IKEA is looking for 20 growth-stage startups to apply for its second Bootcamp

IKEA is looking for 20 growth-stage startups to apply for its second Bootcamp

IKEA is looking for 20 growth-stage startups to join the IKEA Bootcamp, created in partnership with Rainmaking.

The Bootcamp is hoping to incubate the next big breakthrough product right inside its Älmhult campus. Companies need to apply by December 31 to take part in the program, which starts in March 2019.

IKEA Bootcamp is a pilot-focused startup program run by IKEA, in collaboration with Rainmaking. The 2019 program will be a three-month semi-remote program, designed to accommodate growth-stage startups, who are also managing their day-to-day business while co-creating with them.

The bootcamp will also focus on creating partnerships that can help solve big challenges in creating a better everyday life at home for people all around the world, now and in the future.

These challenges include ensuring affordability for the many people, connecting with and being accessible for people across the world, and enabling a positive impact on the planet, the people and society.

More so, IKEA Bootcamp will provide access into all the major parts of IKEA. The startups will work with key decision makers and experts within product development, food and retail depending on the solution.

The bootcamp will also cover some of the main travel costs during the program and provide office space and accommodation for the key physical events. The startups will have tailored engagement and support from IKEA as well as a Senior Mentor from Rainmaking’s global network of serial entrepreneurs.

To apply for the programme click on this link here! The programme will conclude with its final event called DEMO Day where the startups will be presenting their progress and future plans with IKEA.

IKEA first announced a similar bootcamp in 2017, but in that inaugural year, partner companies collaborated remotely. Among the companies that were accepted into the first class was Flying Spark, a Ramat Gan-based food-tech startup developing an alternative protein powder made from fruit flies.

IKEA is a Swedish-founded multinational group that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture, kitchen appliances and home accessories, among other useful goods and occasionally home services. It has been the world’s largest furniture retailer since at least 2008.

The company is known for its modernist designs for various types of appliances and furniture, and its interior design work is often associated with an eco-friendly simplicity. In addition, the firm is known for its attention to cost control, operational details, and continuous product development, corporate attributes that allowed IKEA to lower its prices by an average of two to three percent over the decade to 2010 during a period of global expansion.

As of November 2017, IKEA owned and operated 415 stores in 49 countries. In fiscal year 2016, €36.4 billion (US$42.4 billion) worth of goods were sold, a total that represented a 7.6 percent increase over 2015. The IKEA website contains about 12,000 products and is the closest representation of the entire IKEA range.

There were over 2.1 billion visitors to IKEA’s websites in the year from September 2015 to August 2016.  The company is responsible for approximately 1% of world commercial-product wood consumption, making it one of the largest users of wood in the retail sector.

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