We recently had the chance to connect with Bjarne Haug and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Bjarne, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
My day usually begins around 5 or 6 a.m. I kick things off by brewing my coffee, loading my Bialetti with Gevalia Medium Roast. While it’s brewing, I warm my cup. Once the coffee is ready, I froth the milk, and my latte is ready to enjoy. For breakfast, I slice up a banana and mix it with raw oatmeal and milk, a quick and easy meal to get me going.
I like to catch up on the news before diving into emails and daily preparations. I typically start with the BBC, and since I’m from Denmark, I also read the news and listen to the Danish equivalent of NPR. It’s a great way to get a jump on things, as Denmark is seven hours ahead and often breaks news much earlier than local outlets. I also find the foreign politics coverage from these sources more compelling. That’s a typical start to my day, aside from the usual morning routine.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi, I’m Bjarne Haug, a serial entrepreneur with a passion for building platforms that connect people and solve real-world problems, I live in Austin with my PhD wife Jade and High School Gamer Son Dmitri.
I co-founded IMOTO.com, a real estate photography platform that scaled across multiple states before I exited in 2021. Today, I’m focused on my latest venture: myTrailer, a peer-to-peer marketplace for utility and sport trailers. Think of it like Airbnb, but for trailers.
The idea was born out of my own frustration. I had a trailer sitting idle in a storage lot, costing me money, and I couldn’t find a good place to rent it out. So, I built a solution, one that now helps trailer owners earn extra income and gives renters easy access to the exact trailer they need, when they need it.
What makes myTrailer unique is how hyper-local and community-driven it is. We vet renters, prioritize safety, and give everyday people the power to monetize assets they already own. We’re not just solving a hauling problem, we’re creating economic opportunity.
Right now, we’re focused on growing the platform in Texas, with plans to expand nationwide. I’m also working on educational and promotional content, trailer reviews, how-to videos, and stories from the road because this isn’t just a utility product, it’s a lifestyle.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
What breaks the bonds between people is ego, assumption, and poor communication. When people stop being curious about each other, when they assume intent instead of asking, assumptions are hard to navigate for anyone, when they put themselves above the relationship or the mission, that’s when things fall apart. It happens in friendships, businesses, and even with yourself. Distrust grows in the silence between misunderstood intentions.
What restores bonds is action. Not just words, but small, real-world efforts to show you care, that you’re listening, that you’re still in it. Humor helps too, I personally use humor a lot, small gestures that makes peoples day. Owning your mistakes, picking up the phone, showing up early, these are the things that rebuild trust. I was always taught that 5 min ahead of time is precise and it works, try it. You don’t fix broken connections by over-explaining or over-apologizing. You fix them by doing what you said you’d do and giving people a reason to believe in you again. It’s fairly simply and one thing, trust yourself, people understand that really well.
What fear has held you back the most in your life?
The fear that held me back the most in life was the fear of not belonging, or more specifically, the fear that I didn’t know how to “play the game” when it came to networking and putting myself out there. I’ve always been able to deliver, to do the work, to build things that matter. But for a long time, I held back from walking into rooms, starting conversations, or raising my hand, not because I didn’t have something to say, but because I felt out of place in the performance of it all. It felt like everyone else had the rulebook, and I didn’t get a copy.
I thought being quiet or reserved in those spaces was humility or focus, but honestly, it was fear in disguise. Fear of saying the wrong thing, fear of being seen as not important enough to be there, or fear that I’d come off as trying too hard. So I stayed on the sidelines longer than I should have.
As I got older, I stopped giving a crap about all that. I realized most people are winging it too, or at least hoping someone else will break the ice. So I started just mentally walking into people, not literally, but you know what I mean, leading with humor, asking real questions, and sharing something useful without expecting anything in return. I replaced self-consciousness with curiosity and started showing up like myself, not some filtered version I thought I needed to be.
And the result? It works. It works really well. When you drop the act, people trust you faster. When you’re funny without trying too hard, when you know your stuff and don’t feel the need to prove it constantly, people lean in. They listen. They invite you back. It’s wild how much opportunity is sitting behind the wall we build for ourselves.
If I could go back and give my younger self any advice, it would be this: don’t let the fear of not fitting in stop you from showing up, you don’t need to fit in. You just need to be real, be good at what you do, and keep moving. That’s where all the good stuff is.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yeah – the public version of me is definitely the real me. I might throw on a nicer shirt if we’re meeting for business, but underneath that, I’m still the same guy who enjoys yard work, working on my cars, and figuring out how to build useful things. I don’t put on a persona, and I don’t feel the need to impress anyone.
I’ve got some fast cars and fun toys, sure, but those are for me. I daily drive a Honda Accord because it’s simple, reliable, and doesn’t attract attention. The other stuff comes out when I want to hit the track or take a few curves on a weekend. It’s not about showing off, it’s about enjoying what I’ve built, on my own terms.
I’ve never really been into bragging or pretending to be something I’m not. What matters to me is treating people right. That whole “treat others how you want to be treated” thing.I actually live by that. It’s a simple principle, but it goes a long way, both professionally and personally.
So yeah, what you see is what you get. Whether we’re doing business or bumping into each other at the gas station, I’m the same guy,just maybe with a little more dirt under my nails at home.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I don’t think anyone is doing exactly what they were “born” to do. That kind of thinking feels reserved for royalty or Hollywood scripts. But I do believe you can find something that fits you so well, it starts to feel like your path. You grow into it. You shape it. And eventually, it shapes you.
Right now, with the trailer marketplace we’re building, I’m hoping this is it. My last big venture, my final exit, the one I’ll retire out of. It’s not just business for me. There’s a real personal thread running through it. When I was 15 years old, my first real job was at a trailer company. I didn’t know it at the time, but that experience planted a seed. And if I can close that circle now, decades later, by creating something meaningful in the same industry, well… that hits deep. That feels right.
So no, I’m not doing what I was told to do. And maybe I’m not doing what I was born to do. But I’ve found something that fits me, my skills, my story, and the kind of legacy I want to leave behind. That’s more than enough.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mytrailer.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mytrailer_com/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mytrailer-inc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mytrailerrental/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@myTrailer_rental
Image Credits
Image Credit: Bjarne Haug
