Starting Cold

Erik Bakstad is the CEO and Co-Founder of one of the biggest success stories from the Nordics that most people have never heard of. Ardoq didn't follow a playbook, because for most of their journey, they didn't have one.Yet somehow, Erik and his team have built one of Norway's most successful software companies from the ground up.Today Ardoq is closing in on $100M ARR, with 300 employees across four countries and clients like ExxonMobil, British Telecom, and Carlsberg depending on their platform to navigate some of the most complex decisions in enterprise technology.In this episode, Erik takes on the full journey: from an idea they had while working as consultants, to the basements of Startuplab, to a $125M Series D: one of the five largest private rounds in Norwegian tech history. — What matters when fundraising from international VCs?— Can you build real US traction without leaving Norway?— When should a technical founder step into the CEO role — and when should they step aside?— What does it actually cost to move to New York when your family is in Oslo?— How do you keep your values from drifting when you've hired 200 people who never met the founding team?Chapter 1: From Hockey to Coding (1:00)Chapter 2: The Cold Call That Changed Everything (05:06)Chapter 3: Building the Company (15:02)Chapter 4: GDPR Changes The Game (27:44)Chapter 5: Building Culture Across 2 Continents (52:18)

We are on a journey to tell the stories of the greatest outliers from the New Nordics like you've never seen them before. Starting Cold is not like other podcasts. Our studio travels to our interviews with the most successful founders, executives, athletes, and high performers and captures their journey's while physically sitting in their element. Whether its a NYC high rise, or a boat in the Lofoten Islands, or a loft in Stockholm, Starting Cold is there to capture the playbooks of the best of the best from one of the highest performing regions in the world.