Blog of Johan Ronnestam

Category: Entrepreneurship

  • Wanna become a good at playing golf?

    Wanna become a good at playing golf?

    – Well, you know what to do: You read everything you can, take lessons, get new clubs, watch YouTube tutorials, buy the streaming golf TV package, become a member of a good golf course, find yourself turning the living room into a putting green and you know exactly what to wish for when Christmas comes. […]

  • Case: The branding and launch of BAUX Acoustic Pulp.

    Case: The branding and launch of BAUX Acoustic Pulp.

    The 2019 Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair opened in February this year in Stockholm, Sweden. It’s one of the most important arenas for global furniture and interior design brands. Thus a very important arena for one of my startups BAUX.  When me and my co-founders started BAUX, we had a simple idea; That acoustic materials […]

  • Hey world, this is BEU Watches.

    Hey world, this is BEU Watches.

    BEU Watches is finally live. When I first dreamt of BEU two and a half years ago it wasn’t yet a watch, but a manifesto I had written and pinned to my wall. It finally put into words a very simple but profound message that’s been guiding my life for a long time. A message […]

  • Introducing ROST Studio.

    Introducing ROST Studio.

    About 8 years ago I first met Daniel Stridsberg. At the time up and coming designer at digital producer Britny. We hooked up and started doing projects together. Daniel as a wild yet into details pixel loving designer and me as Creative Director and Art Director. Together we delivered some great results for strong Swedish […]

  • The Kinnarps stand 2017 – Editor's Award for Best Stand.

    The Kinnarps stand 2017 – Editor's Award for Best Stand.

    After creating a new brand and design platform for Kinnarps, one of the worlds finest workspace solutions brands I was asked if I wanted to design and then lead the implementation of the Kinnarps Stockholm Furniture & Light 2017 stand. This is the short story about that project. I early explained to Kinnarps that in […]

  • Follow your inner voice!

    Follow your inner voice!

    When you seek to brand a company, product or service you always start with the reason for being. In the same way you should always look for your reason for being when you think about your next chapter in life. Not which company you aim to work with or business idea you want to bring […]

  • Reach out and create something beautiful!

    Reach out and create something beautiful!

    You have something called the Internet in your pocket and inside your computer. Through this fantastic invention you can reach anyone anywhere in the world whenever you want. If you got a dream to do something, produce something and create something that makes a change first and foremost in your own life, but maybe in […]

  • How I would run an advertising agency today to prepare for tomorrow

    We’re in the midst of a paradigm shift. In Sweden and around the world advertising agencies are fighting over clients. As I’m meeting brands both in- and outside Sweden I’m often approached by major brand owners asking me which agency I would recommend. Most of them complain over the fact that the big agencies of […]

  • BAUX, Branding & the Acoustic 3D Pixel

    BAUX, Branding & the Acoustic 3D Pixel

    As we launched the BAUX Acoustic 3D Pixel we ticked another box at BAUX, the company I launched in 2014 together with four other brilliant minds. From the start we’ve set out to create a sustainable global design brand set out to rejuvenate the construction industry. Friends of mine were somewhat puzzled when I told them what BAUX […]

  • The Story Of BAUX Acoustic Panels

    The Story Of BAUX Acoustic Panels

    About a year ago in February 2014 one of my entrepreneurial creations was introduced. Upon my initiative, me, Fredrik Franzon, and the founding partners of design studio Form Us With Love; Jonas Pettersson, John Löfgren and Petrus Palmér founded a company called BAUX. Our idea was to create sustainable building materials that would be surprisingly functional and […]

  • Let me introduce BAUX – Let's Build!

    Let me introduce BAUX – Let's Build!

    Almost two years ago I had a very nice lunch with Petrus Palmér. Petrus has together with Jonas Pettersson and John Löfgren founded the world famous design agency Form Us With Love. As we’re enjoying our food Petrus tells me about one of the products FUWL has created. It’s an acoustic panel made out of […]

  • 33 491 viewers and 1 year later. This wednesday it's time for Webbdagarna again.

    About one year ago I was one of the keynote speakers at Webbdagarna, one of Swedens biggest events on Internet, technology, communication, media, mobile and more. My subject when I spoke last year was “2012 The Year of the Swedes” and except for the 2500 people who listened live, another 33491 people has watched my keynote […]

  • What makes people take action?

    The toughest question on earth. How do you make people do something? I don’t mean clicking ‘like’ on your Facebook page or follow a link only to spend 2 minutes watching a fun video. How do you actually make people see something, find out more about it and then take action. I’d say it’s harder than […]

  • How to think when recruiting social media experts for your brand or company

    Mother Teresa knew social media long before it existed! Tons of brands are recruiting social media experts. Here’s a little something for you all to think about. A typical ad reads: To apply for this role we believe you; are an expert in social media, know how to spot trends, got extraordinary abilities to express […]

  • Still valid. Top 10 blog posts on future branding and communication.

    In the end of 2009 I compiled the ten most read blog posts from my blog that year into a book. It’s been three years but I’d say it’s more relevant than ever. Top 10 blog post on future branding & communication ps. I’ve got some if you wanna get your hands on an old […]

  • The future for brands and companies looking to survive and thrive

    Wanna innovate your brand? Looking to start a new business? Thinking about building a product people will love? Want to make a fortune? Think no more. Connecting the digital world with the physical is the new black. 2012 was the year when we saw the first real outcomes of physical/digital products, either physical products that […]

  • Don't fall in love with technology. Fall in love with humans!

    Roland added some great value when they created the Roland TB-303 If you wanna create digital brand activities or products that actually make a difference. Don’t think technology! Too often I see cases where the entire product or a communication idea has been based on technical possibilities. This never works in the long run. No […]

  • The most worthless question and the question to die for!

    What are you doing tomorrow? Now that’s a worthless question. You have no idea if you’re even alive tomorrow. Far too many people expect great things in the future but they’re not living today. You might say that goals are ok and of course they are, I’ve got tons of them. But it’s the journey […]

  • Putting Sweden on the map at LeWeb 2012

    A couple of month before LeWeb Annika Lidne, Social Media superwoman from Sweden approached me and asked if I wanted to be a part of the Swedish Trade Council Initiative at LeWeb. Once I said “hell yes” she also asked if I would consider developing a communication concept for the event. “Hell yes! once again”. The […]

  • Reference stand in your way for future success

    Jan Boklöv hade a totally different idea on how to do ski-jumping. At first he wasn’t aloud to jump V-style even though he flew a lot longer. Finally people had to give in and he changed the sport. One of the most common responses one gets when presenting an a brand new idea or outlining […]

  • Wanna be an entrepreneur? Here are 10 things to think about!

    Tons of people I meet tend to be envious of the entrepreneurial life. There’s this fantasy about leading a life that you, and no one else, control. People who are hired always seem to be looking for the next move. Very few actually seems pleased about working for someone else. Then of course there’s people […]

  • Finally live. JAJDOs next app – Pop ABC. It's poppin' fun!

    Today is a great day. I’m really proud to announce JAJDOs next app – Pop ABC. We’ve really been struggling to get this app out there. The app has been almost ready since before the summer but as always things take more time than first expected. However, we’ve learned a lot and now once it’s out there […]

  • Det handlar om mina barns framtid. Min keynote på Webbdagarna 2012.

    (Sorry guys and girls. This is in Swedish) Hur ser sverige 2025 och vilket samhälle ska våra barn leva i? Den frågan har jag ställt mig förut och nu var det dags igen. Igår hade jag den äran att vara avslutningstalare första dagen på Webbdagarna 2012. Magnus Höij och IDG som annordnar konferensen frågade mig […]

  • Got Kids? Get Culture! Introducing Buildo Museum.

    Today is a great day. Over at JAJDO we’re releasing our third app. Buildo Museum is aimed to get kids all over the world interested in culture. Get your free copy in the appstore before the 6th of febrary!

  • 24 Hours Live. Sammanfattning, höjdpunkter och ett stort tack!

    (This is a Swedish post covering the 24 Hours Live event in May earlier this year) Tidigare i år, närmare bestämt i början av Maj, genomförde jag tillsammans med Göran Adlén årets kanske mest korkade eller geniala idé. Ett enkelt koncept. Vi skulle spendera 24 timmar non-stop i hotelbaren, något slags världsrekord?, på ett av […]

  • Thank you Steve!

    Steve Jobs. The ultimate source of inspiration to me and many of us all. Thank you for sharing your life with us!

  • Hur följer du bäst konversationen under 24 Hours Live? Så här:

    Du har säkert sett att jag själv och Göran Adlén har kommit på den fantastiska idéen att prata om kommunikation, trender, teknologi, reklam, design och massor av andra aktuella ämnen oavbrutet i 24 timmar i sträck på Clarion Sign Hotel nu på fredag den 6:e maj. Och som om det inte var nog – Robin Danehav, […]

  • Art, Experiment, Inspiration or Plain Stupidity – Introducing Adlen & Ronnestam 24 Hours Live by Danehav

    Me and partner in crime Göran Adlén, one of Swedens most hired and admired speakers on future trends, had a nice lunch a couple of weeks ago. Half way into a wonderful Pizza at Vapiano we suddenly cracked, what probably is our most stupid or…genius idea so far: “Why don’t we lock our selves up somewhere […]

  • I Am Free. You Are Free. We Are All Free!

    I was born into this world as free as any child. No religion, no political point of views, no ideas about what was right or wrong. Nothing. Just free. And I screamed! Me – around two years old walking our dog named Gorko. Then, just as you, I was brought home, fed, raised and I started […]

  • The Essentials Of Great Branding Building

    There are tons of consultants (including myself) selling branding services around the world. Most tend to say (not including myself) that branding is complexed. A quick search on Google image search reveals tons of models. What if we look beyond those models and all those advices that often lead to heavy brand manuals that no […]

  • Tänk om! – Därför behöver vi en kunskapsrevolution i Sverige NU!

    Året är 2011 och jag sitter här tryggt och säkert i lilla Sverige och läser i tidningarna om hur vi skall förbättra våra skolor och säkerställa Svea rikes framtid. Jag funderar en stund på det hela och tänker vidare. Världen krymper fortare än vi tror Tänk om? Tänk om det blir så att jag om […]

  • Stay Ahead Of The Competition – Here is How I Do It.

    Back in 1980, Michael Porter (most famous of creating Porter’s Five Forces) published the study Competitive-Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors. It was more or less the beginning of what you today would call Competitive Intelligence – the action of defining, gathering, analyzing, and distributing intelligence about products, customers, competitors and any aspect of the […]

  • Top 100 Posts On The Future Of Communication by Johan Ronnestam Posted Between 2005 and 2011

    Some of you might have followed my blog since way back while others followed me only a couple of days. So I decided it was time to dig into Google Analytics and gather my top 100 blog posts, based on traffic, (I have written 596 to this date) between the years 2005 and 2011 for […]

  • Let Me Introduce JAJDO – A Swedish App Brand For Kids

    We’re four days into 2011 and I’m in Tandådalen, a Swedish ski resort, skiing. Before heading out to rips some snow I thought I’d update the blog with my latest venture. 6 days from now I’m kick-starting my latest company – JAJDO. Sometime last summer after having seen my two daughters rock the iPad an […]

  • How I Create

    When I’m handed a problem, any kind of problem, I learn as much as I can about the subject. I do this as fast as possible as I wanna keep that fire burning. Then I start thinking about possible solutions, draw things on paper, write and design things on my computer and ad shapes to […]

  • The Social Formula For Small Business Owners

    About two years ago I frantically started writing on this blog post. Then the sheer length of it got the best of me and since then it’s been stuck in my unpublished library. Now I thought it’s time to give birth to this baby even though most of it was written about two years ago, […]

  • Case: The Story Of How Sweden's Newest Bank 'Marginalen Bank' Was Created, Implemented and Launched

    What do you do when someone asks you to sign a non disclosure agreement and then asks you to spend the coming year planning, creating, implementing and launching a new Swedish bank? Say yes of course! This is where the story of the freshly launched brand Marginalen Bank starts. Together with recidivist Caroline Karlström I […]

  • I Think I Can Beat Steve Jobs

    I am not applying for a new job as a CEO or Marketing Director, but if I did that would be my headline and I would run the brand I’d work for based on the insights that follow. Steve! Bring it on! Ok, so you’re s marketing director or even a CEO struggling to beat […]

  • Presenting TEDxViggbyholm 18 April – An Evening About Visualization

    Two days ago I got the news that my application for a TEDx license was approved. My idea is to host an event for around 75 people in Viggbyholm, Täby where I live. The focus of the event will be visualization and how design shape our ideas about the future. The event will be held in Täby, Sweden on […]

  • What Transparency Will Do To Your Brand

    Today when you market a product and actually manage to make an impact the first thing that happens is that people go online, not to your brand site but to Google. Have you Googlified your brand and business? A search on your product or service reveals everything there is to be found related to that […]

  • Ask Yourselves These 10 Questions And Then Go Off Conquer The World

    Whatever you do and whatever you intend to accomplish in life one thing is for sure. It should be something you’re passionate about. Ask yourselves these 10 questions and if your answer is NO to any of them – quit and do something else. Am I doing what I love every day? Am I doing […]

  • A Book, MashUp, PDF or Whatever You Wanna Call It By Johan Ronnestam

    I’ve always wanted to write a book. This is NOT it! So far this year my blog have had more than 115 000 unique visitors and just over 240 000 visits. I’ve written more than 500 blog posts covering everything from design, gadgets, trends, technology, advertising, innovations, personal things, branding and more. About 28% of […]

  • The NEXT Event. Ett tack till er som var där och er som inte var där!

    För er som missade det så arrangerade jag tillsammans med eventföretaget Wednesday Relations ett event förra veckan. The NEXT Event – Directed by Johan Ronnestam, skulle inspirera, lära ut och få oss att tänka till kring morgondagens reklam och kommunikation. Det blev en otroligt härlig dag. Över 270 personer hade samlats på Södra Teatern för […]

  • Optimal Webbnärvaro – Svar till Elias Betinakis

    En optimal webbnärvaro går generellt ut på att placera sig ett steg före konkurrenterna på en mognadstrappa som står i förhållande till den egna branschens, substituts eller andra framåt- eller bakåtintegrerande aktörers digitalisering. En mognadstrappa där översta steget är total digitalisering av såväl affär som, marknadsföring, organisation och operations.

  • Att leva som man lär

    Jag drivs av att få människor att förstå att vi lever i ett nytt kommunikationslandskap som totalt förändrar företags sätt att göra reklam och kommunikation. Det här är min passion! Som en del i min masterplan har jag skapat ett event i sammarbete med Wednesday Relations. Det är en heldag med fantastiska talare som alla […]

  • Idag och imorgon är det REA på framtidens kommunikation!

    Idag är det den 10:e september. Imorgon är det den 11:e. Om du anmäler dig till Next Event innan morgondagen är över betalar du 1990 kronor istället för 2990 kronor. Mer om The Next Event läser du här. Om du undrar varför jag pushar för det hela kan du börja här först.

  • Why SAAB, Volvo, Ford, BMW, Volkswagen, Mercedes, Peugeot, AUDI, Chevrolet, Buick and the rest of the car industry should the adopt the iPhone model and develop the InCar OS

    For years I’ve thinking about this post but it has seemed so obvious so I didn’t bother writing it. But nothing happens so it’s time to put my thoughts down in writing and give one of my business ideas away. The unexplored room of business development The car industry has access to a very unique […]

  • Låt mig presentera the NEXT Event den 8:e oktober av Wednesday Relations i regi av Johan Ronnestam

    Sedan några år tillbaka gör jag då och då gästspel hos Wednesday Relations, ett nätverk för marknadsförare. Där brukar jag ofta tala om internet och hur det påverkar företags och varumärkens sätt att kommunicera i framtiden. Tidigt i våras fick jag frågan från Wednesday om jag inte kunde tänka mig ta ett lite större engagemang […]

  • It’s really not that hard to win once you're prepared to make a fool out of yourself

    Linus Omark, the 6th most viewed video on YouTube this week. The 6th most viewed video worldwide on YouTube this week is a video showing Swedish hockey player Linus Omark, drafted 4th by the Edmonton Oilers, scoring in a friendly exhibition game against Switzerland. Linus does what every innovator would do – he dares to […]

  • The checkbox model for monetizing your web applications business online

    Whatever you do online, make sure you provide a value that is relevant to people who might want to use your service. By doing so you’ll generate more traffic, more buzz and finally a higher SEO ranking. Box UK, a web consultancy agency, are living by this simple rule. The blog on their website is filled with […]

  • Let’s start a revolution – get of the boat and build yourselves a new brand transportation system.

    Let me break it to you right away – the old way of planning and executing communication is slowly sinking into the ocean of well paid consultants that doesn’t do shit for your brand and the best you can do is throw yourselves into the lifeboats, get your ass to land and then find something […]

  • Bloggers Monday – a network for advertising, communication and new media bloggers

    Yesterday I attended my first Likeminded networking meeting at Scandic Anglais. I’m very glad that I took the time to drop in since there’s so many talented, smart and nice people you end up getting to know. However as I was sitting there I felt there is room for more networking – networking among blogging […]

  • The Steve Jobs delivers insights on life at Stanford

    I seek inspiration everywhere. But Steve Jobs and his lifework with Apple is absolutely one my top inspiration sources. Ran into this Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech 2005 on YouTube. Steve shares the highs and low of his life. What strikes me with this one is that Steve in a great way conveys the importance […]

  • Impressed by Google? Fabernovel translates their strategy for you.

    Mashable directed me to this great presentation by French consulting agency Fabernovel. If you’re looking for insights on Google – this is it. In 34 slides Fabernovel has dissected the secrets behind Googles plan to take over the world. Reading this doesn’t only give you an insight into Google, but also into how to think […]

  • How to: A. Launch a successful web application. B. Earn money on books. C. Run projects online.

    Saturday. Its early in the morning and its snowing outside. I remembered a business case that I thought I should share with you. But my brain seems filled with Slush Puppie and nothing seems to come out of my fingers the way I want it. So, here it comes straight up. A. Read Getting Real […]

  • Art Lebedev Studio innovates

      Fuck the rain. A creation by Artemy Lebedev founder of the design agency Art Lebedev Studio. I first noticed these guys back in 2004 when I used the Ardeæ folding chairs, one of Arts own creations, as a mood image for a BRIO pitch. I found myself loving the broad variety of projects found […]

  • Foreign – The End. Ronnestam – The Beginning.

    Nature is fantastic. When an apple fall dead to the ground, it’s the start of something new. In april 2002 I founded Foreign together with Viktoria Wallner. Today, I took the decision to close the company down. Did I have a choice? NO. Saving Foreign, that might have worked out. Saving myself, no. For the […]

  • Steve Jobs – a natural born marketing man

    Wise word from Steve Jobs as he held his speech to the employees at Apple when returning to the company 1997. Thanks Alexander for the tip.   

  • Implement "Ideastorms" on any company

      Some companies get it, some don’t but now at least it’s easier for you to do something about it.   Dell hosts this fantastic site called Ideastorm where they invite everyone to be involved in their products and services development. The site allows anyone of us to post ideas, then the community (including you) […]

  • Why the Eurocup 2012 will be broadcasted on Socialtelevision.com

    Right now people all over the world tune into Eurocup 08 in Switzerland/Austria. I live in Sweden, so TV4 and Canal+ are the channels of my choice since they are the ones holding the rights to the show. They paid a shitload of money for it. This will not be the case in Eurocup 2012 […]

  • The adidas World Cup project

    If there is one thing I will always be proud of when it comes to my life as a creative, it’s the fact that I founded an agency, built it and then won the global Football World Cup 06 project for adidas. The solution was a 10 month campaign that took 1.5 years to build […]

  • Netvibes Ginger launched yesterday

    I’m back at work after 4 days of moving into a new house. So this post will be a short one! Yesterday Netvibes (my favorite RSS aggregator) launched their new Ginger platform. The new Ginger platform includes a lot of changes that will make your Netvibes experience better. But the most important and interesting one […]

  • Hyper Island did a piece on Foreign

    The other week, students from Hyper Island came over to do a short video piece on Foreign. The video was to be used on their portfolio site launched today. On the site students present themselves and a selection of the best of breed Swedish digital agencies. Here’s the film.

  • Corporate blogging could be a low-cost, high return marketing tool

    More and more companies out there spend more time blogging and less money on traditional advertising. Blogging can potentially be the perfect marketing tool for a small business IF you know how to handle it. MarketingVOX has a post for you people out there who want to know more. The post gives 10 tips. 1. […]

  • Looking to start up a Start-up. Then look no further

    Here are the 36 hottest tips I’ve seen online. It’s ReadWriteWeb (lot of ReadWriteWeb right now, but they’re on fire) that has gathered a collection of startup tips covering software engineering, infrastructure, PR, conferences, legal and finance. They describe best practices for an early-stage startup. Head over there and then get going!

  • The success of Virgin obviously not based on luck

    Great entrepreneurs have always inspired me. And Richard Branson is definitely on my top 10 list. That’s why I wasn’t surprised when Lars, one of our Art Directors at Foreign, tipped me about this new safety video Virgin America has produced. They’ve teamed up with world class illustrators and created a brand new way of […]

  • I'm a fan of the Flying doggiestyle.

    Have you heard about Flying Dog Brewery? No. Well, then it’s about time you do. Flying Dog is this kick ass brewery founded by copywriters, illustrators and advertising professionals. Their attitude is raw, fun and very unique in the business of brewing beer. What Flying dog is doing different is basically just that. They’re doing […]

  • Premiergoals.com is live. We're bringing football to China

    A couple of weeks ago one of my startup’s, PremierGoals.com was launched in China. About one and a half year ago, me, Henrik Barck and Claes Bourghardt set out on a mission to bring football to China. Our idea was to gather some of the best teams in the world and build a football portal […]

  • I think I can beat Mike Tyson…or Photoshop…or Aperture

    It seems that there are some cool apps being made solely for the new OS X Leopard update from Apple. Naked Light is absolutely one of them. Naked Light is a new imaging tool that throws away antiquated concepts like pixels; layers; 8-bit color; and destructive, non-re-editable filters and operations. Instead, compositions in Naked light […]

  • Let's bring football to China

    Well, that’s exactly what I’m involved in doing. Apart from my daily business at Foreign, I’m one of the partners in a company called PremierGoals.com. We’re building an online community in China for football fans. Apart from the community, we’re also the official partner of many of the finest football clubs in the world, Liverpool FC […]