The summer job that sparked a business idea
The semester is over and for many KTH students it’s time to start your summer job. Should you run into issues while working, put some extra thought into the solution – it could spark the idea for your future business. That’s what happened to Max Dyrhage, who two years ago was studying his final year at the Media Technology Program at KTH.
During his time as a student, Max Dyrhage worked as restaurant manager on the side at a café in Stockholm. In June, after the last exam week of the semester, he had no time to relax. Instead, it was time to build the perfect team who could handle the hordes of vacation-hungry Stockholmers and tourists who flock to cafés with outdoor seating in summer. But every year, finding people with the right competence turned out to be a huge challenge.
Matchmaking a constant challenge
In 2017, 30% of all internet users in Sweden used LinkedIn, but for the hotel and restaurant business, the proportion was much lower: only 8% of people in the business use the platform. Many also testify how difficult it can be for employers and their prospective employees to find each other.
While Max Dyrhage was struggling to put together a team at his summer job, his co-student Emil Karlsson had similar experience elsewhere. Together, they decided to come up with a solution. After teaming up with Håkan Dyrhage, and later with KTH-students Oscar Melin och Nathalie Hedin, they started Cheffle, a LinkedIn-like platform specifically targeted towards the hospitality industry.
A make-or-break situation
Having access to a platform targeted to the hospitality industry saves heaps of time for employers. Everyone who’s ever worked in a restaurant knows that time is never something that exists in abundance, so the platform was welcomed with open arms. Additionally, having a well-functioning team is incredibly important, and can even make or break a restaurant.
- Helping a struggling employer to find the right person and so be able to stay in business is incredibly rewarding, says Emil Karlsson, CEO of Cheffle.
Getting the right feedback
By creating a digital and social professional network for the hospitality industry, the team wants to create better preconditions for employers looking to add to their teams, as well as for people who are looking for their next position. From the start, the team behind Cheffle made sure to develop the Cheffle platform in close cooperation with their users, which enabled them to rapidly improve the service.
- Based on feedback from our coach Håkan Borg, one thing we did was to start charging our customers early in our development phase. That really helped us get straight and honest feedback, since the conversation changes entirely when real money is involved.
During their time at KTH Innovation, Cheffle got help with everything from developing their business model, sales strategies, funding, contracts, and networking. They also took part in the KTH Innovation Pre-incubator Program, a yearlong program for early-stage, tech-based projects from KTH looking to speed up their development.
Today, over 1500 people have applied for jobs using the service, and more than 200 of those got the job. Now, the team is focusing on scaling up in Sweden, but they’re also shooting glances at the international market.
- We especially want to thank Håkan Borg, Donnie Lygonis and Nicole Forsberg for all their help during out time at KTH Innovation.
Emil Karlsson finishes:
- If you have an idea that you want to develop, we really recommend contacting KTH Innovation!