Mentor to both E-commerce king Jarno Vanhatapio and outsourcing expert Peter Eriksson
The Borås profile, Klas Bengtsson, with a history in the Office Group, among others, has over the years become involved as a mentor for young talented entrepreneurs. He has also been a mentor to the e-commerce king Jarno Vanhatapio and the outsourcing expert Peter Eriksson in the Philippines.
It all started with a conversation from the mentee, Peter Eriksson, who wanted input on a business plan and investment memorandum for Nelly.se. Jarno had engaged the former floorball friend Peter to help develop the business plan and find investors for Nelly. The young website had then only been running for a few months and had a few orders per day.
"This was just a few years after Boo.com's billionaire bang failure and online fashion were not exactly hot. I remember that Jarno had been given the thumbs down by the New Entrepreneur Center on the business idea. The guys enthusiastically pulled through the pitch and I immediately understood that this is good, really good.
Not just the business plan itself but more the young and committed team that sat in front of me. The most important thing is still the people who will implement the idea and who will complement each other. I probably only thought for a few seconds and then said to them; You do not have to look for money anymore. I invest! ” laughs Klas.
The rest is history. Nelly grew at record speed, brought in Kinnevik as an investor, and eventually cracked the billion-krona barrier. Nelly is still one of the most successful e-retailers in online fashion in Sweden. However, most success stories are not as straightforward as you might think. Do you have any interesting stories about adversity during these years?
“Especially in the beginning, it was tough sometimes with serious setbacks. We had to draw up a control balance sheet to avoid bankruptcy, constant lack of liquidity, burglary, and theft of the entire warehouse. We also managed to delay the publication of a popular monthly magazine by a couple of days that cost us 100,000s in fines.
The situation improved considerably when we got Kinnevik as investors. However, it was a real challenge to cope with the due diligence process and get that deal done. After Kinnevik's entry, there were minor problems with liquidity, but some were very costly mistakes that amounted to millions, but the guys have to tell about it themselves," says Klas.
Today, neither Klas, Jarno nor Peter are involved in Nelly anymore. Jarno lives in Gothenburg and is conquering the world with his new fashion cap NA-KD. Peter moved to the Philippines and today successfully runs OnlineFactory, which offers customer service, influencer marketing, and content services to Swedish e-retailers. Do you have any contact with your followers today?
"Yes, I have regular contact with them both. A little more often with Jarno as I am also a partner in NA-KD.com and he is still here in Sweden. Peter and I communicate regularly via email and we always meet for lunch when he comes to Borås.”
I'm not particularly surprised that it goes well for both of them. Even though they have differences, they also have similarities that are fundamental to be successful as entrepreneurs,” states Klas.
Klas further says that the common denominators behind the followers' successes are a very strong sales focus, an incredible drive, and humility, even though both are still stubborn. The latter has made them quick to learn and that they absorb new things quickly. Something important in entrepreneurship in general. Perhaps above all in the fast-moving online industry. Do you have any concluding tips for those who want to succeed as an online entrepreneur?
“I have mentioned the most important parts as a strong sales focus, problem-solving drive, and humility to be able to quickly adapt to new conditions. Then one should not underestimate the role of timing to succeed with a business idea. We did Nelly in the right position, Jarno does NA-KD in the right position and Peter does OnlineFactory in the right position. Then maybe it can be good to have an old man as an advisor sometimes as well ", Klas concludes with a good laugh.
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