Meet Henrik Rosvall, co-founder of Akribian

Henrik Rosvall is co-founder of Akribian. His early access to computers and games during his childhood in 1980s Sweden led to his love of story-driven adventures and role-playing computer games which he adapted with self-taught modifications. Those early internet days set the tone for Henrik’s career as a designer and developer. 

In 2018 Henrik co-founded Akribian together with learning psychologist Martin Hassler-Hallstedt. Akribian, is spearheading the way in which children learn maths through short adventure game-based learning that helps children retain information and encourages long term academic success. Its first product Count On Me! is a maths app based on a new concept of Game-Embedded Teaching which combines science and game design to encourage children to discover the magic of mathematics and accelerate their learning.

Tell us about the founder behind the brand?

I was born in the 80s in Borås in Sweden and grew up in a very tech savvy family. I spent a lot of time with friends playing role-playing games and computer games. We were all so immersed in those adventures - and quickly found our way into modifying games. I was only 12 by the time I was running a small modding community on the internet, where people from around the world would come in and share their mods. Having these positive experiences with computer games alongside friends not only sparked our interest to expand on them – but also forced us to also learn the tools in order to do so. So programming and 2D and 3D graphics came naturally into my everyday life. 

From that age on I've always been fascinated by the interaction between people and technology. I went on to study graphic design and psychology – going on to work as a programmer and designer in a range of fields, including FinTech and advertising. But after a few years, I started looking for a sense of purpose. Soon after I met Martin Hassler Hallstedt (my now co-founder of Count On Me!). He was finishing his PhD on learning psychology, and had this amazing prototype for a math app. When we got talking, we realised that we have a lot of common interests about using technology to help people – and soon after, we co-founded Akribian. Our first maths adventure game Count On Me!, based on the new concept of Game-Embedded Teaching, launched in 2021. Backed by science, we believe that anyone can be a ‘maths person’ if the learning journey is captivating, fun and positive.

What inspired you to launch your business and what is the end goal?

Children's interest in STEM subjects is in decline, and we believe that early maths mastery, as well as introducing children to maths in an anxiety-free way, could really help change that.

Our company's long-term goal is to help children succeed in their maths understanding, to ultimately give them a better start in their lives. We would say that we turn children into math stars using science and game design. We try to lead the way for education that follows a research tradition and puts the child in the centre of its design, making sure it is effective and engaging. 

What is your day-to-day role with the company?

I’m Akribian’s CTO, but my area of responsibility covers all aspects of product development. My day-to-day work consists of developing the product vision, roadmap, go-to-market plan, building a product team and supporting it in topics regarding design and direction.

How do you set yourself apart from other businesses in your industry?

When we started the project we had the opportunity to spend time researching how maths is taught today. We saw that there is a big gap between the maths book and digital media that children are growing up with. So we wanted to close that gap, and that lead to the idea of teaching maths through a story-driven adventure. Today, it allows us to challenge the idea of a maths teacher being a person in front of the whiteboard in a classroom. By allowing the teacher to be any types of creature – from any type of background, with different interests – we hope to convey the message that everyone can be a maths person.

What movie do you find inspiring?

As a big fan of Yorgos Lanthimos, one of the movies on the top of my list would be The Lobster. I love how it portrays an alternate world with a different ruleset for social acceptance, and how the people manage within that. The movie sparks great conversation, and gives a good reminder on how the world can be crazy in different ways – and in all its absurdity that movies might not be that far away from our everyday lives.

How well versed were you in the planning and strategic growth of your business? Did this come easy to you?

Back in 2017, shortly after I met Martin, we were accepted to an accelerator programme at Nordic Innovation House in Silicon Valley. It was a phenomenal experience and we learnt so much through it. The programme was almost like a crash course into starting your own business – from start-up to building momentum in developing a business idea and a product.

What are your thoughts on failure?

Actually one of the key learnings from our time on the programme in Silicon Valley was the acceptance of failures. I think the emphasis on failing fast and learning from this was extremely insightful. In the Nordic countries I feel we still have a very strong sense of failure being something to be ashamed of. It was good to get some nuance on that – and how failure is an important part of a success story. 

Working with a co-founder can be tricky, so understanding and compromise is important. How have you both found the process of building a business together? What makes it work? 

I’ve had an extremely positive experience with my co-founder, Martin. We have a strong rapport. He's a psychologist and has a really good perspective on how we should develop as a person along with the business. I think finding a good business partner is the single most important thing you can do when starting a business. 

What does your business offer its target audience?

Early-age maths competence is the strongest predictor for future academic success, yet many children struggle with maths and it impacts their learning and motivation as they progress through school. If we can teach children maths and to have a positive experience with learning it, we can actually help maximise their potential and make a big difference in their lives. 

Anyone can be a maths person if the learning journey is fun and inspiring with regular short bursts. A short window of maths gaming or a learning app every day is a fantastic way to keep kids’ attention and optimise their learning. 

We launched the Count On Me! maths app for children aged 6-9 in May 2021. Research has shown that children who practice maths by playing a game-embedded app such as Count on Me! improve their skills by 60 percent.

What are your top three tips to hire and develop new talent?

In the early journey of the company, the team will be spending a lot of time together, so try to find people who you can manage that with. For me, that is being able to spend 2 hours together in silence. I also recommend finding people that are different from you, because otherwise you might find yourself lacking the perspectives needed to solve problems along the way. Finally, look for the self-starters that can get things done. Nobody knows everything, and in a startup you always know too little, but you still just have to find a way to fix the task at hand.

Thinking about the future, do you have any strategic partnerships or upgrades in the pipeline?

We’re starting trials in collaboration with universities including Cambridge, Oxford, and University College London so we can continue our approach of systematic review for excellence. At the same time, we are growing, testing and advancing the game design by working with brands such as Massive Entertainment who produces the Star Wars and Avatar games and possess the expertise and ambition to help us fundamentally redefine the way in which young children learn number sense.