BUILDING A TEAM

 How do you create a team that makes the impossible possible?
Mikael Söderlindh, the entrepreneur behind Happy Socks and Häxan, reveals the key.

How to build a successful team
For as long as I can remember, I have been passionate about entrepreneurship – following new consumer trends and finding the best ways to commercialize them. I am truly motivated by turning an idea into reality by gathering a team that shares the same passion and together creating a brand that people love and want to be a part of.

My journey began early, when in my 20s I realized that there was an opportunity to help brands create stronger relationships with their customers through experiences and events. At that time, there were only a few players in the market and I saw a chance to do it better, more creatively and with a greater impact. That's how the event agency Fieldwork was born.

Since then, I have started several companies, but most people probably recognize me as one of the co-founders of Happy Socks. Our idea was simple: to give people the opportunity to express themselves through colorful socks with unique patterns.

Today I run two brands. Häxan, a classic Swedish brand that I, together with my team, have modernized to meet today's consumers. Häxan is now a sustainable cleaning product line that challenges its category, with its own e-commerce and over 5,000 retailers in Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Germany. DRM-LND, a brand for personalized accessories, focused on Gen Z and Alpha. The idea came from my daughter Lucy, and today we have stores in Sweden, Denmark and Finland, with plans for international expansion soon.

Through my entrepreneurship, I have had the opportunity to work with many different people and personalities. It has really taught me the value of building a committed team – a team that shares the company's vision, understands it and is prepared to do the job. To succeed, you need people who are not afraid to take on challenges and who know that there are no shortcuts to success.

At the beginning of my career, I mainly looked for people with an academic background and the right experience. I thought it would be easier to succeed then, but soon realized that it was only part of the truth. When I started filling the business with uncut diamonds, it became more and more fun and the business started to think alternatively. Similar knowledge, working methods and backgrounds limit creativity and innovation. The best ideas are born where there is a combination of craziness and different perspectives.

I have learned that successful teams consist of people with different backgrounds, experiences and often with strong personalities and odd qualities. I see a lot of energy in the team as a superpower that helps to drive forward. It is not always easy to create such a team, it can involve both friction and challenges. But the result is always better. A diverse and multifaceted team with high energy not only creates stronger ideas and solutions, but also contributes to a unique and authentic brand that can meet the needs of a larger target group.

My three best tips for building a strong team: 

1. Put together personalities with different backgrounds and experiences who you see can have fun together and enjoy each other. Put energy into building a strong community through different initiatives that bind the group together more than an AW. A close-knit group can create magic!
2. Make sure you have a team where individuals have a strong inner drive and will and who place a high value on working hard together to succeed at the impossible. Spend time finding people with the right motivation from the beginning.
3. Make sure that each person on the team feels best when they own their task, challenge and role. Everyone needs to understand how they are an important part of achieving a well-defined goal together. The fantastic end result should then be celebrated in a quirky and unexpected way.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!