“The whole concept of STM has been around the protection of the device”

What first began as an idea to better transport a laptop over two decades back has now grown into a multimillion-dollar business for Ethan Nyholm, the CEO and Cofounder of STM Brands, the parent company of two global brands designing lifestyle accessories for tech devices – STM Goods and Element Case. Based in Sydney (Australia), Ethan has been at the helm of STM for 20 years. Ethan co-founded the company with his business partner Adina Jacobs when he was attending university in Sydney in 1999. Carving out a niche for itself, STM now has offices across three continents and 50 employees. Ethan shares his success story and more, including his business plans in India, in an interaction with Ramesh Kumar Raja.

- Ramesh Kumar Raja

Yours is a very interesting story of turning an idea into a multimillion-dollar business. Can you please tell us about your inspiring journey?

It started in about 1997 when I bought a laptop and could not find a bag to carry it in between home and university. So, I used a bubble wrap sleeve and placed it in a backpack. That was the germination of the STM Brands. The whole concept of STM from that time has been around the protection of the device from both, knocks and prying eyes as well as the person using the product, in terms of use and comfort. We launched our brand in November 1999 with one laptop-style backpack and one sleeve.

Although the market has changed, the core of we stand for, has not, which is understanding how the device or devices are used on a day to day basis, adding to the user experience, organization and protection.

Today, 20 years on, we have an office and sales offices across the globe, work with some of the most amazing companies and people.

How STM has positioned itself in a hypercompetitive market like India which is already dominated by a number of small and big players?