Today we’d like to introduce you to Lukas.
Hi Lukas, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I was born and raised in Stockholm, Sweden, and got into music very early. I started creating music at home as a kid, which eventually led to me signing my first publishing deal at 16. My parents actually had to sign the contract for me. I quit school around the same time, and my parents basically said, “As long as you can make a living from it, we’re okay.” I had no idea what I was doing – I just spent every waking moment in the studio.
Early on, I ended up working internationally and was surprisingly early in the J-Pop and K-Pop space. I worked with local Swedish artists and artists from other countries, but the dream was always the U.S.
When I signed my second publishing deal, things got more serious and my focus shifted fully to the States. Around that time, an artist from Atlanta came to Sweden to perform, and we worked together. He told me, “You’d do really well in the U.S. – if you come to Atlanta, we can work and I’ll introduce you to people.” I took that very literally and bought a one-way ticket to Atlanta, planning to stay for a month.
That one month turned into three. I stayed with another Swede in exchange for producing and recording his girl group. Ironically, during those three months I never once saw the artist who invited me – and to this day, I’ve never seen him again.
Atlanta eventually led to me getting an O-1 visa, which is for individuals with “extraordinary ability” – a phrase I still find kind of funny. I had also met a songwriter in New York who I worked well with, and I asked him to come to Atlanta. We ended up forming a production duo called Ambience. Not long after, we started working with a songwriter and artist who had just written California King Bed for Rihanna. She was moving to Los Angeles and asked us to come out and stay with her and work.
We went out for a month – and during that short time, so many things happened that I have stories for days. We knew we had to be there. We packed up my partner’s apartment in New York, drove his car cross-country from New York to Los Angeles, and moved into an apartment right in Hollywood.
The next few years were intense and exciting. We wrote at least one new song every day, constantly working with new people through our management and publishers. During that period, I was nominated for two Grammys, including a Latin Grammy, worked on several multi-platinum records, and collaborated with some truly major artists.
In 2014, I met my now-wife in Los Angeles. She was living there and running a record label. Things moved fast – we met in January, got married in August, and she was four months pregnant at our wedding. Our son was born in Los Angeles in January 2015.
After that, we decided we wanted a different kind of life. We moved to Nashville, which we loved, but not for long. Sweden was calling, and we moved back and lived there for five years. Our two daughters, now 7 and 8, were born there.
While continuing to work in music, I also started working with startups, which sparked a real interest in the tech world. I worked out of the office of what is now a Swedish unicorn company, Epidemic Sound, which I still make music for, and I was involved in two startups at the intersection of tech and music.
Eventually, we moved to Texas – Fort Worth – where my wife is from and where her entire family lives. That move was definitely a culture shock for me, but it also marked the beginning of a new chapter: combining creativity, technology, and entrepreneurship in ways I never would have imagined when I first started making music in my bedroom in Stockholm.
Having our kids in school here in the U.S. was very different from the Swedish school system and parenting in general felt much more intense. There’s simply so much more to be involved in and help with as a parent. Information and tools were scattered across emails, apps, chats, and calendars, and it quickly became overwhelming.
Out of that experience, the idea for a parent-led app was born, a tool that parents themselves could run and use for communication, planning, and organizing everyday life. When we get an idea, it tends to turn into execution very fast for us (sometimes too fast, honestly), so with the help of developers we started building it. What began as a solution to our own problem became a fully functional product that today helps hundreds of parents across the U.S. and even in the UK.
The app allows parents to start individually or with their family to plan and create events, sync everything to their calendars, and create groups for things like school classes or sports teams. Parents can organize class events, soccer practices, and activities, while everyone receives timely reminders. The platform includes tools like polls, task assignments, money contributions, and event-specific chats all designed to make everyday coordination simpler and less stressful.
It’s been an incredibly fun journey to build, and we’re still actively working on and improving it.
And as if that wasn’t enough, we also welcomed our fourth baby in October last year and at the same time decided to start another business. I’m clearly not very good at sitting still.
We’re now opening Swedish Candy Culture, a Swedish candy store here in Fort Worth. Our online store launches on February 1st, followed by a physical location as soon as we finalize the space and complete the build-out. The goal is to create a genuine Swedish candy experience something that exists in New York and a few other cities, but not yet here.
It’s a traditional Swedish pick-and-mix concept with around 150 different kinds of candy, sold by the pound. More than just a candy store, we want it to be a fun, welcoming space for both kids and adults a little piece of Sweden in Fort Worth.
That’s where we are today.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s never a smooth road but I don’t think it’s supposed to be. There are obstacles, setbacks, and tests in everything in life. I’ve always had a very positive outlook, something I definitely inherited from my mom. She has an incredible ability to see the best in situations and in people, and that mindset shaped how I approach challenges.
I’m probably a bit naive in a good way. I genuinely believe that ignorance can be bliss sometimes. If you fully understood how hard something would be before you started, you might never even try. For me, it’s always been about curiosity and the desire to create something better. I’ve never built anything purely out of the need to make money. If money comes, it’s usually a natural result of building something people actually want and need.
There have also been personal challenges along the way. I deal with several medical issues, including rheumatic conditions that affect my energy levels and can make me exhausted at times. But rather than seeing that as a limitation, I’ve tried to use it as motivation, proof that you can still push forward and create meaningful things even when your body doesn’t always cooperate.
I don’t believe in straight roads. The bumps are necessary without them, you’re not prepared when things really matter, and everything can fall apart. That’s why I’ll always choose slow, organic growth over becoming a “rockstar” overnight. Sustainable progress, built with intention and resilience, lasts longer and means more.
As you know, we’re big fans of Parentr and Swedish Candy Culture. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
My work today centers around building products and experiences that bring clarity, connection, and a sense of community into everyday life. Together with my wife, I’ve co-founded two businesses that may look very different on the surface, but share the same underlying philosophy.
Parentr is a parent-led platform focused on simplifying how families and groups coordinate real life. Rather than trying to replace everything parents already use, Parentr brings structure to it helping people plan, communicate, and organize in a way that feels intuitive and human. The platform is designed to scale from individual use to families, schools, and sports teams, allowing parents to manage events, communication, and responsibilities in one place.
What sets Parentr apart is its focus on reducing mental load. We’re not chasing trends or building features for the sake of it every tool exists to remove friction and make coordination easier. Brand-wise, I’m most proud of the trust parents place in the product and the fact that Parentr has grown organically through real-world use across the U.S. and the UK.
Alongside Parentr, we co-founded Swedish Candy Culture, a retail and e-commerce concept built around authenticity, nostalgia, and experience. The brand brings the traditional Swedish pick-and-mix candy culture to Fort Worth, something that’s common in Sweden but still rare in the U.S. Our focus isn’t just on offering candy, but on creating a space that feels joyful, welcoming, and a little unexpected.
Swedish Candy Culture will launch online February 1st, with a physical storefront opening this spring. The shop will feature around 150 varieties of Swedish candy, sold by the pound, and designed as a place where both kids and adults feel equally at home.
Both brands are built with intention. I don’t start companies to chase fast growth or attention. I build things I genuinely believe should exist, and I care deeply about how they feel to the people using or visiting them.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success in life and success in business are two very different things for me.
Success in life is about health and relationships. It’s about being well, and seeing the people around me, my wife, kids, and everyone else in my life in a good place. Real joy comes from relationships, and they give you more energy and motivation than anything else.
Success in business doesn’t necessarily mean immediate profitability or hitting every milestone exactly as planned. For me, it means moving in the right direction. Did we find proof of concept? Are people actually using what we’ve built? Is it spreading organically? Even if the progress comes in small steps, as long as those steps point forward, I consider that success.
Ultimately, the goal is to build something sustainable and lasting, a business that creates stability for everyone involved and can grow into something generational over time.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.parentr.com / www.swedishcandyculture.com
- Instagram: @parentrapp / @swedishcandyculture
- Facebook: @parentrapp / @swedishcandyculture
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/parentr
Image Credits
Licia Punzo
