The Xmentor story
The idea of Xmentor was born in the spring of 1999 in a garage while two daycare dads, Ingvar and Kjell-Arne, were busy building a go-cart for their children in the late evenings. Both had management experience from the IT consultancy business. Ingvar within project management and Kjell-Arne as a systems supplier.
It was in the midst of the IT-boom.
Both reacted to the lack of customer benefit, technology and method fixations, capacity utilization etc. in service enterprises. A more flexible combination of competence should provide far more customer benefits. Why not create a business where entrepreneurs from many different fields with a wide array of know-how could gather under one label? A company whose own product development satisfies the individuals' need of intellectual stimulation and further development at the same time as each and every individual has a great responsibility. Release the experienced consultants and give them a platform to develop themselves and their services without a costly middle part in the form of traditional consultancy companies with employed consultants. It proved that the time was right. The end of the IT-boom showed that the value of the fee the individual consultants paid to their employer for a secure job was low. Many customers were also disappointed in the consultants' contributions. The complexity and thus the need of many varying competencies in the company's development work increased. It was here that the consultancy companies had not kept up with the development. The go-cart was completed. It was time for the next project. During a couple of intensive days in August of 1999 all thoughts were put into print. The working name of the project was taken 'from the air'..X Management!
A business idea was formed, goals, strategies and a concrete plan of action was put forth.
When the question of a name was brought up it was unanimously decided that the working name was actually quite a good one. However the Swedish Patent and Registration Office (PRV) did not agree and after a great deal of thinking Xmentor was hatched (which even the PRV approved of)
Mentorship was, as we saw it then, a way of supplying knowledge, which would gain ground (which later proved to be true.)
Right from the start Ingvar and Kjell-Arne were already convinced that the sale of services of the kind that Xmentor represents, occurs via networks.
A service supplied, can not be handed back and therefore a great deal of trust is required from the customer. The marketing would at first be aimed at different networks.
Kjell-Arne Edvinsson
Ingvar Gräsberg
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