“𝘔𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘶𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦 and 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦.” – John Nyberg, CEO at OZOREON.
From an idea to a patented high-tech product used at Swedish industries. In this series we talk to the people behind the product. First off is John Nyberg, CEO and founder of PBS.
𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲, 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐞?
“I wanted to start a business that made a difference in the world, but I had no idea the product would be ozone. I met a German inventor, Manfred Fandrich, who pitched his idea to me about ozone as the means to clean water. His passion for the environment inspired me to embark on the journey of turning this idea into a real, working solution.”
𝐎𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 100 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐝’𝐬 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚?
“Ozone generators are notoriously sensitive to humid air. Manfred’s idea was to develop a robust generator that could tolerate moisture. This would make the machine portable and usable anytime, anywhere.”
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐁𝐒?
“My one big vision was to neutralize human and industrial waste/pollution before it reaches nature.”
𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐞?
“Actually no! At first we positioned ourselves for outdoor usage, off-grid and harsh environments. But soon we were contacted by industries who appreciated the robustness, simplicity and environmental benefits.”
𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭?
“A continuous inner motivation, love for the creative process and perseverance. And I also think being ”naive” helps a lot. If I’d been ”realistic” I would’ve dropped the ball.
Going from idea to product also takes funding, and I’ve spent years pitching and finding ways to finance it. I’m deeply grateful for the support from Carl Crafoord, who believed in this vision from day one. Wouldn’t be here without him. Today, more and more investors are joining us, which we are truly happy to see.”
In the next episode we meet Marcus Weibull, CEO at Sigma Lundinova AB – the engineering team behind PBS’s ozone system.
Interview and article by Johanna Swartling.
In picture 1: John Nyberg and David Mozart Andraws.
Recent investor: Butterfly Ventures.
