We had the privilege of interviewing the founders of Phonewise, one of the innovative cases we are coaching at Drivhuset. In this interview, we explore their inspiration for starting Phonewise, the evolution of their business idea, and the synergy between the founders, Henry Fisher and Nik Norman.
What inspired you to start your company, and how did you come up with your business idea?
My partner and I are tech enthusiasts who love creating innovative solutions and observing their impact for years. Phonewise emerged from my interaction with a recruiter from the Czech Republic, a customer of one of our previous products. In its third iteration, Phonewise underwent a pivot in collaboration with Leslie Alfredsson from Drivhuset, formed by more structured and in-depth research on our target audience.
What problems are you trying to solve with Phonewise?
The first general problem is that recruiters face challenges when assessing candidate proficiency over the phone, the process requires manually taking notes, updating resumes, and creating presentations thus creating a large amount of administrative time waste. Another problem is that technical candidates have particular difficulty with introducing themselves and writing good CVs.
Who are the founders?
Nik Norman and I are partners in life and co-founders of Phonewise. I have an academic background in Media and Communication and have worked practically as a backend software engineer for decades. Currently, I am expanding my skills in marketing, project management, and product management. I am very social and am also learning how to be an effective CEO.
Nik, on the other hand, is quite introverted. He has a strong academic background in Computer Science, Data Analysis, and Machine Learning, and he specializes in operations, accounting, strategic human resource management, and taxation. He serves as the CTO of Phonewise. Our complementary skills create an incredible match and synergy.
Tell us about the pitch competitions and awards you have won.
This pitch competition was organized by Dancing Latitudes. Dancing Latitudes is an adventurous initiative designed for nomadic entrepreneurs, culture explorers, and community builders. It offers a unique journey from Lisbon to Tallinn through various European cities including Porto, Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Copenhagen, and Stockholm. We have 12 pitching startups in Stockholm and Phonewise won. The award was free tickets for the Latitude59 and Nomad Fest events in Tallinn.
What differentiates your product/service from your competitors?
Phonewise stands out with its specialized, AI-driven solution tailored for tech recruitment. Unlike general call management tools, we focus on providing detailed candidate profiling, CV updating, and insightful support designed to enhance both recruiter efficiency and candidate presentation.
If you could dream, where do you see your company in 5 years?
We all are currently experiencing very turbulent times in technology and other global processes, making it challenging to plan far ahead. However, I dream of building an established, sustainable, and growing company that truly makes a difference in the world for sure.
What advice would you give to someone who is just starting to work on their startup idea?
I would not recommend something specific as we are still on the way to achieving our goals. However, I can confidently advise being disciplined, consistent, and never giving up on yourself.
