Henrik Hagman, founder of the Umeå-based startup company Enduce, is one of ten entrepreneurs to receive ÅForsk's prestigious scholarship of SEK 200,000. The money is intended to support the entrepreneurs in realizing their business ideas.
- Our society is constantly faced with new challenges. We have not least experienced that in the last two years. This year's scholarship recipients all carry out work that makes a difference from both environmental, safety and care aspects. They are entrepreneurs with ambition and the ability to strengthen Swedish innovation power, says Carina Håkansson, chairman of the board of the ÅForsk foundation.
Henrik, researcher in energy technology at Umeå University and technical specialist in the process industry, together with co-innovator Gustav Svenson, has created a patented and world-leading technology for energy recovery from shower water. The innovation, a kind of floor well, reduces energy consumption when showering by up to 75 %, the highest efficiency in the world. At the same time, the technology is designed to be as simple and affordable as possible, so that it can become available to everyone. This means significant climate benefit and an energy saving of approximately 2,000 kWh/year for a family of four.
- I am very happy with the win. I've never been so much into competitions and have more focus on results, but it's great to have partial victories along the way. If you work with a startup, it becomes a lot of unpaid work on weekends and evenings, so the scholarship means that I can spend more time on Enduce than I could otherwise, says Henrik.
And there is no shortage of things to do because Enduce is in a very exciting phase.
- We are doing brand strategy work in the incubator, working on several patent applications, working to start verifications of installation and technology with customers on a larger scale, and trying to learn as much as possible about the industry through market research. We also work on capital acquisition and have several stakeholders there. We are constantly receiving confirmation that there is great interest in our product and we are in talks with several major players in the construction and property industry, says Henrik.
The team consists, in addition to Henrik, of the co-innovator and designer Gustav Svenson and the multi-competent Thomas Holmberg, who juggles everything from finance, governance, digital platforms, HR issues and business development, beyond his work as a pilot. Last winter, the star entrepreneur Gustav Nord also joined in the role of strategic advisor. Gustav Nord himself has built a very successful company from the ground up. At just 25 years old, he started the fire protection company Aptum together with his friend Gustav Paringer. The company had a turnover of over 100 million when they were bought out by Presto a few years ago.
- We have strong technical competence in the team, but have previously lacked a business focus. We need someone who can help us convert market potential into business, and here Gustav Nord has both experience and the networks, says Henrik.
He is grateful that the business developer Johan Hedengran at the incubator Uminova Innovation reached out and encouraged him to apply for the scholarship, plus wrote a meaningful letter of recommendation. A matter of course according to Johan himself.
- There is a lot to think about as an entrepreneur and founder of a young startup company. In my role as supporting business developer, I therefore need to help the idea bearer to raise his gaze, without losing focus for that matter. One such thing could be identifying and nominating for relevant scholarships, or advising on fairs, grants, contacts and always with a connection to the critical startup parts such as business, customer, team, technology, sustainability, financing or IPR, says Johan.
More info:
Henrik Hagman, founder of Enduce and PhD in energy technology
070-947 57 43
henrik.hagman@enduce.se
enduse.se
