Edinburgh Napier University

Johan Brand doesn’t do things in the traditional way. At school, he had teachers who supported this approach and allowed Johan to complete tasks in a format that suited him best. For example, when studying ancient history, Johan used his dad’s computer to draw his answers rather than write an essay. 

“I’ve always been opposed to doing things in a way that is defined by society. I learn in my own way. This is why I choose to go to art school. There your work is judged through portfolios and development-based assessments rather than through traditional exams. 

“I have the classical traits of a creative person. I’m dyslexic and I found out later in life that I have ADHD.”

After finishing high school Johan enrolled at a business school but dropped out midway through first year. He spent the rest of the year developing his own company and visiting his then-girlfriend who had moved to Edinburgh to go university. He got to know the city and enrolled on Edinburgh Napier’s BA (Hons) Photography, Film & Imaging course. 

“I never went to Edinburgh Napier to learn how to do photography. I went to learn how to produce critical art. I really enjoyed the modules which prompted me to ask questions about myself and society.”

After graduating from Edinburgh Napier in 2005, Johan continued his educational journey and signed up to an entrepreneurship course ran jointly by the University of Oslo and the Questrom School of Business, Boston University. During his studies Johan completed an internship at a gaming company and excelled in that environment. After graduating, Johan moved to London and initially tried to get a job in the gaming industry, however he realised that working in the communications sector would be a better fit as he could develop his skills in that area. He worked in this industry between 2006 and 2010 and learnt a lot about brand building, marketing and other business elements that provided a steppingstone to his eventual career.

“I became tired of marketing other people’s products, so I created my own company”.

We Are Human was founded in 2010 by Johan and his business partner. The company is an incubator and co-creates purpose-driven organisations striving for social and commercial impact. One of these companies was Kahoot!, a global learning platform company that wants to empower everyone, including children, students, and professionals, to unlock their full learning potential. Users can use the platform to create and play learning-based games and quizzes. To date, there have been hundreds of millions of learning sessions held in 200 countries and the platform is used by 9 million teachers globally.

“I’m immensely proud of Kahoot!. It is dominating in classrooms because it has been chosen to be used by the students and teachers themselves.

“We created Kahoot! to bring the person at the back of the classroom to the front. Not because they were a troublemaker, but because they finally showed the rest of the class what they could do. The point of Kahoot! is that students get seen by the teacher and by their fellow students.

“The highpoint of my career was when I received an email from a mother telling us that her autistic daughter had won something for the first time in her life. Her classmates now look at her differently because she proved to them how capable she is. It was in the early days of the company, and we all started crying when we read it”.

In 2017 Johan left the day-to-day operations of Kahoot!, although he remains a strategic advisor. For the past few years, Johan has dedicated his time to developing EntrepreneurShipOne – a company that builds and invests in solutions that solve some of the world’s biggest challenges related to the ocean.

“I have always been obsessed with the ocean. I used a lot of ocean imagery when creating Kahoot! to teach people about entrepreneurship. Sailing is a perfect analogy for that because once you’ve set your course, you have to be open to how you get there. You work with the elements; you can't beat the wind, but you can learn how to sail.

“I also use sailing to develop teamwork in my companies. I’d take the team onboard a boat. They would each learn how to carry out a role onboard, then switch with a colleague and have to teach them what to do. This helped develop empathy within the team as they got an appreciation for another person’s job.”

EntrepreneurShipOne aims to make the ocean the world´s largest classroom. Their mascot is a zero-emission sailboat that is used to engage people in learning about sustainable solutions. The company arranges events, voyages and explorations for young people, entrepreneurs, businesses, investors and organisations to learn about the potential of the ocean economy and the technology enabling it all. Entrepreneur Rock – a small island with a research centre situated on it – is their headquarters. The team also have ambitious plans to develop a physical campus in the Inner Oslo Fjord and have been awarded funding from The City of Oslo to move their plans to the next stage.

“I run businesses in a much more creative way than people understand. This has led my creative background sometimes being used against me. People say ‘oh, you're a creative and you don't really know anything about business, yada, yada, yada’, even though we've built really competent companies. Then they start to think that it must have been luck. That's been probably the hardest thing as people think, well, you're not a finance guy, you're not engineer, so obviously everything is luck. You get discredited and your success is not attributed to your own skills.

“Just like art, if you’re breaking conventions, if you're doing something never done before, most people don't like it. They are being challenged on the way they view things, and they don’t want to change their opinion. Then, if things get difficult, they want to return to the way that it’s always been done, which is detrimental to a company that's innovative.  

“I always say that just because I'm wrong doesn't mean you're right. It means we have to keep on exploring.”

Edinburgh Napier University is delighted to induct Johan Brand to the SACI Alumni Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame recognises Edinburgh Napier alumni who have achieved excellence in their careers and who have made significant contributions to their profession.

“I thought it was a scam email at first. I often think about my time studying at ENU but to know that the University is looking at the thousands of people who studied there, it’s a huge honour.

“I told my colleagues about the award because it's not just me. Everything I've done, I've done with others. I may be getting this personal honour but it’s also in recognition of the work the team has done.”