First Followers

First Followers' vision is to mobilize capital at scale to build a kinder worldI am a First Follower at heart. I am an investor, writer, learner, solitude-seeker, and a family man.My purpose in life is to mobilize capital for impact. I do that by being a first follower of kind-hearted founders, fund managers, venture studio managers, and family-business owners.

Futurist Bio
Impact Design
Threads 糸

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Threads 糸

Threads 糸 backing the next generation of Berkshire-like holding companies.Threads 糸 is an answer to uncovering hidden gems that quietly follow Buffett’s capital allocation strategy—often in overlooked markets, like Japan, the Nordics, and Canada— low-profile but high-performing allocators.

Threads 糸 is building a compounding engine that generates returns & impact for the next 100 years.Threads 糸 will exist as an evergreen holding company, passed on to generations.Threads 糸 ties together diverse investments into a cohesive whole. Threads 糸 are strong yet flexible—ideal for a long-term, adaptive capital allocator.Threads 糸 derive inspiration from Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, Eiichi Shibusawa, Dr. Seiroku Honda, Mark Leonard, Henry Singleton.Over the years I wrote several pieces around this topic which are as follows:

🔗 Serial Acquirer
🏗️Building Free Cash Flow
🎯 Capital Allocation
🛡️ Trust as an Infrastructure
🧩 Micro Acquisition Funds
🏯 Shinise - Century Old Japanese Businesses
🏘️ The case for investing in local SMEs
📈 Compound Impact - Building Long-Term Mindset
⚖️Gapponism - Ethical Capitalism
🧮 Case against (over) diversification
🕵️♂️Hidden Champions
🐢🌱 No Unicorns Please

Futurist Bio
Impact Design
First Followers

Futurist Bio

Futurist Bio invests in bioeconomy solutions in the Nordics and Japan.Futurist Bio is an answer to finding Nordic ventures that are accelerating the transition to a bioeconomy that decouples our dependence on abusing nature, e.g., biomaterials, bionutrients, synthetic biology, bioenergy, etc.

Impact Design
First Followers
Threads 糸

About

I am Partner at Beyond Impact, an Article 9 climate fund accelerating the transition to a kinder, cleaner, healthier world by investing in carbon-negative, nature-positive, and animal-free solutions. A conscious capitalist and a First-Follower, I also architect Threads, a Berkshire-inspired holding company compounding capital through serial acquirers in overlooked markets like Japan, the Nordics, and Canada, while running Nordic Value, a primary-research service that surfaces unlisted, founder-led “Hidden Champions” across the Nordics & Baltics.In 2022, I acquired the IDEX fellowship and am now relaunching it as Impact Design (+) EXperiences, evolving it into a multi-dimensional platform for impact design, capital activation, and experiential learning.I channel my insights into a First Followers Substack read by over 5,000 subscribers, where I dissect capital-allocation strategies, the rise of solo capitalists, venture capital, impact investing, serial acquirers, innovative finance, and venture studios.

Life After 90DFinn

What is my main focus these days?I currently serve as Partner at Beyond Impact, an Article 9 climate fund, accelerating the transition to a kinder, cleaner, healthier world by investing in carbon-negative, nature-positive, and animal-free solutions.I am actively onboarding family offices, strategic investors, advisors, and sector experts from Finland and other Nordic countries to help launch the new fund, which focuses on the Nordics and Benelux, a regional European strategy that invests in nature-positive companies worldwide. We anticipate launching the fund next year.I channel my insights into a First Followers Substack read by over 5,000 subscribers, where I dissect capital-allocation strategies, the rise of solo capitalists, venture capital, impact investing, serial acquirers, innovative finance, and venture studios.What have you done since the 90 Day Finns program — especially with Finnish businesses or stakeholders?Investment: I have led the investment in a Finnish startup, a university spin-out, where I played an active role in shaping the pre-Series A round, and I will be serving as a board member.Talent: I have helped onboard two Finnish advisors for our new fund, reputable professionals in the investment space with a strong track record.Ecosystem: I have been actively advising and mentoring Viikki Food Design Factory and also spoke at several events in Finland / Nordics. I am actively talking to a few foundations as well as people at Aalto to set up an innovative finance practice for impact investing. I am also providing strategic advisory (pro-bono) support to Vantaa Future Hub by G-Gravity, Atlan Climate Venture Studio (Finland), and more.Reading, Writing & Research: I am pursuing my deep philosophical interest in understanding Nordics from the culture, economy, and business point of view. Some pieces I have written around this are >> a) Nordic Builder, b) The Nordic Edge, c) Trust as an Infrastructure, and d) The Sacred Art of Silence.Friendships: I have built several deep friendships in Finland and Sweden. I find the feeling of Kotona here.What other things am I cooking in Nordics and seeking collaboration for? [Not for publishing online - stealth mode]I am architecting Threads, a Berkshire-inspired holding company compounding capital through serial acquirers in overlooked markets like Japan, the Nordics, and Canada. This is a solo project with AI.I am building Nordic Value, a primary-research service that surfaces unlisted, founder-led “Hidden Champions” and serial acquirers across the Nordics & Baltics. I have found a Finnish co-founder for this.In 2022, I acquired the IDEX fellowship and am now relaunching it as Impact Design (+) EXperiences, evolving it into a multi-dimensional platform for impact design, capital activation, and experiential learning. It will be relaunched from the ground up in Nordics with a Finnish co-founder & CEO I have identified.

Impact Design (+) EXperiences (IDEX)

IDEX catalyses systemic impact through innovative finance, fellowships, and networks.

IDEX is evolving from a fellowship to a multi-dimensional platform for impact design, capital activation, and experiential learning. It supports mission-aligned leaders, families, and institutions to design, launch, and scale catalytic capital vehicles and networks that accelerate systemic solutions.What IDEX Offers:

Fellowships & Labs – Experiential leadership programs to shape the next generation of impact architects.
Workshops & Studios – Co-design spaces for innovative capital solutions like impact bonds, blue bonds, and other blended finance instruments.
Advisory & Fund Design-as-a-Service – End-to-end advisory for impact venture studios, impact funds, and market acceleration facilities.
Network Orchestration – Building communities of family offices, mission-aligned investors, and philanthropic capital.
Capital Activation Tools – Strategic pathways to move capital from intent to action across geographies and sectors.

Futurist Bio
First Followers
Threads 糸

The Nordic Edge

Here is my compilation of resources and understanding of The Nordic Edge.The Nordic Edge I see five distinct edges:🧠 Underpriced Innovation Powerhousea) Nordic countries have among the highest economic complexity indices globally—on par with the US and UK—but are under-capitalized relative to their innovation capacity.b) Finland has the highest PhDs per capita in the region, and Sweden, Denmark, and Finland are strong biopharma and industrial biotech powerhouses. The world's largest biotech company is Novo Nordisk from Denmark.💡 Strong Science + Weak Capital = Opportunitya) I’m a contrarian investor. I go where there’s information asymmetry. And here’s the truth: very few international VCs are active in the Nordics at Series A in this space. That gives me pricing power and the ability to shape rounds, cap tables, and governance from the ground up. I have strong networks in Japan and South Korea, and this fund will also bridge science from East Asia to the Nordics — for R&D partnerships, biomanufacturing, tech transfer, and commercialization.b) Most funds are local, and few can underwrite technical risk or shape global GTM strategies. I can!⚡ Cost-Advantaged Bio-Manufacturinga) Finland’s nuclear-powered grid and clean energy access make it one of the cheapest, greenest places to build bioprocessing capacity.b) Existing and planned infrastructure for fermentation, scale-up, and life sciences R&D is growing rapidly.🕸️ Nordic Legacy with DecentralizationThe 1970s marked the rise of a decentralized governance model across the Nordics, shaped by pioneering leaders such as Jan Wallander of Handelsbanken and Hans Werthén of Electrolux. This approach, grounded in autonomy, trust, and local accountability, quickly became a hallmark of Nordic corporate culture. Companies like Atlas Copco, Bergman & Beving, and Electrolux served as early models, influencing the founding of ventures such as Indutrade in 1978, which adopted decentralization as a core principle from the outset. Under the leadership of Tom Wachtmeister, Atlas Copco institutionalized this model by the mid-1970s:`“Decentralization has meant that several service functions have been moved closer to the actual users, cost accountability has been linked directly to needs, and the central corporate management has been relieved of several routine matters in order to allow more time for strategic management questions.”`This management philosophy—seen consistently in the histories of Handelsbanken, Atlas Copco, and others—reflects a deeper ethos found across the Nordics: a belief in people, responsibility, and decision-making rooted close to the ground. It’s no coincidence that a long-term view, a balance between growth and sustainability, and deep respect for both human and natural systems often characterize the Nordic model of capitalism. We believe that the decentralized approach adopted by the companies we invest in offers a lasting competitive advantage in a world defined by complexity and change.🏛️🤝 Trust as an InfrastructureAccording to the European Social Survey Round 8 Data, Nordic countries—such as Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland—consistently rank among the highest in trust levels globally. This cultural trait translates into tangible business outcomes: companies in these nations report significantly lower fraud rates and fewer governance scandals compared to global averages. Their strong performance in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) metrics further suggests that high-trust societies foster businesses that naturally prioritize sustainability and accountability, often without explicit ESG mandates. The Nordic model demonstrates how trust can serve as a cornerstone for both economic integrity and long-term corporate success.

Books[1] The Nordic Secret
[2] Sweden: The Middle Way
[3] Management in Scandinavia
[4] The Nordic Theory of Everything
[5] Creating nordic capitalism – the business history of a competitive periphery
[6] Viking Economics: How the Scandinavians Got It Right—and How We Can, Too
[7] Scandinavian Unexceptionalism: Culture, Markets and the Failure of Third-Way Socialism
[8] The Nordic Varieties of Capitalism
[9] Swedish Legacy of Decentralization
[10] Trillion Dollar Baby: How Tiny Norway Beat the Oil Giants
[11] Debunking Utopia: Exposing the Myth of Nordic Socialism