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Most global entrepreneurs start in their home market and then grow outward. Opera Software cofounder and CEO Jon S. von Tetzchner took the opposite approach with his company, which delivers the Internet to the masses through speedy Web browsers that work on outdated mobile phones as well as state-of-the-art personal computers.
“We’ve been international from the beginning,” von Tetzchner said Oct. 31 at Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Ariz. “People use our software all over the world.”
>> Read Thunderbird President Angel Cabrera’s blog on Opera Software
Veering from the normal way of doing business is routine for von Tetzchner, who was recruited in 2005 to the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders program. He enjoys busting myths about the way high-tech companies are supposed to operate.
Conventional wisdom would tell him to run Opera from a high-tech hub such as Silicon Valley, trade on NASDAQ and design software geared toward the latest technology. But von Tetzchner does none of these things.
Instead, he and his late partner Geir Ivarsøy set up headquarters in Oslo, Norway. Opera Software is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and produces lightweight software that doesn’t bog down on old computers or handheld devices with weak Internet signals.
So far, the unconventional approach has paid off. The expanding company has operations in nine countries, employees from 51 countries and customers from more than 200 countries.
“And we’re adding to the list,” von Tetzchner said.
Global from Day 1
The young entrepreneur grew up in Iceland, but his roots extend to Norway, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Poland and even the United States. So starting a global company came naturally to him.
He and Ivarsøy launched Opera in 1995 after working together at Norwegian Telecom Research (Telenor). Success came quickly for the friends, but not at home.
The company’s first international prize for best software came from Sweden in 1997. More awards followed the next year from France, Australia and the United States. The first recognition from Norway did not come until 1999.
“We had to be accepted outside Norway to be accepted in Norway,” von Tetzchner said. “People will not choose a piece of software in Norway just because it’s Norwegian. If you get to be popular outside, then they are proud of that, and then they will use your software.”
Von Tetzchner said this attitude reflects the Scandinavian ideal of janteloven, or Jante Law, which teaches that people are basically the same regardless of where they live. “Don’t think you’re anyone special or that you’re better than anyone else,” the law says.
A global mindset and sense of janteloven permeate Opera’s corporate culture. “The first person we hired into the company was half African and half Chinese,” von Tetzchner said. “From the beginning, we had a global outlook.”
Since then, international job applications have flooded in.
“When you have 51 nationalities in one office with 300 people, which is what we have in Oslo, you create your own global culture,” he said. “Everyone is different, and everyone is equal.”
Opera also has moved its operations into some of its most promising markets. Today, the company has offices in Norway, Sweden, Poland, the Czech Republic, Japan, Korea, China, India and the United Sates.
“We’ve had significant growth in markets without us really doing anything just because there’s a lot of people who like our products,” von Tetzchner said. “And they talk about Opera.”
No King at Opera
Von Tetzchner said the company ends up hiring many of these people. Some even come to Opera as volunteers — to help with tasks such as language translation — just because they believe in the company’s mission and core values.
“For a fair amount of people, working at Opera is a dream job,” he said. “They would be happy to move to another country to do so. And that what has been happening.”
Von Tetzchner said Opera welcomes the diversity in its workforce, which has swelled to about 600 employees, but the company doesn’t go out of its way to recruit international staff.
“We don’t care where they come from,” he said. “We care about other things. Are they good? Are they passionate? Do they really want to work for the company?”
Opera also doesn’t care where its innovations come from. Von Tetzchner said the company has rejected a top-down management approach in favor of a flat structure built around openness, tolerance and respect for diversity.
“You try to maintain a system where everyone can have an idea,” he said, “and people can operate a little bit on their own.”
Internet for All
The same openness, tolerance and respect for diversity show up in Opera’s software, which strictly follows open standards and doesn’t rely on state-of-the-art hardware or a strong satellite signal to run smoothly.
“If you have an old PC, you can get on the Internet,” von Tetzchner said. “If you have an old phone, you can get on the Internet.”
He said this approach lends itself well to emerging markets, where Opera is seeing its fastest growth. “In emerging markets we’re providing them with the only way to get on the Internet,” he said. “In countries such as the United States, we’re providing them with a different way to get on the Internet.”
Products such as Opera Mini, a free mobile Web browser for cell phones, also extend the Internet’s reach into emerging markets. Von Tetzchner said about 20 percent of the world’s population has Internet access on personal computers, but half of the world’s population has access to a cell phone.
All of this fits into Opera’s mission to deliver the Internet to everyone on their terms. “Internet for all,” and “Your Web, your way” have become the rally cries at Opera.
“A lot of people come to Opera and stick around because they like the values of the company,” von Tetzchner said. “We try overall to be the good guys.”
Is a global mindset in your DNA?
Thunderbird has created psychometric tool that is changing how global businesses compete. Learn more about the Global Mindset Leadership Institute or contact the project leader, Thunderbird Dean of Research Mansour Javidan, Ph.D., at mansour.javidan@thunderbird.edu.
Video: Opera Software in Developing Markets (1:59)
Video: Global from Day 1 (1:58)
November 8th, 2008 at 7:48 am
I experienced a similar problem. When I bought my iPhone, I first checked with “Got Reception?” (Gotreception.com) It’s a great resource for finding out where reception problems are most likely to occur BEFORE you lock yourself with a specific carrier.