From ‘Tech Geek’ to Industry Pioneer
For Rickard Vikström, co-founder and CEO of Internet Vikings, success in the gaming industry wasn’t the result of a carefully plotted career path. Instead, it grew from a combination of technical expertise, willingness to take risks and the courage to venture into unknown territory.
“I had no idea how to write a contract,” Vikström recalls of his early days. “I had no idea how to send invoices. Actually, our first customer wrote the contract for us because we had no idea what we were doing.”
This candid admission from a now-successful CEO highlights a crucial lesson—you don’t need to have everything figured out to get started.
Vikström’s journey began in his early twenties, when he and his childhood friend Victor decided to create a company serving the gaming industry. While Vikström came from a “computer geek tech background” with expertise in programming and Linux servers, Victor was working at an online gaming platform in Malta.
Their complementary skills and Malta’s emergence as a gaming hub created the perfect storm for their entrepreneurial venture. The pivotal moment came in March 2008 when, at just 22 years old, Vikström took what many would consider a risky leap—quitting his day job to fully commit to his own venture.
His decision-making process was refreshingly simple: “My fixed costs were not even €400 a month. As long as I could make that, I thought I should be able to survive.”
Looking back, Vikström admits that with today’s knowledge, he might not have dared to start a company during the 2008 financial crisis. “But I didn’t know what I didn’t know,” he says with a laugh, “and I basically didn’t know there was a financial crisis because I was sitting in front of my Linux computer, programming.”
The transformation from technical specialist to business leader wasn’t immediate. When asked of mentors he’s had throughout his career, he notes he’s had many while highlighting two in particular: Mattias Kaneteg, who runs one of Europe’s largest hosting companies, which Vikström started working for at just 20 years old; and Jesper Kärrbrink, who joined Internet Viking’s board five years ago and helped Vikström develop the commercial and strategic thinking needed to take Internet Vikings to the next level.
For young professionals entering the gaming industry, Vikström’s advice is refreshingly direct: “Just dare to do things and just try it. The worst thing that can happen is that it doesn’t work, and then you do something else.” He encourages newcomers to be “a little bit annoying”—in other words, to be persistent and show initiative, even in small ways.
Drawing from his own experience of spending late hours cleaning out office storage rooms as a new employee, Vikström emphasizes that success often comes from simply showing up and taking initiative. “You don’t need education to do that,” he asserts.
As Vikström looks to the future, his focus remains on identifying and solving crucial problems for customers while continuing to make strategic decisions that will shape the industry. His journey from technical expert to industry leader serves as a testament to the power of embracing uncertainty, learning continuously, and never being afraid to take that first step.
