With humor, humility, and the sense of perspective on himself of someone who has seen a lot, Martin Gren reflects on a journey that started as a provider of disco light controllers at school and led to one of Sweden’s most iconic tech companies. As co-founder of Axis Communications, he is not just an entrepreneur, but an entertaining, tech-nerdy storyteller as well as the ‘unofficial’ (?) mascot of a company that scaled long before “scale-up” was a buzzword.
Martin was interviewed by Sara Egidius, Ideon Science Park’s PMO.
“Entrepreneur? That’s what you become when you cannot people told me”, he laughs. “Everyone in my family were teachers. I just knew I did not want to work for the government.”
The “scene of the crime”: Kuvösen in the 1980s
We meet Martin back where it all started – at Ideon Science Park in Lund, or as Sara called it, the ‘scene of the crime’.
As students at LTH (Lund Faculty of Engineering, )Martin and co-founder Mikael Karlsson were consultants, moonlighting on early-stage electronics projects. In 1983, they formed their consultancy.
“We did not want to be consultants forever. We always wanted to build a product company.” Martin says.
In 1984, they found their product; network solutions for scanners and printers. The small consultancy consisted of Mikael and Martin who hired their former fellow students as sub consultants.
That year, Axis was one of the six early companies to move into the newly developed area, joining players like Ericsson and Bolin.
Building with respect – and a little fear
Martin also shares how his leadership style formed early on, a bit out of necessity.
“I’m short, wear glasses and in my early career I didn’t want to get beat up,” he says, joking.
“So, I treated everyone, my classmates, my colleagues and lately resellers, with the same respect.
The principle of respect carried into the foundation of Axis.
The business model that built Axis
Axis did not just build a product but built a way of doing business. When Axis launched the world’s first network camera, the true innovation was not just the technology. The business model that allowed it to scale across borders.
Martin’s colleague, co-founder, Keith Bloodworth, a British sales guru (celebrated on his birthday that very day), shared a simple but revolutionary insight:
“Be the best friend of your reseller. Never sell direct.”
That became Axis’ key principle; trust your partners.
“Stick to the model and do not make exceptions to it. And it worked.”
Scaling smart – and slow
Axis did not explode overnight. Martin has saved every annual report and recalls the journey.
“We doubled every year. That is 30% annual growth; a solid, sustainable scale-up.”
Germany was the first real target market. Then came Japan. Surprisingly, Axis biggest market in the mid-90s. Cracking the U.S. market took 15 years.
“In Japan, we were methodical. In the U.S., it took us a while to understand how to do business there.”
Today, Axis has around 90,000 integrators, 200+ distributors, and a global partner network.
“We still stay true to the original model. And Axis is still built on trust, which is something we are very proud of.”
Crises, cashflow, and kindness
Despite Axis being a tremendous success story, it has not all been smooth sailing.
“We hired a terrible high-level manager in a crucial position once. They literally took the job just to be fired,” Martin says with a giggle.
“We were close to bankruptcy a few times. Great business, but crises come. Currency swings, late payments, liquidity problems, even when you are profitable.”
He shares a moment with SEB (bank) in the early ’90s:
“We called our bank to ask for an extended credit line. They said, ‘What a coincidence – we are also out of cash.’ But we had a good relationship. We were the only company in Lund sending them monthly reports. They raised our limit and bent the rules a little bit for us. Since they we have paid back everything.”
Doing business with decency, he insists, makes all the difference.
From tech builder to investor – but always a contrarian
The core team of Axis never took venture capital for Axis.
Today, Martin invests, and has been doing so for a while, albeit not in early-stage startups directly. He prefers scale-ups: €5–10M in revenue and strong growth.
“We love startups, do not get me wrong, but unfortunately, we do not have the time to babysit. We invest in VC funds instead and support companies with core competencies in life science and IT: Cellavision, Camurus, Bone Support, and Novotek.”
He avoids hype and trends.
“AI? Sure, we invest. But we look for what not everyone is doing. We like being contrarian. That is where the real opportunities are.”
Still the mascot and still learning
Martin still spends about half his time at Axis.
“These days I am kind of a mascot. I travel, meet partners, and keep the culture alive.”
What would you have done differently?
“Well, it all worked out well. Times were harder back then. I would say the climate for entrepreneurship is better now. In 1993, you really had to fight for it. Today, it is ‘you can do it!’ from day one.”
Sara’s last question: “Does it seem unreal, at times, the fact that Axis has become such a huge success?”
Martin confesses that he feels most at home at small offices. This is why he really like Axis’ three-person office in South Africa, next to a bird sanctuary.
“We call it the bachelor’s den. But I really like it.”
