As Softhouse celebrates 30 years, we look back on a journey that stretches across large parts of Sweden. One of our most important milestones came in 2003, when we opened our very first office outside of Malmö — in Karlskrona. Today, Karlskrona, Karlshamn, and Kalmar together form our strong Southeast region. Here, we meet Jörgen Persson, a leader whose path into the tech industry has been anything but traditional.

An unconventional route into tech and the importance of meaning what you say

When Jörgen is not leading the region’s skilled software developers, you will most likely find him paddling a kayak or fully immersed in his latest project: restoring a traditional wooden Blekinge boat.

His background is just as colorful. He has worked as a tour guide, served two tours as a UN soldier, spent seasons both in the Alps and the Swedish mountains, and studied social anthropology. The fact that he does not come from a traditional tech education is something he considers a strength. He has learned from life itself — and always puts people first.

Five years ago, when Jörgen was considering his next career move, he was searching for something genuine.

“I was looking for a place where the company’s values actually meant something. Every company has nice words, but I wanted it to be real. Otherwise, it simply wasn’t interesting,” Jörgen explains.

“The real deal” — a culture you can actually feel

That Softhouse genuinely lives by its values is something Sanna Persson quickly experienced when she joined the company in 2024. Her days are dynamic, shifting between strategic customer dialogues one moment and coaching consultants the next. For her, the culture can be summed up in one word: authenticity.

“The very first thing I think about when I think of Softhouse is that feeling of authenticity. That we really are ‘the real deal,’” Sanna says. “A lot of companies talk about culture, but here you actually notice it in the way we make decisions, how we support each other during difficult times, and how we celebrate success with simplicity and without prestige.”

A lot of heart and the art of embracing confusion

That warm and humble atmosphere is nothing new. It has been part of the walls for a very long time.

More than 20 years ago, Peppe ran a successful consulting company in Karlskrona together with a few friends. As they all moved into a new stage of life focused on family, they began looking for a safer long-term home. That eventually led them to Softhouse.

“We found the larger ‘small company’ — one filled with heart, passion, and humanity. It turned out to be exactly theright decision, both for us and for our customers,” Peppe recalls.

Today, Peppe works as a hands-on software architect and highlights humility as his single most important quality as a consultant. Prioritizing the team’s and customer’s success over personal prestige is essential. He also has a standing piece of advice for colleagues facing complex challenges:

“As consultants — and as people — we constantly get thrown into situations that are new and sometimes stressful. Being able to lean back and think, ‘embrace the confusion, you will get it eventually,’ is something I do often,” he explains.

Making others senior and daring to fall in the ski slope

In Southeast Sweden, Softhouse does not see itself as a staffing company. Teams are carefully assembled to solve real business challenges for customers. That sense of collaboration relies heavily on a strong willingness to share knowledge. And when Jörgen recruits people, that is exactly what he looks for.

“A senior person is someone who makes others senior. If you don’t have the drive to share knowledge and help others grow, then maybe this isn’t the right place for you,” Jörgen says.

Creating that supportive environment is something Josefin Petersson works with every single day. For her, Softhouse is a place where it is perfectly okay not to be flawless — something that became obvious already during her very first weeks at the company, when she joined a shared ski trip.

“I’m definitely not an expert skier, and I managed to fall pretty spectacularly — several times — while everyone else seemed like professionals,” Josefin laughs. “But what stuck with me was how quickly it turned into laughter and how naturally everyone treated it as something fun. There’s really no reason to feel embarrassed, even though I did my absolute best to test every snowbank in the slope.”

Table tennis, try-out days, and surviving a tough market

For that culture of sharing to work, people also need to genuinely enjoy spending time together. That is why the Southeast region places a strong focus on close leadership and creating spaces where people actually want to hang out. Activities range from lunchtime tennis and kayaking trips to quick ten-minute ping-pong matches at the office and ambitious conference trips. Softhouse creates the conditions, but it is the employees’ own initiative that fills the calendar with life.

Building strong teams is easy during good times. The real test of culture comes during difficult periods. During the industry-wide downturn of 2024, the Southeast region managed to turn things around without reducing staff — largely thanks to the strong and adaptable experts Sanna describes as “curious and solution-oriented.”

The secret behind 30 years? Long-term ownership

As Softhouse celebrates 30 years, Jörgen has no doubts about why the company still stands strong today: the patience and long-term mindset of its founders.

“They are in it for the long run. Without that focus on long-term customer relationships, we probably would have been swallowed up and transformed into a worse copy of some global corporate company,” Jörgen reflects.

Peppe, who has been part of the journey for nearly the entire ride, agrees completely.

“If I were in the same position today as I was 20 years ago, I would still choose Softhouse.”

And in Southeast Sweden, we continue coding the future in exactly the same spirit — courageously, down-to-earth, and with genuine care. When asked to summarize the region’s DNA in just three words, Jörgen answers instantly:

“Customer value, humility, and community.”