ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET

The first time Morten came in touch with his entrepreneurial side was during his last year of high school, when he started his first company together with a good friend. They sold sunglasses, videotapes, computer disks, and anything they could buy cheap in large quantities.

Later on, while studying at DTU, he also created an electronic device to be sold online together with a fellow student, and cofounded a website.

For Morten initially, starting different companies was just a hobby, and it was only about 10 years ago, that he decided to give one of his startups a real try, so he quit his job, and together with an old friend from DTU, they started working on the launch of one of the first MP3 players. The plan was ‘simple': build a prototype and sell it to a big company, but -even though they hired extra help- they could not sell it. So they closed down the company and got a job again.

A GROUNDBREAKING IDEA

Morten had worked with development of network chips for several years, and back in 2003, some of his friends asked him if he could help solve a network problem they had in their building. The apartments in the building were sharing an internet connection, so they could all get very cheap internet. But every time one of the neighbors downloaded something from the internet, it became very slow for everyone else.

Morten started looking around, asking friends and colleagues, but they couldn't find a good solution. The problem became a personal challenge for him and he just needed to find a solution. Morten kept seeking inspiration from friends, and eventually - while discussing the problem at a good evening of barbecue and beer - the groundbreaking idea came to him.

He built a concept prototype using a normal PC, so he could test his brand new algorithm. It worked!

He talked to a patent attorney and he guided him to file a patent application. Around the same time, Morten hooked up with his cousin Anders Brørup, who was studying in CBS, and decided to write a business plan to participate in Venture Cup.

Morten arranged a manufacturing agreement with a factory in Asia, specialized in small quantity orders and determined the absolute minimum requirements so they could quickly develop a product they could sell. More features could always be added later.

In true entrepreneurial spirit, Morten gathered a couple of his programmer friends for some weekends and worked like crazy on the product according to his minimum specifications, FairRouter version 1 was born.

ABOUT

- SmartShare Systems is a leading supplier of WAN Optimization Appliances delivering intelligent bandwidth management products

- Currently has sales offices in USA and Germany

- It is a privately held Danish company backed by international venture funds with channel partners globally

- Their solutions are now being used in commercial businesses, housing associations, hotels and schools

- Nominated to Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year 2009 in the Startup category

THE PRODUCT

SmartShare StraightShaper is a plug-and-play box that optimizes internet access without the need to upgrade the bandwidth or change the network configuration. Installed at any company's internet connection, it accelerates response times for all internet based services. The product is perfectly positioned as a key enabler for software-as-a-service and cloud computing in small and medium businesses.

CAT Science got on board as the first investor. Soon after, Morten head-hunted his former boss to be the CEO, and they put together a board of directors who had qualifications in different areas where the team needed expertise.

One day, they got a call from a technician at a hosting company who had found their "internet sharing router" online, and he thought that it might solve one of their customer's problems. This event made Morten and his team turn their focus towards the business segment and confirmed that there was a market outside Denmark. The second round of financing came from Vækstfonden with an investment of 10 million kroner.

The FairRouter had the right core technology, but the packaging was not adequate for business customers, as they wouldn't be interested in completely replacing their existing router. So the solution was: the StraightShaper, which could simply be added to the customer's network without any reconfiguration.

Software-as-a-Service, Cloud Computing, Hosted Desktop, IP Telephony, Unified Communications and Video Conferencing are not just buzzwords, they are trends. They work via the internet, and they will only be successful if they are not slowing down the business productivity. This means that a slow internet connection becomes a bottleneck for doing business efficiently.

SmartShare Systems has the technology to prevent internet slowdowns, and is in the process of launching a business model to match these trends.