The Growth Pod

As CEO of Pilke, Mari Puoskari has driven rapid growth and achieved profitability at Finland’s largest private early education company. Now also CEO of Dibber Sverige, Mari joins us to discuss the Nordic model of early childhood education, employee well-being, leadership, personal habits, the future of childcare, and more. Learn more: https://generogrowth.com/⁠⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/mari-pu...

The Finnish state is an investor or owner in over 70 companies. We discuss with Minister Anders Adlercreutz the state's role as a shareholder, lessons learned from the Fortum-Uniper deal, challenges with subsidies, and more. Learn more: ⁠https://generogrowth.com/⁠⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/andersatz https://valtioneuvosto.fi/omistajaohjaus/yhtiot (0:00) Introduction (0:30) How the Finnish s...

Antti Kummu, a founding partner of CapMan Growth, joins us to discuss their take-private of Silmäasema, what makes companies valuable, the importance of storytelling, Elon Musk, and much more. Learn more: https://generogrowth.com/⁠ ⁠https://capman.com/private-equity/growth/⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/antti-kummu-cfa-a85aa11/⁠ (0:00) Introduction (0:40) Antti’s background and Finnvera and Tesi (...

Petteri Lahtela is the co-founder and former CEO of Oura, the $2.55 billion startup behind the world's most accurate smart ring. We discuss the challenges of the early days, the importance of intention, Prince Harry's endorsement, and more. Learn more: https://ouraring.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/plahtela/ https://generogrowth.com/e-commerce-growth-method/ (0:00) Introduction (0:57) P...

Jyri Engeström is a startup expert, having sold his company to Google and invested in numerous unicorns. We discuss opportunities and technologies, lessons learned from Silicon Valley, and how Finland (of all places) could become a leading global startup hub. Learn more: https://yes.vc/ https://generogrowth.com/⁠⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jyriengestrom/ (0:00) Introduction (0:28) Founding Jaiku...

Christoffer Rutgersson co-founded Bambora, and helped lead the startup to a 1.5 billion euro exit. Then he became CEO of public fintech company Qliro, quickly turning it profitable while doubling down on growth. Learn more: https://www.qliro.com/ ⁠⁠https://generogrowth.com/⁠⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/christoffer-rutgersson-7ab7a611/ (0:00) Introduction (1:00) Buying 14 companies in 18 months an...

MAX is a family-owned restaurant chain with more than 170 locations, consistently ranked as the favorite burger chain in Sweden. We talked with CEO and owner Richard Bergfors about the secret to their success, competing with giants like McDonald's and Burger King, international expansion, failures and challenges, market trends, and a lot more. Learn more: ⁠https://www.max.se/⁠ ⁠https://generog...

Matsmart is an online grocery store that has helped save over 65,000 tons of food from going to waste. We talked with co-founder Karl Andersson about the company's journey to 100 million euros in revenue. Learn more: https://generogrowth.com https://www.motatos.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/karlan (0:00) Introduction (1:04) How a batch of Christmas soda led to Matsmart (8:10) The problem of...

Learn more: ⁠https://generogrowth.com https://boxbollen.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacoberiksson/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/victor-eriksson-019846a0/ (0:57) Working together as brothers (6:35) How Boxbollen got started (13:45) Partnering with A-list celebrities (20:29) Placing big bets (23:22) Boxbollen’s growth playbook (25:59) Growing profitably (30:20) Building a lean and efficient team...

Innovation is a term that is as often used as it is misunderstood. To tackle this huge topic, we sat down with professor, speaker, author, advisor, and innovation expert Alf Rehn. We talked about the role of psychological safety in building an innovative culture, why small improvements may be more important than big ideas, lessons learned from companies like SAS and IKEA, and more. Learn more: htt...

HMD Global is the manufacturer behind Nokia phones. We talked with CMO Lars Silberbauer about the "dumbphone" trend, HMD's unique approach to sustainability, how they compete against the likes of Apple and Samsung, and more. Learn more: https://generogrowth.com/ https://www.hmdglobal.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/larssilberbauer (0:00) Introduction (0:45) Joining HMD (5:24) Nokia’...

We sat down with Fredrik Skantze, CEO and co-founder of Funnel, the Swedish SaaS company that’s raised over 120M€ to build the leading marketing data hub. Join us to hear Fredrik talk on building a global company, getting rid of sales commissions, lessons learned from Silicon Valley, and much more! ⁠https://funnel.io/⁠ ⁠https://generogrowth.com/⁠   ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredrikskantze⁠   ⁠h...

Sanna Suvanto-Harsaae has been on the boards of over 20 Nordic companies like Finnair, Clas Ohlson, Posti, and Paulig. We talked about why strategies fail, how to build a high-performance culture, making tough decisions, and much more! https://generogrowth.com/⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sannasuvantoharsaae/ (0:00) Introduction (0:47) Sanna's transition to board roles (4:08) Deciding which compa...

In just eight years, BookBeat grew from zero to 100+ million euros. We spoke with CEO Niclas Sandin about strategy, branding, customer acquisition, competing with big names like Spotify and Amazon, and whether AI will change the industry. https://generogrowth.com/ https://www.bookbeat.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/niclassandin/ (0:00) Introduction (1:02) How BookBeat got started (3:36) Having a...

In just 3 years Lyvia went from an idea to a group of 40 companies with 2+ billion SEK in total revenue. We talked with CEO and co-founder Sebastian Karlsson about the insights, strategies, and decisions behind their rapid growth. https://generogrowth.com/ https://lyviagroup.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastian-karlsson-8629193b (0:00) Introduction (0:47) 500 million SEK in 5 years and how i...

Polestar is an electric car company known for its minimalistic design and technological innovations. We talked with CMO Åsa Borg about building a global brand, running a Super Bowl ad, the importance of design, her proudest moments & biggest challenges, and more. Learn more: https://generogrowth.com https://www.polestar.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/åsa-borg-4898b038/ https://www.youtube.co...

Supermetrics is one of the most successful software companies to come out of the Nordics, growing profitably and quickly to over 50 million euros in ARR (annual recurring revenue). We sat down with Demand Gen Director Edward Ford to discuss how they did it. Learn more: https://generogrowth.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/fordedward/ https://supermetrics.com/ (0:00) Introduction (0:50) Joining Supe...

MUSH began as a startup with little money and no brand, selling commodities to a tiny segment of the pet food industry. Over almost 20 years they’ve built an international brand while helping grow the entire raw feeding segment. We discuss their journey with Magnus Pettersson, the Business Director at Snellman Pet Food. Learn more: https://generogrowth.com https://www.mushbarf.com https://www.link...

Jesper Åström is a growth expert who's spent over 45,000 hours launching hundreds of tactical campaigns for companies around the world. We discuss all things related to growth marketing, including case studies, common mistakes, and underutilized tactics. Learn more: https://generogrowth.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesperastrom https://www.youtube.com/@JesperAstrom/videos (0:00) Introducti...

Riikka Söderlund is a SaaS marketing expert and the CMO of Katana, a Tallinn-based startup that has raised over 50m€ in funding. We discuss all things SaaS marketing, from KPIs and attribution to selecting business-appropriate strategies and hiring world-class talent. Learn more: https://generogrowth.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/riikkasoderlund https://katanamrp.com (0:00) Introduction (0:51) H...

Anssi Mäkelä is the CMO of Polar, a leading global player in sports watches, fitness trackers, and heart rate monitors. We sat down with him to discuss their approach to creative and messaging, marketing tactics, and why the traditional agency model is dead. Learn more: https://generogrowth.com https://www.polar.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/anssimakela (0:00) Introduction (0:53) The traditional...

Camillo Eriksson, co-founder and CEO of Twistshake, joins us to talk about building the world's biggest baby brand. We cover topics like expanding to 70 markets, launching a dozen or so innovative products each year, and doing influencer marketing on a massive scale. Learn more: ⁠https://generogrowth.com/⁠ ⁠https://www.instagram.com/twistshakebaby/⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/camillo-eriksso...

Björn Thorngren is the CEO and founder of MEDS. We talk about how they became the fastest-growing company in Sweden, the strategies they used to acquire 800,000 customers and raise 50M€ in funding, what the pharmacy markets in Sweden and North Korea have in common, and much more! Learn more: https://generogrowth.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bjornthorngren/ https://www.meds.se/ (0:00) Introduct...

Saeid Esmaeilzadeh is a scientist and entrepreneur who has co-founded, managed, and invested in over 30 technology companies. (0:00) Introduction (0:57) What got him into the science and chemistry (2:30) Getting started in business (4:00) Failure (6:22) Applying an empirical approach in business (7:52) Saeid's no-bullshit policy (14:16) Creating a culture of critical thinking (18:19) Investmen...

What does it take to build a global brand from scratch at a 90,000-person startup? We discussed this and more with Lisa Gilbert, VP of Global Marketing at Kyndryl. (0:00) Introduction (0:49) Working 20+ years at IBM (3:58) Choosing career paths and knowing who you are (6:25) Joining Kyndryl and lessons learned (12:20) The power and importance of branding (15:00) Balancing brand consistency with lo...