Lund is hard to pin down in that he contradicts himself often. He wants to see more of an entrepreneurial culture in his home country, and gladly reports that he has noticed “a whole new kind of optimism” in Denmark in recent times. “Before he came to see me Niklas [Zennstrom] was turned down by 40 venture capitalists (VCs),” he says. “But I thought he was the best person to execute it. When I look back on Skype, I feel like the luckiest guy in the world.” As he explains, “I was very happy to see a couple of stories in the press stating that the Janteloven, an idea Danes have that you are not allowed to think you are something special, is dead.”

At the same time, though, Lund is very proud and protective of the Danish social model where people get the same chance, with free schools, universities, roads and hospitals for all. He believes in business with a conscience, or as his business card puts it, “No weapons, no porn, no assholes.”

Although he counts Danish company Aresa, a landmine detection firm, among his investments, the language of “treehugging” can be a bit too much to bear for Lund. “I don’t think I’m Bono,” he smiles. “I don’t feel quite ready, just yet, to embark on a really big philanthropic project.”

“It’s true that financial independence is obviously a big deal, because you’re no longer held back by the usual day-to-day hassles. You can work on your favourite ideas. Get some coders together, pay them well, experiment and have some fun. My attitude is that I’m not a VC. I’m a naïve entrepreneur. I just like to do things my way.”

MORTEN LUND
Job: Angel investor with LundXy and a close partner with top-tier venture funds, including DFJ, Accel, Nordic and Hasso Platner Ventures.
Family: Married with four children.
Worth: €40m
Mentor: His father, Niels, an electrician who founded components distributor Conelec AS – sold for €10m to UK firm Deltron in 1997
Charitable work: Wild – Worldwide Involvement in Life Development. Aresa, which detects landmines via genome modified plants. Other projects include solar chargers for mobile phones, water purification and tackling hunger and obesity.
Indulgences: Dining.
Most likely to wear: A T-Shirt with the Linus Torvalds quote: “Software is like sex. It’s better when it’s free.