# Kim Balle

> Kim Balle is a Copenhagen-based entrepreneur and co-founder of Global Startup Awards, which grew from the Nordic Startup Awards launched in 2012. His work spans regional startup competitions, innovation networks, DROBE.media, and hosting the GSA Stars podcast Down the Rabbit Hole. GSA publicly described him as CEO and co-founder in its May 2026 finale announcement.

- **Role:** Co-founder at Global Startup Awards; publicly described as CEO in May 2026
- **Organizations:** Global Startup Awards, Nordic Startup Awards, Central European Startup Awards, XO Group, xo.company, DROBE.media, IoT-People, Nordic IoT Cluster, XO Association, Bella Ventures ApS
- **Nationality:** Danish
- **Education:** Computer science degree (self-described in his June 2020 essay), Copenhagen Business School
- **Known for:** Co-founded the Nordic initiative that became the Global Startup Awards network., Helped develop a regional-partner model connecting startup communities across continents., Co-created IoT-People, a forum for researchers, companies, and startups.

## Career timeline

- **2010** — Helped co-organize the second Startup Weekend held in Denmark, an experience he later described as finding his entrepreneurial community.
- **2012** — Co-founded Nordic Startup Awards; his LinkedIn projects also include Islamabad Startup Weekend.
- **2013** — Participated in organizing Startup Weekend Borgen at Christiansborg, the Danish parliament; co-created IoT-People.
- **2014** — His LinkedIn profile lists an internal communication and operations role in Central European Startup Awards.
- **2015** — With Peter Kovacs, introduced the Global Startup Awards umbrella brand for regional competitions.
- **2016** — Worked with Jerric Lyns John on expansion of the awards into India.
- **2020** — Outlined plans for a global innovation agency growing out of the awards network.
- **2025** — Published Why GSA Ventures? and launched the GSA Stars podcast Down the Rabbit Hole as host.
- **2026** — Spoke at the global finale in Malta and announced the finale would return to Denmark in 2027.

## Achievements

- Co-founded the Nordic initiative that became the Global Startup Awards network.
- Helped develop a regional-partner model connecting startup communities across continents.
- Co-created IoT-People, a forum for researchers, companies, and startups.
- Owns DROBE.media, which has produced content for Global Startup Awards regions.
- Hosts the GSA Stars podcast Down the Rabbit Hole.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — A Danish business-register aggregator records the end of his registered director appointments at Global Startup Awards ApS on September 11 and XO.group ApS on September 8. This is a legal-register observation, not proof of a change to his public-facing CEO title.
- **2026-05** — GSA identified Balle as CEO and co-founder in its finale report. He announced that the 2027 Global Grand Finale Days would be held in Denmark.
- **2026-03** — Discussed the regional partner model, proprietary XO Engine software, venture ambitions, and Europe’s innovation role in a TechSavvy interview.
- **2025-03** — Published Why GSA Ventures?, describing the alumni network as the foundation for a venture initiative.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimballe/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/kim-balle
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-23