From a beach to Nasdaq: the founder story behind Bercman Technologies

The story of Bercman Technologies begins far from any office, workshop, or boardroom. It begins in 2016 on a windy beach in Norway’s Lofoten Islands, where Mart Suurkask – today the founder and CEO of a Nasdaq-listed Estonian technology company – found himself camping with so much free time that boredom became a catalyst.

Turning point

“During our honeymoon, we were camping with my wife on a beach in Norway, nothing to distract us as we slowly ran out of batteries for everything. After a while, it became so boring that it wasn’t boring anymore,” he recalls.

Boredom led to clarity in mind, which led to the decision to found a company that Mart had been considering founding for a while.

The idea that needed to be brought into life was born earlier, in a previous year, when Mart noticed a worrying pattern in Estonia’s traffic safety statistics, especially at unregulated pedestrian crossings. He started wondering what steps needed to be done to conceive such a product that could help to reduce pedestrian accidents, especially in places where people are supposed to cross the road.

“I could not understand how, in the modern information age, we still didn’t have cost-effective solutions to prevent these accidents,” he says. “So, I believed we could come up with a solution that stands the test of time while being useful from day one.”

From the start, Bercman’s purpose was clear: reduce traffic fatalities, drive innovation, and build, eventually, a technology company that focuses on bringing ideas into life.

Inspiration and a role model

The name “Bercman” emerged during a routine walk in his hometown, when Mart walked by the Ernst von Bergmann monument. Bergmann was a pioneering surgeon who introduced aseptic techniques to prevent infections.

“Standing in front of that monument and reading about him online, I felt that my company should mirror his pioneering spirit,” Mart says.

When Bercman started developing its first product to increase pedestrian safety on crosswalks in 2016, sensing technologies were immature, and computing power was still relatively expensive. The environment was not encouraging.

“It wasn’t a supportive time for hardware startups.” But Mart held onto the belief that if something is truly important, it should be given a chance by trying.

The first product and reality checks

Bercman’s first goal was to create a smart pedestrian crosswalk. The early prototype was shown to Estonia’s Transport Administration and the City of Tartu. “The feedback was encouraging enough to keep us going.”

The early years were built on persistence. “For the first four or five years, about twelve times a year, I had to ask myself whether we can continue or not,” he admits. “But personally, I never felt like quitting.”

There were also mistakes. One of the biggest was holding onto personal product design ideas too tightly. “I didn’t really understand product development. I had to let go of the attitude that ‘I know better.’ Once I did, the engineers created a modular system that fit the market perfectly.”

Building the team and the culture

The early team formed through word-of-mouth recruitment and a shared appetite for doing something meaningful. Mart’s leadership philosophy is simple: let people be who they are and support them.

Mart shaped Bercman’s culture with simple but powerful principles. One of his core beliefs is that real progress begins at the edge of discomfort. “Be comfortable being uncomfortable,” he says.

Another idea he carries with him is brief in wording yet direct and deeply practical: “Leave no stone unturned.” It captures the persistence that has carried Bercman from a small Estonian hardware start-up to a publicly listed technology group.

From one product to a group of companies

A major turning point came with Bercman’s listing on Nasdaq First North in 2021 – an investor-recommended move that Mart describes as transformative.

“With listing came responsibility. We were no longer just representing ourselves but our shareholders too.”

Soon after, Bercman acquired a leading Estonian IoT development company called Krakul. This expanded the company’s competence dramatically and laid the foundation for the Bercman Group, which now also includes a subsidiary named Bercman Energy, focused on developing and distributing EU-made DC fast chargers for electric vehicles.

Today, Bercman is a technology company with strong in-house hardware, software, and R&D competencies and capabilities. Its portfolio spans smart mobility, energy infrastructure, and product development services in various sectors.

“Our biggest goal is to create products that add real value to the world. Come with your idea, and we’ll help bring it to life.”

Mart’s journey offers a lesson for anyone pursuing meaningful work. “Anything worth something requires effort,” he says. “And efforts lead to either results or lessons, that most likely will unlock the next chapters in the journey.”