Viktor Melvås thought he had chosen the right education, then realised he had to make a new choice

When Viktor Melvås sat down in the lecture hall at KTH to study vehicle engineering, he immediately felt that something was wrong.

“On paper it was exactly the right programme. But on the very first day I knew I was in the wrong place. I wanted to build companies, not vehicles.”

Viktor, 20, grew up in Täby and started his first company at 14 together with two close friends. They delivered snacks and drinks to customers in the neighbourhood long before home delivery became an obvious part of everyday life.

“It was the first time I felt what it is like to create something of my own. That feeling has never left me.”

Once he decided to change direction, he did it fully. Over nine months he taught himself programming, databases and systems development while working full time at the logistics company Airmee, where he was named employee of the month after only a few months.

“I have probably always struggled to understand what other people mean by a lot of work. To me, this is the most fun there is.”

Today Viktor is one of eight young entrepreneurs selected for Talent Venture Labs.

Together with his co-founder he is building UTalento, a platform that helps young people understand which educations, professions and career paths actually suit them before they make a decision that affects many years of their lives. Through personality tests, work simulations and interest analysis, they want to give the next generation a better basis for decisions than they had themselves.

“Ideas are deeply personal. I know exactly how it feels to choose a path that looks right from the outside but feels wrong on the inside. If we can help others avoid that feeling, we have done something important.”

Despite his young age he has already built several companies. Most recently he founded GradUnlimited, a digital platform that helps students prepare for the GMAT. The experience taught him the importance of combining big visions with a pragmatic way of working.

“Optimism in the vision, realism in the decisions. That is what I try to carry with me in everything I build.”