“It’s the time on the ice that counts”
From the same rugged fields outside Älmhult that once shaped Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA, another force emerged—Sara Wimmercranz, one of Sweden’s most influential tech investors. She founded Footway and the venture capital firm BackingMinds—but her most important title? Smålander.
Harsh winters, silent forests, and fields so stony they demand both wit and grit to make anything grow. It’s here—in the resistance—that strength is born. The kind of strength that creates entrepreneurs.
Sara Wimmercranz founded the e-commerce success Footway, the Nordic region’s largest e-commerce site. She also co-founded the VC firm BackingMinds with Susanne Najafi, a firm that looks where others don’t. By investing in entrepreneurs far from the traditional power centers, they build new companies, new role models—and strong returns.
Sara learned early what happens when you mix Småland’s stubbornness with curiosity. When you have to find your own solutions.
“When I wanted something as a kid, I had to figure it out myself. I picked stones from my uncle’s field—10 öre per stone. I knocked on every neighbor’s door to make them promise to buy Christmas magazines from me and no one else. No one ever told me it wouldn’t work. So I went for it,” says Sara.
“In Småland, we’re born entrepreneurs”
Because if there’s one thing that breeds entrepreneurs, it’s necessity. And no one knows necessity like a Smålanders—whose DNA was shaped over centuries on Europe’s poorest farmland.
“In Småland, everyone is born an entrepreneur. We don’t have more hours than anyone else—we just use them differently. We take action. We believe in ideas before they’re fully formed. And we don’t let naysayers crush something that’s just begun to sprout.”
Sara calls it “protecting the vision until it’s strong enough to face criticism.” That takes courage. And persistence. Or as we say around here: tjurighet—that uniquely Småland-style stubbornness.
But it’s not stubbornness for its own sake. It’s an understanding that it’s only in headwinds that resilience is truly tested. It’s the time on the ice that counts. The tough years—when everything is challenged—that’s when winners are made.
“I’ve been surrounded by old entrepreneurial guys who made it through recessions and sky-high interest rates. They’d say: ‘Stop hugging the boards – it’s time to hit the ice.’ And they meant it. This is when you show what you’re made of.”
No capital—no scale
But Sara is clear on one thing: the ability to take a risk on your idea is not equally distributed. Less than one percent of venture capital goes to women. And without capital—no large-scale companies.
Because Sara Wimmercranz knows: it’s not academic credentials or the right network that determines success. It’s the ability to stand your ground. To think differently. And to dare when the wind picks up. Just like we’ve always done here in Småland.
