Hate to break it but this great idea isn't particularly originated from Sweden. It is exactly what CardStar has been doing for a relatively long time in USA: http://www.mycardstar.com/

I knew that this would happen... Still, Swedes might be the first in Europe to copy the idea. That still makes it kind of innovating ;)

http://www.thepocketagency.com is doing something similar in the UK

Could you please list some original Swedish great ideas that have turned into successful businesses. Keep in mind that successful business does not mean lots of media coverage or getting money from investors.

I spoke about web innovation, you are asking for successful businesses. Initially, that's not the same. Kazaa, Skype, Tradedoubler, Spotify, Stardoll, Twingly, even The Pirate Bay or Voddler (if it gets its act together) are examples of web innovation with (partial) roots in Sweden. It's not that they were all totally new ideas, but coming with something completelly new is a rarity anyway. And again, I'm focussing here on ideas and execution, not on business (which is difficult to measure anyway, since we for example don't know yet where the journey will go for Spotify).

German loyalty card innovation: http://informationcard.net/card-projects/webcard-loyalty

Well... Not commenting on the novelty of the idea, this isn't really likely to work.

The reason for this is that the main idea with a loyalty program isn't so much loyalty as it is a marketing scheme.

All club card programs fight to be the card in the top of the pile. The one people see when you open your purse or wallet. This is BIG thing in loyalty programs, ask any clothing line CMO.

I've actually tried to do this ten years ago using a website and SMS/Bluetooth. Tried selling it to merchants but it generated very very little interest.

Ok, in other words an idea can be great although it means losing money and it is not completely new. I just realised that I have plenty of great ideas in my head. ;-)

Of course I have noticed that there is a lot of web start-ups in Sweden and that they go public with their ideas quite well. However, I'm also thinking the business value. Ideas can be innovative and cool, but I don't call them great unless they really are worth it. And if they're worth it, they will turn into successful business.

Personally I see nothing great in MyClubCards, although I understand the point of the idea.

The applications from MyClubCard works on all types of mobile phones with WAP

Is it only available in Sweden then? The website is all in swedish and i can't find the app in the app store either /checking from Finland/...

Would be great to try it out!

I think both Martin and Kimmo have a point. Martin is right in that Swedish startups tend to get bigger faster than Finnish ones for example. Let's take Spotify and Voddler, for example. This is probably because of their excellent marketing started out early in the development process. Or do you have more insight why Swedes are strong, Martin?

Kimmo has an excellent point because business-wise the product has to be simple enough to be adapted and valuable enough for customers to pay for it. This is always a great challenge in da interwebz where everything is supposed to be free...

Joni, yes, my perception is that Swedes in general ar pretty good at communicating, designing and selling a product/service to the desired target group. I don't know if this is different in Finland, but it's definitely different in Germany.

But Swedes are also very positive towards new ideas, which means that founders usually get a lot of encouragement, even by blogs and media. After 4 years in Sweden this is in my eyes one of the biggest characteristics of the Swedish mentality: Being positive towards the most, not sceptical. I think that this helps a lot, because new services can be sure that Swedish users will come, since they are pretty tech-savvy and interested in new web products.

Thanks Martin, those are valuable observations. Unfortunately they are a bit hard to copy, and especially in Finland people are always very sceptic. I think it should be acknowledged that many success stories have been created without a clear idea of the revenue model, for example. After all, it's all about getting loyal users. And then capitalizing on them.

I had this idea a few months back while getting another gym card, so I guessed someone already thought of it and it. And done it was.

Nonetheless they can still build a good business in Europe with it.