At 33, Morten Lund of Denmark loves a T-shirt that says: 'Software is like sex. It's better when it's free.'
He is also an icon in the global investor community, having set up nearly 50 companies including Skype, which lets people use their computers to make telephone calls to other Skype users worldwide for free. As Lund, having recently sold Skype to eBay, plots his future, the India story has caught his attention.
Business Standard caught up with Lund, the cofounder of Skype and CEO of Bullgaurd, a P2P antivirus software company, in New Delhi, and are still trying to figure out some of his answers. Excerpts:
Is this your first visit to India?
No, it's my third. I love Delhi, even though I don't wear a watch.
Why not?
I don't like being dictated by a metal piece.
In your blog, you talk of your "psyko aggressive" investment style. What is that?
Everything I communicate has a note of irony. I don't see myself as an investor, but just a super lucky guy. There is this serious weekly paper in the US (tries to recall the name and fails) which was doing a story on the new generation of kids. They asked me what I was doing and I said I was a psycho-aggressive investor.
You must mean something by it. . .
The week before Skype was sold, I was out of money. I had over invested. I do it out of passion . . . addiction. I don't care about my own money, I just care about companies.
After Skype, what?
I love this whole Google thing, just like everyone else. Google is going to change the whole media market. I was once a part of the advertising industry. It is stupid. When you turn 35, you vanish. They compete for an award that means nothing to the product.
I have invested in Kontera in Israel. (Kontera has introduced the AdLink advertising concept of creating sponsored links from in-text keywords). I am very much in love with that stuff. I have also bought a hotel in Bali. I am interested in mobile applications.
Then there is a gene modified plant. If you spread its seeds, you can find land mines. I understand nothing about how it works but had to go into it.
What is your view of the war between Google and Microsoft?
I don't feel smart enough to comment. But did you have a good experience with (Microsoft) Outlook in the past two years? On Google, I can search anything I want and that is beautiful. Microsoft went online because they had to. They didn't want to.
How does the India story look to you?
India is moving in the right direction. India has got it all. It has huge organisations with hugely sophisticated people and the richest middle class. Look at the shopping malls. They were not there when I came here three years ago.
It's a no brainer. Indian companies will be buying US, UK or German companies. We have to just go with them.
You have become a part of IndusView Advisors (a corporate finance and advisory firm to focus on cross-border transactions). . .
I only believe in people. It's only because of the people with IndusView. Some very smart words came out of their mouths. I never invested in anything but people.
What will be the big technologies in the next five years?
I think business cycles are getting shorter. Within the next 18 months, mobile phone as your data connectivity point. . . (pauses) but that is already here. New applications and services are possible there. There can also be a couple of networks within a network. There are things happening that I am not smart enough to understand. Someone will make this smart peer-to-peer thing.
Is the personal computer dying?
I don't want to be killing any stuff. Nokia 9300 is a killer product. But I don't think PCs are out at all. It is going to be Wimax or Wifi. With the licence, we could cover Delhi for $2 million. It'll change everything. I have it in my apartment. It's like a box and the transmitter is 6.5 km away from me.
I don't use my PC if it is not online. I have the same attitude as my 16-year-old daughter.
But you are only 33. . .
She is my wife's daughter and I have adopted her. By the way (winks) my wife is also only 33.
Today, how do you look back at Skype?
All the guys managed to f*** up. Niklas (who first thought of Skype) was turned down by 40 VCs in Europe. I thought he was the best guy to execute it. When I look back at Skype, I feel like the luckiest guy in the world.
Lucky! Is that all?
The best soccer players are also lucky, but they practise a lot. I also practise a lot. I have been doing it for 14 years. I set up my first company at 19.
Had you completed your education?
No, my education is not complete. But I don't promote that. You need extreme self-confidence to do this. There is no boss, no structure and no salary rise. But I'm not complaining, just saying it because it's a fact.
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