It has been decided to change the name of Icelandic Startups and adopt the name KLAK again. The company is not-for-profit and is owned by the University of Iceland, the University of Reykjavík, Origo, the Business Innovation Fund and the Confederation of Industry, but its roots lie in the founding of KLAK in 2000. The Innovit Entrepreneurship Center was founded in 2007, and when the companies merged in 2013, Klak became Innovit. The name was then changed to Icelandic Startups in 2016, inter alia with the intention of better reaching the international innovation and investor environment.
Kristín Soffía Jónsdóttir, managing director of KLAK - Icelandic Startups, says that over time the name Icelandic Startups has increasingly caused misunderstandings and the company's activities have been confused with other Icelandic innovation projects, accelerators and conferences. "Then the domain was long and untrained," adds Kristín playfully. "The entrepreneur competition Gulleggið is our biggest and oldest project, and our most well-known brand, and we found it a good fit to take the name KLAK up again. The new name is short, sweet, and refers to the long history of the company."
KLAK's activities have been flourishing in recent years. "We owe our success not least to what can be called the visible voluntary work of people in the business world, but we rely on the support of CEOs, executives, experts and powerful entrepreneurs, and large and small companies who go out of their way to participate in our projects and want to use their strength and ability to help startups succeed." Boosts KLAK for joy on Thursday (March 24) to mark the name change.
Interview published in Morgunblaðin on March 21, 2022
Photos by photographer Hara on behalf of KLAK - Icelandic Startups
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