Casper Harlev, CEO of Sensohive
Who: We have interviewed Casper Harlev, the CEO and co-founder of Sensohive
The company: Sensohive develops wireless IoT sensors for temperature documentation and registration for restaurants, greenhouses, and several other businesses
Why we find them interesting: Sensohive was founded by a group of students from University of Southern Denmark. They launched their product in May 2016 and already have 200 customers
What we can learn: To consider the global market from the beginning, integration between your company and your customers and making calculated decisions
Having the right team
Sensohive is a two-year-old company based in Odense, Denmark. The company currently has six permanent employees and two interns. They have almost reached their goal of a turnover of 1,5 million Danish Kroner this year, and their goal for next year will be to have a turnover of about 5 million Danish Kroner.
Sensohive got to be a part of Innovation Fund Denmark’s Entrepreneurial Pilot Scheme, which Casper marks a significant milestone for the company. After they launched their product in May 2016, they gained more extern financing from private investors.
According to Casper, the coolest thing about their company is the team of co-founders and employees “Even though we’re a young team, big global companies call us to asked how the development in the industry is going. It’s inspiring that even as a small, young organisation we can make a big difference”. He notes that what makes the team special is the composition of good competencies and creative people.
Thinking beyond the local market
Sensohive is still expanding their business in Denmark, but they’re also trying to find partners in other countries. Casper says a typical mistake Danish start-ups make is thinking too much about Denmark and for instance only listing prices in the Danish currency. They made that mistake themselves in the beginning, which made them look bad when they tried to sell in Germany. According to Casper, the local market of Denmark is a great place to test your product, but you have to have ambitions beyond Denmark:
“I think it’s a challenge for Danish companies to have that mindset from the start and it was definitely something we had to learn”.
Dropping out of school
It has been necessary to make some difficult decisions in the company, along the way. Originally there were four co-founders of Sensohive, but due to strategic differences, they had to let one go. Casper mentions this as one of the hardest decisions they’ve had to make. Another difficult decision for the co-founders was dropping out of school to focus on the company.
Dropping out of school was a process for Casper and the other co-founders. They started with taking a sabbatical leave and then made the decision to leave permanently. This process made it easier to make that decision and with the Danish educational system, going back to school one day wouldn’t be too difficult “Sometimes you have to think about how bad the decision really is, for instance dropping out. Worst case scenario, we lost some time, but gained a lot of experience”. Casper adds that it can be ideal to start up a company while you’re still in school because you don’t have major expenses to things like a house and a car yet, so you don’t rely on a big income.
Creating alliances with the customers
One of the things Sensohive has had great success with is creating an alliance with their costumers rather than just having a customer/supplier relationship. This way, they focus on supporting each other’s products and become integrated into each other’s companies: “It takes some time, but if both parts have the ambitions to make it work, we can really lift each other up”.
When it comes to working with investors, Casper also notes the importance of listening to your gut feeling. According to him, it’s essential not to make too many compromises and make sure you have good chemistry with the investor: “We didn’t make any compromises and even though we might have been able to get more capital, we are still glad we made that decision”.
Making calculated decisions
According to Casper, one of the most important lessons for any entrepreneur is to make calculated decisions. It’s necessary to test, to talk to your customers and to find the core of any issues, in order to support the decisions you make.
Casper notes that they always take risks, they just have to be aware of what risks they’re taking:
“It’s like walking on a rope, you always have to step at exactly the right spot”
Casper adds that a lot of companies end up spending a lot of time and money adjusting small things that might not be that important to their business, especially in the early stages. Instead, he urges people to get started and then learn from the experiences they gain.
Pieces of advice from Casper Harlev
Casper recommends the book The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. He says the book is inspiring, and a good book to start with. He also adds that he often returns to it.
Casper’s biggest piece of advice for entrepreneurs is to just do it. He says that a lot of people get stuck on business plans and budgets, but what it’s really about, is coming up with good solutions to your customers’ problems. Casper adds that when it comes to business plans, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. He encourages people to look at successful companies and their business plan, and take inspiration from them.
Casper also sees a direct connection between the size of your network and your success as an entrepreneur. In Sensohive they’ve tested different models in several different markets, which has established contact to a lot of interesting people: “It’s about spreading some ripples in the water and being open and positive towards new people” Casper says.
About me
I am currently studying for a Bachelor of Arts in Media Studies at University of Southern Denmark. I work with social media at KUBO Robot.
What is KUBO?
KUBO is an educational robot who teaches kids to code and thereof they will develop 21st-century skills as creativity, collaboration, problem-solving and more. In January 2017 we will launch a crowdfunding campaign on IndieGoGo and we need your help to support kids cognitive development all over the globe! Go visit: www.kubo-robot.com
