Strategy meeting - a must!

With both Nils, Are and Roy in Bergen together with the rest of the team, it was time for a strategy meeting. And a bit of fun!

We’ve always held a yearly strategy meeting. This year it was more important than ever as 2010 and 2011 are really important years for us as we prepare for the launch of Bipper both here in Norway and internationally.

I would love to tell you all about what is happening, but I can’t. It’s still too early... What I can say though is that since we won the Mobile Premier Award and since Motorola announced our partnership, the interest in Bipper all over the world has just exploded. We are contacted by huge operators, retail chains, sales people etc. etc. Amazing! 

The only issue though is that we were not prepared for the massive interest this early. With the money in place we need to hire more people quickly. I have some good candidates on my list.... 

Olav demonstrating Bipper on a Samsung Corby.

 Kids love this phone!

Looking serious Nils...

Entrepreneurship champagne (Cava) for 

all to celebrate the share issue!

Line (our administration and media assistant) enjoying 

sun, food and drinks outside the pool in the office.

Ann Elida - our amazing Financial manager

Roy - consultant and member of our board. 

A very experienced telecom man!

Welcome to Bergen Nils!

A few months ago Nils and I agreed that he would be based in Bergen for most of the summer so we could have all our resources in one place as we prepared for our big launch.  It’s nice to have the whole team together especially when there is so much that has to be coordinated. The first 3 weeks will be spent here without his family so I’m especially thankful to his wife Linda who is back in the US and has to act as a “single-parent” to their 3 year old twins. THANK YOU!

I managed to find Nils an apartment just down the street so we can work 24/7 if needed….  As is needed! Since I don’t have a license I always take the bus to work. However, I had big plans for us biking to the office together, but so far that has not happened as it turns out I’m very comfortable being driven to work by Nils while my husband has taken the bus….!! 

Normally I could blame the lack of biking on the rain, but it’s been sunny in Bergen.  Bergen is known for its rain, but the weather has been quite nice here and Nils has been pointing out how much he has been enjoying the crisp, sunny weather. I don’t know if I should tell him this is not the norm and that it actually rained for 90 days in a row a few years ago…!!

The view from our office

We are funded!

Today we raised about $ 2 millions! Wow! If you have ever been an entrepreneur yourself you know that it is not a luxurious lifestyle. Now I can finally sleep at night! Both new and old investors and we celebrated with waffles!

I’m so happy that we quickly closed our last round of funding. In total we raised about $ 2 millions.  

I’m especially excited that the great people at Holberg Fondsforvaltning, one of Norway’s leading fund management companies decided to invest about $1.1 million and to be part of our venture. They evaluate a bunch of unlisted companies every year, but typically invest in no more than ten of these so I’m thrilled that they believe so much in Bipper.  

So all the funding for expansion is in place, now we just need to add some more people to our team. Thankfully we have many interesting and qualified people that want to be part of our journey….

Hogne Tyssøy from Holdberg is happily signing the 

share issue papers. Welcome to Team Bipper!

National Day!

Ja vi elsker dette landet . . . (yes we love this country) states the first few words of our national anthem. The 17th of May is our national day, and in Norway celebrated with the children in focus. It’s like Christmas to them!

We got up early in the morning to put on our national costumes and head for the first (of three) parades for the day. At 08:00 the flag is hoisted while the band of my neighborhood is playing. My daughter is playing the flute and this was her first year participating in the 17th of May celebration as a flutist. All the marching bands play a central role this day, so she was kept on her toes from early morning til late evening.

Being the parents of a young flutist we are also kept on our toes. This day is a very important day to raise money for the band, so while I enjoyed breakfast with the kids, Alf headed for the school to sell hotdogs, sodas, coffees and ice-cream. Most Norwegian kids will be allowed to eat as many hotdogs and ice-creams as they want this day, so the sales are high when families are waiting for the main parade to start.

After the parade we headed home for lunch and games in the neighborhood before we again headed back to school for more games, more ice-creams and hotdogs and more fun. As Oda is in 4th grade it is our responsibility to organize the school events this year, so while I was watching the kids, Alf was running the show!

My three beautiful kids in their national costumes. 

Oda, Alvin and August

Alf is selling hotdogs, soda, ice-creams and coffee 

to happy parents and kids early in the morning.

8 AM - and time for the first of three parades

 this day. Oda is playing the flute.

Look at the crowd waiting for the parade to start!

The various sports clubs participated in the 

parade in their own outfits. Meet the skiers!

Monther and son!

Oda taking part in her second parade of the day. 

Ready to go home! Daddy only have to disassemble the 

stage at school first. Note the tie under the orange workman suit!

Yes, we might win another prize

In February we reached the finals in SIMagine. Now we know that we are one of three winners, but will it be 1st, 2nd or 3rd place? 

This annual global competition arranged by the SIMalliance will crown the best SIMapplication so let’s hope Bipper wins! This is a BIG deal and they are actually flying Olav, Nils and me at no cost to Rome where the finalists will present to an audience and a jury with some of the most influential people in the Mobile Industry.  

As one of the top three finishers we will be awarded a cash prize, we just don’t know how much yet… Then they are flying us to Nice where we will get a tour of Sophia Antiopolis, - the Silicon Valley of France… No really, Sophia Antiopolis is Europe’s leading mobile telecom cluster and brings together all the required resources for successful project winners such as Bipper. Here we will be given, as part of the prize, free office facilities for 2 years, support and advisory service to name a few. 

I guess I need to learn to speak French soon!!

Me presenting in Barcelona when we knew we 

were one of 10 finalists. Now we know that we

 win 1st, 2nd or 3rd place!

An entrepreneur's gotta do what an entrepreneur'a gotta do

Ok - I’ve just fallen into the group of sale hunters queuing outside a shop early in the morning, even before the doors open. But when you’re an entrepreneur every penny counts...

Last night I programmed my alarm clock for 06:00 this morning. Not because I had to catch a plane (which usually would be the case), but because I needed to go shopping. Elkjøp (a huge electronics chain) had a massive sale starting at 07:00. Luckily the store is located only a short walk from my house!

At quarter to 7 I left my house and was welcomed only a couple of minutes later by a MASSIVE queue! And I thought I was early and felt kind off embarrassed heading for the store that early and be ‘one of those people’...

Now I am, and I was by no means early. And except for having to wait for about half an hour before it was my turn to walk through the doors. Getting out again took much longer than getting in, but a few thousand kroners poorer and lots of computer equipment for Bipper (as well as a BBQ and a couple of DS ganes for my kids) poorer, it was well worth the trip. I kinda enjoyed the craziness of it actually. The queues, the sellers serving all us crazy morning shoppers coffee, water and chocolates and the fight for the best deals. It was fun!

The ambulance was in place and ready to handle

 the results of the fights for the best offers...

Four carts full of laptops and screens! 

We’re getting ready for more people!

Olav was in a great mood early in the morning. Time? 06:58!

Motorola announcing our partnership

A short while ago Motorola announced their partnership with us. A press release was distributed globally (wow!) together with this video. It's finally happening!

Meet my grandmother!

Let my tell you about my grandmother Lilli. This summer she’s turning 100 ( ! ! ! ), but she still wears fashion clothes, hats and leather gloves. These days she only has two big worries...

Her Full name is Lille Eline Petrine Larsen Berntsen (What an amazing name ! ), and she was born July 21st 1910. Yes - you’ve done your math correctly. My Gran is turning 100 this summer!

Grandma Lilli is my mother’s mother, and the mom of three other children. Her husband (my grandfather) passed away before I was born, so unfortunately I never got to meet him, and she has been a widow ever since. For all the years they where together my grandmother was a house wife, while he was out on the sea (he was a captain). Well - she wasn’t always a housewife. She liked to earn her own money and worked as a hat maker for several years. The family stories say that she grew up in a wealthy family, but that the family fortune was lost during the 20’s (when so many others lost their fortunes too). But despite never being rich since her early childhood, my Grandma has always carried herself with grace. I remember her gold rings, her beautiful hats, her tailored furs, her silk gloves, her handbags and fashion dresses.

And still, only a few moths away from 100, she still cares about fashion! Years ago she picked out her funeral dress as she had to make sure that she would never be buried in something un-classy. She has to have it her way - always!

Right now the 99,8 year old lady has two main worries:

1. 
   
   (1)the (ex) love life of Swedish princess Madeleine and Jonas. She has always had a thing for the royals, and the infidelity of Jonas causing them to break off their engagement is quite emotional for her.
2. 
   
   (2)that her hair dresser will be on holiday on her 100th birthday. Who can then do her birthday perm? If you can help me find a great and nice hairdresser in Tromsø who is available on July 21st let me know! 

I just booked flight tickets for my whole family and our au-pair to go to Tromsø for her birthday party this summer. We simply can’t miss the old lady’s 100th day! It will be a great party!

 I hope I have her genes!

Grandma opening her present from us on her 

95th birthday.