Morten Lund
Encyclopedia
Morten Lund, is an entrepreneur
from Copenhagen
, Denmark
. Along with Soren Kenner, Lund is founder and managing partner of LundKenner, a venture capital firm focusing on technology ventures. From 2007 he has also fronted the startup catalyst LundXY
.
Described variously as an 'archangel investor' , startup
'ideologist' and 'visionary', Lund has founded or co-invested in more than 40 high-tech start ups in the last decade, most famously Skype
, the VoIP bought by eBay for $2.6 billion in 2005. In May 2008 Lund made headlines again with the sale of Danish social networking and mobile backup site ZYB to operator Vodafone Europe BV for a sum believed to be in the region of $49m. He had co-founded the business with entrepreneur Tommy Ahlers
three years previously.
At 37 years of age he is one of the most active seed investors in Europe. His portfolio features over 80 companies spanning the Internet, telecoms, health and alternative energy.
On January 13, 2009, Morten Lund was declared personally bankrupt by the Copenhagen Maritime and Commercial Court. However, on April 7 2010, he announced via his Twitter
profile that he was out of bankruptcy.
entitled 'WILD' - Worldwide Investments and Involvement in Life Development - through which he is investing in water purification
, marine energy systems, landmine detection and solutions to hunger
and obesity
. Lund is a special member of Clinton’s Global Initiative and frequent speaker at international conferences. His blog has more than 40,000 monthly visitors.
" . He has stated that startups “need help from smart people – not takeovers from smart asses.”
Within his 'WILD' investment portfolio, he is currently involved with AquaDania, a company that has developed an efficient new water purification system under the brand name of WaterStillar ; IJoule, a startup working to fight obesity and Aresa A/S, a company that uses genetically modified plants to detect landmines.
In October 2006 he co-founded (with a minority stake) Denmark’s soon-to-be largest daily newspaper, Nyhedsavisen
, a free newspaper, with the goal of "merging the offline distribution with an online presence" . Later, in January 2008, Icelandic investment firm Baugur Group
announced that it had sold Lund a 51% share of Dagsbrun Media, their holding company for the newspaper. It is rumoured that Lund and his business partner, Morten Wagner of Freeway - owner of social networking sites dating.dk and arto.dk - "picked up the stake" for one Danish crown.
Critics have pointed out that Nyhedsavisen suffered funding issues from the outset; at launch, analysts were concerned that Baugur's £4.5m investment was too small to keep it afloat. It was revealed to have posted total losses of DKK 426m ($89.7m) on its accounts for 2007, before Lund's takeover. However, under his stewardship it became the most widely read newspaper in Denmark, with a daily circulation of 551,000. On July 30, 2008, American venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson
(DFJ) invested a significant but undisclosed sum in the newspaper, enabling Lund to increase his stake in Nyhedsavisen from 51 to 85 per cent, but it was eventually closed down in late August 2008 due to financial problems.
Lund also established the international communications agency HelloGroup in 2006 and the company now employs 65 people in downtown Copenhagen
, making it the fastest growing advertising and media agency
in Scandinavia
.
Post Nyhedsavisen: One of Lund's recent investments, LiveStub
was considered the next wave of his disruptive investment strategy. LiveStub was a no fee secondary ticket marketplace.
After Lund's bankruptcy, and due to other problems including the economy, Livestub ceased operations for the foreseeable future.
In 2009, Morten Lund co-founded travel technology start-up Everbread
becoming CEO
of the company. As of 2010 he is also Chief Visionary Officer
in Tradeshift
e-invoicing company.
; web agency NeoIdeo, sold to US advertising firm Leo Burnett
, ZYB, sold to Vodafone Europe BV
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
from Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. Along with Soren Kenner, Lund is founder and managing partner of LundKenner, a venture capital firm focusing on technology ventures. From 2007 he has also fronted the startup catalyst LundXY
LundXY
LundXY - Global Ventures is an angel investment and startup catalyst headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, founded by serial entrepreneur Morten Lund in 2007....
.
Described variously as an 'archangel investor' , startup
Startup company
A startup company or startup is a company with a limited operating history. These companies, generally newly created, are in a phase of development and research for markets...
'ideologist' and 'visionary', Lund has founded or co-invested in more than 40 high-tech start ups in the last decade, most famously Skype
Skype
Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system...
, the VoIP bought by eBay for $2.6 billion in 2005. In May 2008 Lund made headlines again with the sale of Danish social networking and mobile backup site ZYB to operator Vodafone Europe BV for a sum believed to be in the region of $49m. He had co-founded the business with entrepreneur Tommy Ahlers
Tommy Ahlers
Tommy Ahlers is a Danish serial entrepreneur best known for the social networking and mobile backup site ZYB, launched in 2005 with two other entrepreneurs from Copenhagen, Morten Lund and Ole Kristensen, and sold to Vodafone Europe BV for nearly $50m in May 2008.Before founding ZYB, where he has...
three years previously.
At 37 years of age he is one of the most active seed investors in Europe. His portfolio features over 80 companies spanning the Internet, telecoms, health and alternative energy.
On January 13, 2009, Morten Lund was declared personally bankrupt by the Copenhagen Maritime and Commercial Court. However, on April 7 2010, he announced via his Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
profile that he was out of bankruptcy.
WILD
Lund has established a category of investments in his portfolioPortfolio (finance)
Portfolio is a financial term denoting a collection of investments held by an investment company, hedge fund, financial institution or individual.-Definition:The term portfolio refers to any collection of financial assets such as stocks, bonds and cash...
entitled 'WILD' - Worldwide Investments and Involvement in Life Development - through which he is investing in water purification
Water purification
Water purification is the process of removing undesirable chemicals, materials, and biological contaminants from contaminated water. The goal is to produce water fit for a specific purpose...
, marine energy systems, landmine detection and solutions to hunger
Hunger
Hunger is the most commonly used term to describe the social condition of people who frequently experience the physical sensation of desiring food.-Malnutrition, famine, starvation:...
and obesity
Obesity
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...
. Lund is a special member of Clinton’s Global Initiative and frequent speaker at international conferences. His blog has more than 40,000 monthly visitors.
Investment style
His investment model focuses on early stage businesses, providing resources to make a "head startHead start (positioning)
In positioning, a head start is a start in advance of the starting position of others in competition, or simply toward the finish line or desired outcome...
" . He has stated that startups “need help from smart people – not takeovers from smart asses.”
Current ventures
Lund has started three funds, encompassing Chinese property, Indian technology ventures and a private equity vehicle for Middle Eastern green technology.Within his 'WILD' investment portfolio, he is currently involved with AquaDania, a company that has developed an efficient new water purification system under the brand name of WaterStillar ; IJoule, a startup working to fight obesity and Aresa A/S, a company that uses genetically modified plants to detect landmines.
In October 2006 he co-founded (with a minority stake) Denmark’s soon-to-be largest daily newspaper, Nyhedsavisen
Nyhedsavisen
Nyhedsavisen was a Danish free daily newspaper based on a new concept of distributing a free newspaper to 500,000 Danish homes that became the most read in the country within 18 month of launch...
, a free newspaper, with the goal of "merging the offline distribution with an online presence" . Later, in January 2008, Icelandic investment firm Baugur Group
Baugur Group
Baugur Group was an Icelandic investment company. The group applied for bankruptcy protection in February 2009, after placing its UK arm in administration.- History :...
announced that it had sold Lund a 51% share of Dagsbrun Media, their holding company for the newspaper. It is rumoured that Lund and his business partner, Morten Wagner of Freeway - owner of social networking sites dating.dk and arto.dk - "picked up the stake" for one Danish crown.
Critics have pointed out that Nyhedsavisen suffered funding issues from the outset; at launch, analysts were concerned that Baugur's £4.5m investment was too small to keep it afloat. It was revealed to have posted total losses of DKK 426m ($89.7m) on its accounts for 2007, before Lund's takeover. However, under his stewardship it became the most widely read newspaper in Denmark, with a daily circulation of 551,000. On July 30, 2008, American venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson
Draper Fisher Jurvetson
Draper Fisher Jurvetson is a venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California with affiliate offices in more than 30 cities around the world and over $7 billion in capital commitments....
(DFJ) invested a significant but undisclosed sum in the newspaper, enabling Lund to increase his stake in Nyhedsavisen from 51 to 85 per cent, but it was eventually closed down in late August 2008 due to financial problems.
Lund also established the international communications agency HelloGroup in 2006 and the company now employs 65 people in downtown Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, making it the fastest growing advertising and media agency
Media agency
A media agency is a company which help companies to communicate with current and potential consumers and/or the general public.These agencies work with their clients to understand the business issues, their markets and their consumers...
in Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
.
Post Nyhedsavisen: One of Lund's recent investments, LiveStub
LiveStub
LiveStub, which famed angel investor Morten Lund backed, was a no-fee secondary ticket marketplace in North America. Founded by Michael Hershfield and Levi Bergovoy it attempted to bring transparency to the secondary event ticket market....
was considered the next wave of his disruptive investment strategy. LiveStub was a no fee secondary ticket marketplace.
After Lund's bankruptcy, and due to other problems including the economy, Livestub ceased operations for the foreseeable future.
In 2009, Morten Lund co-founded travel technology start-up Everbread
Everbread
Everbread is a travel technology software company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Following a foray into the online travel agency space, Assen Vassilev, Dr...
becoming CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of the company. As of 2010 he is also Chief Visionary Officer
Chief visionary officer
A chief visionary officer is a function within a company established beside the other executive functions like CEO or COO. The title is used to define a high ranking position alongside the CEO, and sometimes used to formalize a high-level advisory position...
in Tradeshift
Tradeshift
Tradeshift is a web based business network founded by Christian Lanng, Mikkel Hippe Brun and Gert Sylvest. The network was launched in May 2010, and used in more than 150 countries by February 2011...
e-invoicing company.
Recent exits
VoIP giant SkypeSkype
Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system...
; web agency NeoIdeo, sold to US advertising firm Leo Burnett
Leo Burnett
Leo Burnett was an advertising executive who created the Jolly Green Giant, the Marlboro Man, Toucan Sam, Charlie the Tuna, Morris the Cat, the Pillsbury Doughboy, the 7up "Spot", and Tony the Tiger....
, ZYB, sold to Vodafone Europe BV