Framtid

Being able to think and plan for the long term has been one of the most important lessons that I have learnt during the past decade. Short term goals and priorities can change, but having a clear North Star and vision is crucial to achieve something great.

I have also realized that to excel and grow as a person you need to be surrounded by people that are much smarter than yourself, and have great coaches and mentors to give you guidance and push your boundaries.

Through Truecaller, I have met so many amazing and clever people from all over the world. However, there are two people that really stand out, Nick Dahl and Zakaria Hersi who I consider my closest friends. The things we have gone through together; the highs; the lows; and even grief have created a very special bond between us that I believe have made me a much better person. There’s a famous saying that ‘great leaders eat last’, but among friends we all eat together.

Over the years, all of us have been a lending hand to a variety of people in the tech ecosystem in Europe, parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia; and in recent years we have invested in startups individually and together. I would say that this is one of our biggest passions in life, entrepreneurship and to support each other.

When I decided to leave Truecaller I knew that I did not want to jump into something full time right away. Being in a company for close to a decade, especially a fast growing one that changes its shape every year does take a toll on you, both mentally and physically.

During the years we have known each other, we have been half joking that one day we would start a company together. However, in recent weeks we have discussed this a lot, and decided we should explore doing it more seriously and in a structured way that fits our lives. To begin with, and considering that both Zak and Nick have full time commitments to their current employers, we have founded Framtid, a collective that will look at ambitious companies that are on the verge of scaling their business, and invest in them, together or individually. Once we invest in a company we want to support them for as long as they need us.

With Framtid, we intend to bring in friends with similar mindsets and who are domain experts in certain areas that we believe will add value to others. Therefore, I’m really proud to have Dara Gill join this collective as a legal advisor. I have enormous respect for Dara as we have worked closely together for the past 3.5 years at Truecaller. His humility and ability to find solutions to complex issues whilst staying calm and focused at demanding times has really impressed me.

To start, here are our guiding principles:

1. We want to provide value from day one.
2. We want to help entrepreneurs solve complex problems like: scaling companies; turning communication challenges into opportunities that define their reputation; and addressing legal hurdles to allow them to move much faster and focus on their core business.
3. As much as we want to help every entrepreneur, we understand that spreading ourselves too thinly will be the downfall of us. Therefore, we will focus on a few companies to begin with to ensure we give them the attention and resource they deserve to take them to the next level.
4. And finally, connecting emerging tech entrepreneurs, dropouts and misfit geniuses with investors, companies and media to accelerate growth opportunities

What we are not:

• We are not VC’s. We invest with our private capital and we are not looking to raise a fund. We know raising a fund is difficult and time consuming, therefore we want to focus our energy and time where it actually matters — helping entrepreneurs build enduring companies.
• We aren’t big tickets investors. The biggest value we add is not monetary.

What companies are we interested in?

• Entrepreneurs that have a strong founder market fit.
• Products and services that have a market fit. We are especially interested in products/services that have the potential to reach millions of people.
• Ambitious companies that are on the verge of scaling their business.
• Ground breaking technology or product that challenges and reinvents current industries and players.
• European startups, and startups in emerging markets like India and Sub-Saharan Africa where we have extensive experience and knowledge, and a great network.

Visit our website framtid.tech or email us at hello@framtid.tech

Special thanks to Martin Flodin & David Prentell for helping with design and setting up the website ❤️