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With 13 years of experience in the startup ecosystem, he has seen how badly things can go wrong if startups don’t get the right advice. And competent advice is in short supply while the need is greater than ever, according to Morten Høgh-Petersen from Grant Thornton.
With 13 years of experience in the startup ecosystem, he has seen how badly things can go wrong if startups don’t get the right advice. And competent advice is in short supply while the need is greater than ever, according to Morten Høgh-Petersen from Grant Thornton.
Few entrepreneurs are passionate about auditing. Yet hundreds of well-known serial entrepreneurs, deep tech investors and other ecosystem people joined Morten Høeg-Petersen in the comments section when he announced that he and his startup team are joining the international accounting firm Grant Thornton.
“I started helping DTU startups back in 2011, so I’ve been in this space for 13 years. After many years, moving the activities into a new department in Grant Thornton was the right match for me and my team – and we have an ambition to strengthen Grant Thornton’s involvement in startup and scaleup activities,” he says.
“Morten has been a key figure in knowledge-driven entrepreneurship for over 10 years. Before DTU Skylab and BII, he taught, mentored and advised researchers in business development. Morten took a personal role in building the program to help DTU staff and students with the necessary preparation for the transition from academia to entrepreneurship, which has been transformative for the entire startup scene in Denmark.
– Christopher James Lüscher, Co-founder of DTU Skylab and serial inventor and entrepreneur
Increasing pressure and complexity
Grant Thornton is a new firm for Morten Høgh-Petersen, but key parts of the team have followed, and the mission is very much the same: Delivering the best advice for startups and scaleups within accounting, tax and corporate structures.
“Having worked with hundreds of startups, my experience is that you must ensure you get things right from the start. Getting limited or wrong advice at an early stage has huge consequences,” he says.
Startup consulting is a niche area, so it’s not surprising that some entrepreneurs get limited or even wrong advice. For Morten Høgh-Petersen and his team, it has taken many years to build and consolidate the necessary knowledge and experience in the field.
“We hate saying ‘you could have done and you should have done’. We would rather give the advice when we can act on it.” – Morten Høgh-Petersen, Partner State Authorized Public Accountant, Grant Thornton.
“We hate to say: “you could have done and you should have done”. We would rather give advice when we can act on it – from the early stage. It’s terrible to meet founders who have made bad choices early in the journey that we can’t fix,” he says.
Founders know they should be in control, but they are under so much pressure that they often postpone talking to competent advisors. However, by limiting advice, in the worst-case scenarios, we see bankruptcy with personal liability because the management has neglected their duties and unknowingly committed illegalities. That pressure hasn’t diminished.
“We have increasing compliance pressure and complexity, and it’s tough for small businesses to be compliant in all areas as they grow,” he says.
“Morten has made a big difference for the Danish tech and startup environment, always with great integrity and deep professionalism. I look forward to continued collaboration on how the Danish startup environment can be strengthened and lifted.”
– Sine Linderstrøm, Director of SMEs and Entrepreneurship, DI – Confederation of Danish Industry
Quality and orderliness – at an affordable price
Startups need help early on, but this is poorly correlated with their ability to pay for help in the early stages. Later, when they can afford it, it may already be too late.
“That’s why my team and I help early-stage startups pro bono. We’ve lectured and met around 1,000 startups over the past decade without getting anything from the first meetings. I only hope they may become my client later on, and thankfully, many have,” says Morten Høgh-Petersen.
With 13 years of experience, he knows about startups’ limited resources. That’s why he has established a setup that offers bookkeeping, VAT, and tax services in an efficient and affordable way as a supplement to the annual audit and tax advice.
“We can ensure compliance and let founders focus on their key competencies. Accounting is not in itself lucrative, but how can we help a company if they don’t have their books in order? That’s why we have an accounting team as part of the team, and with that specialisation, we can provide great quality and competent advice,” he says.
“Thank you for the super positive partnership with and contribution to Tech Nordic Advocates, founders and the Danish startup ecosystem over a number of years. You have made a real difference to a lot of people, businesses, Tech Nordic Advocates, our partners and the ecosystem.”
Grant Thornton is an audit and advisory firm that wants to be its clients’ closest ally. They help companies with tailored solutions, provide perspective and create security and ‘peace of mind’ for customers.
In Denmark, Grant Thornton has 600 employees, while the group has 75,000 employees worldwide, making Grant Thornton one of the largest international professional services companies in the world.
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