Winners Founder of the Year 1st Category - Monica Born - Pierre Persson - Rahel Belatchew - Carl-Johan Beckman, Kristian Johansson, Niklas Uddholm

Monica Born - founder of Superfront and Pierre Persson - founder of MUD Studios received the Growth Rings in Gold, and Rahel Belatchew - founder of Belatchew Arkitekter and Carl-Johan Beckman, Kristian Johansson and Niklas Uddholm - founders of Awave, received the Growth Rings in Silver for the Founder of the Year 2021 award.

The founders were awarded at the Founders´ Gala held at Stockholm City Hall on September 16. Winning founders received the Founder of the Year award in category 1 for their successful company building.

The 1st category of Founder of the Year are active main founders with at least a 20% ownership share in a Swedish company with more than SEK 1 million in profit for the year and approximately SEK 20 - 50 million in turnover based on financial results in 2020.

During the day the finalists introduced themselves and their companies to a jury of qualified founders.The Founder of the Year award is part of the Founders Awards by Founders Alliance.

Founder of the Year Gold was awarded to Monica Born - Superfront
Superfront is a design company founded out of a wish to give more people the possibility to enjoy beautiful and sustainable design by bringing new life to the millions of Ikea cabinets out there. Every year – 20 million tons of furniture is being thrown away only in the US & EU. By creating timeless and unique designs made to fit Ikea’s most common furniture series, Superfront makes it possible to give millions of furniture a longer life. By only using FSC-certified wood and water based lacquer, and by keeping 99% of the production in Sweden - the production leaves a minimal carbon footprint at the same time as great looking furniture at a reasonable price are made available.

The jury's motivation for Monica Born
“This founder has a genuine interest in design and has built a strong brand within an interesting niche with huge potential to scale up globally. The company has already impressive growth in several European countries and has been growing with impressive profitability.”

Founder of the Year Gold was awarded to Pierre Persson - MUD Studios
Mud Studios is a creative production and post-house with worldwide experience and partnerships with some of the best and most renowned photographers, agencies and creative professionals in the world. Mud Studios is a story of passion, innovation and smart growth, where creativity turns new and imaginative ideas into reality. With roots in fashion and advertising, the company has a deep understanding of the visionary process, both in large scale productions and more compact projects. MUD is a large team of creatives within photography, film and motion, post-production, project management and more.

The jury's motivation for Pierre Persson
“With a holistic approach in a fragmented industry, they have created a unique concept for the increasing demand on the market. 100 % drive resulting in strong profitability and growth while still being humble.”

Founder of the Year Silver was awarded to Rahel Belatchew - Belatchew Arkitekter
Belatchew Arkitekter is an architectural firm with a human-centric approach and strong design at the heart of its projects. The projects range widely, from homes and offices to community properties both in Sweden and internationally. Belatchew Arkitekter is convinced that the best way they can contribute to a better society is by sharing their insights and developing solutions to current societal problems. Therefore Belatchew Labs was set up in 2012 to seek answers to contemporary challenges and find solutions to the urban problems of today and tomorrow, by creating new knowledge, testing new methods and developing innovative projects, which have attracted a great deal of international attention.

Founder of the Year Silver was awarded to Carl-Johan Beckman, Kristian Johansson and Niklas Uddholm - Awave
Awave is a full service web agency that helps the customer create the optimal website, from idea to business benefit. The web agency has a professional consulting team in Stockholm, Copenhagen and Riga. Awave builds the business with a long-term perspective and stability by getting to know the customers and their activities, helping to create new levels for sustainable business development through digitization and long-term collaborations. The goal is to always be one step ahead with new, innovative and exciting ideas. Awave creates a stable business platform and together with employee commitment, the company becomes a driving force for strategic environmental work supporting several non-profit organizations.

The jury of Founder of the Year’s 1st Category is comprised of the following founders: Chairman of the jury Emma Rozada - The Techno Creatives; Margareta Andersson - Efterklang; Birgitta Brodin - Recepta; Kristina Lindhe - Lexington; Fred Boström - Bitlog and Rickard Zetterberg - S-Group.

The Growth Rings

What all founders have in common is that they themselves are a seed that grows into a successful company. Just like trees in a forest, founders are the most important organism in the ecosystem that creates growth in the world.

The symbol that pays tribute to these successful founders we call The Growth Rings.

“It starts as a seed in the founder’s mind. For it to grow strong, patience is required and real perseverance. During a company's development, strong years with good conditions alternate with meagre and tough years without development. The Founders Awards annual growth rings symbolize this story”

Learn more about Founders Alliance here

Before using the pictures, please contact Nina Hahn at Founders Alliance, nina.hahn@foundersalliance.com