#28 How MEDS became the fastest-growing company in Sweden with founder & CEO Björn Thorngren

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 companies to join (5:35) Being an effective board member (12:02) How to run board meetings (15:44) The importance of focus (20:38) Creating a good strategy (23:27) Implementing the strategy (26:55) Communicating to the entire organization (31:43) Company purpose: what it really is and why it matters (38:29) Building a high-performance team and culture (48:05) How to make hard decisions (56:04) Sanna’s surprising book recommendations

4 Jan 202459min

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 200-year-old family business as the owner (5:10) BookBeat’s 4 strategic pillars (13:48) Competing without a unique selling proposition (why differentiation doesn’t matter) (16:46) Building top-of-mind awareness (23:00) The tools, insights, and strategies behind BookBeat’s advertising (26:30) Optimizing the media mix (34:54) Innovating the business model (40:10) Competing with Spotify and Amazon (44:42) Will AI revolutionize audiobooks? (48:27) The changing media landscape and why books still matter (53:44) Biggest lessons learned

25 Dec 202358min

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 it all started (6:22) Lyvia’s business model (9:09) How to learn both capital allocation and operations as a CEO (12:00) Organic growth vs acquisitions (14:28) How Lyvia helps companies with growth and profitability. (20:54) What successful IT firms have in common (23:13) Why do companies sell to Lyvia? (25:22) Going international as a Swedish company (28:10) Why most acquisitions fail and why Lyvia has succeeded (34:05) Securing 1.6bn SEK in funding in this economic climate (38:47) Lessons learned from sales, biggest challenges, decision making, and outcomes

18 Dec 202348min

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.com/watch?v=B4QI0VzbkHk (0:00) Introduction (0:43) What is Polestar? (5:03) Building a global brand (9:09) How the EV market has changed over the years (10:39) Polestar’s successful Super Bowl ad (14:34) Agencies vs in-house (16:52) Building a funnel and managing complexity (20:50) Media and channel choices (22:50) Competition and the future (26:39) Word of mouth and community (27:32) How Polestar thinks about design (31:17) Testing and learning  (34:08) Rapid fire: proudest moment, going public, biggest challenge, and how to hire the best talent

6 Dec 202343min

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 Supermetrics (4:20) Why Supermetrics has always focused on profitability (5:33) What is demand generation? (14:02) The business case for long-term marketing investments (19:02) Elevating the Supermetrics brand (24:55) Thought leadership making a strategic shift from product to brand (32:50) Why they launched a podcast (39:38) Rapid fire questions: stop launching new campaigns, building hype internally, and why data-driven marketing can go wrong

29 Nov 202348min

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.linkedin.com/in/magnus-pettersson1979 (0:00) Introduction (0:50) How MUSH got started in 2005 (4:40) Marketing the product, building the brand, and expanding the category (11:00) Marketing through content, communities, and education (17:11) Launching a new category-defining product (25:53) Unsuccessful global expansion and lessons learned (34:15) Ambassador program, TikTok and other marketing strategies (42:12) Why Magnus loves working with MUSH

22 Nov 202346min

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) Introduction (1:07) What is growth marketing? (4:45) Jesper’s framework for why and how companies grow (15:03) Types of entrepreneurs and the different marketing mistakes they make (17:55) Is branding just about reach and frequency?  (23:52) Budgeting, meetings, and other things companies need to change if they want growth (33:01) What companies like Voi and Spotify get right about growth (38:35) How to grow in the physical world (43:30) How Jesper comes up with new experiments and tactics

15 Nov 202348min

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) How Riikka got started with SaaS marketing (2:56) Why do Finnish companies underinvest in marketing? (4:43) Attribution, how it works, and how to use it (9:49) Why marketers must focus on revenue (12:57) SaaS metrics that matter (17:35) The criteria that led her to Katana (20:45) The first things she did as CMO (22:16) Creating internal alignment (28:24) Picking the right strategies (31:45) Budgeting (34:12) Visualizations and managing complexity (36:48) Why you must hire the best talent (41:33) Education and constant learning

10 Nov 202343min