This post is also available in: Danish
There is often a downside when entrepreneurs embark on new adventures. In “The Entrepreneurial Journey” we dive into the stories behind some inspiring Danish entrepreneurs. Through exclusive interviews, we get an insight into their journey, challenges, triumphs and learnings along the way in startup life.
What is it that you come from that has brought you to where you are now?
I don’t have the clear narrative that I hear some entrepreneurs have when describing why they got to where they are. I also understand the need for such a narrative, but I’ve actually done a lot of different things.
I’ve been a swimming coach for horses, worked in Fruits & Vegetables in Føtex, studied literature at university and started 5 companies in very different areas. I’ve also written a number of books about this, with a particular focus on turning ideas into reality.
Therefore, I don’t have a clear and streamlined narrative, but if I HAVE to point to something, it must be growing up with my mother. I was almost never told no, which made me believe that almost anything was possible. I started selling a breaking news magazine on the local road when I was a kid. I built digital worlds in computer games like Sim City and Civilization. So in many ways, what I do today is just adult versions of things I loved as a kid.
What is one thing you have learned from your entrepreneurial journey that you would like to pass on to others?
I’ve been ill twice with severe stress, which also developed into depression. That’s why I want others to take really good care of themselves so they don’t get there. As an entrepreneur, it’s easy to forget to include yourself in what you’re doing because it’s easy to mistake your passion for boundlessness. After all, we all have limits. While you may not know your boundaries from the start, it’s important to respect them as you get to know them. I focus on breathing slower and deeper in everyday life.
What are the three biggest fuck-ups you’ve made on your trip.
There are three fuck-ups in particular that I have learned from and will do everything I can to avoid doing again. The fact that I didn’t take care of myself in particular meant that my joy of life disappeared at times.
In one of my previous startups, I said yes to money from investors that I didn’t agree with on a value level. That’s why it didn’t end well, which is why I appeal to you to continuously feel if it feels right. If it doesn’t, respect that feeling. It’s your business that should serve you. Not the other way around.
My impatience doesn’t always work in my favor. It gives me a huge drive, but the counterbalance is that I don’t always have time to properly label and screen the people I start with. I learned this the hard way when I found a co-founder in a previous startup who couldn’t be trusted. But with my current co-founder Anders Thiim Harder, it’s just the opposite. We’re best friends in our personal lives and that’s worth its weight in gold professionally, because you always know you can trust each other because you care about each other as people.
If you could give yourself three pieces of advice before jumping into entrepreneurship, what would they be?
If I could rewind time, I would definitely avoid many of the mistakes I’ve made, but conversely, if I hadn’t taken that journey, I wouldn’t be sitting here now giving the following three pieces of advice;
Overall, I would tell myself that I should look out into the world more. All the many ideas I had, I had to ask three crucial questions: A) Does it look like the timing is right now? B) Is it an idea worth spending hours, effort and energy on? C) Is the mission important enough and is it something the world really needs? If I couldn’t answer yes to the three questions, then the idea would have to be thrown away and I would have to think outside the box.
Besides focusing on yourself and your business, I’ve learned that timing is everything. I was several years ahead of the podcast company, Podimo, where I had built something almost identical, but it didn’t matter because the timing was all wrong. Conversely, I had a promising startup going when the financial crisis hit with a bang. The last part would have been very difficult to predict, but you can still try to take the timing into account part of the way.
So I would tell myself to keep an eye on what’s trending in big markets like Asia and the US, as they can sometimes be ahead of us in Denmark.
Where do we go from here?
Not so much on the work and entrepreneurial front really, except that I want to stay curious and inventive. That’s what drives me, because then I can communicate and hopefully inspire others. My main priorities for 2024 are to remember to have the time and energy to prioritize my friends and do things just because it’s fun. If you succeed, that’s just a bonus.
I think mine and Anders’ current startup JumpStory is on a really meaningful mission, but at the same time we both feel like there is a life on the side. This doesn’t mean we’re not going for it, but we’ve also reached a point in our journey where it can’t be at the expense of other important aspects of life. On the whole, I’ve never cared much for the Kickass and Go All-In narratives, and I see them more as clichés than good advice. So whether our startup becomes huge in the future, I hope so, but not at the expense of my health or life balance.