PARTICIPANT STORIES

INNOVATION & ENTREPRENEURSHIP

“The answer was in my EMBA”

Faced with a challenge that threatened to derail her fledgling business, Kathrine Marie Elmer found a way forward within the pages of her Integrated Strategy Project.

Executive MBA

A former international pilot and psychologist, Kathrine, 48, turned to an Executive MBA (EMBA) from Copenhagen Business School to help her apply the valuable skills and insight she’d learned in her previous careers to a more commercially-focussed proposition: to create a product and launch a business. And when the Danish national ran into a technical issue, she was able to navigate her way to a successful outcome, thanks to the work that she’d completed on the programme.

Weaving together

After months of immersion in cutting-edge business methodology, strategy and leadership, EMBA participants at CBS consolidate what they’ve learnt in an Integrated Strategy Project (ISP). For Kathrine, the project provided an opportunity that would prove transformative.

Says Kathrine: “I chose to focus my ISP on my business, PorSenTech’s lead product, Cover Me, which was originally conceived as a phone case with built-in fire safety features, which, when I started my EMBA, was still undergoing development. I hadn’t yet reached the stage where I’d given marketing, sales, and all the other critical aspects of any viable enterprise much in the way of serious attention. But suddenly I was forced to think about customer segments and other complex business considerations. The ISP guided me through everything and really broadened my perspective.”

Adjust and adapt

Part-way through the product development process, Kathrine and her team encountered a hurdle that threatened to derail the whole project. An issue with the manufacturer of the sensors chosen to power her product meant she would need to completely reframe how they would be used. CoverMe couldn’t go to market, and most of the work Kathrine had undertaken over the previous year was wasted. With the flexible business mindset she’d developed during her ISP however, she was able to successfully navigate the problem and do so within the constraints of impending deadlines.

“Because my ISP forced me to explore so many different potentialities, and, critically, how to raise money and change direction, I was able to make informed decisions that altered major aspects of our business concept at the eleventh hour. Without that, the situation could well have been game over. Instead, we’ve adapted, and we’re still on track for launch. I can't explain how much value my ISP has provided me with.”

Kathrine Marie Elmer, Executive MBA

Lightbulb moment

The career path that led Kathrine to enrol at CBS and go on to found PorSenTech is one full of unexpected twists. A commercial pilot for 21 years, the idea behind Kathrine’s business struck her shortly after attending a training session in a firefighting simulator, “I was commuting back to Copenhagen and struck up conversation with the person next to me, who just so happened to be visually impaired. He told me about the way his phone helps him carry out lots of day-to-day tasks. Emergencies and fire were still mulling over in my mind and suddenly I thought how useful a fire alarm-equipped mobile phone case could be.”

When the Pandemic suddenly forced the grounding of commercial flights, Kathrine decided the time had arrived to put her master’s degree in psychology into practice. “I worked as a psychologist for the Danish military.” Kathrine says, before explaining, “Although from a professional standpoint, flying, psychology and my business seem pretty disparate, there is a common thread that runs through all of them: a concern for personal safety.”

She then switched industries, taking on a leadership role at a health insurance firm. It was there that a colleague suggested the EMBA at CBS could help take her skills to a new level.

New knowledge, new direction

Although her interest had been piqued, enrolling wasn’t a choice Kathrine took lightly: “CBS’s standing, reputation and reviews are all good. That was my main reason for choosing this business school over others.”

“The decision turned out to be everything I’d hoped for and more. I became fluent in the language of business and my classmates were hugely inspiring. But the digitalization module is what really changed everything for me. It convinced me that I should develop my business idea; an idea that my ISP empowered me to mould into an implementable business plan. Participating on the EMBA not only changed my direction, it changed my life.”

Kathrine Marie Elmer

Executive MBA

Preparing for launch

After completing her EMBA in 2023, Kathrine dedicated herself to building PorSenTech. Investment was secured through an appearance on Lion’s Cave (an investment-themed television programme known in various formats across the world including Tigers of Money, Shark Tank, and Dragon’s Den), which also delivered a windfall of national publicity.

Says Kathrine: “A lot of people now know about my product – before it’s even gone to market. The programme also inspired me to change the product’s functionality. Everybody was talking about drink spiking in nightclubs, and I saw how our product had the potential to help address the issue.

“We now intend to launch two product packages. A nightlife one based on this new idea and a daytime version based on air quality. The functionality of the daytime version will include flammable gas detection and a fire alarm. So, despite lots of shifts in focus, I’m set to actualise the idea which sprung from that conversation I had during my commute all those years ago. And it’s my EMBA – the ISP in particular – that has made it all possible.”

At the time of writing, CoverMe is due for imminent launch.

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“The answer was in my EMBA”

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