’There might be more like us on the island’
Søren Würtz (PRECUREwould love to see more high-tech companies find their way to Bornholm.
PRECURE in Allinge has major global clients and dreams of more high-tech companies on Bornholm.
PRECURE is a technology company based in Allinge that focuses on health technology. They develop innovative solutions for the prevention of work-related injuries, particularly within musculoskeletal disorders. PRECURE combines advanced sensor technology and artificial intelligence to improve working conditions and enhance employee wellbeing. Their products are often used in industries where physical work is part of everyday life in order to minimise strain and the risk of injury.
Even though the company has a Bornholm address, its focus is directed towards the foreign market.
”Our Danish market is rather modest. 90 per cent of our customers are international,” says Søren Würtz, CEO of PRECURE.
He is a co-founder of PRECURE and, under tragic circumstances, is new to the position of CEO.
”Overall, we've faced some headwinds over the past year. There has been an economic challenge, but worst of all was when our CEO and co-founder passed away four months ago. It's been tough on a human and mental level, but also organisationally, he says.
”However, we are in a financially stable place now after having entered into agreements with large and interesting players in the market, so after a period where we have struggled day-to-day, the business has stabilised and the economy is positive now.”
The global market
PRECURE’s services include physical products such as wearables and app solutions that can monitor and collect data to make effective improvements.
Furthermore, the subscription solution also includes online onboarding courses as well as ongoing guidance and the possibility of training superusers.
It is, of course, a solution aimed at major players in both the Danish and international markets, rather than very small businesses
”Our strategy is very clear. We sell our solutions to insurance companies and global businesses. It’s about both volume and economics, but also because these are the types of companies that are ready to take the next step. We also have partnerships on Bornholm, but our greatest potential lies abroad with partners who are very much ready to take the next step in the field of prevention and reducing workforce attrition and work-related injuries.”
In that way, PRECURE must constantly exist in the intersection between being ahead, but not too far ahead.
”We can sell to small businesses, and our solutions actually make a lot of sense for smaller companies too, but they’re just not quite there yet. They’re at a different stage, but when they get there, we need to be ready to seize the opportunity. That means that, for now, our focus needs to be on the really big players, such as insurance companies,” he explains.
The significance of Bornholm
This is where Bornholm comes into the picture. When the whole world is your marketplace, is it an advantage or a disadvantage to be based on a rocky island in the Baltic Sea, far from the world’s major cities?
”Thanks to our workflow and the nature of our products, we’re really lucky. We operate 100 per cent digitally. So as long as there’s Wi-Fi, we’re up and running. We don’t need large storage facilities close to the world’s biggest cities. In fact, we don’t even need an office, just a tiny warehouse if necessary. After all, we don’t sell products like fresh food that have to reach the customer within 12 hours,” he says, before elaborating:
”That way, we don’t face a logistical challenge in the form of worrying whether ship X or Y will arrive on time. We work online and can therefore stay in touch with our customers whenever necessary.”
Easy to feel. For even though the internet has bound the world so closely together that a company in Bornholm can be in contact with a customer in New York in a matter of seconds, a certain amount of logistics still comes into the picture.
A question about geography
”At some point in the process we need to visit the client. That is a necessity, and here a clear challenge arises. Firstly, we need to be sure about the connection from Bornholm to Copenhagen Airport and flights onwards from there, but also the return journey again. A visit to Zürich ought to be manageable in a single day, but because we always have to travel onwards to Bornholm from Copenhagen, flight traffic to the island can have a major impact for us, and not least whether the visit takes one or two days when travel activity is close to being weekly.”
Can just one more day really make a difference?
”The short answer is yes. For a small business in terms of manpower like ours, a lost working day is really noticeable. That way, we cannot get around the fact that our location on Bornholm is a challenge. The extra day makes it expensive and more time-consuming than necessary. It can be quite frustrating.”
Bornholm is a good place for a startup with advantages such as low expenses and cheap rent.
Labour shortage
When PRECURE's growing pains dictate it, this may lead to the appointment of a representative with a presence abroad, for example in North America.
Here, another door is already being opened in the conversation about the challenges that come with establishing an ambitious company on Bornholm, but with an international market.
”Labour. It is as simple as that. We need specialised labour, and those skills are very difficult to source on Bornholm. For example, we have a data specialist from Spain, and in a company as digitally based as ours, recruiting the right people becomes a challenge early in the process if you have to find them locally.”
Could anything be done differently here?
”Bornholm has a strong environment within tourism and food, but there is a lack of an ecosystem for technology companies. However, it is a difficult process. When the specialised labour is not here, the companies do not come. When the companies are not here, the specialists do not come. So in addition to the lack of housing and other things to attract more people, there is quite simply a lack of a technological business cluster with large and small companies that can talk to each other and learn from one another. The Energy Island is, as I see it, an obvious starting point for achieving a strengthened collaboration with the universities, so that we can attract young students within the field here.”
Does Bornholm have anything to offer?
That naturally opens up a follow-up question. Does it even make sense to dream of more tech companies on Bornholm?
”Yes, it does. Bornholm is a good place for a startup with advantages like low expenses and cheap rent. There is also a good culture of helping each other. After all, we are a case that has not been easy for Business Center Bornholm to advise on, but BCB has got stuck in and been a huge help. Others in the local community also step up quicker and more easily with help and good ideas.”
In what other ways does the local aspect come across as a strength?
”That can be on the investor side. In Copenhagen, you might have to compete with 99 other startups for investor funds or simply to get someone to talk to you. Here on the island, there might be two others in the running. It is quite simply easier to make things happen, but one must also remember that everyone involved in the startup and establishment of PRECURE has a connection to Bornholm. We haven't appeared out of thin air, so the municipality still has a big effort to make if more [businesses] like us are to come to the island.”
BY SØREN SORGENFRI