‘Unicorn of Tomorrow’ hunt for the brightest global start-up at Expo 2020 Dubai

At the helm of affairs is Richard Burstrom, contest founder and CEO. “Sweden is the birth country of the Nobel Prize and the Polar Music Prize and must be the place of origin for an entrepreneurial innovation prize with a global perspective,” he says. Born in a small town outside Stockholm, Burstrom grew up in a typical household as the eldest of three siblings. “While my father was a traditional entrepreneur, none of my siblings are entrepreneurs. My dad was scared the ‘entrepreneurial gene’ had skipped a generation, but it hasn’t,” he smiles. 

His entrepreneurial journey started with his penchant for hand-rolled cigars. “The Swedish market was dominated by a few old-timers, but I was quick to make inroads and then brought them to Asia. One thing led to the other, and wines followed suit.” 

His repertoire of business is vast, and he admits he “likes to do a lot of things.” His quirkiest venture was becoming the biggest company selling Marlboro headwear in Sweden, making big bucks selling ‘Indiana Jones’ style hats. “We also had exclusive marketing rights for Prison Blues, a denim brand where the goods are made by inmates serving at the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institute. This was a way to pay back their debt to society. In fact, I visited the inmates at the prison in Oregon, and it was a very insightful experience. We actually implemented this in a Swedish prison as well.”