Curious about the entrepreneurial adventure behind inspiring brands, Brand and Strategic Professional Martijn Arets decided to quit his job, hand in his lease car, ignore all uncertainties and follow his dream. For five months, he travelled more than 15,000 kilometres across Europe in a one-of-a-kind 1971 Volkswagen T2 camper van, meeting with the founders, CEOs and brand managers of 20 authentic European brands in what was to prove a unique trip: Brand Expedition. On popular demand, he has bundled the lessons and stories behind 20 appealing European brands such as Lego, Mini, Skype, The Body Shop and Adidas to create Brand Expedition, the book. More information? Check www.brand-expedition.com or send Martijn a Tweet: @martijnarets.

1. READ OUT LOUD
THE STORY BEHIND
- KOENIGSEGG -
FROM BOYHOOD DREAM TO SUPERCAR

2. BEFORE YOU START….
please look into your camera and tell
us slowly your name, city and
country… Then you can start reading
this paragraph out loud… Have fun!

3. “That was an exhilarating time, a real
moment suprème. After having
worked behind closed doors for years,
we could finally hear the public’s
opinion. The reactions were favorable.
A few hours after the

4. introduction, we already had our first
order. That gave us a tremendous
kick.” It took another two years before
the first owner of a Koenigsegg could
pick up his new vehicle.

5. In 2003, just as the production
process had been completed, a
weekend fire caused by a short-circuit
burned down the entire building.
“When I got there, I saw that a
number of employees who

6. lived nearby who had seen the smoke
had dragged out two-thirds of the
inventory. Luckily, by sheer
coincidence, my wife had taken home
a back-up tape of the server a few
months earlier. All the drawings had

7. been saved. The timing of the fire was
terrible, we were only just up and
running.

8. - END OF RECORDING-