Successor star Alexander Skarsgård dives into planet-saving startup with new podcast
Alexander Skarsgård cuts a conflicted character on screen. He famously portrayed an abusive partner and a psychopathic tech billionaire, all with the power to make the world’s most notorious CEOs tremble.
So it’s no surprise that he’s now been cast as the perfect foil to the conflicted world of investing, where the needs of investors often clash with the needs of the planet. Skarsgård is coming soon How we fix this problema new podcast that aims to highlight some of the world’s most exciting, planet-saving projects and give listeners new access to role models fighting climate change.
‘ONE a feeling of complete, profound emptiness‘
Skarsgård is hosting and narrating the new podcast series developed with impact-oriented venture capital fund Norrsken, which was started in 2019 by Klarna co-founder Niklas Adalberth.
Adalberth founded Klarna with Victor Jacobsson and current CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski in 2005, but eventually realized his dream of financial independence was not what he imagined.
“I went to Las Vegas to celebrate, ordered champagne and chicken, a huge marble room, went crazy shopping but felt nothing. There was a feeling of complete and profound emptiness.”
This forced Adalberth to seek treatment and reassess whether he was making the world a better place with Klarna, a company that was encouraging more consumption and putting more strain on the world’s resources. .
He left the company in 2015, gradually selling his shares and in the process losing his chance to become a billionaire.
Next up is Norrsken, a venture capital fund focused on impact startups or companies solving one or two of the 17 UN problems. Sustainable development goals (SDG). Norrsken Fund manages $50 million in assets, supporting startups tackling everything from the need for sustainable EV batteries to belching, polluting cows.
According to Adalberth, this podcast aims to increase the number of “role models” for students and graduates willing to help change the world.
Klarna’s co-founder credits many national role models, including Northvolt co-founder Peter Carlsson, as one of the reasons Sweden excels in winning impact funding.
To raise the profile of impact-based entrepreneurship, Adalberth needed a familiar face to deliver his message. Naturally, he turned to his compatriot Skarsgård.
The Swedish-American actor caught Adalberth’s attention last year when he lent his voice to a short documentary about the financial value of nature.
The actor gave one playful voiceover, full of profanity to highlight Oxford University’s research on the trade-off between GDP and environmental damage. Playing dumb, Skarsgård told the audience that he would dilute the research “to a level that even a Hollywood actor could understand.”
Once again, Skarsgård’s role is to be the accessible voice that brings Norrsken’s stories to life.
“This movement needs to happen, not just because of capital. It’s also a cultural enlightenment that needs to happen. And I think Alexander, with his background and his ability to tell stories, that he’s using that to the maximum benefit of this initiative.” Adalbert said.
Spotify
Sweden – the world leader in impact
Skarsgård and Adalberth are partnering with another Swedish tech giant, Spotify, to exclusively publish their podcast.
The Swedes have a long track record of creating globally successful companies, such as Spotify, Klarna and clothing retailer H&M. That entrepreneurial spirit is perhaps at odds with Swedish culture and the “jante law,” which often prevents people from boasting about their success.
Skarsgård understands why that can be a disadvantage in the business world.
“My observation as a Swedish-American, and I’m obviously generalizing here, is that Americans are really talented at telling stories and having big ideas. Swedes tend to be attracted to people who are humble and quiet, almost self-deprecating,” says Skarsgård. Luck.
But Adalberth and Norrsken CCO Daniel Goldberg says humility about personal success may be why Sweden is so far ahead of its peers in impact investing.
According to Adalberth, Sweden is attracting a large amount of sustainable investment dollars, with the number of high-impact startups eight times the world average. Where the country may lack self-aggrandizement, it can gain social conscience.
“How we define success, what impact does that have on overall standards and systems, I think that’s something that’s probably even more debated, perhaps in Europe and especially Sweden. I think that’s where we also see this next generation of startups, perhaps more than the US.”
“Humble or not, the important thing is probably to have conviction and strong belief in yourself and what you are trying to sell,” says Skarsgård.
Stranger than fiction
Skarsgård has taken on a wide variety of roles during his time on screen, most of which took advantage of his physicality such as Tarzan and Viking prince Amleth in Northerner or as an abusive husband in Big and small lies.
But that’s Lukas Matsson, the villainous GoJo CEO on HBO’s Emmy-winning series Inheritance, for which he may be best remembered. It’s hard for anyone Inheritance fans aren’t drawn to the similarities as Skarsgård enters the venture capital space.
After playing Matsson for two years, Skarsgård still doesn’t know what motivates the character, who seems to have no boundaries as he ventures into a hostile takeover of media conglomerate Waystar Royco.
He sees Matsson more like an adrenaline junkie motivated by a challenge, rather than someone motivated purely by greed. So when asked if he found himself comparing Matsson to “impact-driven” founders on his podcast series, Skarsgård had a nuanced answer.
“The world would probably be a better place if there were fewer people like Lukas Matsson and more people like the founders above How we fix this problem,” he says.
“But again, tell someone like Lukas Matsson that there is no way he can restore all the coral reefs in our oceans.”
