Hi Edward
As Owner and Director of Ihre Consulting, please let us know more about how you came to open your own business and how you like to unwind when you get the chance!
1. You are a veteran some would say in the industry with a very impressive CV. Can you tell us a small part of it and how this led you to open your own company.
Ever since I came out of University, I have worked with companies related to online, combined with my obsessive interest for sports (watching it, not necessarily do it myself…), (sports)betting and gaming became a natural fit for me. My first job in the gaming industry was as CEO for, a then start-up, called Parbet.com, which was one of the first online betting exchanges (competing already then with the mighty Betfair.com). As a very-early-adopter-product, the key to create the all vital liquidity was to create good relationships with the big punters, so I did. Relationships and interaction with people has always been something I cherish so the jump to the marketing and affiliate side of the business was also a natural one. Then came to poker boom and I was fortunate enough to experience the growth of it firsthand at the helm of PokerRoom.com affiliate program as it all started with me alone and 18 months later, we were a staff of 18 people and the program generated ca 450 FTD/day! After a period as MD of Ladbrokes Poker, my wife and I were starting our family and were successful at it as 15 months apart we both had Stella and Buster. We felt like going back to Sweden and at the time, there were not that many senior positions in our industry based out of Stockholm, so I instead decided to set up Ihre Consulting AB and I have been very fortunate and happy ever since.
2. Ihre Consulting has grown very quickly. Was this always the plan? Do you see any further growth?
Not at all. The intention was at first that the company would only feed me and my family but as the results grew and so did the demand of the service (and the window of opportunity) I quickly realised that I needed more people. We are still experiencing very good growth as the appreciation for what (value) we provide gets recognized. We are also looking to expand our services as well as possibly, expand into other (online) industries.
3. The industry changes all the time, with new brands launching & closing, markets opening and closing. How do you keep track of all of them?
Its hard for sure! But we have created a database that helps us a lot in keeping track of all of this for us. It still requires us to work closely with operators to know what is going on with them and to learn their strategies and plans (as well as possible setbacks) as well as attend business events and read publications related to it/them. As all of us at Ihre Consulting also have genuine interest in relationships and the people in our industry, we tend to get this information by simply having friendly conversations.
4. You have written articles in various publications. Is this something you like to do?
When I find the time to do so, I definitely do. I think we at Ihre Consulting are sitting in a unique position as we are middlemen, trying to have a birdeye view of our industry so that we do make a lot of observations about trends, news, gossip and success stories.
5. With such a busy career, how do you unwind?
With two kids and an equally lovely wife, I tend to spend it with them (I wouldn’t know if I would classify it as an unwinding activity though as the kids are 4 and 3 years old!). Again, my interest for sports also draws me to watching TV during the weekends and evenings and during the golf season, I try to play as much as possi
6. What is your favourite holiday destination?
Depends on whom I am travelling with. With family I would say Thailand. With friends, Ireland or Scotland (and play golf).