The “Crusher of the Year” award is presented by 17-nätverket to encourage the building of very large companies run by female owners. The network was founded in 2017 by successful entrepreneurs Jessica Löfström (Expandera Mera), Lena Apler (Collector), Monica Lindstedt (Hemfrid), Anna Bråkenhielm (Silverback) and Maria Mattsson Mähl (Alpha C).
TicTac Learn is the company that had the largest growth in turnover in 2022 according to 17-nätverket. In the last financial year, turnover rose from SEK 60 to 220 million – an increase of SEK 160 million or 267 per cent.
“As an entrepreneur and owner I have always set my sights on growth while maintaining profitability. We had ambitious goals going into 2022 and we exceeded them by a long way. I want to thank all our talented employees who contributed to this fantastic result, and we look forward to continuing our growth journey,” commented Carolina Faxe, CEO of TicTac Learn.
The origins of 17-nätverket go back to a claim made during Almedalen Week, a political forum held on Gotland, that only 17 women had founded a company with a turnover of more than SEK 50 million per year – a claim that turned out to be a myth.
Carolina Faxe was elected to 17-nätverket in 2021. To be elected to the network, you must be a woman, you must have founded the company in question and have a significant ownership stake in it, and you must have held a leading position in the company throughout its growth journey. The company must also have a turnover in excess of SEK 50 million per year.
“Crusher of the Year” is not the only award that TicTac Learn and CEO Carolina Faxe have won recently. Tillväxt Malmö – a business development network – also voted her “Growth Entrepreneur of the Year 2022”.
TicTac provides its customers with e-learning platforms and training courses. Its customers include Ericsson, Klarna, the National Board of Health and Welfare, Oatly, Thule and Verisure.
The company’s e-learning solutions have more than one million users and that number is growing rapidly as new customers join.
“Demand remains strong and in the first months of the year we gained several new customers, including Skintific, Aqua Dental and Granit. We also recruited a number of new employees to meet demand from new and existing customers,” says Carolina Faxe.
The EdTech market is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world, with global growth of about 16 per cent in 2022 according to the business magazine Forbes. In August 2021, British venture capital giant Bridgepoint became the main owner and since then TicTac has continued to grow rapidly in northern Europe with the acquisition of Danish Key2Know and German Interlake.
“Bridgepoint give us the support of a player with enormous international experience and presence. As a partner, they have helped us grow faster and more effectively, not least internationally. Together, we will continue to grow, both organically and through acquisitions,” says Carolina Faxe.