, sondern vor allem Gestalter:innen und Innovator:innen sind. Du brennst für digitale Bildung und willst etwas bewirken? Dann freu ich mich, von dir zu hören! 🙌 #startupjobs #edtech #Complori

Our 450+ partner schools are setting themselves apart as leaders in future-ready education. Here’s how: 👇 At 🟣 STEAM Academy, we aim to future-proof kids by equipping them with the skills to overcome the world’s greatest challenges. Imagine afterschool PROgrams where students go beyond traditional learning to create solutions for a better tomorrow. From building 🤖 robots to 🧑💻 coding with AI and tackling 🧠 team challenges, we spark curiosity, creativity, and problem-solving in every kid. 🤝 By partnering with us, schools can offer cutting-edge and fully parent-funded afterschool PROgrams that nurture innovators, leaders, and creators — transforming their campuses into hubs of inspiration for the next generation of PROs. This is how our partner schools are leading the way in future-ready education. Join us today 👉 Check the comment section for the registration link.

Can you relate? Most people applying for jobs while living abroad have felt the temptation to rush learning the local language and put it on their CV. You want to gain an edge and apply for jobs on the same terms as locals, even though you know you don't. It means you sometimes set impossible goals for yourselves, which never ends well for your learning journeys. Remember, learning a language takes years, and it never really ends. So, when you are hard on yourself for not being fluent yet, take a deep breath and remind yourself it's a marathon, not a sprint. You got this! Nichlas Walsted Swap Language PS. Be honest about your language skills on your CV. Made together with Marko Alagić.

I've missed more jokes than I can count while working and studying abroad. The problem with humor is that you must be pretty fluent in the language and have an enormous cultural understanding to 'get it.' Humor is everywhere and crucial for integration, whether with colleagues or friends. If you stand there with a blank look while everyone else laughs every time locals are having fun: Know that you are not alone! It happens to everyone moving abroad. And if you are a local wondering why internationals just don't get it. It's the cultural- and language barrier. Be patient with us. It is constructive if you explain the cultural reference to why it is funny a few times. After that, internationals will pick it up (and use it all the time). Remember that internationals are trying to learn the language and culture you spent your entire life learning - but in a few years. We may be standing there looking goofy when the punchline hits, but we are funny in our native languages (and often in English and several other languages too). Never let the language barrier fool you. 🧡 Nichlas Walsted Swap Language P.S. Did you ever miss a joke? Share your experience in the comments.

Quick reflection on my personal highlights from ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego 🇺🇸 last week. 🕺 Overall super good and positive vibes. The city was packed with brightest minds of edtech including founders, investors, advisors etc. It was very inspiring to hear people talking about how they are committed solving large scale problems in this multi trillion industry. Talking to US founders who are building something especially in K12 gave some interesting perspectives. 🏊♂️ Combining light, yet meaningful business talks with outdoor activities such as open water swimming and snorkeling. Absolute zero tolerance for Hotellikuolema (Finnish word for being bored on a business trip and spending one’s time in the hotel room only) 🍸 Transatlantic mixer by Sparkmind.vc and 4 other European Edtech VCs Educapital, Brighteye Ventures, Emerge and Mediahuis Ventures was an absolute blast. The event brought together investors, founders and other people in edtech. Managed to do some ad hoc promoting for Finnish 🇫🇮 culture and business practices together with my awesome colleague Kai Talas. Warm thanks Amanda Nolen and Katy Roby Peters for organizing 🏄♂️ Thanks Matthew Tower for organizing a small scale surfing session, post-surfing tacos & beer and insightful chat with diverse group of smart people 🔥 Great meeting with Risto Lähdesmäki and and Garrett Smiley, it was fascinating to learn about Sora Schools story. 🛬 One of the coolest venue ever: Reception hosted by Cooley LLP and Bertelsmann Education Group on a flight deck of USS Midway, the aircraft carrier museum 🤩 And dozens of casual chats with wonderful people Marie-Christine LEVET, Benoit Wirz, Hege Tollerud, Jan Lynn-Matern, Mario Barosevcic, Cédric Cops, Tea Elezi

How do you like your portfolio company meetings? For me it does not get much better than this.   In San Diego for ASU+GSV Summit. Freediving and discussing life, entrepreneurship and student well-being with Sparkmind.vc portfolio company Vygo founder Joel Di Trapani and my colleague Vesa Laakso.   #edtech #founders #VC #highereducation #wellbeing