Memmo – who had only entered the UK remotely – decided that they needed a more physical UK entity. This is where they turned to the expertise of Goodwille who aided this transition into the UK, helping them attain a more physical presence here. Tobias Bengtsdahl affirms this, explaining that the transition into the UK market “had worked well until the point where we needed a local entity…that’s when you call Alex [Goodwille]. Goodwille let us focus on what we do best.”
Tobias Bengtsdahl, (Nordic Startup Awards Webinar: Scaling for Success 2022)
What is Memmo.me?
Memmo is a Swedish personalised video messaging service based on your favourite celebrities. Whilst it offers many the chance to access their favourite individuals it also provides celebrities an avenue into the gig economy, offering more autonomy over their work. Memmo has provided an ideal climate of accessibility for both fan and celebrity to create special moments – this is one of the core reasons it is expanding its influence globally.
Interestingly, it’s widely accepted from our clients that it’s somewhat simple for a Nordic brand to become a market leader in their home territory, due to the size of the market. According to Trading Economics, Sweden will have an estimated GDP of $570 billion by the end of 2022 and a population of just over 10 million, making it the largest Nordic economy. However, this is relatively small when comparing to wider global markets. Therefore, translating their success to larger markets outside of this region is a far more difficult task. That being said, Memmo.me have conquered their home market, have now decided to pivot and are now making waves in bigger international markets globally.
Why Memmo.me works
Globally, our online social setting becoming increasingly saturated by negative news, disinformation and abuse, it is now not uncommon to be left feeling isolated and disconnected from hours spent using ‘social’ platforms. However, Memmo provides a more positive and personable reflection of our modern day society. Most notably, the ‘Memmo Moments’ campaign which documents some of the more heartfelt and special instances that Memmo has made possible for many individuals. Highlighting their intent on ‘Sharing the Joy’. This positive tone, paired with the diverse portfolio of talent on offer, means Memmo.me has been able to infiltrate global markets with relative ease.
It does beg the question: If people are struggling to interact with their peers on a daily basis, then interacting with your favourite celebrity or role model may seem frankly unattainable right? Wrong. Memmo bridges this gap by providing you with an avenue to connect with your favourite media personalities. What’s more, with the pandemic shifting our outlook on the ability to work in more of a domestic setting, celebrities are embracing this opportunity too. Memmo provides the opportunity for more autonomy over earnings and working conditions, with individuals able to set their own prices for the content they create. With people craving more autonomy and interconnectivity in their lives post-pandemic, Memmo is having huge success.
“ It quickly became apparent that getting in touch with the people we look up to is not something that’s accessible to everyone, rather the opposite. On the other hand – the inboxes & DMs of these people have never been as busy with requests from their fans as they are today. This identified opportunity to enable more meaningful fan to talent connections was the starting point for the memmo.me team on the journey to becoming the global destination for talent to connect with fans and brands on their terms.”
How they did it: expanding to the UK with the challenges faced
In August 2020 the company was reviewing its rate of growth and realised that – whilst they had grown exponentially in Sweden – they were not maximising the true potential of the business. They had outgrown their home market. As such, CEO Tobias Bengtsdahl ad reached the conclusion that they needed to “pivot in order to avoid a ‘slow death’ (in development)” if they remained solely in the Swedish market. (Nordic Startup Awards Webinar: Scaling for Success 2022)
After a full UK market overview they decided that, due to great similarities with the Nordic market and the lack of language barrier, the product was culturally appropriate and transferable. Also with the UK population 6 times larger than Sweden, there would be enough local supply and demand in regards to famous faces. Moreover they discovered that, on average, a Britons consumer spending with 7.5 times greater than that of a Swedes. It was time to focus on the ‘whales’ in the European market, hence the decision to enter the UK market in October 2020.
Memmo sought to ‘Anglify’ their product and become more localised to the setting they were working within; essentially trying to seem as British as possible to their new consumer market. In trying to achieve this, Memmo – who had only entered the UK remotely at this point – decided that they needed a more physical UK entity. This is where they turned to the expertise of Goodwille who aided this transition into the UK, helping them attain a more physical presence here. Tobias Bengtsdahl affirms this, explaining that the transition into the UK market “had worked well until the point where we needed a local entity…that’s when you call Alex [Goodwille]. Goodwille let us focus on what we do best.” (Nordic Startup Awards Webinar: Scaling for Success 2022)
If you want to get a Memmo its simple; just head to the business website, browse the talent on offer, and choose the talent you’d like a personalised message from before purchasing! Usually your personalised video will be delivered, via email or text, within the next seven days (unless you have paid for an express request). Once received, it’s all about enjoyment – The beauty of a Memmo is that it lasts forever.
What’s Next for Memmo.me: Establishing Globally
The expansion has not stopped with the UK. Buoyed by the success of their recent expansion to the UK, and incredibly successful funding rounds, Memmo have continued to expand into other markets such as North America, France, Germany and Spain.
Establishing a product in different global markets is a notoriously difficult task, however due to its universal and feelgood nature, Memmo is appreciated and valued in all of its active markets and cultures. They have discovered that keeping the talent pool and content highly localised is essential for assimilating their product into a new consumer climate and fending off competition. Opting for an approach whereby the talent-pool is very specific to a particular geographic region has been highly effective.
“Since our inception (a bit over two years ago), memmo.me has become the European market leader with thousands of celebrities on the platform (ranging from athletes to TV stars) delivering hundreds of thousands moments of joy, laughter and tears every year.” – Tobias Bengtsdahl, CEO.
Since its inception in 2019, Memmo has managed to raise >$25m, over the course of just three funding rounds, which allowed for a growth of 40% a month in the months following. In turn this enabled its global team to increase from only 20 to 70 by the end of 2021. It’s this continual rate of growth that has earned Memmo plaudits as one of the most exciting EU Start-ups, being tipped to go on to achieve a ‘unicorn’ status due to their continuing global expansion. Something that would have been unthinkable if they had remained solely in the Nordic markets.
Memmo chose Goodwille for these services
