You don’t build a business—you build people and then people build the business. These are the stories of the people who built Wellstreet and our portfolio companies. Meet Viktor Rask-Andersen.
Who are you?
I was born and raised in Gothenburg and hold the city close to my heart! I lived there until about five years ago when I moved to Stockholm. I am originally an engineer and like to understand both the details and to get a broad perspective, that’s how later I understood that the financial industry suited me well.
What's Your Background?
At the end of my high school years, I was unsure which path to take. I took a sabbatical between high school and university where I tried to further understand what I wanted to do. After some thinking I decided to pursue mechanical engineering at Chalmers.
When you study mechanical engineering, the idea is that you will work with production, machinery, and product development, not finance or venture capital.It was a lot of fun to solve problems, study a lot of mathematics, and work on solving many theoretical and concrete problems. But to me, there was one component missing: people.
After that, for my master's degree, I studied industrial engineering with a niche in supply chain. Supply-chain management can be seen as managing three different flow; material, information, and finances. That’s when I developed a more significant interest in finance. With finance you can remain industry agnostic while gathering knowledge and experience in how businesses work. All the knowledge you collect can benefit you in one way or another, as long as you know how to apply it.
When I moved to Stockholm, I started working in corporate finance & investment bankingThat type of work made me notice that, depending on how you pull the levers around the capital flow, things can really change within a company.
What's your expertise and/or what roles have you had in the past in the organisations, or teams you have been in?
That is actually a tough question to answer! I feel like I have developed professionally a lot during the past five years. It’s hard to define a “role” for me. I am a person who likes to understand a situation before I jump into it. I analyse first and then take action. When I was younger, I focused more on the “analysing part” and as with more experience it’s easier quickly take.
At previous employers, I’ve had the roles of analyst and associate.
When were you a Wellstreeter?
I started working at Wellstreet at the beginning of 2020 and worked there for about two years.
How did you end up at/come into contact with Wellstreet?
A friend of mine mentioned Wellstreet as a Company and I reached out directly to Mikael Wintzell through LinkedIn and asked if we could grab a cup of coffee.
To say the least, he was not the easiest person to get a hold of! At first, I did get a reply, but no coffee. After a while, I crossed paths with a fundraising startup and, as I got involved in the company, I reached out to Mikael again to see if this company would interest Wellstreet. I received the reply that it was interesting but not the right time. I continued working in investment banking and reached out to Mikael for the third time about a year and a half after my first contact. The timing was better and Mikael invited me for lunch at The Factory. This eventually resulted in me starting at Wellstreet.
Why was Wellstreet a good fit for you?
It was indeed a fantastic journey. It can be a tough environment with many different things happening at once. I had the opportunity to be involved with setting up Wellstreet’s first fund, Ventures I, both fund raising, governance, investing, due dilligence, and exits. I was involved in most portfolio companies in some way, attending board meetings and much more.
One of the companies I worked closest with was DanAds. It started small but eventually turned into a larger project. After a while, DanAds took up pretty much all my work hours since many exciting things happened in the company. We ended up at a stage where the most logical conclusion was for me to jump into the company operationally, so that happened. It was a tough but logical decision. .
What's unique about Wellstreet?
There's was a lot of freedom under responsibility and a lot of flexibility. This freedom under responsibility was an excellent way to develop new skills while leaning into the team for help and advice. I think that’s something unique about Wellstreet.
What is your current role and where?
VP Finance at DanAds.
Any Life or work events that have affected your career more than you thought at the time?
Moving from Gothenburg to Stockholm is one life event that has positively affected me.I’ve gotten to know so many people since I moved here and I have to say that it sometimes feels a bit weird to be in the same room as all of these experienced individuals. That is something I didn’t think would happen so quickly, I attribute this to the non-conventional roads I’ve taken in my career. I took a big risk going into Venture Capital if I compare my career journey with my peers from Chalmers, who may have followed slightly more traditional paths. Then there was the unexpected jump over to DanAds. Initially I I thought I would end up working at a bank but because of my willingness to explore different opportunities, here is where I’ve ended up.
Any advice for a peer that wants to work in VC?
Put in the hours. Be available. Be efficient with your time. Take initiative.
What does ”pro-active investor with a purpose-built ecosystem” mean to you?
Clear Focus.
What are you passionate about?
The short answer is Finance. I also like to invest, both in the stock exchange and in startups. Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with family and friends.
What do you expect is your next work/life endeavour?
Maybe another unexpected turn, who knows!
