Futuristic 2.0 🚀
I’ve spent large chunks of my summer thinking about the next steps for developing Futuristic as a firm. When I started the company roughly 18 months ago, it was with very little knowledge of the venture capital industry and the Nordic startup ecosystem. All I had was a thesis that Nordic founders lack competent investors compared with how well they have historically performed in delivering venture returns. However, I had very little recollection on how to actually — You know — Fund them.
Fast forward to today, August 24th. Things have developed rapidly since our inception and we’ve made 13 investments, of which 10 are public. I’m happy that we’ve managed to co-invest with a lot of the people I’ve looked up to for years. In fact, by my first estimates, this is the point we should have reached after being operational for three years. I’ve also learned a tremendous amount about the industry, the people residing here, and what it actually means to be a great investor. It’s been humbling for sure and the imposter syndrome has forever been lurking in the back of my mind.
However, Futuristic was never meant to be a small local firm just trucking along in the Nordic pond. As every ambitious entrepreneur, I dream of building something that leaves a lasting dent in the world. Over time, it’s my hope that Futuristic will turn into one of the world’s leading firms. But getting there requires a million smaller steps. Today I’m happy to announce that we’ve taken quite a lot of those in the past months. We’ve made a series of significant changes in the organisation, in order for the firm to reach the next level and come closer to reaching its full potential.
Without further ado, allow me to present some fresh faces that will help take Futuristic to the next level of the long journey:
Daniel Bakh — Investment Associate
Daniel joins Futuristic as our first full-time hire. He was previously with Wave Ventures, where he headed up their Copenhagen operations. Before Wave, he worked with WestTech Ventures in Berlin and several high growth startups in Los Angeles. Born in Copenhagen, yet has spent more than 6 years living abroad, most notably in China and the US.
I believe Daniel has a big career in VC ahead of him. It’s rare to find a profile like his, especially in The Nordics. Therefore, I’m really excited to have him join the Futuristic team and help me shape the future of the company. He has already left serious marks on the firm within his first months here and will continue to do so in the times to come.
Advisory Board
When building our revamped advisory board, I wanted three new distinct profiles; an angel, a community builder, and a ‘real VC’. With that in mind, I shortlisted my ideal candidate in each category. Luckily they all agreed to join. I’m happy to present the three new people who will be joining our board:
Andreas Saari — CEO, Slush
Ari Helgason — Principal, Index Ventures
Hampus Jakobsson — Venture Partner, Blueyard / Angel
Furthermore, I’m happy that Esben Gadsbøll from Nordic Makers has decided to extend his stint at Futuristic as an advisor.
At its fundamental level, venture capital is about getting paid a premium for making smart decisions and gaining access to the best companies. As things move forward, I’ve found that it’s increasingly important to have great infrastructure around my decision making. This is how you learn and grow as a VC. This is extremely important not only for me as a person but also for the founders I’m lucky enough to get to work with. When you’re ‘homeschooled’ like me and don’t have the luxury of working in a larger fund (where you learn from more experienced people), you’re essentially responsible for hiring you’re own teachers. I’m looking forward to having my decisions and strategic direction for the firm challenged at a deep level.
I’m really grateful for the contributions of Lasse Chor and Kristian Tokkesdal, who’ll now be stepping down from the board. I will never forget the people who helped me when I had very little to offer. Both of them have been instrumental in getting Futuristic off the ground when we started the board last year. They will continue to be good friends and close to the firm.
Together with our new team, I’ll start carving out the future of Futuristic. It’s exhilarating to get to work with people of this calibre and I can’t wait to get started. We’ll continue to push for our goal of building the best early-stage investor for Nordic founders. If we haven’t already spoken with you as a founder, we are very much looking forward to!
This piece was written by Christian Jantzen, founding partner of Futuristic.vc. You can follow my writings here or on twitter @chrjantzen.
Futuristic is an early-stage VC firm based in Copenhagen, investing all over the Nordics. We invest in beautiful minds building epic companies. You are welcome to reach out with comments or feedback at christian@futuristic.vc.
