Who: Ingrid Kimmestad | What: CEO & Founder | Where: Flokki

What is Flokki, and what problem are you aiming to solve?

Flokki is the first digital vaccine platform in Norway. It's a place where you can check which vaccines you have received, get advice on what you need, and order prescriptions for new vaccines. The national vaccine registry already contains a record of past vaccinations, but it doesn't provide recommendations and explanations for what the different vaccines protect against. It also doesn't offer a clear path if you want to receive a vaccine. Vaccination is crucial for public health, and we aim to make it easier to ensure you have the protection recommended by health authorities.

Why did you choose to work in a startup?

I come from an entrepreneurial family, and both of my older brothers have started their own companies. Flokki was actually my brother's idea, who is an infectious disease specialist. We started discussing it during a cabin trip, and I was tasked with finding out how many people were missing vaccines. What I found out was that 2 out of 3 people lack recommended vaccines, and this was something we could solve. Since I had the most available time at that moment, I took the company forward as CEO, while my brothers joined as advisors.

When did you last think: This will never happen!

I think that regularly! There are days when I leave Oslo Science Park and think, "Well, that's it! It's over. I can't find a solution to this." Then there are other days when I practically fly out of here with a great feeling. It's truly a roller coaster! Building a team is particularly challenging. You have to find the right people, and with limited resources, there's no room for mistakes.

When did you last think: This is going to succeed!

Actually reaching the point where we have a finished product ready for launch is a really satisfying feeling. We've kept our promise to our investors, so now it's up to the public!

What's your best advice for new entrepreneurs?

Don't believe that everyone else knows best. You have to dare to take the lead yourself! You learn so much more by trying and failing. Regardless, you can't expect everything to be perfect from the start.

And something that's very important: Don't build too much of your product before you've talked to people and tested it. Instead, create a prototype in tools like Figma that you can show to your target audience. I've personally stood on the street with a prototype of Flokki and a bowl of candy, asking people to test the solution. I learned a lot from that!