A Day in Copenhagen with revalu’s Kika Brockstedt

Portrait of Kika by Kasper Kristoffersen.

Kika Brockstedt is the CEO & Cofounder at revalu, a start-up with a mission to enable future-proof buildings. Revalu focuses on the environmental data of materials, providing the industry with smart insights across the planning and design phase. Working with Architects and Developers across Europe, Kika is building a strong community of change-makers to move the industry forward.

7:30am: I wish I could tell you that my day starts with a run and a meditation but during these dark winter days in Scandinavia I am not an early riser. One of the first things I do is take a morning stroll with a coffee to get some air, light and wake up.

Currently I am in between my “seasonal” routines, usually by now, when it's a little warmer, I go down to the harbor and start my morning with a swim. Those are my favorite mornings.

Kika at her home office. Photo by Kasper Kristoffersen.

8:30am: Working in a remote company and on top of it building a digital platform — my day heavily revolves around a screen. Google hangout is my meeting room, and my home is my office. Once I have been outside, I start my day back in “my office“, I dive into my emails and other channels and clear the inboxes, this allows me to focus on the tasks for the rest of the day.

9:30am: Meeting time! The remaining morning (day) will shift between internal and external meetings.

I split my time between product development, communication, research, business development and strategy — so the day never gets boring — quite the opposite, I feel like there is always a challenge to overcome and I learn something new every day.

Throughout the day I tend to rotate places in my apartment depending on the tasks, meetings, mood as well as the light changing throughout the day.

1:00pm: Lunch is usually a speedy happening. I might spend 30 mins researching a new material I discovered, to include in the revalu — Material Innovation Hub. With this we aim to provide a space where architects and designers can discover more sustainable and alternative solutions. But also making it easier for new materials to be visible and get into the market.

2:00pm: Hopping on my bike to get to BLOX, a real office, where we are part of a members co-working space. These days I especially enjoy the bike ride along the water.

Today I am doing an interview for the revalu — Blog. It's an ongoing series called: Visions across the Built Environment, exchanging insights and knowledge with industry experts around sustainability, something I always look forward to. After the interview, I mingle and catch up with people around the space, including one of my colleagues, Jacques.

5:00pm: My working day rarely ends on time, simply because as a startup there is always an endless to-do-list. So my evening routine tends to vary day-to-day.

7:00pm: I unplug by cooking dinner. Cooking is usually done together with my partner or often in the company of friends. Sometimes even with board games.

The day often ends with a small evening walk, or some TV. At the moment we are watching Season 2 of Home, on Apple TV. I love to see how people live and build their spaces. Its a great source of inspiration.

11:00pm: As I work my way into bed, my curfew begins — no devices near me, a new habit I am trying out and hoping it will last. With life and work heavily intertwined with the digital world, I am learning to set boundaries and find balance and space outside of it.