ep06 - From Medicine Doctor to Tech CEO fighting food waste - Hjalmar Ståhlberg Nordegren (Karma)

Conversations That Inspire

Today I talk with Hjalmar Ståhlberg Nordegren, co-founder and CEO at Karma Life, digital platform where restaurants, cafés and grocery stores can sell their surplus food and to customers for a discounted price before it expires. Picture a nice late lunch from a local restaurant for a nice discount. That's what Karma does to your mind and tummy. Hjalmar did not always work in tech. We discuss his change of direction from medicine doctor. I personally appreciated the openness of our conversation, with wide ranging topics covering deeper business insights, personal topics and other things dear to Hjalmar. Find more about Hjalmar and Karma on: karma.life Among other things, we discuss: - Description of the company Karma - How the company pivoted (identification, testing, deployment) - Removing pain points for their clients using their service - Current company status (numbers) and what numbers are important to the company - Karma’s target groups - What it’s like being CEO, learning skills on the go - The benefits of working with active investors - The benefits of crowd funding and how relevant it is for Karma - What he valued as a medical doctor - Why he has decided to work in tech for now - His first tech product, many years ago - The support he received from quitting medicine, and what that did for him - His stubborn mentality, and how it can benefit him - How to become good at public appearances - Being confortable saying silly things in front of others - What keeps him motivated - His long-term vision and crazy ideas - How he keeps up with tech trends (podcasts and tech sites) - The start-up ecosystem in Stockholm and Sweden. - Discussing SUP46 Startup house in Stockholm - The benefits of working in shared space offices - The benefits of the Swedish culture within startups - Shifting responsibilities within the company - Giving away areas of responsibility - Work – Life balance, “work is life balance” - The challenges of attracting talents. “Talent attracts talents”. - How they compete for talents with other companies. - The presence of stress in his life - Cherish boredom. - Crazy idea: watch a clock for one hour. Why? - What holds the Swedish healthcare back - Medical technology pitches start-ups and pitches - Common pitfalls of medical technology companies - The mystics of board meetings, what happens in there - The role of oversight of the board at that stage - Who gets to sit on the board - What they look for in board members