Just over two years ago, I received a call from an enthusiastic guy named Torben.
He told me he had heard I was the person to talk to for some help with e-commerce.
Torben briefly explained his business, and I took the train to Odense not knowing what to expect.
I arrived at a shop in the heart of Odense and was then led down to a basement packed with products.
My first thought was, “What a mess.” But the energy Torben and Mikkel had was unmatched.
I had seen this before, and it reminded me of my time at Slikhaar and Firtal: chaos in the beginning, everyone moving fast.
At the time, I could tell their business was in its early stages and that they had a lot to learn.
Instead of offering my help directly, I created a PDF filled with the tips and tricks I had picked up through my years in e-commerce. I told them, if they wanted to succeed, they should execute 80% of that document—exactly like I had learned from Jesper Hvejsel at Firtal Web.
Torben thanked me many times, we had a sandwich in Odense, and life went on.
Fast forward two years
The phone rings again—and it’s Torben.
He tells me they’ve moved out of the basement, into larger facilities, and have multiplied their revenue.
I was thrilled—goosebumps and cheers—and felt the same reading this interview with the two guys.
Today, I work closely with Torben and Mikkel across their businesses, and I enjoy every second of it.
To give back, I’ve handed the mic to these two passionate entrepreneurs so they can share their story.
So sit back, crack open a cold soda, and learn how good business sense, a dinner with Jesper Buch, and a great team can make a real difference.
From the heart: Who are you and what kind of businesses do you run?
We’re a team consisting of Torben and myself (Mikkel), aged 43 and 25 respectively, and we’ve both been passionate badminton players since childhood.
We run a racket sports business with three webshops and one physical store, all based in Odense.
We feel privileged to operate a fast-growing company while staying connected to our shared passion.
How did it all start?
Torben tells the story
I came from a completely different background, working in transport and having previously been self-employed.
After the financial crisis hit, I had to sell off what remained of that business. I got a full-time job and enjoyed it, but I still longed to work independently.
One day, I got the chance to take over a small badminton webshop. After some negotiation, I said yes.
It started out tiny—just one or two orders a day—which I handled after work. I had no prior experience in e-commerce, so I learned by doing. Slowly, I began improving things.
After a year and a half, I had to quit my job as the number of orders increased. It took up all my free time and even required help from my wife in the evenings.
In 2012, I went full-time, but the shop couldn’t yet pay me a salary. For 2.5 years, I relied on savings and worked as a badminton coach in the evenings to make ends meet.
I worked 12–14 hours on weekdays and about 8 hours over weekends. I’d wake at 4 a.m. so I could work before the rest of the family woke up.
By late 2014, I realized that if I wanted to make a sustainable income, the business needed to scale—either internationally or by adding a physical store.
I chose the latter. In 2016, I took over a physical shop in Odense called Ketshop. That’s where I met my future business partner, Mikkel.
From there, things really took off, and Mikkel continues the story.
Mikkel tells the story
I’m 25, so I don’t have quite as many years behind me as Torben 🙂
I started at Ketshop at age 15, stringing rackets three times a week as a part-time worker.
By 2012, I was 19 and had just completed a four-year sports-focused high school education while training up to eight times a week. I didn’t work many hours at Ketshop then, but when I needed a part-time job after graduating, they welcomed me back.
Even though I was officially part-time, I often came in more than required and worked from home because I saw so many areas to improve.
At 21, I was offered the role of store manager. Ketshop had little online presence but was the go-to racket sports store on Funen since 2000.
Together with a trainee, Frederik, we ran the shop, but our growth was stagnant.
The previous owner was risk-averse and focused on maintaining rather than innovating.
I had lots of ideas and was eager to tap into the growing online market, but was constantly held back—until…
Ketshop had been for sale without me really knowing. One day in August 2016, Torben suddenly appeared and said, “Hi, I’m the new owner.”
I was speechless—and maybe a bit relieved. I hoped a new leader would allow me to pursue some of my ambitions.
Torben immediately showed me his online business. I had no idea e-commerce would fascinate me, but when I heard terms like “title tag,” “meta tag,” and “incognito,” I was hooked.
Soon, our new trainee Sebastian was running the storefront while Torben and I worked in the back, diving into SEO and scaling the business—even though Torben warned me results wouldn’t show for six to twelve months.
The big leap
One and a half years passed. It was spring 2018, I had just turned 24, and I had to decide my future: go to university or go all in on this project that I found incredibly exciting.
Torben asked me to become his business partner starting August 1, 2018.
The business had already nearly doubled, and we saw huge potential ahead.
Meanwhile, we had launched Tennisshoppen in April 2017 and now had three strong webshops and a physical store that was taking off.
Growth was so rapid that we had to rent two external warehouses. We were still packing orders in the basement, tossing them out a tiny window due to lack of space.
So we made a big decision: to move to a new 569-square-meter location in Odense SØ.
It was a big risk. Would our customers follow? But we believed in our online business and its potential to grow even stronger.
Our mission: to become Europe’s largest badminton retailer. And we’re not shy about saying it.
Scaling up and finding help
Since then, our business—especially the online side—has grown steadily. We now have 7 full-time employees and 4 part-time youth workers. It’s a far cry from where we started.
We reached out to Micky, who had visited us before and highlighted our logistical challenges.
He was a key reason we dared to move.
Thankfully, our customers followed—especially online, where our sales have shifted from a 50/50 split to closer to 25/75 in favor of e-commerce.
Neither of us had a background in e-commerce, but playing elite-level badminton taught us the drive needed to succeed as entrepreneurs.
We love seeing things grow and knowing that the content we write, the title tags we optimize, or the videos we produce actually work—and we can measure it.
What difference does a dinner with Jesper Buch make?
A lot 🙂
We saw a Facebook post offering a full-day session with Jesper Buch for 10,000 DKK.
Only serious people would apply—and we were all in.
Best money we ever spent. We agreed Torben would go.
Jesper is exactly like you see on TV: direct, honest, and sharp.
We had to present our business via a sort of SWOT analysis, followed by a very honest grilling in front of the group.
The result? Ten minutes of tough love from Jesper in front of everyone.
But it came from a place of belief—he saw potential and gave us a detailed action plan.
He told us to keep in touch and that we could use his network. That part might sound minor, but it turned out to be a game changer.
Thanks to Jesper’s intro, we connected with top-tier experts we’d otherwise never have had access to.
So, if you get the chance and you’re building your own project—find those 10,000 DKK.
That’s also how we met Micky Weis, now our strategic advisor and digital wizard. (Thanks for the kind words, even though I still get crushed by you guys in squash!)
From a basement to Denmark’s biggest Ketshop—how?
There are many possible paths, but here’s what we did:
- We put in the effort
- We weren’t afraid to ask experts, even if it felt uncomfortable
- We looked beyond our own industry for inspiration
- Most importantly, we invested a lot of time
In short: Work harder and smarter. It works.
Does it matter that your hobby is also what you sell?
We’ve discussed this often, and many people ask.
What excites us is building a business and seeing things take off.
The success or failure lies with just the two of us—Torben and I—and that’s incredibly motivating.
But yes, it definitely helps that we’re personally interested in what we sell.
That passion keeps us going during tough times and pushes us to go the extra mile.
What’s next—are you going beyond Denmark?
Absolutely.
We’re launching in Sweden soon, and then we’ll expand into more countries.
We’re scaling Badmintonshoppen internationally. Our goal is for anyone in Europe who needs badminton gear—whether they’re in Sweden, Spain, or the Netherlands—to think of Badmintonshoppen first.
We’re not there yet, but that’s the direction we’re heading.
Any final thoughts?
Our success was hard to predict, but one key factor is how well we work together.
We’re very different—which has turned out to be a big strength.
Torben’s perspective
With prior experience running a business and managing staff, I help set the big-picture direction.
I’m often more effective in negotiations, and that makes a difference.
Mikkel’s perspective
I bring speed and spend more hours. I’m detail-obsessed and insist everything be 100% right—not just “almost.”
I’m deep in operations and know where we stand at any given moment. I also help shape our tone, being closer in age to our target audience.
We even have a sign in our office that says: Teamwork makes the dream work.
It’s fitting for the two of us—and our team.
But most importantly, we’re both athletes—and we’re in it to win it.
Someone once said: every great team needs a chef and a merchant.
That probably describes us well.
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