Henrik Johansson, CEO of Gembah: $14 Million Raised to Democratize Consumer Product Creation

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Henrik Johansson, CEO of Gembah, about why the real world constraints of creating physical products put the process out of reach for most people, and how Gembah’s unique global marketplace is democratizing the development of tomorrow’s must-have items. By connecting engineers, factories and other specialists with the people bringing new ideas for products, Gembah helps facilitate a more streamlined, efficient and empowered production network accessible to all.

We also speak about Henrik’s move to the US and the current condition of the startup sector in his home base of Austin, his previous experience in procurement and product development, why a trip to China transformed his perspective on the production supply chain, and why Genmbah’s target market of small to mid-sized businesses is likely to drive growth for many years to come.

Topics Discussed:

• The startup space in two leading innovation hubs - what differentiates Austin from San Francisco, and how things are changing
• Henrik’s experience in procurement for Fortune500 companies and how it led him to the production and supply chain space
• The challenges and risks confronting new market entrants when it comes to production, and why a single purchase can be mission critical
• Legal obstacles when it comes to building physical objects, and how Gembah plans to integrate legal protections into its production process
• The democratization of product development via an online global marketplace and what it means for the economy of tomorrow
• Why hardware production might be the next part of business to become dominated by outsourcing, and how Gembah see themselves fitting in

Favorite book: 

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change