# Ingar S. Bentsen

> Ingar S. Bentsen is the Oslo-based founder and CEO of TheFactory and chair of TheFactory Asset Management. His public work spans startup acceleration, fundraising, board service and hosting StartupBeat. He received Norway’s Ecosystem Hero of the Year recognition in 2019.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at TheFactory
- **Organizations:** TheFactory, TheFactory Asset Management, StartupBeat
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA), International University of Monaco, BI Norwegian Business School
- **Known for:** Received the 2019 Ecosystem Hero of the Year award in Norway., Founded TheFactory with fellow entrepreneurs and led its accelerator and early-stage investment work., Has been responsible for raising capital for TheFactory Angels investment vehicles.

## Career timeline

- **2000-2002** — Studied at the International University of Monaco.
- **2015** — TheFactory dates its founding to 2015; Bentsen is identified as a founder.
- **2016** — FintechFactory launched at Telenor Arena in Fornebu.
- **2017** — TheFactory was formally established.
- **2019** — Received Norway’s Ecosystem Hero of the Year recognition; StartupBeat magazine launched.
- **2020** — Discussed practical board building on Shifter’s podcast.
- **2021** — Appeared on Rapporten to discuss startups, investing, Firi and banks.
- **2023** — StartupBeat expanded into podcasting; Bentsen discussed broadening investment focus beyond fintech.
- **2026** — Participated in public discussions of defence and dual-use startups as TheFactory developed its DefSec initiative.

## Achievements

- Received the 2019 Ecosystem Hero of the Year award in Norway.
- Founded TheFactory with fellow entrepreneurs and led its accelerator and early-stage investment work.
- Has been responsible for raising capital for TheFactory Angels investment vehicles.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — TheFactory’s public team page lists Bentsen as CEO; the group now promotes a 12-week DefSec Accelerator.
- **2025-12** — Hosted a StartupBeat episode with Allon Groth of NVCA, published December 11.
- **2025-12** — StartupBeat published a conversation with Trond Riiber Knudsen on December 1, recorded at TheFactory On Air in November.

## Links

- Website: https://www.thefactory.no/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ingarbentsen/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ingar-bentsen
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-21