"Skype and Spotify are good role models" — Interview with Ted Persson

Ted Persson mentors startups across Europe and regularly spends time in Switzerland. Upon joining EQT's venture team, he also looked back on a successful career as a serial founder. He talked to us about the Swedish innovation ecosystem and how it compares to Switzerland's.

As a ratio of GDP, five times more venture capital is invested in Sweden than in Switzerland. Why is that, Mr. Persson?
A good question, since the countries are quite similar: they have roughly the same number of inhabitants, a good education system, and a long industrial tradition. However, I see one difference: in Sweden, the second language is English. For our founders, the English-speaking world is their home market.

Sweden produced a global company early on: Skype. Were there others?
Spray, a digital marketing agency, and Mojang, the parent company of the online game Minecraft, which was sold to Microsoft for USD 2.5 billion in 2014. The next generation includes Spotify and King, with the computer game Candy Crush. And now other companies are following, such as battery developer Northvolt with 1,800 employees currently, and payment provider Klarna with almost 5,000 employees.

You talk about generations. Why is that?
Because there is a high degree of continuity in terms of personnel. Many founders and their employees were also involved in the following waves.

In Switzerland, this phenomenon of generational succession is less common...
...perhaps because of the decentralized structure. In Stockholm, the 'Tech Fest' takes place every year, where up to 20,000 people participate and network. Switzerland is more small-scale, but that can also have its advantages. Take a city like St. Gallen: it has produced spectacular scale-ups such as Sport Radar and Frontify. This demonstrates that the Swiss approach works.


This interview was originally published in the TOP 100 Swiss Startup Magazine 2022.