Straight Outta Göteborg

I first became aware of the Sweden city of Göteborg (believe me, you want to pronounce it in the lyrical Swedish, rather than in the mealy English Gothenburg) when I met Olle 20 years ago (!), and learned it’s his home-city. 

So, there’s one great thing that came outta Göteborg.

Here are some more.

Earlier this year, at a family pizza supper at Lisa’s aunt and uncle’s place, we were having a chat with her cousin A. about what she was watching on TV.

“Oh, Married At First Sight: Australia,” she exclaimed with infectious enthusiasm (of the sort that she is uniquely capable of).

Of course we had to seek it out.

“We’ll just watch one episode, just to see what she’s on about,” Lisa and I agreed.

That didn’t work out. 

We got hooked.

While we were able to find most episodes on YouTube, using Dailymotion and sketchy grey sites when that didn’t work, eventually we realized that we needed a more reliable way to stream (there were, after all, multiple episodes every week).

A., who has her own Göteborg stories to share, suggested we use a VPN to pose as Australians and watch it directly from the source. 

She pointed us to Mullvad.

Which is made in Göteborg. 

From their website:

A free and open society is a society where people have the right to privacy. That’s why we fight for a free internet.

Free from mass surveillance and censorship. Free from personal data collection and business models where your online behavior is treated as commodity. Free from authorities mass monitoring entire populations. Free from big tech and data brokers mapping your life.

I signed up. I even paid with Bitcoin (residue from $20 I put into an ATM in Saskatoon a decade ago). Set things up on my phone. Set myself up in Sydney. Signed up for a Nine network account. And streamed away. (Ryan! Jacqui!).

So there’s another great thing outta Göteborg.

I always thought myself fully immune to Internet advertising. Indeed, I don’t see most of it, running my browsers with ad blockers turned up to 11. 

But Instagram (of course) quickly figured me out, and started promoting me sneakers. As it learned more about me, it knew not just any sneaker would do: I needed European sneakers. Preferably ones with a light carbon footprint.

Which led me to Icebug. 

From its Owners’ Directives:

While most private companies put the shareholders’ interest solidly first – Icebug choose to highlight Nature, Society, Customers, Employees, Suppliers and People involved in the supply chain. Of course, the shareholders have an important stake, but since Icebug’s business has great impact on so many other groups, all those interests are balanced. With a clear priority: Nature and Society are Icebug’s most important stakeholders.

The vision for Icebug is to be a changemaker for a society where people can thrive on a planet in balance.

This is our North Star on the horizon. It is a moral obligation to guide us in our daily work and our view of what the World needs.

I could get behind that. And I loved the look of their shoes.

Especially the Eide ReWool Biosole.

So I ordered a pair (with regular cash, not Bitcoin), and they arrived from the Icebug Canadian warehouse this morning. 

I am wearing them as I type. 

I love them.

Where is Icebug based? 

In Göteborg of course.

An essential step towards creating this was taken in 2016 when we moved from downtown Gothenburg to the old factories in Jonsered. We work next to a nature reserve, only 11 minutes by commuter train from Gothenburg Central Station.

Our office is where creativity and well-being are given space and time. We have a yoga studio, changing rooms with shower and sauna, and miles and miles of forest, trails, and lakes. We also have flexible working hours and a very generous wellness allowance. We are alone in Sweden (as far as we know?) with three hours of mandatory weekly exercise during work hours. But don’t worry! There is no pressure or requirement for performance. Fresh air and a little movement in your chosen form always make you better and more alert.

Otherwise? We light a fire in our fireplace, argue about which coffee we should have, play table tennis, run, walk, eat a lot of snacks - and work hard but smart. Since 2018, our work has been conducted according to an Icebug version of the Scrum model. Cross-functional teams work together. Agile and dynamic, always focusing on the highest possible value for Icebug.

Icebug is a privately owned company where it’s never far between people or roles. If someone in our customer service needs to know something about a specific shoe model, they can walk a few meters to the person who designed the shoe and ask.

Forget about the shoes: if I was looking for work, I’d signup right now.

Another great thing outta Göteborg.

I’m keeping my eyes out for more.