Originally written by and published on shifter.no
Photo: Magnus Peter Harnes
– We wanted to include people who knew a lot about being an entrepreneur, someone who could help us grow and navigate away from the various traps that exist, says entrepreneur and general manager of Waved, Daniel Harper.
Using its sensors, Waved captures the energy level of visitors in any room, and uses the data to automatically regulate the volume of the music played there.
Now the company has gained several well-known profiles in the Norwegian startup landscape on the owner side, including the founders Chris Moen and Erik Hauglid in Teston, as well as Adam Scheuring.
– The response in the market is good. Some have difficulty believing that we can solve this from a technical point of view. They say we have to prove it, but that they will have it if we can. And that does not worry us, says founder and general manager of Waved, Daniel Harper.
Hunted resource persons
This summer, the company carried out its first issue of one million kroner, which in addition to the entrepreneurial leaders included people with good knowledge of the restaurant industry. The company has also received support for market clarification and commercialization from Innovation Norway.– What was important to us was that everyone who joined should be resource persons, says Harper.
The Waved team now consists of four co-founders, of which general manager Daniel Harper and technical manager Endre Hauge Paulsen, both civil engineers, work on the project full time. The latter is an engineer and recently joined Sopra Steria in favor of Waved. Sales and marketing manager Fredrik Sande, for his part, is a trained mac designer at Kristiania University College and works as a marketing manager in Raima. Finance manager Jonas Andersen has held several leadership roles and is currently CFO of Hurtigruta Carglass.
– We wanted to build a contact network. We wanted to include people who had a solid network in the restaurant industry or knew a lot about being an entrepreneur, someone with experience who could help us grow and navigate away from the various pitfalls that exist. So it was not primarily about money this time, something we also said to them, says Harper about the investor hunt.
– Chris Moen and Erik Hauglid have been extremely helpful, and have on their own initiative held workshops and told us about their ups and downs, so they have helped us set the pointer for the future. It means a lot to a young company with that weight.
Waved is now in the second part of the financing round, where they offer convertible loans to selected investors.
– There we are more open to investors who want a slightly more “hands-off approach”, says Harper.
– How will the growth strategy be?
– We envisage that we build a little stone by stone throughout the year. Then there will probably be rapid growth when we are to provide gas beyond Norway’s borders, and then we envisage a round of professional venture capital.
Several use cases
The company initially planned to enter the market widely this spring but came to an abrupt halt when the virus outbreak led to closed doors among the main target group, which in the first instance are the country’s patios and restaurants.
The entrepreneurs used that time to further develop the product and familiarize themselves with existing systems at potential customers.
– We have talked to several who are interested in the system. That way we have also learned a lot about the systems that exist. A focus area for us is to make our system compatible with all systems in the market. We are well underway with that, says Harper.
At the same time, the Waved team has adapted their products so that they can estimate how many people are in a restaurant, for example, at any given time. In this way, they can provide a better overview for those who need to keep control of infection control.
– It was something we could contribute, but is not an important investment, says Harper.
– Do you work with several use cases?
– We see several areas of use in, among other things, automotive and HSE. And then we have some ideas about something more “consumer-facing”.
– But there are future plans, and we will have the main focus on hospitality (hotel, restaurant, and catering, journ.anm.), Harper emphasizes.
Starting with Oslo
– What are the goals for the year?
– That we have a system that we can deliver anywhere. We must never say that it does not work, technically speaking. We need to make sure it can be installed anywhere in the world. In addition, it will be important to build good customer relationships and use the first customers to provide feedback, so that we develop what the industry actually needs.
– And after that?
– When we have achieved that, we will first reach the Oslo market and then the whole of Norway. We think this will happen in earnest in the new year. For a while we stay within the country’s borders.
– But then we have through the first issue got a network that will help us get out of the country. We have investors who have the plan ready for how we will reach the rest of Europe – and even further than that.
