NICKLAS BERGMAN

After more than 30 years as an entrepreneur and technology investor, Nicklas Bergman has become a master of asking the right questions, framing the present, and mapping the future. He does this in keynote speeches for large audiences, C-suite masterclasses, or more informal advisory roles to senior leaders, investment executives, and public servants. He’s the perfect guide for navigating uncertainty and finding business opportunities in the ongoing Techstorm.  As a lifelong science nerd and sci-fi bookworm with deep roots in the European startup and investor ecosystem, Nicklas is the ultimate guide to our tech-infused future. As a tech entrepreneur, business angel, and investment advisor to the EUR 10 billion EIC Fund, he oversees more than 100 startup investments annually, providing him with unique, firsthand insight into the latest trends in business and technology. Over the years, he’s seen companies go up in flames, businesses rise from the ashes, and tiny players conquer the world, sometimes with impressive returns and sometimes with less so. You don’t invite Nicklas to your event or bring him on as an advisor to provide simplifications and standardized answers. Instead, you invite him to spark a discussion, share uncomfortable truths, find new opportunities, and provide fresh perspectives on otherwise well-known topics.  He is always curious, sometimes provocative, but at all times, with the proper intent of dissecting complex realities to understand implications, see opportunities, and find actionable insights. In keynotes and masterclasses, Nicklas consistently emphasizes that the best approach to any new scientific discovery, innovation, or technology is one that combines genuine curiosity with a sound dose of skepticism. This approach stems from his long-standing interest — and perhaps obsession — with everything related to science, innovation, and technology, including science fiction and a sometimes unhealthy dose of being an early adopter. Additionally, after having started, co-founded, and/or invested in dozens of companies over the years, he’s learned that it’s essential to form one’s own opinions about technology, strategy, markets, customer needs, and similar aspects.  The challenge is to stay true to those beliefs, even if your surroundings appear to be overly impressed by the latest scientific findings, innovations, technologies, or gadgets. It helps when you, as Nicklas, have “seen it all before” and experienced several tech bubbles in the past. The best people to provide valuable, actionable insights to an audience in these times of unprecedented uncertainty are the ones who have experienced it firsthand. It’s fair to say that Nicklas has been there when scaling a truck distribution business in Romania in the early 1990s, commercializing an atomic resolution tweezer in the 2000s, or building a ski resort from scratch during the 2008 financial crisis.  Nicklas puts his money where his mouth is, meaning that he builds and invests in companies within the industries where his clients work, as well as in the technology areas covered in his keynotes. Nicklas’s goal is to help the audience think for themselves, broaden their perspectives, and learn new tools, rather than providing all the answers. He delivers these keynotes in a highly visual and thought-provoking manner, always tailored to fit the client, event, and audience, and filled with numerous stories from his successes and epic failures as an entrepreneur and investor.