Unique custom-made luxury tents for parties

Nordic Tipi ApS

The duo Daniel Jepsen and Michael Vahl launched their company, Nordic Tipi, back in February 2023. In their first week after the company’s launch, they already had their first three bookings secured.

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The Ribe-based company Nordic Tipi got off to a good start in 2023 with unexpectedly high interest in their unique tipi tents from both businesses and private customers.

The white marquee tents are a staple of family garden parties across Denmark during the summer. But as people’s desire to stand out from the crowd has increased, the party tent hasn’t really evolved. There was a gap in the market for unique tent experiences, and the southwest Jutland duo, Daniel Jepsen and Michael Vahl, took on that challenge.

– I saw the large event tipis for the first time at an outdoor festival 3-4 years ago. A tipi was used as an agora, a bar, and a gathering point for the festival – and my brain immediately went into ‘popcorn mode’. I studied the tent quite closely the next few days, and over the years after, I revisited the idea countless times, says Michael Vahl.

It took a cold beer on a warm late summer day in 2022 and about 20 minutes of pitching – and then my friend Daniel was convinced of the idea. With the help of Business Esbjerg, the two partners received an unexpected financial boost in the form of an interest-free loan, which gave wings to the company – and then they were off.

"I saw the large event tipis for the first time at an outdoor festival 3-4 years ago. A tipi was used as an agora, a bar, and a gathering point for the festival – and my brain immediately went into ‘popcorn mode."

Michael Vahl

Co-founder and co-owner of Nordic Tipi

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The unique and custom-made

Besides the tipis themselves, Nordic Tipi also tries to stand out with the furnishings for the tents. They do this, among other things, by replacing the classic garden party elements with somewhat more exclusive products. For example, they do not rent out anything made of plastic – only solid plank tables, wooden chairs, and benches. Instead of polyester cushions, they provide genuine reindeer skins. And they continuously develop new products for rental.

– If you contact a typical party rental today, you can get the exact same set of folding tables and plastic chairs all over the country. And usually, you have to set it all up yourself. We try to stand out by delivering luxury furnishings, some of which we have even crafted ourselves. We design floor plans with the customer, have ongoing meetings about the execution of their events, and only deliver finished solutions where everything is completely set up and ready when we leave a setup – and that service really sets us apart from many typical party rental companies, says Michael Vahl.

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Unexpected high interest

In their first week after the company’s launch in February 2023, they already had their first three bookings secured. And the following week, they got three more.

– It really took off – we had expected to spend our startup year at trade shows and with pop-up events around the country to showcase the concept. But people bought into the idea just from our storytelling, marketing, and website, which we had also spent a lot of effort on, says Michael Vahl.

– We actually started late compared to the high season – but even though we missed a lot of private events like weddings and confirmations, which are typically planned a year in advance, we got a bunch of exciting business assignments that really got things moving, continues Michael Vahl.

"It really took off. We had expected to spend our startup year at trade shows and with pop-up events around the country to showcase the concept. But people bought into the idea just from our storytelling, marketing."