Good morning to all new and old readers! Here is your Saturday edition of Faster Than Normal, exploring the stories, ideas, and frameworks of the world’s most prolific people and companies—and how you can apply them to build businesses, wealth, and the most important asset of all: yourself. 

Today, we’re covering Novo Nordisk and their journey to a $300B diabetes empire.

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Alex

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In 1923, two small Danish companies began producing insulin, a revolutionary drug discovered just two years earlier. This was the humble beginning of what would become Novo Nordisk, now a pharmaceutical giant valued at over $300 billion.

The founders weren't driven by profit. They saw an opportunity to save lives. August Krogh, a Nobel laureate, and his wife Marie, who had diabetes, were key figures. Marie urged August to travel to Canada to secure rights to produce insulin in Denmark.

"At Marie's urging, August travelled to Canada to seek permission from the researchers to produce this life-saving medicine in Denmark," notes Novo Nordisk's heritage page.

Early days were tough. Extracting insulin was complex. Resources were limited. But the team persevered, driven by a mission to help people with diabetes.

The turning point came in 1925 with the introduction of the Novo Syringe. It was a game-changer. Patients could now inject insulin themselves, improving their quality of life dramatically.

Success bred competition. Two Danish insulin producers emerged: Nordisk Insulinlaboratorium and Novo Terapeutisk Laboratorium. For decades, they competed fiercely.

Then, a major challenge. In the 1970s, synthetic human insulin threatened to make animal-derived insulin obsolete. Both companies had to adapt or die.

They chose to adapt. Hard. 

In 1982, Novo began experimenting with a hormone called GLP-1. They extracted it from pig pancreases and tested it on diabetic pigs. It worked. But when they tried it on humans, something unexpected happened.

"The test subjects couldn't finish the meal. They weren't hungry," reports ABC News.

This accidental discovery would later become the foundation for Novo Nordisk's blockbuster weight loss drugs.

In 1989, Nordisk and Novo merged. Novo Nordisk was born. The company grew rapidly, focusing on diabetes care, obesity, hemophilia, and rare endocrine disorders.

But the real transformation came in 2017 with the approval of Ozempic for diabetes treatment. Then in 2021, a higher dose version, Wegovy, was approved for weight loss.

The impact was staggering. 

"People who were given a higher dose of the drug lost 15 per cent of their body weight in a year and a half, compared with 2 per cent on a placebo," ABC News reports.

Demand skyrocketed. Novo Nordisk's market cap surged past $300 billion, making it Europe's most valuable company.

Today, Novo Nordisk employs over 64,000 people in 80 countries. Its products are sold in 170 nations.

But success hasn't changed the company's core values. 

"We take no pleasure in the suffering and hardships faced by people living with a chronic disease," states their website. "We are committed to helping societies defeat diabetes."

Lesson 1: Look beyond your immediate industry for inspiration. The idea for the NovoPen didn't come from medical research. It came from looking at everyday objects. The company's engineers drew inspiration from ballpoint pens and mechanical pencils. This cross-industry pollination of ideas led to a revolutionary product that changed the lives of millions of diabetics.

Lesson 2: Stick to your knitting. Novo Nordisk has been laser-focused on diabetes since 1923. They didn't diversify into unrelated fields. Even their foray into weight loss was closely tied to diabetes treatment. This focus allowed them to build deep expertise and dominate their niche. As their website states, "We are committed to helping societies defeat diabetes.

Lesson 3: Keep your founding ethos alive. Novo Nordisk's founders started with a mission to help diabetes patients. A century later, that mission still drives the company. Mads Øvlisen, former CEO, says: "I wanted us to be a company respected for our results and for the way in which we achieved the results." This long-term vision keeps the company focused and aligned.

Lesson 4: Treat employees like family. During tough times, Øvlisen refused to lay off workers. Instead, he found ways to relocate them within the company. His reasoning? "I believe that each and every person in the company has a unique possibility of contributing to that company's progress." This approach built loyalty and attracted top talent.

Lesson 5: Use ownership structure to your advantage. Novo Nordisk's unique ownership structure, with a foundation holding controlling shares, allows for long-term thinking. It shields the company from short-term market pressures. This structure gave Øvlisen "the latitude and permission to think long term." Use your company's structure to enable the right kind of decision-making.

That’s all for today, folks. As always, please give me your feedback. Which section is your favourite? What do you want to see more or less of? Other suggestions? Please let me know.

Have a wonderful rest of week, all.

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