Made in Germany. Made in Sweden. Made in Japan. US made…. Does it really matter today? What do labels like that mean to you and your customers?
Yes, the Phyron founders developed the original Automated AI Video concept in Sweden. A unique and rapidly expanding SaaS concept. But both the Software and the Services continue to evolve through fruitful cooperation between users in 20+ countries and a truly multicultural Phyron team.
CREATIVE INDUSTRY ICONS
At the same time the Phyron team is no doubt inspired by Sweden’s track record for fostering generations of success stories like IKEA, H&M, Volvo, Scania, Ericsson, SKF, and Electrolux, to name just a few. An outstanding string of global success stories for a country with fewer inhabitants than, say, the city of Rio de Janeiro.
... and even more inspired by younger Swedish-born tech pioneers like Spotify, Skype, and Klarna. An unlikely concentration of world-leading med-tech pioneers. The creative music industry, Sweden is the third largest exporter of pop music in the world. Or the booming gaming industry, following the tracks of Minecraft.
CONSENSUS-DRIVEN INDIVIDUALISM
Some people say that the root cause of this entrepreneurial spirit, seemingly contradicting the popular view of Sweden as a highly collective society. Wrong. According to the World Values Survey (WVS), Sweden is actually one of the world’s most individualistic countries.
In an interview with BBC, Dr Annie Woube at the prestigious Uppsala University argues that individualism is in fact an important part of Sweden’s welfare system. That easy and universal access to healthcare and education makes people less dependent on relatives, friends, religious, or community groups. And that Swedish collectivism is more about keeping a low profile, getting stuff done within the framework of a consensus-driven culture.
In plain language the generous welfare system allows anybody with guts, talents, and ideas to go for it without risking lifelong poverty. But at the end of the day success is all up to each and every startup and scale-up team.
WHAT ABOUT CARS?
Same but different. The high-quality image of cars like BMW and Mercedes Benz is highly consistent with the general perception of German industry as a whole. Japanese cars are similarly associated with Japanese quality control and attention to detail, and Italian cars with exclusive sporty design. And Volvo’s age-old reputation for high safety standards rhymes well with Sweden’s fame for all-inclusive social welfare.
But, as more and more carmakers integrate across national and cultural boundaries, many of these traditional quality markers may erode over time. Others, like universal human values, environmental concern, or innovation power are becoming even more important.
