Team Kobben is growing, and the newest member is Siri Wisløff from Tønsberg. With her background as a consultant in, among others, the company EY (Ernst&Young), Siri is ready to take on the role of Business Developer at Kobben. Here, she will work closely with the start-up companies in Kobben and as an adviser on various projects. 

- One of the things I'm most looking forward to in Kobben is being able to help build up and create something new. The fact that you see the results of what you yourself contribute is one of the things that motivates me the most. I also think that it will be incredibly rewarding to be able to help entrepreneurs on their way to realizing their ideas. I am looking forward to being part of an engaging and innovative environment, where everyone is passionate about what they do themselves, says Siri.

Siri was born and raised in Tønsberg, and after living for several years in both Trondheim and Oslo, the Tønsberg native has moved home. She has a roommate from Drammen and a son of just over 1 year with her on the move.

- Like winning a gold medal in the Olympics

Siri herself has experience from entrepreneurial life. At the same time as she completed a bachelor's degree in economics and administration at Trondheim College of Economics (now NTNU), she and two fellow students tried to develop a product for securing prams on public transport. It all started as an assignment in the elective course "business development and innovation". This was Siri's first encounter with entrepreneurship. And it added flavor. Siri and the gang were so excited about the idea they wrote about that they chose to take it a step further.

- We applied for and were awarded an entrepreneur's grant, got a place at an incubator in Trondheim and got support from Innovation Norway to further develop this product. One of the biggest achievements came when we won the regional Venture Cup over all the smartings at NTNU and came in 2nd place nationally, says Siri.

- It may have something to do with the competitive instinct, because even though the prize money was not large, it felt as if we had won a gold medal in the Olympics (or similar). It was very fun.

After the studies, Siri and one of the team members tried to continue with the development of the product, but after a year they gave up. The entrepreneurial dream was shelved and Siri moved home to Eastern Norway. But Siri says she learned a lot from the entrepreneurial experience. Experience she thinks will be useful to take with her into her job as a business developer.

- We initially knew nothing about how to develop a product and we also had no experience with the market we wanted to enter. You can have a great idea, but without a good team you will rarely succeed. One of the lessons I take with me is the importance of a good team that complements each other, where you are aware of your own strengths and weaknesses. What do you need help with and what can we fix ourselves. What is absolutely certain is that you cannot achieve much on your own. You have to use networks and dare to share your idea with others.

Experience that can come in handy when working with entrepreneurs.

- In addition, I learned how important it is to involve the customer or the end user early in the process, so that you create a product that is actually in demand by those who will use it and not just assume things for the customer. This is something I hope I can help other entrepreneurs and businesses in Kobben with, says Siri.

Experience from Ernst & Young

After studying in Trondheim and a few years of work as, among other things, a financial consultant, Siri went to Oslo and took a master's in strategy, organization and management. Her last employer was EY, where she worked as a consultant on various projects. Siri has extensive experience with various ERP systems and financial systems, has been a project manager and is well used to familiarizing herself with new issues in a short time.

In Kobben, she will work as a business developer, where she will assist entrepreneurs to realize their business ideas. In addition, she will work as a consultant on projects within business innovation, where she will assist established businesses in finding new opportunities and markets for existing products and services.

- I am very much looking forward to getting to know many good people, both existing and new entrepreneurs who are associated with Kobben. In addition, I look forward to learning lots of new things about how today's entrepreneurs work, what stirs new ideas, technology and innovation, says Siri in conclusion.