What byFounders does

byFounders is a Copenhagen-headquartered, community-powered early-stage venture capital fund investing at pre-seed and seed in technology companies across the New Nordics — Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, and the Baltics. The firm deploys EUR 500K to 4M tickets across 8-15 new investments per year from a portfolio of 55+ companies, and operates through a differentiated community structure: a 40+ member Collective of unicorn founders and operators who source deals and provide hands-on operational support, an Angel Collective of next-generation builders who co-invest alongside the fund, and a tight-knit community of portfolio founders participating in Basecamp training and the annual Summit at Kokkedal Castle. The fund is managed by Founding Partners Tommy Andersen and Eric Lagier, supported by a Partner team with prior experience at BCG, McKinsey, DeepMind, Microsoft AI, Google X, Lyft, Natural Cycles, Pleo, and Wolt, and a small finance and operations backbone in Copenhagen and Stockholm.

Investment decisions use byFounders' proprietary 8T Framework, an evaluation methodology that includes dedicated impact and ESG dimensions ('Tomorrow'), and the firm publishes a transparent standard term sheet featuring common shares only with no liquidation preferences or anti-dilution provisions. Revenue mechanics follow a standard VC model — management fees on committed AUM plus carried interest on successful portfolio exits — and the fund is structured as byFounders VC Management ApS, a Danish private limited company.

Notable portfolio bets include Lovable (AI software engineer, Sweden), DataCrunch/Verda (first European hyperscaler for AI compute, Finland, EUR 100M round in 2026), Monta (EV infrastructure software, Denmark), Corti (AI diagnostics, Denmark), Sumary (AI-native finance workflow engine, Denmark), Tangled (federated code collaboration, Denmark), Willo (alignment-free wireless power, Finland), Spiral Hydrogen (centrifugal electrolyzers, Estonia/Netherlands), and IXI (autofocus eyewear, Finland, $36.5M Series A in 2025).

Name

byFounders

Legal name

byFounders VC Management ApS

Website

https://byfounders.vc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

byFounders is a Copenhagen-based early-stage venture capital fund investing pre-seed and seed tickets of EUR 500K-4M in globally ambitious, impact-aware technology founders across the New Nordics, supported by a 40+ member Collective of unicorn founders and an Angel Collective of next-generation operators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital / Early-Stage Investment

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Venture Capital Fund-of-Funds / Multi-Manager Platforms (FSANAAAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Endowment / OCIO-Style Multi-Manager Platforms (FSANAGAG)

Keywords

• Venture capital funding
• Seed stage investing
• Pre-seed investments
• Startup ecosystem support
• Nordic venture capital

Headquarters

HQ city

Copenhagen

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Returns: Returns generated through carried interest on successful portfolio exits, typical VC model where fund success is made on few huge wins
2. Management Fees: Standard VC management fee structure for fund operations

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

byFounders is a venture capital fund that invests EUR 500K to 4 million per company at the pre-seed and seed stages in globally ambitious and impact-aware technology founders across the New Nordics (Nordic and Baltic countries). The fund sources and supports 8-15 new portfolio companies per year through a community-driven model built around the byFounders Collective (40+ unicorn founders and operators), founder-friendly standard term terms (common shares, no liquidation preferences), and structured programs such as the Basecamp founder course and annual Summit.

Product overview

byFounders is a community-powered venture capital fund for the New Nordics (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, and the Baltics). The fund operates as a unified investment service rather than a modular product architecture. Its core offering is the byFounders VC Fund, which provides seed-stage capital and hands-on support to early-stage tech founders. The fund is distinguished by its byFounders Collective (a 40+ member network of unicorn founders and operators who mentor and advise portfolio companies), its byFounders Angel Collective (next-gen founders who co-invest), and its active community of portfolio founders. Supporting services include the Basecamp two-day intensive program, the annual Summit flagship event, and published research such as the Shape of the New Nordics annual reports. The fund targets pre-seed and seed stages with investments of EUR 500K to 4 million, prioritizing globally ambitious companies with positive impact.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• byFounders Angel Collective: A group of next-gen founders, operators, and community builders who co-invest alongside byFounders in portfolio companies.
• Basecamp

Products and services

• byFounders VC Fund Pre-seed and seed venture capital fund providing EUR 500K to 4 million tickets to globally ambitious and impact-aware technology founders, primarily across the Nordic and Baltic countries (the New Nordics), making 8-15 new investments per year.
• byFounders Collective Network of 40+ successful Nordic and Baltic founders and operators who provide strategic guidance, workshops, coaching, and board seats on behalf of byFounders to portfolio companies.
• byFounders Angel Collective Group of next-generation founders and operators who co-invest capital alongside byFounders in portfolio companies, broadening the community's reach and the volume of capital available to founders.
• Basecamp Two-day intensive course exclusively for byFounders' portfolio founders covering strategy, board optimization, marketing, go-to-market, product excellence, finance, impact, people, culture, talent, and fundraising best practices.
• Annual Summit Flagship annual event held at venues such as Kokkedal Castle, bringing together byFounders portfolio founders, Collective members, and investors for activities, networking, and learning.
• byFounders Community (Portfolio Founders) Tight-knit community of byFounders portfolio company founders who support one another, access operational expertise, and participate in exclusive events and programs like Basecamp and the annual Summit.

Quantifiable outcome

• 8-15 new investments per year
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

58 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Tony Beltramelli (Miro)coreOthers · 25 September 2025Member of byFounders Angel Collective, providing investment capital and ecosystem support to emerging Nordic/Baltic founders
• Elin Ashrafi (Omnea)coreOthers · 25 September 2025Member of byFounders Angel Collective, providing investment capital and ecosystem support to emerging Nordic/Baltic founders
• Thor Christensen (Wawa)coreOthers · 25 September 2025Member of byFounders Angel Collective, providing investment capital and ecosystem support to emerging Nordic/Baltic founders
• Helery Pops (ruum)coreOthers · 25 September 2025Member of byFounders Angel Collective, providing investment capital and ecosystem support to emerging Nordic/Baltic founders
• Matias Salonen (Lovable)coreOthers · 25 September 2025Member of byFounders Angel Collective, providing investment capital and ecosystem support to emerging Nordic/Baltic founders
• Kamyar Espahbodi (Filed)coreOthers · 25 September 2025Member of byFounders Angel Collective, providing investment capital and ecosystem support to emerging Nordic/Baltic founders
• Josefiina Kotilainen (Carbo Culture)coreOthers · 25 September 2025Member of byFounders Angel Collective, providing investment capital and ecosystem support to emerging Nordic/Baltic founders
• Daniel Caetanya Fossum (Venture Summits)coreOthers · 25 September 2025Member of byFounders Angel Collective, providing investment capital and ecosystem support to emerging Nordic/Baltic founders
• Stealth AngelscoreOthers · 25 September 2025Anonymous angel investors in the Angel Collective providing investment capital and ecosystem support
• Niklas Zennström (Skype/Atomico)coreOthersCo-founder of Skype and Atomico VC, leads Zennström Philanthropies and Race for the Baltic sustainability initiative
• Morten Primdahl (Zendesk)coreOthersCo-founder and former CTO of Zendesk, now focused on new ventures through Thank You Machine and Hybird Energy
• Heini Zachariassen (Vivino)coreOthersFounder and former CEO of Vivino (50M+ users, $200M+ raised), now building Vota restaurant ratings platform
• Johan Brand (Kahoot!)coreOthersCo-founder of Kahoot! and We Are Human studio, leads EntrepreneurShipOne for ocean economy innovation
• Jannick Malling (Public)coreOthersCo-founder and co-CEO of Public multi-asset investing platform ($300M+ raised), previously co-founded Tradable
• Tuomo Riekki (Smartly.io)coreOthersCo-founder and CTO/CPO of Smartly.io (global adtech leader with $100M+ ARR), now building Zero.inc CRM platform
• Lasse Espeholt (DeepMind/Microsoft AI)coreOthersML researcher with experience at DeepMind, Google Brain, and Microsoft AI; advises AI/climate startups
• Ari Tulla (Elo Health)coreOthersCo-founder and CEO of Elo Health AI nutrition company, previously CEO of Quest Analytics and BetterDoctor
• Fertram Sigurjonsson (Kerecis)coreOthersFounder of Kerecis (fish skin wound healing), acquired by Coloplast for $1.3B in 2023
• Christian Lund (Templafy)coreOthersCo-founder of Templafy document platform ($120M raised, 800+ enterprise customers including KPMG, IKEA
• Sune Alstrup (The Eye Tribe)coreOthersCo-founder of The Eye Tribe (acquired by Meta), helps Doublepoint, IXI, VoxelSensors in XR/neurotech/HCI
• Anders Bo Pedersen (Meta/EyeTribe)coreOthersFormer Meta and EyeTribe leader, shaped Oculus Quest and Ray-Ban Stories, advises DeepTech/AI/robotics startups
• Torsten Kolind (Underground Ventures)coreOthersCo-founder and CEO of Underground Ventures focused on geothermal energy, co-founded YouNoodle
• Henrik Rosendahl (VMware/Spiio)coreOthersSerial enterprise software entrepreneur (Thinstall, CloudVolumes to VMware), CEO of Spiio, boards DataCrunch
• Lars Fløe Nielsen (Sitecore)coreOthersCo-founder of Sitecore unicorn, active board member and angel investor through Nordic Makers
• Troels Schönfeldt (Seaborg/Hyme)coreOthersDeep-tech founder (nuclear PhD, CERN), co-founded Seaborg Technologies and Hyme energy storage
• Peter Jensen (RocketFuel Blockchain)coreOthersSerial entrepreneur (startups sold to IBM, Cisco, Cloudflare, VMware), CEO of RocketFuel Blockchain
• Jonas Vig (Min Doktor/Bambuser)coreOthersCEO of Min Doktor telemedicine platform, founded Bambuser mobile live streaming pioneer
• Janus Jagd (Cylindo)coreOthersFounded Cylindo 3D visualization platform (successful exit 2022), advises SaaS founders on GTM and scaling
• Christian Hvitved (Humio)coreOthersCo-founded Humio log management platform (acquired by CrowdStrike), served as Chief Engineer for LogScale
• Bjarke Klinge Staun (Creandum)coreOthersAngel investor (25+ early-stage investments), former VC at Creandum (Pleo, Trade Republic, Bolt)
• Ana Grouverman (Spotify/Google)coreOthersProduct leader at Spotify, Google, Hedvig, Carla; runs Product Strategy Lab advising startups on product-market fit
• Christian Hjorth (Snapdocs/Tradeshift)coreOthersSaaS revenue leader at Snapdocs, Tradeshift, Folloze; chairman at Creative Force and Formalize
• Mac Reddin (Dixa)coreOthersCo-founder of Dixa customer engagement platform, advocates for Human+AI innovation
• Mads Fosselius (Dixa)coreOthersCo-founder of Dixa SaaS success story, advocates for Human+AI in customer experience
• Mads Johnsen (Calm/Uber/LinkedIn)coreOthersFormer CPO at Calm, led B2B and Health products at Uber, senior roles at LinkedIn and McKinsey
• Frida Siwe (ABC Labs/Lifesum)coreOthersCFO of ABC Labs, experienced operator from Lifesum, Norrsken Foundation, Klarna
• Hans Henrik Hoffmeyer (Coinify)coreOthersCo-founder and COO of Coinify blockchain payments (acquired), CEO of Accomplish Denmark
• Siddharth Khullar (Northvolt/Apple)coreOthersLed ML at Northvolt, built wearable systems at Apple, Eight Sleep, Quanttus, Microsoft Research
• Palle Broe (Uber/Templafy)coreOthersLed Europe/US expansion at Uber, headed monetization at Templafy, now building AI health company
• Robin Daniels (Matterport/WeWork/LinkedIn)coreOthersBusiness/marketing leader at Matterport, WeWork, LinkedIn, Box, Salesforce, Veritas
• Christian Brink Frederiksen (Leapwork)coreOthersCo-founded Leapwork no-code automation platform (Mercedes-Benz, PayPal, BNP Paribas), chairman/advisor
• Ellen Kugelberg (Einride)coreOthersOperator at Einride autonomous vehicles, expertise in Energy & Climate sector
• Filip LindvallcoreOthersFounder with expertise in Frontier/Deeptech, Techbio, and Energy & Climate
• Anja Leissner (Stockeld Dreamery)coreOthersFood scientist turned entrepreneur, co-founded Stockeld Dreamery plant-based cheese company
• Lasse Surland (YouLend/Football Radar)coreOthersFormer CIO of YouLend (acquired by EQT), co-founded Football Radar algorithms company
• Mikkel Hippe (Tradeshift)coreOthersCo-founder of Tradeshift B2B payments platform, Chief Strategy Officer at Session
• Morten E. WulffcoreOthersFounder with expertise in Gaming sector
• Nicolaj Reffstrup (GANNI)coreOthersFounder of GANNI fashion brand, Founding Partner at Look Up Ventures for consumer/climate companies
• Peter Andersen (TreeFrog Therapeutics)coreOthersChief R&D Officer at TreeFrog Therapeutics, co-founded Vita Therapeutics for cell/gene therapies
• Johan Hedevåg (Revi Health/Una Health)coreOthersLongevity physician, co-founded Revi Health and Una Health digital longevity clinic
• Pernille Brun (Session)coreOthersCEO and co-founder of Session global coaching platform, founded Momentu consultancy
• StripesminorOthersCommunity partner supporting byFounders Summit events
• ZendeskminorOthersCommunity partner supporting byFounders Summit events
• AWSminorOthersCommunity partner supporting byFounders Summit events
• Danske GrowthminorOthersCommunity partner supporting byFounders Summit events
• HSBC Innovation BankingminorOthersCommunity partner supporting byFounders Summit events
• Mazanti-AndersenminorOthersCommunity partner supporting byFounders Summit events
• DeloitteminorOthersCommunity partner supporting byFounders Summit events

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Creandum: Nordic-focused early-stage VC investing from seed to Series A across the Nordics and Baltics. Most direct peer to byFounders with similar stage focus, ticket sizes and regional mandate.
• Northzone: Nordic-originated VC investing across Europe from seed to growth. Targets comparable founder profiles and verticals (tech, health, climate) in overlapping geographies to byFounders.
• LocalGlobe: UK-based pre-seed and seed VC that pioneered a community/mafia-style operator network similar to byFounders' Collective. Closest functional analog for the community-powered early-stage model.
• Speedinvest: European early-stage VC backing seed and Series A founders across fintech, deep tech, industrial tech, and consumer. Comparable size, stage, and sector breadth across the European founder pool.
• Seedcamp: London-based seed-stage fund investing Europe-wide from day one. A long-standing reference point for European seed VCs at similar check sizes and stage as byFounders.
• Antler: Global day-zero/resident VC with significant Nordic and Baltic presence. Frequently co-invests in byFounders-led rounds (Tangled, Cloudgeni) and competes for the same earliest-stage deals.

Regional players

• Heartcore Capital: Copenhagen-based early-stage VC operating across European consumer, health, and tech-enabled brands. Same Danish/Nordic base, overlapping founder community, though more brand/consumer-tilted than byFounders.

Broad incumbents

• Atomico: Pan-European VC founded by Skype's Niklas Zennström, focusing on later stages but increasingly seed through Series A. Notable overlap since Zennström is also a byFounders Collective member.
• Balderton Capital: London-based European tech VC investing from seed to growth. Overlaps with byFounders at the seed/Series A end of its funnel across European tech.
• Index Ventures: Leading European and US tech VC spanning seed to growth. While byFounders is earlier-stage and regionally focused, Index increasingly competes for the same elite Nordic founders at Series A.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCZLAwfwCjSHFb4OA6OzYI8g
• LinkedIndk.linkedin.com/company/byfounders
• Instagraminstagram.com/byfounders
• Xx.com/ByFounders

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments118 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about byFounders