Entering the US market

Norway has a population exceeding 5 million, but few know that the United States has almost the same amount of people who claim Norwegian ancestry. Think about that for a moment. Nearly the same number of people who live in Norway today carry Norwegian blood on the other side of the Atlantic. They got there because between 1825 and 1925, close to 900,000 Norwegians left their homeland — a higher share of the population than any country besides Ireland.

Their descendants did not forget where they came from. They preserved the culture, the institutions, the identity. When a Norwegian founder walks into a meeting in Minnesota, that heritage is often sitting right across the table. It does not open every door on its own — but it creates a warmth, a recognition, a small but real advantage that most foreign entrants might never experience.

This is not sentiment. It is long-term network capital that can work to your advantage.

Why Minnesota

If you are going to plant a flag in America, Minnesota can be a logical first position for a Norwegian company.

The Mid-Western state is home to the largest Norwegian-American population of any US state, and the Minnesota Historical Society documents this as a defining demographic feature of the state. Norway House in Minneapolis functions as a living center for this community and is also the location of our headquarters. The Norwegian Embassy actively supports Minnesota as a bilateral business partner, and you will find many ties strengthening this relationship. One prominent example is that the Minnesota National Guard and the Norwegian Home Guard (Heimevernet) have worked together for more than 50 years, annually exchanging soldiers and training together.

Beyond the Norwegian connection, Minnesota is a serious business state. It is home to 17 Fortune 500 companies with headquarters in the state — including UnitedHealth Group (ranked 3rd nationally), Target, U.S. Bancorp, Best Buy, 3M, and General Mills to name a few. The Twin Cities metropolitan area ranks as one of the most economically diverse, and companies launched in Minnesota survive longer than startups anywhere else in the country. This is not a regional economy riding one sector. It is deep, diversified, and commercially mature.

What "US Access" Actually Means

StartUSA in Minneapolis is led by Eivind Heiberg, who has spent 37 years in the United States and serves as Honorary Consul General for Norway. He was previously CEO of Sons of Norway, one of the oldest Norwegian-American institutions in existence, with a reach across Norwegian-American networks, investors, and corporate structures that Norwegian companies will find very hard to access from a distance. But it is important to underscore that Minnesota is not the destination — it is a key entry point.

The US is a market of nearly 350 million people, has the world's deepest capital pools and a competitive environment that operates at a speed and scale that surprises many first-time entrants. Our reach extends across the full country and even into the broader Americas. Minnesota provides a landing zone: stable, connected, and relationship-dense. From there, the strategy expands in whatever direction the business requires.

The Opportunity Is Real. So Is the Effort.

America rewards ambition. It has a larger appetite for new ideas than any market on earth. Capital is abundant for companies that understand how to position themselves correctly. The market is large enough to build a genuinely global business from the ground up in a way that is simply not possible in most European markets.

But the scale that makes the US attractive also makes it demanding. A go-to-market approach that works in Norway — or even in Northern Europe — will not automatically work in the US. The market is big, diverse, and competitive. It takes real strategy, real resources, and real relationships to build traction. Companies that go in under-prepared typically burn time and capital learning hard lessons that are available in advance.

Norwegian companies already have a material advantage that most foreign entrants do not. The diaspora, the institutional ties, the cultural recognition — these are genuine assets. StartUSA exists to activate them. We help clients understand what the US market actually requires, then open the doors that matter, and support execution on the ground. The opportunity is there for those willing to do what it takes.

Contact us if you want to know more about how we can support your plans for exploring strategic options or making a concrete plan for a US entry.