The shy and weird kid
Born with a natural ability and a tendency for problem-solving and all things technical, Ricco Mortensen (1977) shook off his shaky start in life and became a successful businessman in his own right.
His desire to help others and his innate knack for seeing answers where others cannot have led Ricco to establish himself as a successful entrepreneur and a mentor to others.
Ricco Mortensen was born in Elsinore, Denmark. An only child, Ricco was a shy and nervous boy, often bullied for having different interests and a different mindset.
He had an inquisitive mind and found that he was not given the answers he required. He wasn’t the typical neighbourhood kid who loved to kick a ball around the playground.
He knew he was different but due to his young age, he believed that he was weird in some sort of way and not as good as the other kids.
He wasn’t able to read or write very well and did badly at school but through a series of challenging situations and a natural tenacity to succeed, Ricco achieved more than anyone could have ever predicted.
Computers changed everything
The turning point in his early school life came when his school, Elsinore primary school, became the last one in Denmark to introduce computers into their curriculum.
At last, Ricco had found his true passion and niche in life! Ricco even helped the staff of the administration office with various technical challenges while expressing an innate entrepreneurial flair as he managed the school canteen for 800 children!
He was finally rewarded by his school when he received the first of many awards to come, for his outstanding character and performance.
Many who knew him at this time may have thought he had finally found his life’s one true calling. Never one to be pigeonholed, Ricco has proved a person can indeed have more than one call.
Ricco’s first big career
Following the completion of a computer science degree, Ricco found a job working for an international corporation in which he rose to the top of the ranks during his eight years of employment there.
This company was McDonald’s. Perhaps more often associated with French fries than career fulfilment, McDonald’s provided Ricco with the opportunity to plant his feet firmly in the often shaky ground of the business world, while putting into practice his natural love for helping and serving others.
While working at McDonald’s, Ricco discovered a myriad of ways in which the company could work smarter, and save time and money, while achieving more through technology.
Ricco’s proactive approach to business and his positivity caught the eye of his employers who then encouraged him to move on to pursue his own career even further by offering his expert services to McDonald’s.
At the same time, Ricco was setting up his own successful business, working on various client projects as a system developer and advisor. As was expected, he subsequently was able to count his former employer, McDonald’s, as one of his own clients.
Beating the odds yet again, and defying the status quo of societal constraints, he pulled off a business coup of admirable proportions.
Life can be tricky!
During this time Ricco’s life was not without personal setbacks. He lost his mother to cancer when he was seventeen and his father, unable to accept Ricco’s homosexuality, became a stranger in his life. So much so that Ricco had to make the difficult decision of breaking all contact.
But these personal challenges have only served to make Ricco a stronger, more determined and focused individual, something which he is keen to share with others to help and improve their own lives.
The mix of highs and lows, both in his personal and professional life, has given Ricco a solid foundation from which to stand tall and express his talents and achievements.
While enjoying great success with his own company, Ricco moved to Copenhagen and began living a high-flying city lifestyle. Ricco has always been proficient and dedicated to his work, but unfortunately, there was no way he could have foreseen the collapse of his business at this time.
Being a warm and giving people person, Ricco trusted someone who was to be his undoing during this period in his life. Disclosing confidential client information and then disappearing, only to be discovered to have been a criminal already well-known to the local police. In short, Ricco’s former colleague left him in the lurch with debts of €400,000, no car and no home.
His company went bankrupt and he had to start all over again.
Joining the world’s biggest media agency
Ricco began to feel doubtful of his entrepreneurial abilities and his future, which led him to begin working as an employee for the international media agency InterPublic Group in Copenhagen.
He began working as a receptionist and quickly worked his way up and quickly gaining the attention of the chairman, who invited Ricco to be his executive assistant.
Ricco took on this new position with gusto and as always, gave the challenge his all, improving conditions and systems within the company to his usual high standards.
Ricco had suffered from stress before, and now it reared its ugly head again, but he didn’t let this slow him down for long.
He successfully conquered this and learned how and when he needed to relax and take time out, without missing a beat in his career.
But start again he did. This is one of the core messages Ricco impresses upon those who hear him speak at seminars and lectures, rising up again when setbacks bring you down while maintaining a balanced sense of self in the process.
There is always a way
No matter how low life takes you and how many difficulties and setbacks you encounter, you can recover every time and you can build the life you deserve. All you need are the right tools.
As someone who has been there but who still possesses a strong thirst for learning, Ricco can empathise with people who are struggling and can help them succeed.
Once again his true desire and passion for being an entrepreneur surfaced, knowing that he could never escape from his true inner self which was being a successful entrepreneur.
He soon left his job at the agency to move west, where he lived a slightly quieter country lifestyle for a time.
Ricco has never been one to be idle and when the opportunity came to take a lecture on business at the regional university, he jumped at the chance.
A brief encounter at one of these seminars led to yet another opportunity to do more of this. Always on the lookout for new mountains to climb, Ricco took the reins once again and relished the journey ahead.
Finding the purpose of life
Since 1997, Ricco has been a consultant, where he advises and helps clients optimise their online businesses while running his own online businesses.
In mid-2012, he partnered up with the educational company Bigum&Co. This partnership allowed Ricco to teach at VIA University College, Denmark’s largest university of applied science, as the main teacher for their online marketing education program where he educated nearly 1,000 skilled students.
In late 2015, decided to solely focus on building a non-profit foundation with the purpose of helping entrepreneurs succeed in the online world. In 2016 the foundation finally became a reality.
Ricco teaches as his entrepreneurial masterclass, publishes books and arranges various educational activities in online marketing and how to run a successful business – all of which are incredibly popular.
The responses from people have been positive, heartfelt and enthusiastic. Passing on his knowledge, along with his A-list expertise in technology and lifestyle design is a driving force in Ricco’s life.
It became apparent that he could do all of this work, to his usual high standard, with enlivening talks that motivate and light the fire of possibility in everyone who hears him speak.
Ricco was always in search of better climates in foreign lands and once again pursued what he really wanted and what brought him happiness.
Being the untraditional teacher
Throughout the years Ricco has gained a tremendous amount of knowledge from his various business adventures experimenting with different methods and strategies.
Ricco loves to share his knowledge. To teach and give what he had learned and strive for. That is when Ricco stumbled upon the idea of Ricco’s Masterclass.
Since 2016, Ricco has been teaching his own entrepreneurial Masterclass. It is a fine-tuned and constantly optimised intense learning experience over five intensive days filled with entrepreneurial knowledge.
Ricco has successfully narrowed all of the necessary and vital knowledge into his masterclass. He teaches entrepreneurs to keep things simple while still being able to know the whole business model and not only the components of it.
He teaches everything from the nerdy online marketing tech stuff to digital strategies – all with the main focus on how to operate a profitable business online.
Ricco teaches how to run a business online efficiently and cost-effectively by outsourcing and automating tasks.
He has a strong passion for online entrepreneurs, their mindset, and their drive. Ricco helps entrepreneurs achieve their dream entrepreneurial life without having to do all the mistakes they did. He made mistakes of all sizes and will make sure his clients don’t do the same.
Ricco began his own entrepreneurial journey more than 25 years ago, and even though he has travelled far and wide, his masterclasses have followed him on his journey.
Finding his way to his dream destination
Ricco enjoyed living the big city life in Copenhagen, Denmark while travelling to sunny and warmer climates in Southern Europe, but after some time, he felt that it was not enough for him.
Barcelona seduced him and Ricco was now ready to take a giant step in his life. He wanted to tear up his roots and move permanently to Barcelona.
The city of Barcelona was breathtaking with beautiful streets, building styles and architecture that made Ricco happy and inspired.
However, after a year it dawned on Ricco that the English language was hard to find. Most locals only speak Spanish and Catalan. Barcelona did not check everything on his checklist of warm and sunny weather in the winter months, low barriers of communication and not being too busy.
After a lengthy consideration of the situation, Ricco decided to search for new adventurous destinations.
Ricco almost took his business to the Caribbean. After months of intense research, he made the conclusion that even though the idea of it sounded wonderful it wouldn’t fit his way of life.
Most of the islands have a high level of crime, he would have to live in a secure complex to feel safe, the extreme housing prices and damaging hurricanes simply didn’t match the requirement of his dream destination.
Ricco then found his way to sunny and relaxed Cyprus. He already had some business relations there too, so it seems like a good match.
Cyprus offers some of the warmest weather in Europe and has amazing beautiful sandy beaches and spectacular mountains and valleys.
In his search for finding that perfect place and atmosphere, he ended up moving to four different areas and exploring most of Cyprus. Ricco has always been thorough with everything he puts his mind to.
Unfortunately in Cyprus, you need to drive to everything, it has ineffective government management, low standards and a lot of things are in Greek, even though it is supposed to be in English.
Ricco did not want to compromise with his checklist and settle with just average. Ricco ended up living in Cyprus for two and a half years.
Ricco realized how much aesthetics means to him and lives for the charm of a city, its buildings, and its facades. He wanted it to be a small beautiful stimulating area, but not too small while still being modern.
On a holiday trip to Malta, Ricco immediately fell in love with Valletta, one of Europe’s smallest capitals with beautiful architecture and charm, sea view from almost any angle and hundreds of years of history.
Malta offers warm summers and mild winters along with many other important elements on Ricco’s dream destination checklist.
Doing what he does the best
The Covid pandemic began while Ricco was living in Malta and the situation contributed to a new business idea.
Now he would no longer only focus on his masterclass in digital entrepreneurship. Ricco wanted to help people to achieve a better lifestyle abroad in sunny Malta, like himself.
His relocation business is thriving as he has developed various relocation packages and helpful services for those who want to make it easy to move abroad and start a new and better life.
Ricco enjoys being able to be of service to others and have a personal relationship with his clients. This business concept is simply perfect for his abilities and service-minded self.
He has also created The Danish Club in Malta offering news updates, practical information, local discounts and even hosting events where Danes can meet and practice “hygge” – the special Danish word for having a cosy and comfortable time together.
Malta is the just-right place on the planet for Ricco from where he can run his businesses to the fullest and live the type of lifestyle he desires.
From this small sunny Mediterranean island, Ricco will inspire people from all walks of life and use his expertise to help everyone he meets.
Using his extensive life experiences and business acumen, Ricco aims to help people who share the same dream as himself, in the sense of becoming a digital nomad, a successful entrepreneur and living a better life abroad.
Ricco loves helping people to improve their lives and current lifestyles, by achieving their goals and living life to their full potential.