From Diamonds to Words: The Unexpected Danish Joan's Journey • Bienvenido a Copenhague

In this post from Welcome to Copenhagen, we meet Joan, who has taken her work all over the world. She is the founder of Brain Biscuit, a global learning platform where creativity, technology, and language come together.

If you had told me years ago that I would one day teach Danish to people all over the world, I probably would have laughed. But life has a funny way of guiding us exactly where we belong.

Her name is Joan, and her journey took her from Copenhagen to Barcelona and now to Los Angeles—from working with diamonds to creating Brain Biscuit, a global learning platform where creativity, technology, and language meet. Below, we’ll take a look at her story, written in her own words.

How it all began with Joan’s journey

Back in 2009, I moved to Barcelona with my son after falling in love with Spain. I brought my jewelry experience with me — but quickly discovered that diamonds weren’t exactly in high demand in my new home. English, however, was.

With my background in creativity and teaching, I began developing a method based on small groups, repetition, and motivation. And it worked. Students learned faster, remembered more, and started using the language confidently in their daily lives.

Around the same time, I stepped into the tech world, focusing on process optimization and customer experience. In the end, it was all connected: solving problems, creating value, and helping people grow.

When the world stopped — my world opened

Then Covid hit. Like everyone else, I watched the world shut down — but something unexpected happened: demand for online learning skyrocketed. My teaching style suddenly gained attention online, and students from around the world began reaching out. This was the moment Brain Biscuit began to grow into the global learning community it is today.

Recently, I launched Ordjagten.com, an interactive Danish word game where players find words, hear pronunciation, and learn word classes. My goal? To make language learning fun, visual, and intuitive — not something that feels like homework.

A new chapter in Los Angeles

After many years in Spain, I decided to move to Los Angeles to be closer to my family. It’s also the perfect place to continue expanding Ordjagten.com into new markets and new languages.

Being with my family every day means everything to me. And at the same time, I want to help even more people learn languages in a way that feels natural, motivating, and human.

The courage to choose what matters

My journey hasn’t always been smooth. I once turned down my dream job in Antwerp because my son was thriving in Denmark. It was a hard decision — but it changed everything. As a single mother and entrepreneur, I’ve had to find courage, structure, and unwavering belief in the idea. Thankfully, that belief has been rewarded: the demand for online Danish grew beyond anything I imagined.

Building Ordjagten.com taught me patience. Creating a game means balancing developers, designers, sound engineers — and everyone works at a different speed. Innovation rarely follows a straight plan. It’s messy. It’s iterative. And every obstacle strengthens
both the product and the vision.

What Brain Biscuit stands for

Brain Biscuit started as a hobby — a creative way to teach and inspire. Today, we teach students across 16 time zones. For me, everything begins with safety. Students learn when they feel comfortable. That’s why our groups are small and personal. Mistakes are welcome — they’re part of the process. All teachers are live, present, and engaged. Human connection is everything.

When students feel seen and supported, they grow faster and with more confidence. We’ve also added recorded lessons, giving students the freedom to learn at their own pace. Flexibility matters just as much as structure.

What really matters?

Looking back, the most important thing for me has never been building a big company. It’s creating something that makes a difference. Whether it was jewelry, process optimization, or now language education — I’ve always focused on the person in front of me. What do they need? How can this help them? How do we create something that has meaning?

And honestly, the best part of my work is simple: seeing students laugh, learn, and believe in themselves. That’s when everything comes together.