Why did you establish the Cafe?
There are several reasons; First of all, we both had a dream of running our own business. We met each other when Lise returned from England where she conducted a masters degree in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. When she told me about her dream of starting a soup bar, I said: Let´s do it! Because of my work experience as a manager, and Lise's academic background in economics, marketing and business, we thought we would make a great team.
Secondly; we love food and especially soup. Serving soup is the perfect way to make the vegetables play the main role in the dish.
Last but not least we started Whatsoup because we observed a gap in the market. We could not find a similar concept in Norway. Healthy, fresh, nutritious and honest fast-food, or as we like to call it:» slow-food served as fast-food».
What is your experience with the project so far?
We always hear business owners say that the start-up is exhausting, almost impossible, that you have to be engaged 100%, and that you have to work 24 hours in periods. We thought they exaggerated a bit. They didn't!
There have been challenges all the way, setback in the building process, delayed deliveries of essential equipment, people issues, money issues, legal issues. The list is long!
Entrepreneurs have to dive into unknown territory. There is so much you need to know, and no one to make you a list of what you need. We struggle every day with the dilemma: we cannot be control-freaks if we want to maintain our mental health. At the same time, we need to have control.
But still, you continue with the project?
Definitely! The feedback from our customers is fantastic. When you launch something completely new and different, you will always have a fear that the market is not ready. But the market was more than ready. Everyday customers tell us that they love the concept. Several times each day we hear people saying: this is the best soup I´ve ever had. This makes everything worthwhile, and it motivates us to work even harder.
When and where do you plan to open the next Whatsoup?
Our goal is to open within a year or two. We have learned so much from this process, and we believe that this knowledge will be beneficial in our next establishment. We have faith in what we do, and therefore ambitions to grow. First a few places in Norway, and then Sweden. »Then we take Berlin» 😉