"Today, all I know is it’s a team that can help you."
Victor Fredung Tweet
Meet Victor Freuding, a Sweden-based FinTech innovator with 10+ years of experience in the industry. In 2018, he joined Shufti Pro as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
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Table of Contents
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Victor Fredung: It is a pleasure to be a part of this interview series.
I was born and raised in Sweden and throughout my academic life, technology was the one thing that enticed me. I was in high school when my passion for technology became an obsession. It was a time when developments had just begun. AI and ML just came into existence. I was surprised to know how manmade items can make human decisions and sometimes, better than what we could have thought about.
I decided to do something in artificial intelligence and about 10 years ago, I stepped into the industry. Here I am today, CEO of an AI-driven company that does not only believe in big numbers on papers but innovation is what we seek.
Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? Did you ever consider giving up?
Victor Fredung: Yes, and I guess everybody thinks of giving up at least once in their journey. When I stepped into the industry, technology had just started to take over business operations. Many big names entered the industry and I decided to take a step back. I took some time off and reinvented myself, thinking about all the possibilities that are waiting for me in the industry.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons you learned from that?
Victor Fredung: Not just me, but many young entrepreneurs might have made the same mistake. When I first entered the tech industry to start a new venture, I thought I can work single-handedly for some time or a team of few people would suffice. It was only a matter of time when I realized that it is not as easy as it sounds. Today, all I know is it’s a team that can help you.
Resilience is critical in critical times like the ones we are going through now. How would you define resilience?
Victor Fredung: I have come across many big names in the corporate sector that failed due to their inability to adapt to the changing environment. For me, resilience is never giving up, adapting with changes, and finding an opportunity even in the toughest circumstances (like the one we are going through right now).
For instacnce, bad actors have started using forged vaccine passports to manipulate businesses during these critical times. Since fake Covid certificates were making it difficult for businesses to onboard jabbed customers, Shufti Pro introduce Digital Covid Certificate Verification to assist the oublic space in verifying the authenticity of vaccine passports.
In your opinion, what makes your company stand out from the competition?
Victor Fredung: Shufti Pro was the first company in the IDV industry that kept its pricing public. Apart from flex and public pricing, we also offer a 7-day free trial that helps businesses understand the product first. With a market-leading accuracy rate of 98.67%, Shufti Pro’s identity verification solutions take a second to complete. This is by far the fastest ID verification performed in the industry.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success?
Victor Fredung: Passion, easygoing attitude, and eagerness to learn are the top three traits that helped me. When I started my journey, there was no such thing as “time limit” to work. There were times when I was the first to arrive at the office and last to leave. I worked tirelessly over weekends and holidays to achieve my goals. I was passionate to grow and redoing a task or an entire project didn’t scare me.
Being a CEO of the company, do you think that your personal brand reflects your company’s values?
Victor Fredung: Yes, personal brand leads to employee buy-in. Ultimately, it gets easier for the organization to move through an uncomfortable situation. Personal brand encourages people to trust you and that you can work through it.
How would you define “leadership”?
Victor Fredung: For me, leadership is continuously motivating and influencing your teammates to be their best selves at work. I have heard many people relate it to seniority and experience, but it has nothing to do with power or title, or seniority in a company.
What advice would you give to our younger readers that want to become entrepreneurs?
Victor Fredung: I would suggest they never stop learning. Even if you have achieved your goal, always strive harder to learn something new every day. Challenges are a part of every entrepreneur’s journey. They should never encourage you to give up. Lastly, risk is inevitable, and to be an entrepreneur you have to take calculated risks.
What’s your favorite “life lesson” quote and how has it affected your life?
Victor Fredung: I have shared this in one of my other interviews as well.
“Shortcuts make long delays.”
This is Sir J.R.R’s quote and I find it the best one when it comes to advising or discussing my life lesson. It is for all young people who are planning on doing something new. I made a mistake in the initial years of my life and took a shortcut to success. Temporarily, everything went pretty good but the setback was tough for me and my team. It’s best to take all the steps to success rather than jumping to the last one.
Mike Weiss, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Victor Fredung for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Victor Fredung or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
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