Startup Coffee Meetup: How to design your company with Dan Gardenfors

Startup Coffee Meetup the 22nd Feb 2022, with Special Guest Dan Gärdenfors

Sometimes people don’t want to settle for good since new excitements may appeal to us more. At Skåne Startups, we want to create something different continuously without compromising our core value: building a startup ecosystem for entrepreneurs. This year, we have given the Startup Coffee Meetup, one of our most popular events among the community, a make-over. Instead of starting the event with networking and chit-chat, the meetup will invite a guest speaker and bring the audience a talk around a certain topic.

Took place at the Goto10 Malmö, the meetup had the privilege to invite the CEO of Nobiz, Dan Gärdenfors, to share his expertise on ‘How to Design Your Own Startup Business’. As a tech-savvy entrepreneur, equipped with robust experience in design, Dan has spent the last 8 years helping startups improve their digital presence. Born and raised in Malmö, the design veteran also works as a Head Coach at the Sony Startup Acceleration Program where he collaborates with other industry experts to nurture the next generation of entrepreneurs.

‘The Mom Test’

Dan tried to explain his first tip by using the example Minut, a hardware company focusing on rental property safety. ‘You want to make a lot of phone calls and stick to your ideas.’ He shared that the team at Minut spent so much time making phone calls and understanding the needs of rental property owners. He believed that the most basic marketing research tasks will have the most profound impact on building a brilliant product. ‘Add The Mom Test to your reading list. Read it again if you have read it 10 years ago.’, he suggested.

Karolina, Project Leader for Startup Coffee Meetup event.

'Concierge'

The French word may not sound relevant to the topic, however, it demonstrates perfectly what an entrepreneur is expected to do after Dan talked about the story behind the brand Repamera and its founder Henning Gillberg. The idea stemmed from Henning's conversations with people who needed tailoring services. He worked tirelessly and did almost everything by himself: from collecting garments to talking to tailors. Dan called this the art of ‘Concierge’ - you don’t mind getting your hands dirty before it becomes a success.

'Wizard of Oz'

The last technique Dan offered is talking to people and building a community. He shared how Marble Cards gained so much popularity among the target audience. ‘You talk to people and learn from the interactions. And over time, you will know what people are willing to pay for.’ After you build a product based on the audience and people start to pay attention to you, Dan suggested that startups could gradually ‘hide’ people from the customers by applying automation systems.

Dan described that building a startup is like an iceberg, e.g., there are so many unseen challenges under the water. Indeed, it is not uncommon for early-stage startups to have a bumpy beginning.

Startup Coffee Meetup was born with a mantra that people could get inspired over a cup of coffee. At Skåne Startups, we work proactively with Goto10 Malmö to help business professionals and entrepreneurs meet like-minded people. Join us. Until next time!

>>Missed the event? Watch Dan's talk on YouTube: