Building Traction & Growth Engine w/ Mikael Angesjö

Every startup wants growth but real growth doesn’t happen by accident. It’s built, tested, and refined through traction, data, and relentless iteration. So how do you go from early traction to a repeatable, scalable growth engine that drives real impact?

Join us for a fireside chat with with Mikael Angesjö, an Angel Investor and Growth & Crowdfunding Specialist who has spent his career helping early-stage companies break through the noise and accelerate growth.

With hands-on experience from both investing and advising founders, Mikael understands what it takes to turn curiosity into customers, customers into momentum, and momentum into a long-term growth engine. His expertise spans traction modeling, GTM strategy, crowdfunding success, and founder readiness — making him a powerful voice for startups seeking clarity and acceleration.

In this fireside chat, we’ll explore:

How to define, measure, and accelerate traction
Turning early signals into a repeatable growth system
The role of crowdfunding in building momentum and credibility
How angel investors evaluate traction and growth potential
Common mistakes founders make when scaling
Practical frameworks for building sustainable growth engines

Whether you’re a founder raising capital, a marketer building GTM motion, or an investor seeking better traction signals, this session will give you actionable strategies to level up your growth journey.

The session will be moderated by Naimul Abd – Regional Director Nordics at Startup Grind, CEO at Connect East and SweBAN. Also, founder of Nutty Ventures and Brim – Brands for Impact.

Agenda

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Speaker

Mikael Angesjö

Mikael Angesjö is an Angel Investor, Growth & Crowdfunding Specialist and founder of Angelake and StartX. He works bilaterally to support companies expanding across borders through Angelake, he helps Nordic startups with international representation, go-to-market strategy, and growth advisory; through StartX, he supports international companies entering the Nordic markets by lowering barri…

Hosted By

Naimul Abd, Regional Director Nordics Startup Grind

Naimul Abd is a leading Nordic Ecosystem Builder and coaches more than 500 entrepreneurs per year. A finalist in Nordic Startup Awards 2023, he is Regional Director Nordics for global startup ecosystems including Founder Institute, Startup Grind, and Founders Live. He has headed several EU funded acceleration programs, transformed advisory services, events, and partnerships at a government funded social impact organization, and moderated leading startup events like Stockholm Entrepreneurs Day, Nordic Startup Festival, and Nordic Pitch Battle. Naimul is also a serial entrepreneur and an angel investor with a portfolio of impact startups. He has previously worked in the corporate sector as a strategic marketing & insights consultant for more than 20 multinational brands including Nestlé, Coca Cola, Honda, Tetra Pak. He has also tripled the topline of a fashion retailer as their marketing head and held leadership positions at advertising and research agencies. Naimul holds M.Sc. in Marketing and M.Sc. in Entrepreneurship from Sweden and, in his free time, he makes music and loves to write. His favorite quote? “The best way to predict the future is to create it,” by Peter Drucker.

Peggie K. Ovesen, Partnerships Lead

I’m passionate about the startup journey and driven to build solutions that are good for both people and the planet. With a background in tech and business, I’ve led product development in deeptech startups across fashion, fitness, and entertainment.

My experience spans from marketing and sales at the multinational brand Nestlé to launching MVPs for early-stage startups — giving me a well-rounded perspective on building purposeful, scalable solutions.

I believe in the power of collaboration and in creating products where innovation and impact grow through shared purpose.

Outside of work, I’m a wine enthusiast , enjoys playing tennis, meditation, hiking, and weightlifting. I am always embracing new challenges that fuel personal and professional growth. Message to all- “alone we go fast, but together we go far.”

Startup Grind is a global startup community designed to educate, inspire, and connect entrepreneurs. We host monthly events in more than 600 cities and 125+ countries featuring successful local founders, innovators, educators and investors who share personal stories and lessons learned on the road to building great companies. Our monthly fireside chat interviews, startup mixers and annual conferences provide ample opportunities to connect with amazing startups and the people behind them, tap into a strong support network, form meaningful connections and gain inspiration for the startup journey ahead. For more information visit StartupGrind.com or follow us on twitter @StartupGrind.

Complete your event RSVP here: https://www.startupgrind.com/events/details/startup-grind-stockholm-presents-building-traction-amp-growth-engine-w-mikael-angesjo/.