My role

As CEO & Founder I created a “universe” for sustainable outdoor experiences, using gamification and storytelling to enhance the user experience. I conducted research and user interviews to design and market a no-code product.

As a solo-founder I wore many hats and overlooked all aspects of the business - from collaborations and partnerships to content creation for the social media accounts.

Evolution (origin story)

The original concept behind remodely revolved around the human feeling increasingly disconnected in a connected world. We realised that reconnecting with nature was an important element. Nature can serve as a much needed refuge from a busy everyday. It has the ability to peel away the layers of our lives and bring us back to our origins.

Bridging the virtual and the physical worlds was difficult. I needed an enabler that could amplify the virtual experience to unlock the same personal growth that we would feel when exploring a new place physically. I did a bit of research in the field of psychology and came across a term called “cognitive distortions” - ways that our mind convinces us of something that isn’t entirely true. They are generally seen as a negative thing, but using your thoughts to improve your view of the world can actually be a very clever psychological trick. A trick that most experts have learned in their quest to achieve mastery. So learning from these experts was another key element of the solution.

It took me less than 4 months to build the no-code platform and launch an extensive guide to painting in nature, a collaboration with the National Gallery of Denmark (“Statens Museum for Kunst”). However, I learned that the attention span of the modern day user is way too short for an extensive art guide. Additionally, the users did not only want to connect with nature - they also wanted to (re)connect with each other. Creating a sense of community and togetherness by overcoming challenges as a group was a vital ingredient.

That was when I realised that I had to pivot to structure the product around groups - doing this, a B2B business model proved to be a more viable way forward. 6 months after the original product idea, remodely was ready with the first virtual connect for businesses - a facilitated workshop with the aim to boost engagement through a shared experience and team challenges in nature. It all happened behind the screen, while everyone was stuck at home during the pandemic, and the feedback was overwhelmingly good!

Key takeaways

This was my first full-time entrepreneurial project and I probably made all the mistakes you possibly can. However, if you keep a learner’s mindset throughout, the lessons you learn are priceless!

• Surrounding yourself with a strong team is key to your success - for knowledge sharing, but also for moral support during ups and downs (which life in an early stage startup will undoubtedly face you with).

• If you’re building an ambitious platform that inherently delivers more value with scale, get early traction and start your funding efforts as soon as you have that.

• You’ll get a lot of feedback from users, potential investors and advisors in your network. Stay humble and open, but never give up on your grand vision. Finding the right balance between pivoting vs persevering is a constant struggle. So you have to know your true North Star.

• Make sure you test, test and again test your hypotheses. Are you addressing a real problem for the user? Are you targeting your audience through the right channels with a clear and compelling message? Does you business model really make sense?