Today had a rough start with a frantic rush to the trams bright and early. We got slightly lost along the way but its about the journey not the destination. We were 20-ish minutes late but we made it. Now when we arrived at the building it was slightly strange because the elevators were a little different than they are in America. In a tall building in Sweden, the ground floor is literally ground zero on the control panel. After processing the elevator differences, we finally made up the building to Skapa’s floor.
We knew we were late, and Erik (the CEO) knew we were late, but we rolled with it. To our surprise, the company was small in numbers in terms of employees, but has a big impact on the world. This is a digital marketing firm that focuses heavily on content marketing. The company was very open with what they were about and it was really cool having open and honest communication with all nine of Skapa’s employees. Might I add also, cinnamon rolls were served and I ate plenty.
We spent a good portion of our day hanging out with Erik and his staff and it was safe to say that we all learned something new. One thing that I learned from Erik is that it is hard to produce meaningful quality content, but it is not impossible. Always look for a challenge in life because people should want to stand out in the world. After a morning at Skapa we made our way to Gothenburg University for the afternoon.
I regret to inform that we were not allowed to use our cellphones during the university visit so you all will be left in the dark for this particular aspect of my experience in terms of pictures but feel free to indulge in these Skapa pictures I was able to take. Back to the university though. We met with Martin and Claes, two esteemed members of the universities community. Both of these men gave us insights into Swedish culture and heritage. I really enjoyed Claes’ presentation on Swedish economy, especially how it ranks among the likes of the United States and Britain. Overall, very insightful. After being educated in economies and history, it was time to get into sports, hockey in particular. Martin gave a really informative presentation on the European style of hockey. This crash course of hockey was really important especially since we will be seeing a game later on, so I’ll save the details on this particular topic till then.
To finish off our day, we had a Q&A with a current student of the university, Erik. This guy was probably one the funniest person I have encountered so far. Apparently, the Swede’s are our number one fans in every way. Erik raves about America, and could not find one negative thing to say about it. Also funnel cake is his favorite “American food”, so we all never thought of this as particularly American. But any who, we are revered highly in Swedish society and apparently us in particular don’t look like complete tourists, so that’s a plus. Its really nice to be visiting a society of super nice people that love us. I was able to exchange information with Erik so I hope to keep in touch with him. Its late here and we have a big day tomorrow so I’ll talk to you guys tomorrow. Next stops, Qualisys AB and SKF!
Today’s Takeaway’s:
- The ground floor is literally ground zero
- Swede’s think funnel cake is the best
- Meaningful content is the key to achieving the most viewers
- The Swede’s don’t fight in hockey
- 93% of all purchasing decisions are made by social media
Matt's Sweden Blog 