How is Sweden so good at producing tech unicorns?

A piece over at MarketWatch tries to explain how Sweden has been so good at generating lots — at least on a per capita basis — of fast-growing, highly valued tech companies such as Skype and Spotify. It gives government a lot of the credit: subsidized PC ownership in the 1990s, free college education (although students still pile up lots of debt), tax-subsidized fast broadband, and government supported startup incubators.

Earphones are seen on top of a smart phone with a Spotify logo on it. Spotify is a Swedish startup. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic.

But there are other parts of that entrepreneurial ecosystem that don’t get a mention such as strong rule of law, honest/efficient government, and open markets. From the Index of Economic Freedom:

Sweden’s economic competitiveness has been sustained by solid institutional foundations for an open-market system. The judiciary, independent and free of corruption, provides strong protection of property rights and upholds the rule of law. The economy is open to global trade and investment, and high levels of regulatory transparency and efficiency encourage vibrant entrepreneurial activity.

A FT piece from last year also points to a culture friendly to collaboration:

Other qualities are less measurable. Some of the entrepreneurs suggest they benefited from a sense of “Swedishness”, a help-thy-neighbour attitude that promotes collaboration. Before closing a big funding round at Truecaller, Mr Mamedi sent a “random email” to Mr Ek seeking advice. The result was a long lunch at which Truecaller’s founders asked about scaling a company: “Those three hours were super valuable to us.”