Nalden

Yooo, where am I?

Started as a blog, now we here....

Okay, who tf are you?

I'm Nalden. A founder & investor blah blah blah. Learned by doing via my blog when I was a teenager, doing collabs with brands, before taking things next level with (ad)ventures such as WeTransfer, Appletree Records, Present Plus and now Nternet.

Wild! What was WeTransfer, in your words?

The friendliest upload button on the web. We started in 2008, kept it stubbornly simple, and bootstrapped for years before raising €60M. I gave it a decade, then handed over the keys, after 85 million people a month choose us to share files. The part I'm proudest of might be WePresent, our love letter to creativity.

Why leave something that big?

Ten years is a long time to push one button. I missed the scrappy, zero-to-one part, so I went back to the beginning on purpose. Also... I became a parent, and had to learn it's nothing like a parent company. So, I spent more time with the fam in the most formative years.

Didn't you start another startup shortly after WeTransfer?

Yeah. Adelee. Kinda like a rebound. An attempt to empower parents. We raised some money, shipped experiments like Huddle, but in the end we failed to find PMF. The biggest learning was that you shouldn't optimise for a future that does not exist. Startups need to capture value today, not tomorrow. Stay small & nimble. Don't hire too many people. Don't do this, don't do that, yada yada yada. Fail forward!

How's that working out for you?

Fine. Today there's a new Nternet Company. It's like a startup studio where software is our love language. So far we've made Rumicat, Boomerang, Foto Foto, Claro, and Nendo. Having fun is the new MOAT.

Boomerang... another file-sharing tool?

Guilty. Some things you have to do twice to get right. TechCrunch was kind enough to ask me why. It's free, simple, and... oh yeah, we don't exploit your data.

Soooo, do you also invest?

A little. I back people based on vibes, not decks. Adventure only occurs when you don't know the destination, hence I prefer getting involved early. Polarsteps, Formitable, Gymly, Fiberplane, Stellar Development, plus a couple of early-stage VCs like Creandum, Weekend Fund, NP-Hard, TSIC and Common Magic. Generally, I look for folks who un-fuck the world for future generations.

What do you actually believe?

I'm an optimist, however everyone is a product of the environment they're in. So, before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, first make sure that you are not, in fact, just surrounded by assholes.

From influencer avant la lettre to founder, investor and... father. Isn't it all a bit much? Seems you're online most of the time.

Almost certainly. I balance it offline with FC Hyena, had a quick stint on the board of the Stedelijk, passively preserving Wild Animals, and a real affection for MtB, roadtrips and travel that, occasionally, keeps me away from the keyboard.

Aight! Bit random, but what are you listening to these days?

Recently I've re-discovered this mix Lazersword made a while back. Next to that, it's a bit of 90s hiphop, Warp Records, and anything from my shuffle playlist.

Cool. Can I slide into DMs?

I prefer email. The inbox is always open. But if you insist... I'm also on Instagram, X, and LinkedIn. Actually, maybe subscribe to my newsletter first.