Which office do you normally work at?
Narrative Linköping office.
Twitter handle:
@martinkallstrom
What did you do before Narrative?
I was the founder and CEO of Twingly.com, the european search engine for blogs and social media.
How did you come up with an idea like the Narrative Clip?
It came up during a long period of ideation, almost four months. I sketched on business ideas and had a spread sheet of 65 ideas in the end. One of them was Narrative, and I felt like it blew the other ideas out of the water. I felt a strong emotional connection to it since I think photos are very valuable to remember the time we spend with the people we love. And there are two huge trends going on: One is the trend of wearable technology and the other is the trend of photos and videos being the driver for social media. I thought that in the intersection of two monster trends, there must be an interesting opportunity.
Did you expect Narrative to have come this far in such short time?
At each step we have been blown away by the respons from the market and our customers. We have done so much in a very short time, which we are of course very proud of.
What has been the most exciting part of being our CEO?
That I get to work with such amazing people. Each an everyone was recruited because they are smarter than I am in some aspect. That means that I get to work with people I can learn from every day.
What’s one thing we should know about you?
That I love playing squash but I’m a beginner so I’m really easy to beat. Challenge me to a game anytime and I’ll be there and do my best.
Who are your role models?
Muhammad Ali and Steve Jobs, each for different reasons.
What book have you recently finished, or are currently reading?
Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson. It was recommended by a dear friend that knew I love sci-fi.
Favorite non-work-related website:
What did you want to be as a child?
I don’t remember actually. An architect, when I was a teenager. But earlier than that I don’t know actually.
Best advice you have ever received:
“Don’t try to do more than one thing at once. Not even Apple manages to do that” said Keith Rabois to me
Favorite Quote:
“Try not to become a man of success, rather than becoming a man of value.” Albert Einstein
Moment you would like to relive:
The first time each of my daughters fell asleep in my arms, when they were newborn. Those are some my happiest moments in my life.
