Servisen

A Stockholm-based venture capital firm where investment manager Lars Hallenium discovered Twingly at a tech conference in London. What began as a chance encounter at Future Web Apps turned into an early investment that helped establish Twingly's funding trajectory in the mid-2000s.

Discovery through serendipity

Martin initially couldn't afford to pay two thesis students for building the Twingly Screensaver, so he sent them to the Future Web Apps conference in London instead with instructions to promote the project however they could. The 19-year-olds, nervous but determined, showed the screensaver to other young attendees—who turned out to know the conference organizers and insisted, "this is the coolest thing ever!" The pair was immediately offered five unscheduled minutes on stage. ▶ 23:45

The demo drew loud applause from an audience tired of big-company pitches. Sitting in that room was Lars Hallenium, an investment manager at Servisen, who took note of the small Swedish startup. Months later, he reached out to invest. ▶ 24:35

Martin later reflected on the role of chance in entrepreneurship: the luck that leads to great breakthroughs is always partly random, but it only finds you if you've put yourself and your product in enough rooms for it to happen. ▶ 25:28

Investment in Twingly

Servisen invested 10 million kronor in Twingly in the summer of 2007. ▶ Podcast Upplysning 2008