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‘I was only supposed to stay in Sweden for a few months’

Meet Dan Paech, 31, the Australian who found his entrepreneurial path in Stockholm.

Published: 27 June 2016 06:59 CEST
'I was only supposed to stay in Sweden for a few months'
Dan Paech, the founder of Run With Me Stockholm. Photo: Private

When Dan Paech looks back at how he went from enjoying a well-paid, comfortable job in Britain to running his own startups in Stockholm, the Australian seems as surprised as anyone.

“I was living in London and had been working as a health economist for almost a year and a half. I think I always had that itch to try something else, but I was worn down by the grind of working in a stressful job and the long commute,” he says.

The 31-year-old was no stranger to adventure, having previously moved from his native Perth to South America and eventually the British capital – after going there mostly on a whim to surprise his sister on her birthday. And so, he persuaded his company to let him transfer to Stockholm.

“It was supposed to be only for a few months, but I think they were worried that I would not be coming back,” he says. “And I think deep down I knew I wouldn't.”

This is where it all started.

Beating Stockholm's notoriously tricky rental market (if you want to score a first-hand lease, you had better be prepared to wait around for, on average, eight years), Paech moved into Hus24, which advertises itself as Sweden's first co-living space for global entrepreneurs.

“A friend of a friend who was working for Spotify was going back to Australia and let me rent his room there. It was an amazing place to move into. I immediately found a network of like-minded people and I knew within the first few weeks that I wasn't going to leave,” he says.

Hus24 was set up by Swede Lisa Renander to help young startup workers find a place to live in the city. By its very nature, it also functions as a co-working space, where residents are actively encouraged to pitch ideas to each other and help one another out on that first, rocky stage of setting up a business.

“It gave me so much. There were so many smart people who I could bounce ideas off. Without that I probably wouldn't have taken the path I have,” says Paech.

It was here he found the inspiration, courage and encouragement to first test one of his business ideas. Combining his passions for travelling and running, he set up what would later grow into Run With Me Stockholm, a company focused on guided running tours, helping tourists experience the capital while staying fit.

“To me it seemed like a good idea that people travelling might want to meet a local and go for a run, but one of my housemates suggested I should first test the concept by creating a Facebook group, and see if anyone was interested. It didn't work as I'd intended it to at all at first, but started becoming a place for local people to meet up instead.”

“Revisiting the initial idea some months later, I created a downloadable audio tour which would guide runners through Stockholm, but realized that you lost out on the human interaction.”

Around this time Paech, who had also become involved in a separate project with a friend tapping into Sweden's fashion scene by creating designer leather accessories (called A/S Collective), decided to quit his full-time day job.

“It was hard, but made easier by the people in the house supporting it. I had a comfortable job, so it wasn't an easy decision, but it seemed like good timing – I didn't have kids or someone relying on my income, so it felt like the moment was right,” he says.

Reflecting on the experience, he adds: “I think it was a combination of the house I moved into, but also the supportive wider environment of the city. Sweden encourages people to try new things and take risks. (…) I felt supported to take the risk. Everyone has ideas but the hardest part is to actually try.”


Paech in his Run With Me Stockholm t-shirt. Photo: Private

In May last year, the new and improved version of Run With Me Stockholm launched its first paid tour, this time with a live tour guide – Paech himself, showing two Swiss tourists around his adopted city.

Five months later he was up to half a dozen tours a week. This summer, with the help of another five guides, he is able to offer running tours in English, Swedish, German, Spanish and French.

“I think it's getting more common not to consider a holiday a holiday from your daily exercise routine. And I enjoy showing people around because I love the city. You forget how beautiful it is – the Stockholm effect wears off a bit over time – but tourists are blown away.”

Paech is currently in the process of launching his next venture: The 100-Point Challenge, a combined quiz game and walking tour of Stockholm, still in its early stages. The premise is simple: participants get given a set of questions and challenges that step by step take them through the city.

“I thought it would be nice to do something else for local people and I realized that a lot of my friends don't know a lot about the city they live in. This game tests your knowledge, but it's also fun. We've got a lot of questions where you go 'argh, I should really know this',” he laughs.

For Paech, the game is partly the thrill of trying something new, partly a way of giving something back to Stockholm, the capital that changed his life and helped him find his entrepreneurial gene.

Juggling several projects at once, and still doing freelance health economics consulting on the side to keep the money coming in during those first startup years, the busy Australian is currently working more than 60 hours a week. But he's enjoying the ride for now.

“Stockholm is such a contrast to London. Even though the climate is different, the Swedish mentality feels quite close to the Australian mentality. I feel like I fit in with Swedes,” he says, when asked about his long-term plans. “But I miss my family and friends in Australia. I usually go back at Christmas – it's the ideal time to leave the cold and go chase the sun.”

But, having moved out of Hus24 and into an apartment in the suburbs with his girlfriend, is he staying for good? Nothing is set in stone, but yes, it is looking increasingly likely, he admits.

“Just don't tell my parents.”

For members

READER INSIGHTS

How to find a job in Sweden: Five tips from those who’ve been there, done that

The Swedish job market poses unique challenges for newcomers. The Local's readers share their best tips for cracking the career code.

Published: 10 April 2024 11:32 CEST
Updated: 13 April 2024 15:50 CEST
How to find a job in Sweden: Five tips from those who've been there, done that

Network, network, network!

A statistic that often gets tossed around is that seven out of ten jobs in Sweden are obtained through personal connections, and there’s no doubt that a good network is crucial to your job hunt, making the labour market extra challenging for newcomers to the country.

In fact, networking was the main tip mentioned by The Local’s readers.

“The job market is quite hot in Sweden, and talent is in short supply. People hiring do not have a lot of time to find the right talent, and tips from friends, colleagues and former colleagues are the way to first, find out organisations are hiring, and secondly, get your CV on the short list,” said Kyle, a Canadian reader who works in innovation management in Gothenburg.

“If you are going for a major employer like Volvo, network gets you in the door, as HR does not have much to do with hiring… the hiring managers do all of it and have no time, due to the insane number of consensus meetings. If you are looking for smaller organisations, they have even less time to find people, and networking is their primary way to find talent,” he added.

NETWORKING IN SWEDEN:

Some of the networking tips readers mentioned were going to job fairs, getting an internship to help you establish connections in your preferred field, joining clubs (this could be anything from your local gardening association to meetups for coders, but focus on clubs that may be popular among people working in your chosen field), and drawing on your organic network of friends, neighbours and others.

Don’t neglect the groundwork

The saying “dress for the job you want, not the job you have” is getting worn out (and people may look at you funny if you turn up to interviews in a Batman suit), but there’s truth to the notion of making sure you know what you want – and preparing for it.

In other words, don’t wait for a job ad to appear before you start to customise your CV and figure out what skill set you need. Create your CV now so that you’re ready to tweak it to your dream job – you could even have a general look at job ads in your field to see what requirements are needed. And don’t forget to spruce up your LinkedIn profile so that it fits with your career goals.

“I believe that several factors contribute to successfully landing a desirable job in Sweden. It’s essential to prepare to meet the requirements beyond just having a university degree. Many individuals realise these requirements only after completing their studies when they start searching for a job, which can be too late,” said Adnan Aslam from Pakistan, who works as a food inspector.

“I recommend identifying the job advertisements for positions you aspire to hold in the future and then preparing for those requirements during your studies. For me, acquiring a basic level of proficiency in the Swedish language and obtaining a Swedish driving licence were crucial. I pursued these goals during my studies and was able to secure a desirable job before graduating,” he added.

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Felipe Cabral even has a GPT assistant trained on his own CVs and old cover letters, and said the set-up only takes ten minutes if you already have your documents. “With that in place, you can give instructions like: Read this job description and create a tailored version of my CV and letter for it. (…) Remember to always review and ask it not to create data aside from your documents.”

Be flexible and ready to adapt

Moving to a new place inevitably means having to learn not just the practicalities such as how to write a CV or which websites to use to look for job openings, but also learning how to navigate a new culture with all its unspoken expectations.

Swedish workplaces are generally less hierarchical than many other countries, but that doesn’t mean you can say whatever you want whenever you want without anyone raising an eyebrow. Swedes are usually direct, but be careful of being too abrasive or boastful: raising your voice, even during a spirited argument, or banging your own drum to show off your skills may not go down well.

“Talk, deliberate, complain like a Swede and you’ll come across like you know what the job entails, so your trustworthiness increases,” said an Indian data analyst who preferred to remain anonymous.

“Office politics are just as strong in Sweden as anywhere else. The flat hierarchy is deceiving as social hierarchy is enforced quite a bit in that lack of formal hierarchy. Take your time in learning these dynamics wherever you work before revealing your talent and capabilities. Expect those internal politics to happen, and they won’t hurt so much when they do,” said Kyle, the Canadian reader in Gothenburg.

This article about Swedish office politics may be useful.

Stay true to yourself

Adapting to your surroundings is one thing. Completely changing who you are is another.

For one thing, your happiness is as important as your career progression, and for another, your foreignness need not be an impediment: it’s also a skill that sets you apart from the rest. It means you have unique experience, and also, in the right setting, provides an opportunity to sometimes violate those social rules we mentioned above, because people assume you will, anyway.

“Trust is key. Build trust in your network, work with integrity. It’s OK to violate jantelagen if you are maintaining integrity. Sometimes your outsider and more honest/open opinion will burn bridges, especially those that may feel threatened by talent. But it will build trust with other colleagues who see it as brave and more trustworthy to work with,” said Kyle from Canada.

Hunker down for the long haul

We don’t want to scare you, because there are plenty of examples of people who quickly find their dream job in Sweden and settle into their new workplace, enjoying perks such as long summer holidays, generous parental leave and the famous work-life balance.

But if you do find it tougher than you expected: know that you’re not alone.

Several readers who responded to the survey said they were still trying to find a job in Sweden.

“I found jobs all over Europe but not here. They say they have a lack of experienced senior engineers but the don’t seem to be doing much to solve this,” said a Brazilian in Gothenburg.

A reader from Bangladesh said she was “at a loss” as to how to make a career change from her current AI role in Stockholm, despite many years of experience as an IT project manager.

“Over the past 18 months, I’ve submitted over 600 applications to various organisations. Unfortunately, despite being overqualified for some positions, I’ve faced rejections at every turn, from both large and small companies. The job market here, especially for foreign-born women, feels overwhelmingly challenging,” she said, adding that the struggle had impacted her mental health.

The Local has on several occasions reported on foreign residents’ struggle to get a foot on the Swedish job ladder, with many facing hurdles such as employers’ unfamiliarity with international degrees, discrimination, or a lack of network that can provide paths into a company.

So during the job hunt, don’t forget to care for yourself. Share your concerns with fellow job-seekers, ask for help and join networking groups – this is good not just for creating new contacts, but also in terms of your social well-being and meeting people who are in a similar situation.

And finally, as one British reader in Stockholm advised, keep looking: “Be open-minded with the opportunities that present themselves. It isn’t an easy market to enter and doesn’t feel inclusive.” But he added, “don’t give up”.

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