Fredrik Wistrand launches dental chain during his final term of the Gothenburg Executive MBA programme

Fredrik Wistrand launches dental chain during his final term of the Gothenburg Executive MBA programme

14 March 2016

One of the Gothenburg Executive MBA participants, Fredrik Wistrand, announces the launch of MyDentist – a new chain of dental clinics/shops (from now on referred to as shops). The first shop will open during the summer of 2016, somewhere in Sweden.

Read an interview in Göteborgs-posten with Fredrik Wistrand (in Swedish, from March 14, 2016)

Fredrik Wistrand, Executive MBA graduate 2016 and founder of MyDentist
Fredrik Wistrand, Executive MBA graduate 2016 and founder of MyDentist, featured in Göteborgs-posten 2016-03-14

As the former CEO of Smarteyes International, Fredrik has acquired substantial experience from the retail industry. He now aims at bringing that experience and expertise into the dental industry – an industry he describes as old-fashioned but with great potential (the annual turn-over is 24 billion SEK, compared to the optics industry with an annual turn-over of 7 billion SEK). MyDentist’s business model draws on the success from Smarteyes. That means a customer-oriented approach with shops in prime locations (such as shopping malls), with attractive opening-hours and competitive prices. MyDentist’s vision is to be the largest private dental chain in the Nordic countries, with 45 shops in five years from now.

As a participant to the Gothenburg Executive MBA programme, Fredrik has benefitted a greatly from the lectures as well as the networking with other Executive MBA participants.

“I understand that it is unusual to start-up your new business while still being on the Executive MBA programme. But for me it’s not that spectacular, I have started and managed several companies during my career”, says Fredrik Wistrand.

“The reason I wanted to take an Executive MBA in the first place is that I had reached as far as I could with Smarteyes. After more than seven years in the retail and optics industry I felt it was time to do something else. I felt stuck and needed new inspiration and relevant knowledge, so I decided to apply for the Gothenburg Executive MBA programme. Looking back, it has been valuable to pursue an Executive MBA in parallel with developing my ideas for a new company. During the programme I have studied several cases from the retail industry which have been highly relevant for me. Actually, I have been able to apply what I learnt in many of the Executive MBA modules”, Fredrik continues.

Fredrik Wistrand
Fredrik Wistrand

“Being the only participant in my class from the retail industry, the Executive MBA programme has expanded my horizons and given me new perspectives. I think it is good to be placed outside of your comfort zone so that you can see things from a totally different angle. The network in class is also important to bounce new ideas back and forth”, Fredrik concludes.

Fredrik Wistrand will graduate from the Gothenburg Executive MBA programme in June 2016. We wish him the best of luck with his continued studies, and with the launch of MyDentist!

For more information, see www.mydentist.se