ReVibe has developed a system that can capture vibrations in industrial environments and convert them into electricity. As most of their clients are multinational companies, which are not limited by geography, expanding abroad is a natural part of the business. They do however tend to think of their growth in terms of industries rather than countries.
To figure out which customers are worth investing in, they attended Business Sweden's LEAP program. The program gave them a good understanding of which companies suit their profile and which countries they should consider opening local offices in.
ReVibe Energy is an energy-efficient solution that can run sensors in railways and mines for about 15 years without having to change batteries. In addition to Sweden, the solution is already available in Germany, the USA, and Australia.
We have seen ourselves as a global company from the beginning. Expanding abroad does not have to be very complicated.Viktor Börjesson, the company's CEO, sees no reason to overcomplicate the globalisation process: “Expanding abroad does not have to be very complicated. Just ask the customer directly if you have any questions, or call the customs office to confirm local regulations. We usually explain that we do this for the first time, and that's very appreciated.”
Different time zones can make business relationships a bit tricky, however. When your customers are 11 hours ahead, online meetings are inevitable – especially if you want to avoid constant flights to all corners of the world. The technical solutions available are reliable, but there is no way to avoid working after midnight or before dawn.
For a successful internationalisation process, it is also important to evaluate which industries and companies to invest in, to make sure that you do not waste your own precious energy. ReVibe signed up for Business Sweden's LEAP program, which is designed for tech companies and start-ups with global ambitions. Through workshops and coaching sessions, participants establish which markets are the most relevant for their business, identify potential partners, and develop an individual acceleration plan.
“The LEAP program gave us a good understanding on where to invest our resources. We have received at least 10 concrete business opportunities thanks to Business Sweden,” Börjesson says.
ReVibe also recommends Business Sweden's international offices: “They have competent staff who deliver high quality. It is much easier to give them a call instead of spending time doing our own research”. ReVibe has for example had contact with Business Sweden in Canada and India, to get advice on customer proposals they received.
ReVibe is now thinking about opening international offices in Australia and the United States. This would solve the issues around time zones.
ABOUT REVIBE
ReVibe offers a long-lasting power source for industrial environments. Their solution ReVibe Energy makes customers less dependent on replaceable batteries.
The company was founded in 2014 as a collaboration between SAAB Ventures and Chalmers Ventures. It is based in Gothenburg and currently has four employees.
VALUE IMPACT
ReVibe aims to become the world's leading distributor of vibration-based energy systems.