Niklas Zennström: From Entrepreneur to Investor

The tech start up world is full of business superstars that have made millions out of a simple idea. One of them is Niklas Zennström, a Swedish entrepreneur. He is best known for co-founding several high-profile companies along with Janus Friis. Some of the most notable companies the duo has co-founded were Joost, Kazaa, and Skype.

Zennström began his career at Tele2, a European telecommunications operator. He worked in the business development arm of the company and was responsible for launching and overseeing get2net, a European ISP. He began starting up his own companies in 2000 when he founded Kazaa, a peer-to-peer file sharing program, which at the height of its popularity, was the target of numerous lawsuits filed by people from the movie and music industries. He then sold the company and continued on to start up more businesses, the most well known of which was Skype. Zennström has earned recognition from many media and business groups including Time Magazine and the European Business Leaders Awards.

In 2006, Zennström changed directions when he founded the technology investment firm Atomico. The company invests in technology companies, much like the companies he and Friis co-founded together in the past. Atomico invests in established companies and start ups from all over the globe. So far, the company has invested in over 50 companies which are scattered throughout four continents. Some of the most notable investments they have made were in Finnish video game development companies Rovio Entertainment and Supercell, music services Last.FM and Rdio, and many more. Also included in the list of companies invested in by Atomico is Skype which is now owned by Microsoft Corporation.

Aside from business, Zennström is also passionate about saving the environment. He co-founded Zennström Philanthropies in 2007 which is involved in the battle against climate change and other environmental issues.