Thats certainly proven true forVivino.
This success came despite an unconventional background.
Youre free to do whatever you want in any way you want, he tells TNW.
So how does this freedom translate into founding and scaling a successful startup?
Vivino supports these users withcrowd-sourced data.
We didnt listen to the industry.
We didnt listen to the wine experts.
And we purposely didnt do so, Zachariassen explains.
Because were not building the product for those two groups.
Were building it for the casual wine drinker.
This played a pivotal role in product development and design.
This initially left the design looking scrappy, Zachariassen says.
And that was fine for us.
But thats harder to accept if you dont have freedom.
If you have three generations of winemakers looking at you, for example.
When you build a startup, its all about resources, right?
Vivino is not for someone who has a wine cellar.
Its for someone who has five bottles on the kitchen table, Zachariassen says.
This led Vivino to implement a five-star rating system.
Theres also a personal element to Vivinos success.
And thats probably the key if youre an outsider, really understanding the problem youre trying to solve.
Heini Zachariassen will be speaking at TNW Valencia, which takes place at the end of March.
If you want to experience the event, weve got something special for our loyal readers.
Use the promo code TNWVAL30 and get a 30% discount on yourconference business passfor TNW Valencia.
Story byIoanna Lykiardopoulou
Ioanna is a writer at TNW.
With a background in the humanities, she has a soft spot for social impact-enabling technologies.
