Erik, tell us about what you do today!
I work as the CEO of a startup called Innoscentia, a company with the aim to disrupt the current best-before-system in the meat industry. There is a lot of perfectly eatable food being thrown away today just because it reaches the best-before-date and we are developing sensors with the possibility to give true status of the product within the package. We are still very small and even though "CEO" might sound glamorous, I pretty much do all the things that need to be done so it's much more hard work than flair, I would say.
What is the main reason you work with what you do?
During the years at LUSEM I really tried to come up with what I wanted to do. I met A LOT of different companies during for example the eee-days, Corporate Challenge and many other career events, but with one semester left I still didn't have a plan. I was looking at the consulting companies but felt some of them were a bit too big for me, so when I was approached by Innoscentia it felt much more like the organisation I had been looking for.
"CEO" might sound glamorous, I pretty much do all the things that needs to be done so it's much more hard work than flair, I would say.
Sometimes you just have to be at the right place at the right time and be ready to say yes even though your first instinct might be to run. Now I'm really happy with the choice being able to do a lot of impact in a small organisation with high goals. If you want pressure and responsibility, I can recommend the start-up world.
How did LUSEM prepare you for working life and managing startups?
Just to calm everyone down, I still don't feel totally prepared and most people are probably not when they leave Lund. I think there are certain things the school can prepare you for and probably some it can't.
For me, what I learned from classes gave a great foundation, and then my involvement in different student organisations sort of build on that. I was able to study organisation and leadership with Nadja Sörgärde and Stefan Sveningsson, discuss management with Stein Kleppestö and branding with Mats Urde, all fantastic scholars. Then I got to practice that as President of LundaEkonomerna and various case competitions both in Sweden and abroad. The combination of theoretical and practical training was probably the best thing with my studies, when I look back at it!
I can pretty much guarantee that your years in Lund will be a magical, breathtaking, ground-breaking and life changing experience. Make sure to enjoy it, challenge yourself, do some new and weird things - you won't regret it!
Lastly, I must mention the international environment that LUSEM and Lund is, which is something I use a lot in my daily work. We have a highly diverse team of scientist working with us from all over the world. I have also visited both Tel Aviv and New York to pitch the company and I feel that I'm benefiting from having the international standards with me.
What advice would you give yourself if you started your studies now?
Wow, I have so many! Give me an hour in Kåraulan with a batch of new students and I can give them all. No, but seriously, I'll give you my top three:
1. Engage in the student life! Lund is unique when it comes to all the fantastic organisations you can join. I have a sweet spot for LundaEkonomerna but check out LINC if you are into finance or Lunicore later in your studies if you want to try consulting.
2. Be ambitious, but not over-ambitious! I believe there are two myths going around; one that your grades won't matter in the end and the other that you need straight A's to land a great job. I think both are false and I would urge new students to make sure they do all exams in the proposed tempo instead of postponing just to try to get a higher grade. Otherwise you might end up with a lot of exams to complete in the end (like I did, oops!).
3. Enjoy! I can pretty much guarantee that your years in Lund will be a magical, breath- taking, ground-breaking and life changing experience. Make sure to enjoy it, challenge yourself, do some new and weird things, you won't regret it!
What do you do to seek inspiration, both for work and in your free time?
I have a two-year-old daughter now and she is by definition a curios beginner and that something I think we should all be inspired by
I really try to continue being curios both within my line of work and outside. There are so much knowledge and new ideas out there and I try to be an eager reader with an open mind. I have a two-year-old daughter now and she is by definition a curious beginner. That is something I think we should all be inspired by instead of believing we know it all and have finalized our development both as professionals and human beings.