Introducing: For Founders byFounders

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