Rutger is an expert in the financial industry for more than 30 years with an entrepreneurial and passionate mindset. With a proven track record of building and developing lasting structures with motivated employees and colleagues, he is also the CEO of Nowo, a startup offering disruptive solutions in a traditionally conservative industry, that has launched solutions to shoppers and encouraging micro-savings. He speaks on an array of topics in an interview. Excerpts:

Conception of Nowo

Observes Rutger that all demographic data shows that it’s going to be increasingly difficult for people going into retirement to maintain their standard of living under the current pension scheme. Therefore, private savings for your retirement is a necessary means to financial wellness after retirement. “Nowo makes private saving for your retired years easy, seamless, and smart, with a focus on micro-savings in your every date shopping. Nowo is in the right spot as a disruptive solution, offering an old fashion industry and addressing the serious problem of future pensions. I’m highly motivated and encourage myself and my staff to make an impact and progress every day.” Adds Rutger that as the CEO at Nowo, he has, in a short span of time, grown the company to fantastic heights and the company has more than 70,000 customers now.

Fintechs- challenges galore

While fintechs are on an upward growing trend and are constantly faced with challenges, Rutger suggests that the industry should stay relevant. “Customer behaviors change all the time so it’s important to pay attention to that. Always stick to your core values and make sure all your decisions are steps towards your vision and your business goals. Don’t fall for trends that can make you go astray. Trends come and go.”

Nowo’s business solutions

Noting that the company’s business model is based on two important factors- customer volume and time, this entrepreneur states that a member of Nowo starts on accumulating micro-savings for his/her pension. “At first, the revenue streams from a new customer are quite small, but over time, significant capital is built up, which increases revenue per user over time. This in combination with many members means that we are convinced of the scalability and profitability of our business.”

“Everybody can save a little each day, and we have observed that your savings capabilities usually co-rrelate with the amounts you spend. In our app, we offer different savings methods to micro-save for your retirement, but the most used method is to micro-save every time you shop. The user connects their debit/credit card to Nowo, defines how many percentages of everything they shop that they want to save, and we do the rest.”

Leadership traits

“Start-ups face many challenges during its journey – from an idea to success and I think you need to be clear of the company’s mission and include all staff to take steps every day towards that goal. As a leader, I do really empathize with the teambuilder management style because of this, I believe that it is important that all staff knows what to do and feels included and involved in the progress of our company.”

Way ahead

In April 2022, Nowo was named IPO 2021 of the Year in the Micro Companies category, which is awarded by the Swedish magazine Affärsvärlden. We see this as proof that we are on the right track and are perceived as interesting and exciting companies that are right on time. We at Nowo are convinced that private savings for pensions are crucial for tomorrow’s pensioners both in Sweden and in the rest of Europe.”