Loading organizations...
Bookis is a Tromsø, Norway-based peer-to-peer online marketplace and mobile application that facilitates the buying and selling of new and used physical books without holding any centralized inventory. Operating as a business-to-consumer platform, the company leverages users' personal bookshelves to offer a comprehensive catalog of over one million titles while generating revenue through transaction commissions and fees. The enterprise currently serves a growing customer base of over 200,000 readers across both the Norwegian and Swedish markets, supported by a corporate workforce of 11 to 50 employees. To finance its continued geographic expansion and platform development, Bookis has secured $8.13 million in total funding, drawing capital from notable institutional investors including Schibsted Growth, Luxor Capital Group, and Lugard Road Capital. The e-commerce organization was officially founded in 2016 by entrepreneurial co-founders Arne-Morten Willumsen and Lasse Brurok.
Bookis has raised $7.0M across 1 funding round.
Bookis has raised $7.0M in total across 1 funding round.
# Bookis: A Technology Company Overview
Bookis is a mobile marketplace application that enables users to buy and sell used and new books directly from one another.[1] Founded in 2016 and based in Oslo, Norway, the company operates what is described as "Norway's largest online bookstore for buying and selling books," serving readers who prefer physical books over digital alternatives.[2][3] The platform addresses a practical problem in the sharing economy: making it easy for book enthusiasts to exchange literature while saving money, time, and reducing environmental emissions through reduced consumption of new books.[3]
The company targets a specific niche within the broader e-commerce and sharing economy landscape—book lovers seeking an intuitive, peer-to-peer marketplace rather than traditional retail channels. With fewer than 25 employees and revenue under $5 million, Bookis operates as a lean startup focused on building network effects through a user-friendly platform that simplifies the discovery and transaction of books.[2][3]
Bookis was founded in 2016 by Preben Kristiansen and Sverre Goffeng, with Kristiansen serving as Managing Director of US Operations based in New York City.[2] The company emerged from a straightforward insight: book readers wanted a dedicated marketplace to freely distribute books among themselves through peer-to-peer exchange, rather than relying on general-purpose marketplaces or traditional bookstores.
The development process took 6.5 months to build the initial iOS and Android applications, during which the founding team worked with development partners to create an intuitive interface optimized for searching and adding books—critical features for generating the network effects necessary for a successful P2P marketplace.[1] Early investors included Founders' Edge, Schibsted Growth, and Lugard Road Capital, signaling confidence in the sharing economy model applied to books.[2]
Bookis distinguishes itself through several technical and operational advantages:
Bookis operates at the intersection of three significant trends: the sharing economy, sustainable consumption, and mobile-first commerce. The platform capitalizes on growing consumer interest in reducing waste and costs through secondhand markets—a trend accelerated by environmental consciousness and economic pragmatism.
The timing of Bookis's 2016 founding coincided with the maturation of mobile payment infrastructure and increased smartphone adoption across Europe, making peer-to-peer transactions more feasible than in earlier years. The company's focus on a specific vertical (books) rather than attempting to be a general marketplace reflects a broader shift toward specialized platforms that can build deeper engagement and network effects within defined communities.
By reducing friction in book exchanges, Bookis also supports a cultural shift toward valuing access over ownership—particularly relevant in markets like Scandinavia, where sustainability and sharing economy models have strong cultural resonance.
Bookis has built a focused, technically sound platform addressing a genuine need within a specific community. The company's success will depend on expanding beyond its Norwegian base while maintaining the user experience quality that drives network effects in two-sided marketplaces.
Key challenges ahead include scaling internationally (the localization infrastructure suggests this is planned), competing with larger generalist marketplaces that have added book categories, and sustaining user engagement in a market where transaction frequency may be lower than other sharing economy verticals. The company's ability to expand geographically while preserving its niche positioning—and potentially exploring adjacent categories like audiobooks or educational materials—will likely shape its trajectory.
For investors and observers, Bookis represents a compelling case study in vertical specialization: by focusing exclusively on books rather than competing as a general marketplace, the company has created a defensible position within a passionate, engaged community.
Bookis has raised $7.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Bookis's investors include Chalmers Ventures.
Bookis has raised $7.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $7.0M Seed in May 2021.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 2021 | $7M Seed | — | Chalmers Ventures | Announced |
