Zennström’s KTH million for the environment

Niklas Zennström is a competitive individual. Being best and winning is not the same thing he thinks, and of the two alternatives, winning is what he strives for.

“It is fantastic to receive KTH’s Major Prize. I regard it as a prestigious prize and it is a great honour for me to receive it. I have received prizes before and I can say that it is more fun to receive an academic prize compared to a prize which comes from the business sector. In addition it is fun to be awarded a prize by KTH, I have my academic degree from Uppsala University, says Niklas Zennström.

As he has previously donated money to Uppsala University and their climate research, it is natural to ask what he will do with the prize money from KTH.

“When I received KTH’s Major Prize, I felt that I had to give something back. So I decided that all the money would go to organisations that care about the environment. That is why I am giving SEK 800,000 to the National Trust and their environmental efforts around the Baltic Sea, and SEK 200,000 to Coalition Clean Baltic, a network of citizen-oriented organisations around the Baltic Sea,” says Niklas Zennström.

At the same time, he takes the opportunity to provide some tips to KTH’s future entrepreneurs. First of all it is important that technical solutions affect mankind positively and make their day-to-day life easier. It is not sufficient either to just find a good solution, it must be competitive.

“Besides, you must believe in yourself and be extremely focused. Be prepared for many setbacks, and for changes that occur along the way,” says Niklas Zennström.

Another success factor is timing. Niklas Zennström mentions Google’s search engine as an example of great timing, just like the proprietary program Skype. But there are also products that do not succeed in their timing, such as Kazaa.

“Kazza was five years too early,” says Niklas Zennström.

Besides, you must believe in yourself and be extremely focused. Be prepared for many setbacks, and for changes that occur along the way.

Well, Kazaa was not entirely successful. It was Spotify instead that the major record companies associated themselves with. But Niklas Zennström doesn’t seem too perturbed. As an entrepreneur, it is the journey rather than the goal that is the objective, in his opinion. In his own words, he likes to go his own way rather than going with the flow, and he is keen to create lasting changes in the industry he operates in. He also has a clear and precise image as to what the technical services and technical products of the future will look like.

“The winners, are those products and services that are simple to use, that provide you with an “aha” experience and which satisfy a need for the user,” says Niklas Zennström.

He adds, that a technical solution for video conferencing will only be fully accomplished when the experience it provides is that of being the equivalent of reality.

“By that, what I mean is, that there is still a lot to do and to develop.

At the moment, Niklas Zennström is working with his risk capital company Atomico, which he shares with his colleague Janus Friis. They have, among other things, invested money in the company Jolicloud, which manufactures operative systems for mini computers, so-called netbooks.

He makes several, tough demands on the companies Atomico invests in. First of all, the solutions that companies provide should benefit from the changes that occur in society. For example, the way that Skype took advantage of the broadband connections in Sweden having reached a critical point. But it could also be due to other trends, technological changes or deregulations. Niklas Zennström mentions the abolition of the monopoly which Apoteket has had as one example, adding at the same time that the market is of no interest to him.

It is also important that the individuals behind the company and the product or the service are of the right mettle.

“They have to be proactive. They must have a commercial way of thinking and must also be solutions-oriented. They must be visionaries who can attract users, investors, staff and partners. They must be strategists,” says Niklas Zennström.

He predicts that technologies for increasing energy efficiencies will be the big winner in the future. The market is big and extends from energy production to the end consumer.

“There is a lot of money to earn,” says Niklas Zennström.

He does not operate in that industry today, despite his emotional and idealistic commitment to environmental issues. When asked whether he would consider investing in the energy industry, he answers positively.

“It is quite conceivable.”

Peter Larsson