The Yubico Entrepreneur Journey

Earlier this month, I was invited to deliver a keynote at STING Day, an annual event for an audience of over 500 attendees, including the top European tech start-ups and investors. The event is hosted by STING (Stockholm Innovation and Growth), the leading tech incubator in Stockholm, where Yubico began.

For the talk, I was asked to share some key events from Yubico’s journey and what I have learned from them. Condensing seven years into a 15 minute keynote was not an easy task, and I’m generally reluctant in giving advice, knowing that all entrepreneurs have their own DNA and paths to travel. However, I accepted the challenge, and shared several Yubico stories, including how the YubiKey was invented and why part of the team moved from Stockholm to Silicon Valley to help develop FIDO U2F; the new and disruptive open authentication standard.

On the same topic, I want to comment on an article I read some time ago which focused on the personalities of entrepreneurs. According to the article, “the majority of all entrepreneurs have a slightly warped self image, being over confident with their own abilities”. After reading that quote, it was clear that it was not an entrepreneur or innovator who had chosen those words. We are more humble… about the fact that our number one asset is our passion for our ideas, and our confidence that we will accomplish them!

We also know that very few people succeed alone. I am here today thanks to all of the hard work given from the amazing individuals that have joined Yubico and to those whose paths I have crossed on this journey.

So, to all of you who carry a big dream, don’t let anyone define what you can or cannot do. Trust your gut – and do it!

STING Day 2014 from Yubico on Vimeo.

Watch the video for a 15 minute summary of Yubico’s journey and lessons learned.