Advisory on demand: a new model for senior guidance in the Nordic SME landscape

Maja Hurtigh, Founder of Advisory on demand

Small and mid-sized companies form the backbone of the Nordic economy. 

In Sweden alone, more than 99% of all businesses are SMEs – companies that employ millions, drive regional growth, and form the core of innovation across the country.

Yet most of these companies face a structural challenge that rarely receives attention: they lack access to senior advisory support.

OECD is clear: SMEs carry the transition, but they can’t do it without experience

In the report “Empowering SMEs: Securing Competitiveness for Our Economies”, Business at OECD sends a clear message to policymakers in member countries: small and medium-sized enterprises must be placed at the centre of the economic transition. It is the large number of smaller firms that plays a decisive role in determining whether the transition will succeed in practice.

The report provides a concrete framework for achieving this: regulatory simplification, improved access to financing, tailored digitalisation initiatives, and better dialogue between businesses and public authorities. It also highlights the clear need to strengthen conditions for skills provision and ensure sound corporate governance.

Source: OECD report “Empowering SMEs: Securing Competitiveness for Our Economies – Business Recommendations to the OECD Committee on SMEs and Entrepreneurship”, published in November 2025 by Business at OECD (BIAC).

Concrete data points from OECD’s latest SME reports

1. Bank lending to SMEs has fallen sharply over the past year, while financing costs have risen significantly – putting investment capability in smaller firms under pressure. (OECD Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs Scoreboard 2025)

2. Interest rates for SME loans are now at their highest levels in over a decade, according to OECD’s most recent benchmarking data. (Source: OECD Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs Scoreboard 2025)

3. SMEs are investing less and later than planned, as high financing costs push expansion decisions into the future. (Source: OECD Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs Scoreboard 2025)

4. Only a small proportion of SMEs are in a position to adopt advanced digital tools, even though digitalisation is now a crucial competitive factor. (OECD SME Digitalisation for Competitiveness – D4SME Survey 2025)

5. AI, cybersecurity and data-management capabilities are lacking in the majority of European SMEs, which according to OECD significantly hinders their innovation potential. (Source: OECD SME Digitalisation for Competitiveness – D4SME Survey 2025)

6. The greatest barriers to digital transformation in the SME sector are skills shortages, limited resources and lack of strategic guidance, according to OECD’s measurements. (OECD SME Digitalisation for Competitiveness – D4SME Survey 2025)

7. Productivity gaps between small and large firms continue to widen, according to OECD’s latest productivity data. (OECD Compendium of Productivity Indicators 2025)

8. Large firms are consistently two to three times more productive than smaller firms – a gap OECD links to differences in capital, competence and access to senior experience. (OECD Compendium of Productivity Indicators 2025)

9. OECD identifies the lack of leadership competence and access to senior experience as one of the most underestimated barriers to SME growth. (OECD Empowering SMEs: Securing Competitiveness for Our Economies – BIAC)

10. OECD warns that complex regulations, increased reporting obligations and heightened sustainability requirements risk pushing smaller firms out of business if they lack internal governance capabilities. (OECD SME Digitalisation for Competitiveness 2025)

To address this gap, Advisory on demand introduces a new model for senior advisory access – one that is flexible, transparent, and built for the needs of modern SMEs, startups, and scaleups.

As an independent advisory network composed of seasoned leaders, entrepreneurs and investors, we at Advisory on demand bring the external competence, senior experience and governance know-how that SMEs increasingly need.

A shifting investment landscape that raises the stakes for SMEs

As OECD highlights, SMEs face rising pressure just as the global investment landscape undergoes the sharpest shift in a decade.

Global VC fundraising fell 40 percent in 2024 according to Preqin, while the number of investment rounds declined 13 percent and early-stage funding contracted as late-stage activity grew 7 percent, based on Dealroom data.

Europe remains strong in early-stage, accounting for roughly 33 percent of global early-stage investment according to Dealroom, yet total investment still fell 7 percent and the number of rounds 9 percent. The continent captures only 12 percent of global VC funding, and its biggest weakness is scale-up financing, with just 60 billion dollars in European dry powder compared with 310 billion in North America and 300 billion in Asia, based on Preqin and Dealroom estimates.

At the same time, fragmented markets, 27 regulatory systems and a lower risk appetite hold companies back, particularly in sectors where Europe lags such as AI, health and defence — all evidenced by Dealroom sector data. Meanwhile, angel activity continues to rise, with 45,000 angels across Europe, average ticket sizes of 262,000 euros, and a 5 percent year-on-year increase, according to EBAN, Saminvest and Dealroom data included in the same report. Yet investors remain conservative, and many high-potential European companies continue to scale in the United States instead.

For founders and SME leaders, this means that capital exists, but converting it into traction requires stronger strategy, clearer governance and experienced advisors.

Why senior advisory support matters

Decisions on growth, expansion, product and service offerings, fundraising, hiring, or restructuring can significantly impact a company’s trajectory. International studies consistently show that companies with structured advisory input:

• achieve faster and more sustainable growth,

• make fewer costly strategic mistakes,

• improve organisational alignment,

• strengthen the business development,

• and are better equipped to handle complexity and uncertainty.

  
  

Despite this, a very few of Swedish SMEs have access to advisory boards or recurring senior advisory support.

This is the gap Advisory on demand was created to solve.

A streamlined process designed for clarity and speed

Advisory on demand connects companies with a curated network of senior advisors – including former executives, founders, operators, investors and specialists with deep industry experience.

The model is simple:

1. Membership Companies become members through a subscription.

2. Personalised matchmaking A senior advisor is recommended based on the company’s goals, industry, challenges and stage.

3. A structured 2-hour Advisory Session The company receives contextual guidance focused on clarity, decision-making and actionable priorities.

4. Follow-up or rematch Depending on the company’s needs, they can continue with the advisor or be rematched.

   
   

This approach offers the benefits of a traditional advisory board – without the long-term commitments, recruitment processes or administrative overhead.

Designed for moments when decisions matter most

Companies turn to Advisory on demand when they are:

• expanding to new markets,

• facing stalled growth or increased complexity,

• struggling with industry-specific challenges,

• preparing for funding rounds,

• navigating pricing or product-market-fit decisions,

• preparing for M&A, IPO, exit,

• strengthening their leadership team,

• or needing external clarity during organisational change.

In these moments, timely access to senior expertise can significantly change the outcome.

A Nordic solution for a structural problem

Advisory on demand is headquartered in Gothenburg and serves companies across Sweden and the Nordics. The platform is built around three principles:

• Efficiency – access to senior advisory support within days.

• Quality – all advisors are vetted and invited for experience, professionalism and relevance.

• Transparency – clear pricing, no long-term contracts, and no hidden incentives.

This structure allows SMEs to benefit from the same type of senior guidance that large companies have relied on for decades – but in a way that matches their pace, budget and reality.

Making experience accessible – when timing is critical

As the business environment becomes more complex and expectations rise on SME leadership, access to senior experience is no longer a luxury. It is increasingly a requirement for sustainable growth.

Advisory on demand provides a model designed to meet this need: 

Senior guidance made simple, accessible, and available when it matters most.