TEXT: LOTTE WINKLER PHOTO: NIELS ÅGE SKOVBOFrom paper boyto entrepreneurStudent Sarunas Vaisnoras favoursAarhus over Lithuania and is just about to start upcompanies number two and three via his networkwith other young people in Aarhus.Sarunas Vaisnoras is a busy man. The 25-yearoldLithuanian programs websites and websystems in his one-man business DataDogProgrammører in Aarhus, and the customersare pouring in.“It’s going really well,” he says modestly about thetwo-year-old business.His studies – an MA in Marketing at Aarhus University– have been put on the back burner because,at the same time as fitting in customers at DataDog,Sarunas is about to start up two new web-based companies.Both together with other young people, whom hehas met through his new office space in the StudentIncubator – an offer to student entrepreneurs.“A fellow student told me about the Student Incubator,and I was really surprised that such a place existswhere you can get free advice,” explains Sarunas.Help one anotherHe immediately took up the offer of an office space,but he has not participated in the courses for startups.“It would have been useful if I had known aboutthe place when I started DataDog, as I’m now so busythat I don’t really have the time to attend the courses,”he says. Almost apologetically.On the other hand, he benefits greatly from networkingwith the other entrepreneurs at the StudentIncubator. Often they can help one another to get customers.Or to develop new ideas.“For example, I help another student develop a websystem for his business, and in return he helps mewrite good Danish texts for my website,” he explains.MindTeacherSarunas also has office space in the entrepreneurialenvironment Startup City in Aarhus city centre. Heworks here with five other young people to developone of his two new web-based business ideas, Mind-Teacher.com – a professional provider of online videocourses, where interested parties can purchase instructionin everything from guitar playing to the artof giving a speech.“We have created the site, and the whole systemworks. Now all we need is the content. We need to findpartners who can produce good instructional films,and that is the challenge we face right now,” saysSarunas.In connection with this, the six young people havethemselves come up with mentors who have experiencefrom the web industry, and who can providegood, relevant sparring.“They are more than willing to help us, becausethey can see great potential in MindTeacher. This, ofcourse, gives us even more motivation and confidencein ourselves,” says Sarunas.Only two of Sarunas’ partners in MindTeacher areDanes. The others comes from Romania, Bulgaria andthe US.»»news in briefStay on the trainMore trains, new trains, shorter travel times, greater comfortand no changing.There were many benefits for passengers when interlinkedoperations began between the current Odder line and Grenaaline on 9 December 2012. This is the result of a joint venturebetween DSB and Midtjyske Jernbaner, which is owned by theregional transport services organisation Midttrafik.Though few people need to travel the entire stretch of justunder 90 kilometres, the interlinked operation will be arelief for the many thousands of passengers who have had tochange at Aarhus every day for their onward journey. In 2011,18 DIALOGUE theme: The <strong>Region</strong> through outsiders’ eyes
“Most of my friends here in Aarhus are foreigners.It’s easier for me to get together with other Englishspeakers. But since my Danish has improved, Ihave also got to know several Danish friends,” saysSarunas.From paper boy to self-employedSarunas Vaisnoras came to Aarhus when he was 18.He had heard good things about the student environmentin <strong>Denmark</strong> and wanted to study here.In the first few months, his parents helped himfinancially, but Sarunas wanted to pay his own way.So he delivered newspapers, cleaned, worked in awarehouse and in a shop.All while studying, first at the Business Schooland now at Aarhus University, where he is completingan MA in marketing.factsmThe Student Incubator in AarhusThe Student Incubator Aarhus is for all undergraduateand post-graduate students in Aarhus wishing to workwith entrepreneurship based on their academic qualifications.The students get free access to office spaceand the offer of coaching in the start-up and developmentof their own business. Around 50 companies arecurrently associated to the Student Incubator.During the course, he learned a little about programming,and the rest he taught himself by researchingonline.“I’ve always been good at maths and I think verylogically. It dawned on me that I could make moremoney by programming websites than from otherstudent jobs,” says Sarunas, who now makes a livingfrom DataDog.The first customers were typically small webshops, but now Sarunas has bigger customers, whereheavy databases have to be incorporated into userfriendlywebsites.A low hourly rate fills the order book up, and accordingto Sarunas, he has not needed to market DataDogsince its launch in 2010.Training in Lithuania“To start with, I sent jobs on to programmers in Lithuania,but now I program everything myself. The cooperationdidn’t really work,” he explains.The Lithuanian programmers are cheap, butthere was a problem with both communication andthe quality of the work. Sarunas is now consideringmoving to Vilnius for four to six months to trainLithuanian programmers so that they can meet hisexpectations.“Then I will return to <strong>Denmark</strong>. I like it here, andit’s important for me to be close to my customers. AndI also want to keep up my Danish.”the Odder line transported around one million passengers,while the Grenaa line had 1.2 million. At the same time, the40–45-year-old Y-train at Odder was taken out of service andreplaced by the more comfortable Desiro train.Information: per.holm@ru.rm.dkDIALOGUE theme: The <strong>Region</strong> through outsiders’ eyes 19