(This text is a translation of a Rapidus article) An early investment in the audiobook giant Storytel paid off handsomely and enabled several investments in companies in Skåne. However, business angel Filip Larsson remains somewhat of a hidden figure in the region.
Recently, Filip Larsson was named Business Angel of the Year 2023 by the investor network Connect Sverige. He has several years of experience as a business angel and investor under his belt.
His entrepreneurial journey began in middle school when he built websites, including DLL-files.com, which still exists today. He also launched a, at the time, popular prank call website.
With the income from the websites, Filip Larsson laid the foundation for his Malmö-based business. Today, in addition to running the investment company Tilf, he also operates the real estate company Laris Fastigheter, which deals in residential properties, industrial, warehousing, logistics, offices, and storage.
The investment Filip Larsson is most satisfied with is in the audiobook company Storytel.
“I got in early with Storytel, which today has a turnover of 4 billion kronor. I have holdings in the company; I don’t want to disclose how much publicly, but it has financed many new investments,” Filip Larsson told Rapidus.
He has injected funds early on into several other companies in Skåne. Among them are the cybersecurity company Debricked, the forest measurement company Katam, and the wellness company Twiik. All of these have been covered in Rapidus on several occasions.
Is there a secret formula when you choose investments?
“There is no secret sauce, no secret recipe. I often compare an investment to being in love. The product is obviously important, but it’s the entrepreneur and the team that I ultimately fall for and invest in. You have to be yourself. You can’t come to me and try to be something you’re not, because it’s a very long relationship you’re going to enter into,” says Filip Larsson.
How much he invests varies from company to company. Many business angels calculate from the start what return they will get and in what timeframe. But Filip Larsson doesn’t think that way.
“I usually say that if the company has a billion-dollar market ahead of it, or if it can become big enough, the return will come. Exactly how many percent it is calculated back per year is not the most important thing.”
So, what is the next big industry to invest in?
“That’s a very broad question and one I get often. Over time, it has become more important to me to invest in things that lead to a better society,” says Filip Larsson.
Read the original article at Rapidus.
Storytel is a former Ideon Science Park Company. A 2022 unicorn.
