
10
Years
Journey
For the last 10 years, I have been involved in several startups. Like any other entrepreneur, my journey has consisted of failures and success.
During my journey, I have been privileged to lead some really amazing people.
What gets me up in the morning? Building companies that create products and services, delivered with wow services that challenge the status quo and make a positive impact in our world.
Sharing the knowledge from my journey in a fun, high energetic and practical way

Talerlisten.no
sarah@talerlisten.no

Talerlisten.no
sarah@talerlisten.no

Talerlisten.no
sarah@talerlisten.no

Max Gouchan
gouchanmax@gmail.com
10 years entrepreneurial journey
For the last 10 years, I have been involved in several startups.
Like any other entrepreneur, my journey has consisted of failures and success.

#1 ClickLift
ClickLift was my first startup that attempted to change the way offshore cranes lifted containers in order to increase efficinency and improve safety. We pitched to investors and raised seed capital, become a part of an incubator and recieved public grants. The startup had team with vast experiene and a super talanted team. We managed to negotiate Joint Industry Project with one big oil and gas company and were in the process of negotiating with two other companies. The total value of the Joint Industry Project was estimated with budgets of 1.5 million $. During the oil and gas crisis in 2012 our partners pulled out and we had to shut the company down during the economic crisis in the oil and gas sector in Norway. I learned a lot of valuable experience about PR, raising capital from investors and venture capital, and negotiating joint industry projects.
#2 Trolldeig
Me and my partner opened up 6 stores in Norway that did it-repair. We reinveted the industry by innovating at customer service. We were the first that offered online booking, recipts, card payments, warranty and cool offices with talanted and friendly staff. The stores gained quick popularity and the company was later aquired by Supportia.


#3 Mess and Order
I was part of a team who started up the first co-working space in Stavanger. It was around 1200 square meters and really helped to establish a healthy startup ecosystem in Stavanger. My role was helping with branding, business model and concept development.
#4 Mess and Order Creative
At the co-working space Mess and Order I met Fredrik, a super talanted and experienced graphic designer. During this time I wanted to learn more about branding, marketing and how to create a visuall voice for a startup. We formed Shapes and Tapes and the first year did get quite a lot of clients. Later we met Tore and Joachim who were also graphic designers and photographers. We formed together Mess and Order Creative where I served as a CEO and was in charge of projects and selling. I exited the company after one year.


#5 Coffee House London
In co-operation wtih Leica, the luxury camera manufactorer. We opened up a popup coffee.
Some of my responsibilities were:
- marketing
- staff hiring and training
- concept development
- renovation from store to coffee shop
- menu development
The store was open for two years successfully.
#6 Wrap and Roll
We saw at a huge increasing trend in Australia in sushi burritos and thought it would be a good fit for the Norwegian market. Healthy, more cheaper than traditional sushi and easy to eat on the go.
We did some major mistakes like: expanding to fast, in 2 years we had up to 4 selling locations where 2 locations were in shopping malls that were a bad fit for us.
The market was not ready, and to small in Stavanger city. We had to close down all the stores after 2 years.


#7 Bankers Pizza
I was involved in opening up Bankers Pizza first location in Stavanger as a CEO and co-founder of the company. I renovated about 300 square meters of a raw location and made it into a fully functional pizza takeaway place. Implemented everything from branding, to store design, to technical systems for a smooth operation. After the first location opened I stepped back from the CEO role and sold my shares.
#8 Bigly
Currently, I’m building up Bigly Startup Factory.
Bigly will do three things.
- Have strong digital marketing and a sales-focused team that will take on consultancy work for other D2C brands and help them scale both through digital marketing and sales towards distribution/retail.
- Launch D2C brands where we see we can make a positive impact and create innovative products that make a difference in people’s lives.
- Launch service-based companies in sectors where we see there is a gap in the market.
