FAQ

Yooo, where am I?

Started with 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 ventures such as Appletree Records, Present Plus and WeTransfer.

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. This was a bit like a rebound. Too soon you know. 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. 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.

Hold up. It says CPO at Prosus on the homepage. How did that happen?

Plot twist: Prosus acquired Boomerang. And in the deal, they got me as Chief Product Officer. They bought the vision, and got the guy who keeps pushing it.

Okay... but why would a founder join a corporate?

At first, Prosus isn't a corporate corporate. It's a weird giant of a company with many faces. Sure, they invested in this little Chinese startup called TENCENT back in the day. Now, it's one of the few European companies that can actually shape the course of where we're going. And Fabricio, the CEO, is contagiously ambitious. So to join him in this journey to wake this sleeping giant is very tempting. I've done the zero to one stuff a few times. This is something bigger. It's counter culture at scale. It's raising GDP of countries when done right. It's also an environment I can learn A LOT. And I like learn by doing.

And what does a Chief Product Officer actually do there?

Consider Prosus like Xerox back in the day. Lots of technology, but features and technology don't make a product. That's where I come in: productise ideas and technology into something people want. Corporate going founder mode. And yes, I'm still responsible for Boomerang in my new role. It's only gonna get better from here. And no, the Nternet studio isn't going anywhere. That team is high agency, moving forward with little direction. The hardest part of the new gig so far? The amount of meetings. Send help.

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.