⦿ INSIGHTS

Introducing: For Founders byFounders

byFounders is a “for founders by founders” fund built on the foundation and backing of a strong Collective, comprising some of the most successful Nordic entrepreneurs investing in and supporting a new generation of globally ambitious Nordic and Baltic founders.
Introducing: For Founders byFounders
WRITTEN BY
Eric Lagier
Founding Partner
Tommy Andersen
Founding Partner
WRITTEN BY

With a strong presence in both Copenhagen and Silicon Valley, we will serve as a springboard for growth to Nordic and Baltic technology startups with teams, ambitions and capabilities to address a global market with their products and services. Here are some need-to-knows about us:

When can you get an investment from byFounders?

We are an early stage venture capital fund which means we invest in:

  • Seed (product validation) This is our sweet spot. Investing between $750K-$1.25M. We often lead the investment at this stage, however, prioritize to make room for additional VC’s or angel syndicates who want to participate. It's essential that we ensure a strong backing from key investors, securing the foundation for the future. This is also the stage we can add the most value, including operational advice across commercial and technical domains.
  • Series A (market validation) From time to time we will lead, however often will follow up at this stage, investing alongside larger European and Silicon Valley funds. We will help our startup founders navigate this crucial stage and leverage our presence in Silicon Valley to maximize the growth potential.
  • What about Pre-Seed (concept validation) you may ask? Given we have some of the most active angel investors backing us, we do get to see many great startups at a very early stage. Here we let our group of founders take the lead, but welcome the opportunity to match their investment to stay close and monitor how the startup execute. As our focus is Seed and Series A, we will not get further involved but await the right time to, if relevant, take the lead on the Seed stage investment.

Why are we launching our fund now?

The Nordic startup community has grown by 4x over the last 10 years, and throughout the region, the community is becoming much better organized thanks to initiatives like Aaltoes, STHLM Tech and CPHFTW.

As our friends at Creandum pointed out in the Nordic Tech Exit Report 2016, the Nordic countries are the biggest unicorn factory in the world per GDP with, on average, one $billion+ exit per year over the last 5 years.

As a result, Silicon Valley and the rest of the world is starting to pay serious attention to this region. According to Roelof Botha, three of Sequoia’s best performing portfolio companies are Medallia in Norway, Klarna in Sweden and Unity in Denmark.

Still, the road to success for an entrepreneur is not easy. Raising capital continues to be a challenge. Networking with the right people isn’t easy either. But the hardest part of all is getting the right help at the right time from the right people.

That’s where we come in!

Why should you consider taking an investment from us?

First of all, we are a venture fund. We invest so you can focus on what you are best at: running your company.

"We back you all the way. The road is long and there will be many bumps along the way. Trust us, we know."

Not just money. Who would you like to have as your “driving instructor”? Someone that has only read the manual or someone who has actually driven miles on end, has driven up the steepest of hills, slippery slopes and crashed a few times but is still alive?

When we say founder-friendly, we mean it. We have all been there. No need to write things in small print. We ensure that our terms are compatible with the VC’s we end up syndicating with along the way.

"When we invest you become part of our family. You become part of our founders collective and join some of the most successful founders in the Nordics. Here you get access to the collective knowledge, insight and network that we have aggregated over the years."

We are rooted in Denmark, however, we consider Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania part of our “incubation lab”. We have a strong presence in Silicon Valley which we leverage to stay on top of the latest tech trends to identify opportunities and invest accordingly.

Think of us as the gateway to the world. When we invest we think global from the get-go. Not if, but when is the right time to scale and go beyond the safe borders of one geography.

Need access? We give you unique access to the tech giants in Silicon Valley and the business world beyond. Need more cash? We bring you in front of some of the world’s greatest VC’s from Europe and Silicon Valley to accelerate your growth.

At the end of the day, you might very well get a “better cash offer” somewhere else, but valuation and $ is not everything. We will work day and night to prove that you get the best value by teaming up with us.

The motto inside Sequoia is that “we’re only as good as our next investment.” If you think you are that next one please shoot us an email — we are ready to invest in the next generation of Nordic and Baltic founders with global ambitions.

We are for founders, byFounders.

Tommy & Eric

More about the author(s)
Eric Lagier
Founding Partner

Eric is a straight-talking tech entrepreneur with more than 20 years of operational experience from some of the most successful startups in the Nordics. Following eight years in Silicon Valley, where he built an extensive network of investors and founders, Eric returned to Copenhagen to found byFounders and support the next generation of globally ambitious and future-conscious entrepreneurs. Today he leverages his vast network and years of experiences to help our Portfolio companies increase their reach and scale internationally.

Tommy Andersen
Founding Partner

Tommy plays an active role in the Danish tech and impact ecosystem through his involvement in several accelerators, incubators, and startup organizations. Prior to co-founding byFounders, he built an extensive Portfolio of angel investments individually and as part of the angel collective Nordic Makers. His vast entrepreneurial and advisory experiences have instilled in him a robust understanding of business and  operational management, which he today utilizes to support the byFounders Portfolio companies in driving long-term growth and success.

More about the author(s)
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October 3, 2022

Say hello to byFounders' fall intern: Idil Tuysuzoglu!

With a background in operations & product at climate tech giants, Northvolt and Einride, and an engrained go-get-'em attitude brought on by her New Jersey roots, Idil comes with an impact-driven personality and focus to byFounders.
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September 7, 2022

byFounders welcomes machine learning and HealthTech enthusiast, Magnus Hambleton, and expands the team into Stockholm

We’re humbled to announce that Magnus Hambleton has joined the byFounders investment team. Currently sitting with us at our headquarters in Copenhagen, Magnus will be one of the first employees to join the Stockholm office, which is due to open its doors in late 2022.
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February 28, 2022

Sara Rywe becomes the third partner of byFounders

Do you know how difficult it is to find a needle in a haystack? That's how Tommy and I felt when we started to search for a third partner. Today, we're excited to announced that we actually managed to find the needle in the haystack. Please welcome Sara Rywe as the third partner of byFounders.
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December 16, 2021

byFounders strengthens its investment team by welcoming Camille Zivré

We’re so excited to welcome Camille Zivré to the investment team and look forward to seeing in action the passion and dedication she has toward founders.
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February 24, 2021

Our 2020 Investments

2020 was a year like no other. But moving behind the screens did not slow us down: we still welcomed seven new startups to our portfolio! From an AML software company working to ‘make money good’, to AI that makes negotiating more honest and responsible, without further ado, let’s meet our newcomers!
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February 21, 2021

Sebastian is Listed as One of Europe's Top 30 Young Investors

Sebastian stepped into the world of VC after helping Swedish SaaS startup Fieldly with their fundraise while doing his bachelors at the University of Warwick. He’s now at byFounders, a fund focused on the Nordics and Baltics. We're proud to have him onboard!
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December 17, 2019

Our Investments in 2019

The past year has been fun and intense for the byFounders team. We've made a total of 14 investments, of which 11 are brand new entries to our portfolio. Ranging from AI-trained robots to computer vision prototyping, sustainability-as-a-service, a global social safety net, automated contract handling and more, it’s safe to say that we’re staying true to our agnostic investment focus.
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May 15, 2019

Our First 10 Investments

Since our inception, we’ve invested in the brilliant founders behind 11 awesome companies. We're looking forward to meeting, following, and investing in many more from across the New Nordics in the years to come!
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April 10, 2019

Juuso Koskinen Joins byFounders

This month we didn't only close our first-time EUR 100 million fund — we're moreover thrilled to welcome Juuso Koskinen to the byFounders team!
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April 3, 2019

byFounders Fund I

How we raised a EUR 100 million first-time fund to support the next generation of Nordic and Baltic founders
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December 5, 2017

Houston — we have lift off!

byFounders' first launch
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September 4, 2017

Introducing: For Founders byFounders

byFounders is a “for founders by founders” fund built on the foundation and backing of a strong Collective, comprising some of the most successful Nordic entrepreneurs investing in and supporting a new generation of globally ambitious Nordic and Baltic founders.

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