Welcome, Gustav Lindqvist!

Gustav becomes our data expert to ensure all the funds’ portfolio companies optimize and benefit from their valuable data.

When we started Creandum in 2003, we wanted to build a best-in-class platform for our founders — in critical areas to scale such as talent, go-to market, product and other functions. All with the goal to help our portfolio grow and to become global leaders in their respective categories.

With this, we are excited to announce a new addition to our platform team — Gustav Lindqvist. I’ve been fortunate to call Gustav a friend for many years, but I can now also refer to him as Creandum’s Data Scientist in Residence. He brings a wealth of experience, having built and run data analytics teams at our very own Spotify as well as Medium. Most recently he has run his own data science advisory firm DS01, where he’s worked amongst others with Creandum portfolio company Meditopia.

Gustav will support our portfolio companies to be smart with their data, as well as help analyze new investment opportunities and continue to establish our presence in the US. Gustav joins the growing number of platform experts including Lars Nordwall (G2M), Peter Ramsay (Product) and Felix Haas (Design).

For you to get to know Gustav better, we asked him a few questions.

What would be your high level tips for being data smart as a start-up?

Make data-driven decisions from day one by setting up a loop so that you can test -> measure -> learn. Mastering this is not a switch you turn on but a muscle you build over time, so start early. Making the best decisions is more about the process than having “enough” data and fancy methods.

How would you say your experiences at Spotify and Medium shaped the way you work today?

That anything is possible! No one had any clue about how to build the things we envisioned at both Spotify and Medium. We just went for it and had to build the plane while learning to fly. While I joined as a rather insecure person, questioning myself if I could do it and making a lot of excuses, I left with an attitude that typically things will work out if you work hard enough, try hard enough, show grit and persistence, and always do your best.

What were your motivations for taking on this position at Creandum?

There are many top-notch firms out there. But what, in my opinion, separates Creandum is the people that work there. Over the years, they have not only funded companies I have worked for or wanted to work for, but they have also provided excellent career advice, moral support, and lots of fun times!

I remember when I met Johan for the first time. I was a student and intrigued by the concept of Venture Capital. For me, VCs help out to fund the future and are an integral part of building all the things we’re going to get in the future. I showed him my CV hoping to maybe get a summer job. He looked at it, turned it over, and said that the only interesting thing about me was studying mathematics. It was the harshest but also the best feedback I ever got; and it motivated me to continue the studies.

What do you like to do outside of work?

As a Swede in California, I love surfing. But in reality, that is more about surviving than actually catching waves.

My real passion is sitting at home and reading books! Please don’t hesitate to ask me for a recommendation anytime. I take pride in giving good ones. The best book I have read this year is the Deluge by Stephen Markley. While on the surface it is a climate thriller it is really a story about never losing hope, the beauty of our complex and messy world, and love. All told through a cool narrative with many many interloping storylines and characters. A must read! One day I will open a bookshop.