What do a surf school, restaurants, a bakery, a brewery, experiences and a hotel have in common? That’s what serial entrepreneur Jonas Bagger Sørensen knows; over the course of 16 years, he has created a wide range of seemingly diverse businesses on Bornholm. For Jonas, entrepreneurship is not just about seeing the opportunities in starting new businesses, but equally about creating coherence between the businesses he has already created.
It’s morning in Hasle, when we meet Jonas Bagger Sørensen at BAGGER, the city’s new combination of café, bakery, pizzeria and brewery. The place has undergone extensive renovation and recently opened its doors. And the locals seem to have welcomed the new initiative. There are already several guests as we sit down to talk about the many businesses that have come to town over the years. Because what really makes a person want to start something new when they already have plenty to deal with?
It started at Balka Strand
The story began in 2010, when Jonas, just 19 years old, started the surf school Eastwind on Balka Strand. His father had himself been self-employed for many years and helped him get started. But that the first business would be the beginning of so many more had Jonas hardly imagined.
– No, I probably wouldn’t have imagined at the time that it would develop into all this. But I’ve always been able to enjoy trying new things. I get excited quickly when I see an opportunity, and then I want to see if it can become something, he says.
Since then, the activities have grown to include experiences, restaurants, food, and accommodation. Today, the companies are grouped around Bornholm Holding ApS and employ a total of about 50 employees during the high season.
From the outside, it might seem like a serial entrepreneur who has a hard time letting a good idea pass by. But there is also a clear plan behind the many activities he is involved in.
I find it fun to work with many different things, but it’s not just random companies I start. I’m constantly trying to see how they can all work together and support each other. In fact, there’s actually a pretty big synergy effect between them.
When one idea creates the foundation for the next one
– I think it’s fun to work with many different things, but it’s not just random companies I start. I’m always trying to see how they can work together and support each other. There’s actually a pretty big synergy effect between them, explains Jonas.
– A guest who comes to Bornholm to practice water sports should also have some breakfast, have lunch, or find a place to spend the night. And while good weather allows for one type of experience, rain and wind can create demand for something completely different.
It is precisely these kinds of connections that Jonas is good at spotting.
A concrete example is the place where we are sitting in Hasle. Here, Jonas has decided to bring together several activities under one roof. A café, bakery, pizza and beer may at first seem like something completely different from water sports and experiences, but in Jonas' world everything is connected.
– A baker can of course bake both bread and pizzas, so why not take advantage of that? And since we now have a bakery, we can also deliver breakfast bread to our other locations, including the hotel. That way we can use both the employees and the production across the companies, he explains.
From staff housing to a hotel
The Netop hotel is a good example of how one idea can develop into something much bigger. Originally, Jonas bought Store Lærkegård in Tejn to provide more housing for his employees.
– Staff accommodation has been a necessity right from the time I started the surf school in Balka. If you want skilled people to come and work on Bornholm during a season, you also have to be able to offer them somewhere to live, he says.
Jonas Bagger Sørensen in the bakery behind the café. Photo: Lina Hilding
But the plans for the property evolved, and what began as a solution to a practical problem gradually became a hotel project. At the same time, this is the venture that Jonas points to as the most demanding so far.
– The hotel has definitely been the biggest investment. It is something completely different to get such a place up and running. There is a lot at stake, both financially and in terms of work.
Because even though he is risk-taking, he is not blind to what could go wrong.
Experience has made him more cautious
With 16 years of experience as an entrepreneur, Jonas has become more critical of the ideas he chooses to put into practice.
– I have actually become more cautious over the years, even though it may not seem that way from the outside. In the past, I was quicker to say yes if something caught my interest. Today, I am better at taking a deep breath once more before I embark on something new.
Experience has also taught him that it can be expensive to continue for too long with something that doesn’t work. Therefore, he has become more aware of the value of testing new concepts on a smaller scale before making large investments. And it is precisely on Bornholm that he sees good opportunities to try out new ideas.
– The competition on Bornholm is less intense than in the big cities, where there is almost a café on every corner. You don’t even have to invent the deep plate every time; it’s about finding something that people like or need, and then trying it out in small doses before investing too much money in it.
Now it all has to come together
Right now, however, the plan is not to start another company. After a period of many new initiatives, Jonas will focus on making the operations function as best as possible in the companies he has already created.
– Now we just need to get our act together and get things running smoothly. I would really like to have a little more time to relax. But I also really like having something to do, he says with a smile.
Before we separate, we get a tour of the bakery behind the café. Here are the large baking ovens, which are not only meant to deliver freshly baked bread and other delicacies to the guests in Hasle, but also to produce breakfast breads for the hotel further up on the island. In the basement we find the brewing facility, where beer is to be produced, which is to be sold among other things at several of Jonas' other locations. And it is precisely here, between the baking ovens and the brewing facility, that the common thread in Jonas Bagger Sørensen’s many businesses becomes clear. For maybe serial entrepreneurship in reality isn’t just about starting new things. Sometimes it’s about making what you already have created into even more.
AF LINA HILDING