Tell us about your initial motivation: was it the urge to be an entrepreneur, or the wish to help elderly people, or simply the need to earn some money as a student?
For me, entrepreneurship is a way to make a change, to impact upon and improve society, and be a part of a positive movement. Our initial goal was to create a better life for old people at retirement homes. We then developed a concept to solve the problems and worked hard to make it real.
For me and my partners, enterprising is a lifestyle, not a job! Our concept is more than just a business, it's a change. Today we are working with the elderly, tomorrow, who knows? Entrepreneurship is a way to solve problems. Our next step will perhaps be in another sector, so our aim is wide.
What role did your school initially play? How can teachers come to understand the importance of companies in our society? What recommendations would you make to other schools?
I think we need more social entrepreneurs in the welfare sector, and especially in the education system. Our school, founded by social entrepreneurs, has always inspired me to believe in enterprising as a way to both make a living and impact upon my surroundings.
The average European school needs more entrepreneurship in the curriculum and more practical dimensions to education.
Did you get any help or inspiration from entrepreneurship education programmes? Are such programmes already widespread?
JA-YE's Company Programme was really important for us during our school-time, but also now afterwards. My friends and I learned how to run a business and create our own projects.
If you had two minutes with EU leaders trying to prepare for the era after the economic crisis, what would you recommend them to do?
Focus on inspiring young people to start their own companies and projects. We don't need more education in classical subjects like maths and physics, we need more doers and more action. Programmes like JA-YE are a way to improve the self-confidence of people, and getting students to believe in their own potential.
Your own country, Sweden, will hold the presidency of the European Union from 1 July, and can therefore influence the agenda to be set after the European elections in June, and before a new European Commission takes office. If you had two minutes with your prime minister, what would you suggest to him regarding EU policies to create jobs?
I think the Swedish prime minister has to make it easier to set up new companies and make it easier for people in the welfare sector to create their own enterprises. Society is not a good provider of care and education in the long run. We need more private initiatives and more entrepreneurs in these sectors, even though I think both care and education should be publicly financed.
We understand that you are promoting entrepreneurship in other countries, for example in Croatia. Why are you doing this? Can you compare the company creation potential in Sweden with this EU candidate country, and other countries you may know?
For me, promoting entrepreneurship is a way to believe in a better society and a better life for future generations in Europe. Welfare and positive development is not made by states or politicians, it's an effect of people dreaming and creating. The Balkan countries have great potential in general, but need more entrepreneurship education in the school system.
Sweden is getting better and better, focusing on inspiring young people to become entrepreneurs, but we need more and more of this. In countries like Sweden, many major problems are solved already, but still there is so much left to do. The majority is actually undone.
The Commission will also launch an 'Erasmus for entrepreneurs', based on the great success of its Erasmus programme for students and university professors. What do you think of this initiative?
I think Erasmus for entrepreneurs is a great concept. People have to be influenced by foreign countries and cultures and be inspired to make global entrepreneurship projects. It's about caring about people abroad and learning from each other.
The Commission’s enterprise directorate today launched a video presenting several entrepreneurial 'success stories'. You are one of the interviewees. What do you think about this video, and how else would you suggest to 'spread the bug' of entrepreneurship?
Showing good examples is one way, I think. Furthermore, I think it's important that companies and entrepreneurs are more interested and involved in the school structure. In that way the gap between students and entrepreneurs will be smaller. It should be easy to create new companies and inspiring to work towards a dream.
