I & I - 2011, Page 26

26 I&I
In the 1960s there were not that many food production companies in Ice-
land that were not connected to the cooperative movement or the farm-
ers’ union. At that time a young industrialist thought: “Iceland really has only
one type of cheese, why don’t I start an independent cheese production in
Hveragerdi?” The coops did not welcome the competition and two years
later he had to close the company.
However, the young man, Hafsteinn Kristinsson, did not give up and start-
ed producing ice cream instead. The product, called Kjörís, was an instant
hit and 40 years later his widow and children are carrying on the family
tradition of making quality ice cream.
dId nOT exPand TOO MucH
Valdimar Hafsteinsson, son of the founder, is now running the company as
general manager. Three of his sisters sit on the board along with their moth-
er and uncle. Kjörís is one of the few companies in Iceland with four women
on the board. All the siblings live in Hveragerdi, a town of about 2,300 peo-
ple. One of Valdimar’s sisters, Aldís Hafsteinsdóttir, is mayor of Hveragerdi.
She was reelected last year with almost two thirds of the votes.
Valdimar was chosen Businessman of the Year 2010 by Frjáls verslun, a
business magazine. One of the main reasons given was that the company
had stuck to the basics, and had very modest debts in comparison to most
Icelandic companies. The equity ratio of 59% would be the envy of most
Icelandic industrial companies. Indeed most Icelandic companies.
When many families sold their companies in the early 2000s Kjörís was
not for sale. “Our mother never wanted to sell. Then the company might
“In January 2009, I saw an internet
item which discussed the debut of
the Mattel MindFlex game at the New
York Toy Fair. The player’s level of con-
centration was transmitted to activate
a fan, which blew a plastic ball into the
air,” says deepa Iyengar, managing di-
rector of Icelandic start-up company
MindGames. “Immediately, I knew that it
would be easier to make more complex
mind-controlled interactions in the virtual
world. And, if the ‘mind power’ used was
concentration or relaxation, then while
they were having fun, people would also
be improving their control over their con-
centration or relaxation; that is, learning
valuable skills for life.”
Iyengar, originally from the United
States, moved to Iceland in 2006 with
her Icelandic husband. Together with four
other collaborators, they founded Mind-
Games in 2009. The company belongs to
a new breed of companies within the Ice-
landic gaming industry, which look at the
economic situation as an opportunity to
grow and establish themselves in foreign
markets.
In december 2010, MindGames be-
came the first company in the world to
sell an iPhone application, called Tug
of Mind, which is a fitness experience.
To play it, users need a brainwave tool
that transmits information to the game
based on real-time measurements of
their brainwaves. The technology is a
simplified version of electroencephalog-
raphy (EEG), which has been used since
the early 1930s in hospitals to diagnose
patients’ brain activity. “Brain cells com-
municate using electrical pulses. Pulses
from one brain cell are small, but when
you add up the activity from huge num-
bers of brain cells, that can be detected
by metal electrodes if you place them on
the scalp,” Iyengar explained.
In the same month, the company re-
ceived a grant from the Ministry of Indus-
try’s Technology development Fund to
develop additional iOS games. In addi-
tion, MindGames’ 2009 summer student
interns were one of the top six groups
honored at the President of Iceland’s
2010 Innovation Prize awards reception,
for their role in developing the first multi-
player brainwave-controlled computer
game on Facebook, Gods and Mortals,
which will soon be up for user testing.
In March 2011, MindGames released
W.I.L.D. on iPhone and iPad. “In W.I.L.D.,
the player falls asleep and finds herself in
a lucid dream, which she can and must
control with her mental powers in order
to wake up,” Iyengar explained. “We up-
date this game every month for free, with
a new dream.” In addition, MindGames
will release two new mind-controlled
iPhone games this fall and this summer
they will make a game for PC which will
help children improve their ability to pay
attention. mindgames.is
By Eygló Svala Arnarsdóttir.
brAin-power-pLAy
An old fashioned family firm has made great
ice cream for more than 40 years.