Startup junkie, with a passion for business strategy and innovation. Loves Lean and customer-driven innovation.
I'm currently the chief product officer for Converseon.com and ConveyAPI.com - where our focus is on social media management and measurement technologies.
I previously founded, Social Graphiti, a social analytics company, which was acquired in 2011.
I also invented and built OpenAudienceManager.com, the first Facebook Open Graph analytics platform as an intrapreneur.
I also spend several years as a founding member of Social Intent, a social product development company where we built numerous apps for brands like Coca-Cola, Clinique, Random House as well as social and mobile apps resold by interactive agencies.
I'm a frequent Lean Startup Workshops participant and have run seminars and mentored others on how to get their startups off the ground. I'm a true believer in Steve Blank's (the godfather of Lean) focus on customer development first, software development second.
I'm a serial entrepreneur and have launched and sold 1 startup built on Lean principles and I am applying Lean currently as the Chief Product Officer for Converseon.com and ConveyApi.com
Are you lacking tools to generate actionable insights from what your customers, prospects are saying about you our your customers? Talk to me about a free trial of ConveyAPI (click link in title for more info).
I've been actively working on building Employee Advocacy Solutions for enteprises for the last 5 years, and fo the last 2 years as the CEO of Meddle.it - an employee branding content marketing platform. Also named top 50 Social Employee Advocacy Leader on twitter.
15 years of working with Fortune500's and startups has given me the tech chops to explore what's possible with the CTO, justify the ROI to the CIO, demonstrate what's relevant to the CMO and what's strategic and sustainable to the CEO.
Vidar is a creative and forward-thinking professional. He understands his markets thoroughly and can tell you not only what is popular, but why. He also has the discipline to get things done.
Vidar is an extremely knowledgeable and personable individual and I cannot tell you how much of a pleasure it was to work with someone like Vidar. He is an exceptionally dedicated team player who always found creative ways to get a job done without sacrificing quality.
When you couple all this with his deep business acumen, Vidar would prove to be a valuable asset to any firm. I would hope to one day cross paths again and would certainly recommend that you give him strong consideration for any opportunity.
Vidar is one of the most intelligent, forward-thinking individuals that I have ever worked with. He was a supportive supervisor, encouraging my growth as a person and professional. His talents and entrepreneurial spirit will serve any business, large or small, well!
Vidar has a rare combination of skills that made him the perfect VP of Marketing for Linkstorm as we entered the Online Advertising market.
First, he has the total package of Online Marketing skills: a thorough knowledge of the entire Web ecosystem and its marketing channels, including the latest such as Social Media and Viral Marketing. Second, he is unusually technical; he has a hands-on understanding of Web technologies and a deep sense of when and how to apply them in the appropriate situations. Third, his technical knowledge is complemented by such a well-organized, disciplined thought process that he is fully qualified to fill any kind of Product Marketing or even Product Definition/Product Management role. At Linkstorm, he wrote product definition documents and product development specs, and contributed enormously to the final shape of our two core products - Banner Xpander (which enhances all forms of Display Advertising) and our Social Media platform (the PUP, or in its sponsored version CokeTags). Fourth and perhaps most importantly, Vidar has an entrepreneurial attitude, work ethic, and ability to work independently, proactively and passionately that make him an ideal senior exec for any startup. Even with minimal explicit direction, he quickly assimilates goals and turns them into actionable strategies and workplans - not only for himself to fulfill, but also for his staff as he is one of the best managers I have ever encountered.
I would hire him again without hesitation, would recommend him unreservedly, and would encourage any prospective clients or employers to contact me if there is anything else I can add.
Vidar is a consummate marketing professional. Always looking for a new angle, direction or perspective; constantly probing, seeking ways to push the envelope and challenge business as usual. Once Vidar develops a position, he will defend it vehemently and convince others with his thorough reasearch and compelling logic. Vidar is the type of person everyone hopes to have on their marketing team.
Vidar was one of the most impressive Account Planners I've had the good fortune to work with in my career. His insights were invaluable to the IBM account. His overall presence contributed to a thriving culture at Ogilvy. His is a stellar colleague, and a great person.
Not only is Vidar one of the most intelligent people in the industry, but his unique combination of honesty and ambition is rare. His ability to comprehend and craft top-level business goals that are in alignment with the best path of an organization are complemented by his ability to execute a suitable plan. Equally versed in technology and marketing on both macro and micro planes, Vidar's true capabilities shine when put in a position to leverage his aforementioned vision with this highly relevant skill-set. A true entrepreneurial spirit that is just as capable in C-level marketing or technology role as he is in leading an organization.
Working closely with Vidar, I have experienced, first hand, his exceptional ability to develop core media strategies and products with the greatest market potential. He also understands the practical requirements to successfully execute: the customer validation process, the ability to adjust strategy and development according to changing customer needs and markets, plus the financial resources required for implementation and marketing success.
At Converseon, working with limited resources, Vidar successfully stabilized our existing technology while simultaneously developing an entirely new platform with the potential to change the company’s growth potential. He is an entrepreneur by temperament, understands how to successfully build software products and companies from the ground up.
"Vidar is driven by a powerful inner need to do the best possible, regardless of the resources available or external circumstances. He is generous of spirit; and his leadership encourages genuine team collaboration and trust. I would start any kind of new media enterprise with him in a heartbeat if the opportunity presented itself.
Robert Finn Acting CFO Converseon, Inc.
Vidar always seems to me to be at least one step of anyone else in seeing new opportunities emerge before they become trends. I find his counsel invaluable on defining competitive advantage. He’s also shown himself to be a thought leader and an innovative social media strategist with in-depth experience in how blue chip brands can profit from it.
Vidar is not just a man with a plan, he’s a man with many plans. He’s creative and has an understanding of social media from both a user and business perspective. His knowledge of social technology and how people use it provides him with a vision not just of what can be done, but how it can be done, and allows him to design and develop software that’s beneficial for both the company doing the marketing and the person using the marketing. Best of all, he’s able to explain it all in terms that everyone can understand.
Vidar has developed several Facebook applications for my team, always on-time and on-budget. He always goes above and beyond to provide support for the applications and has an in-depth understanding of the Facebook platform.
