About the Author

Sean Percival is an American venture capitalist and author who should have also been successful in Norway by all accounts. However, he failed to expand a leading Silicon Valley venture fund into the Norwegian market. This was primarily due to his lack of understanding of how the Norwegian business culture differed from his own.

Inspired by this failure, he collected the lessons he learned into this helpful guide. He is passionate about contributing to and fostering more collaborative business relationships in Norway.

Professional Background

Through his work in the Norwegian startup ecosystem over the past few years, Sean has interacted with Norwegian businesses of all sizes and across every primary national industrial sector.

Before that, he was a Vice President with Myspace and worked for several leading startups in America. His experience has shown him that businesses benefit significantly from cultural diversity and that multicultural companies are more competitive, more creative, and even have more fun.

Why This Book Exists

"By all measures, I should have been successful in Norway, at least as successful as I was in America. There I was working with a leading and globally recognized Venture Fund. I had the prestigious title of 'Partner' and had the ability to invest millions of dollars into businesses of my choosing."

"However, my initial attempts at working with Norwegians was less about champagne and caviar dreams—more about cold lunches and failing rather spectacularly. I butted heads with Norwegian businesses, the entire value chains from the smallest startups to the largest national institutions. And they butted back, standing their ground rather firmly."

"So many of my own challenges in Norway can be chalked up to simply being 'too American'. Too loud in the meeting room. Too aggressive in the deal-making. Way too optimistic in the setting of expectations. All of these are typically advantages in other business cultures but they serve as roadblocks when you work with Norwegians."

Who This Book Is For

• Expats: Foreigners living and working in Norway
• Love Refugees: Those who moved to Norway for love (you're going to need a guide—and a lot of wool!)
• Norwegians: To better understand how outsiders perceive them
• Corporations: As a welcome guide to new international staff