Post by Furkan Ö.

I’m starting a new position as Program Manager at Intertek! I did my best to pursue entrepreneurship in a foreign country as an expat. Building a network, setting up the company, finding customers, sending the first invoice, learning how to use Fortnox, a bunch of failed sales actions, Skatteverket, Bolagsverket, learning half Swedish — were really but really not EASY. However, the process was an awesome experience. For anyone out there who is willing to start a company in Sweden, all I can say is go for it! I know you are frustrated with Migrationsverket so all government stuff seems terrifying. But government bureaucracy works great for setting up a company in Sweden. I only set up a company in Turkey (family business) and Sweden, but I think Sweden is way better than most countries. My way to my company started with a rejected internship application in Finland — rejected, but that good interview and good communication made me end up with a remote job from San Francisco. I am very proud of working with David Jaber at Climate Positive Consulting. I had many rejected applications in Sweden. However, I was still happy to have interviews with those managers. Believe it or not, it is still a network. When you have zero contact in a new country, job rejections also have to be your contact. Last week I had a couple of meetings with and without Intertek connection and in total it was 9 different people. I noticed 4 of them rejected my job application in earlier years. Yet, they are part of my business network :) Rejections were mainly because of the Swedish language barrier, and I am still working on it :) Nothing much left to say for Northvolt. It was a remarkable experience. Especially the layoff and bankruptcy process :) I wish the best for all ex-Northvolters. I just wanted to share my experience. I think that is what people are looking forward to reading on LinkedIn — some insight! I have to mention LinkedIn — thanks to you, people in a foreign country can verify my experience and network. I don't know how that would be possible without you. I am really but really looking forward to gaining experience at Intertek Business Assurance. It is already great to work with the team! #Intertek