Norwegian running entrepreneurs buy up Danish "big brother"

Article is written by Shifter.no

The Danish platform Motionsløb.dk was launched in 2008. In recent years it has built up both a brand and not least a large database of active race organizers and runners - with around 1,700 events and 17,000 registered users on the platform.< /p>

One might think that it should have been the other way around, that it was the Danes who bought up the Norwegian running mosquito with only 1,000 registered users, but that is not the case. Norske RunAgain aims to become the largest digital running community in Scandinavia during 2023 - the purchase is a key part of this strategy.

- We are very satisfied with this agreement, says general manager and founder Carl-Otto Karlengen of RunAgain.

Through the acquisition, he now gets a significant market share in Denmark and Scandinavia.

Oda background

Together with nine running-interested co-founders, Karlengen started what was first called Nesteløp, as a side project while working full-time within well-known tech and consulting companies.

They had the same experience of spending too much time finding new races. They missed a common portal where they could find out everything they needed to know about all the races they could sign up for. When they couldn't find it, the solution was to start the company themselves.

The whole thing has gained so much momentum that it could no longer be just a part-time job. From this autumn, both Karlengen and co-founder Alf Niklas Kalmar have gone "all in".

Create running community

The parties do not wish to make the transaction sum public, other than that it has taken place in money only, not shares.

Karlengen is in any case convinced that the acquisition of Motionsløb.dk will provide a Norwegian and better user experience. New functionalities in the service are under development, according to the founder.

The aim in the long term is to become "running events' answer to Hotels.com, a place where you can book and discuss all races worldwide". The acquisition of the Danish company will give a boost in the work to build a "community" of runners.

- There are some competitors out there who do some of what we do, but we believe this is a gap in the market that has not yet been filled, says founder Carl-Otto Karlengen.

The business model

Until now, they have entered all races manually, now they are looking at both automation and cooperation opportunities with others in the ecosystem, including with actors within timekeeping. The service is so far free for organizers and runners, but RunAgain makes money from marketing on the platform. While the Danish service has been in operation since 2008, RunAgain was started in 2019.

- We are buying a bigger business than we have managed to become in Norway, states Karlengen.

In comparison to the Danes' 15,000 registered profiles, RunAgain only had 1,000 profiles before the acquisition. However, the number of users returning to the site is far higher, and has now reached 16,000.

Liker Maraton

It is often said that being an entrepreneur is a marathon, not a sprint. In that respect, luckily it is Karlengen's favorite distance.

- I am not a fast runner, but I enjoy winning participation medals. My best time is not something to be proud of, but with only one job, my time in 2023 will be better, says the entrepreneur and chuckles.

It is probably not completely impossible, and Shifter has faith in Karlengen when he says that the goal for the marathon is to get under four hours. Then we will see what other milestones are reached in the coming year.