Joakim Achren

Today, no successful companies are emerging in Finland's games industry. As a local investor in Helsinki, Finland, there aren't many new startups I can confidently invest in or see the potential for growth. From my perspective, Finland has lost momentum.Things were different in the 2010s. Ten years ago, Supercell had just been acquired by SoftBank. Rovio was a significant developer with Angry Birds, and we had companies like Small Giant Games with Empires and Puzzles. The mobile studio Seriously emerged with its Best Fiends franchise, followed by Reworks with Redecor. These companies reached several hundred million exits. Now, there aren't any contenders for that milestone.Why has this situation occurred? It's not unique to Finland; it could happen anywhere with specific intentions made before, during, and after a certain period. I believe three factors are essential: the market, leadership, and bootstrapping.Firstly, […]

Right now, a huge opportunity is emerging for mobile browser apps. Let me explain why. But first, let's take a step back and look at the broader landscape of mobile applications being downloaded from app stores. Many have recently speculated about the potential decline of dominant app stores run by Apple and Google. In early 2024, Epic Games launched its web store in Europe, and it's believed that other major players, including Microsoft, will follow suit with their app stores. Consider this: giants like Epic and Microsoft possess a wealth of intellectual property in their back catalog, which they would eagerly distribute to mobile users through their channels. Think about titles like Minecraft, Candy Crush, and Call of Duty. Suddenly, they wouldn't need to share revenue with device manufacturers. Now, let's delve deeper into how these app store apps perform […]

What advice would I give to an aspiring investor after 5 years of investing? - Create online content to become known- Grow a network of founders, investors, operators- Invest your own money first, then start leveraging other people's money- Continuously grow deal flow to access new startups- Learn to utilize online tools to make better decisions- Be helpful to founders beyond the cash

As an investor, I admire founders who haven't built much yet but have significantly de-risked their venture by engaging with potential customers. They've identified pain points and developed a thesis on what needs to exist to solve these problems. They prioritize understanding the problem through customer conversations over immediate technological development. When developers dive into building too quickly, relying solely on hunches, they gamble with uncertain odds—sometimes as low as 5% or as high as 90%, but there's no way to know until it's built and measured.

Each year, I speak with hundreds of founders for the first time. New entrepreneurs tend to be cautious, guarded, and hesitant to open up. In contrast, those who've launched a startup before just shrug off many uncertainties about what can and cannot be talked about with an investor. It's natural human psychology. When stepping into unknown territory, like the realm of VC funding, first-time founders often lack the vocabulary and confidence to speak up. However, through meetings with investors and vicariously watching YouTube videos where founders pitch, they learn that investors aim to partner with founders on their journey. This relationship is akin to finding a co-founder; while the discussions differ, the overarching dreams of making a startup big remain the same.Communication should come from a place where you not only aim to impress the investor but also evaluate them. […]

After investing in a startup, here's how I help founders: - Do business development work (find clients, help close deals)- Share feedback (product, strategy, plans, big decisions, etc.)- Encourage the founder to respond proactively to challenges (stalemate, short runway)- React to investor updates, requests, emails, etc.- Proactively share market intel- Help with raising the next round (plan the raise, help with pitch deck, share my VC Rolodex)- Find people who are better positioned to assist with any of the above than I am- Finally, host a founder hotline, picking up the phone when it rings

Before diving into this week’s piece, I wanted to ask if you know anyone considering starting a startup. If so, please encourage them to contact me on LinkedIn or submit a pitch through our website. We’re eager to connect with gaming and consumer startup founders. 🫶 Here’s this week’s piece. I recently saw a LinkedIn post from Miska Katkoff, in which he shared an insightful timeline chart by Eric Kress. The chart, copied and pasted below, details the mobile games industry's YOY growth in the past ten years, highlighting revenue trends and the significant impact of Apple’s IDFA changes. This, combined with a conversation I had with a US entrepreneur about VC investments in mobile gaming, inspired me to share my perspective on why mobile gaming has become a challenging space for investors. Let's discuss why mobile gaming studios have […]

There are several questions that I ask from founders before investing. Many of these are related to human psychology: - Have you had any entrepreneurial experiences in life, and what did you learn from them?- What have you learned from failure in your life?- Why are you doing this startup and not something else?These questions help to understand the founder's ambition, motivation, and preparation for the long, hard road ahead.

What's one early investment I passed on that I regret, and what did it teach me? In 2021, a US-based startup was developing avatar tech with a somewhat experienced team. I passed on investing because I felt there was no real business in B2B avatar services.Twelve months later, the company was acquired by a tech giant with an 8X multiple of the valuation that I could have invested in.What did I learn?- I quickly dismissed the opportunity for their product in the market. It's too small, I thought. With further analysis, I could have understood the underlying potential and the appetite of tech giants to do M&A in the space.- I should have consulted other angel investors and VCs who were investing in the round. Back then, I felt like I needed to develop a conviction to invest on my […]

The best way to balance short- and long-term rewards as an investor is to first be a founder. For me, the craving for short-term returns was extinguished as I struggled to get my first startup off the ground. After starting in 2005, it took until 2010 for us to finally become profitable. Then, a year later, our numbers started sloping down, and we tried everything to recover, ultimately shutting down in August 2011.With my next startup, which launched in 2013, it took three years to reach profitability, which was sustainable until an exit some years later.As an investor, I only view startups through the long-term lens.