How Fredrik Haga Co-founder And CEO Of Dune Analytics Raised $2.2M To Build A Free Ethereum Analytics By And For The Community?
Bookmark(0)
Log in to create bookmarks
No bill yet? Login
Fredrik Haga is co-founder and CEO of the Dune Analytics platform, focused on Ethereum.
He is Norwegian and graduated in economics from schools such as the University of Sydney and the University of California at Berkeley. He is very interested in the intersection of technology and business. He is also a big fan of hip-hop and freestyle skiing whenever he can.
In an exclusive interview with the AsiaTechDaily, Fredrik says…
Nothing is linear – we received excellent advice from our pre-investor to start a start-up. You can work on something for a long time with little result, and then suddenly, when something takes off, it goes incredibly fast. It is important to remember this when working on a project you believe in, but which may initially show a lack of support.
- Have fun, don’t take yourself too seriously or what you’re doing.
- Take your own health and well-being very seriously.
- Maintain integrity – it can be about the music or culture you love, or what you do in your career.
Read on to find out more about Fredrik Hag and his career path.
Tell me about your personal experiences and what motivated you to work for your company.
Fredrik Haga: My background is in economics, but I have always been very interested in technology. When I discovered Bitcoin five years ago, I soon realised it was a great mix.
I worked with my co-founder on Ethereum projects for a large Norwegian company with 200 million users. And we realized that cryptography is too young for this company to rely on. So if we want to make a difference, we have to do everything we can and create our own business.
What is your current main product and can you give a product sales history?
Fredrik Haga: Today’s product is an open platform where anyone can easily make Ethereum contract data analyses and share his or her information tables with the world – all for free. The original idea was to develop a larger product like Mixpanel/Google Analytics, but the open product would be much more powerful and interesting in a few months.
How much money have you raised so far? When was the last financing cycle?
Fredrik Haga: We raised $2.2 million. Our sowing cycle was last announced in September.
What are the internal decision-making processes that determined the start of fundraising and what logistics are involved? And how many investors did you meet, how did you get to know these investors and which channels worked best for you?
Fredrik Haga: In the end it all depends on the clutch. You should certainly have the whole story and all, but the traction is the driving force behind your fundraising efforts. We just raised money for COVID, and although it was hard enough, it became even harder after COVID was attacked. For us, we eventually stopped raising funds because we were very attractive and investors came to us. In our two years of existence, we have had about 150 meetings with investors.
What are the main challenges and obstacles in the fundraising process? If you had to start over, what else would you do?
Fredrik Haga: One thing you can say is that some investors are skeptical about your business because they don’t understand enough about what you do. On the contrary, others understand and push you in the direction of the most important questions to which you really need to find the best answers.
I think it’s very useful to remember that distinction. If you don’t ignore the first group, your morale may be hurt, and if you don’t learn about the reactions of the second group, your business may fail.
In addition, a parallel process with many investors is ideal if you have or can get all rollover links at the same time. After a while we talked more with investors and it worked, but if we did it again, I would do a shorter process with more investors at the same time.
What are the milestones for the next cycle? And what are your goals for the future?
Fredrik Haga: We are a social data tool that enables everyone to perform analyses on the same set of data (Ethereum and block chain data). The aim is to promote cooperation and transparency around cryptographic data so that the whole sector can be built together and not in a fragmented way as is the case with information products in many other sectors.
How did you attract users and what strategy did you use to grow your business from start to finish?
Fredrik Haga: We don’t spend money on marketing, so our growth is word-of-mouth advertising and users share their analysis with Dune.
Which software was the best marketing tool to develop your start-up and why?
Fredrik Haga: All our marketing is mainly based on Twitter. Because we create a community-centric product in a community-centric space, Twitter is a great place to share the results of the dune-based analysis.
That most starters are usually wrong about marketing?
Fredrik Haga: I think that users and customers are people and not robots, as the marketing apparently assumes. I believe in the pleasure of communicating with users and potential customers. It is more fun to create and consume and the return on investment will be higher.
How would you like to develop your activities worldwide?
Fredrik Haga: The standard cryptography industry is very global, so we already have users and customers all over the world.
How do you manage the Kovid 19 flash situation to ensure the survival of your company?
Fredrik Haga: Keep your money safe.
What are the most common mistakes founders make when starting a business?
Fredrik Haga: You may think it will be very soon. Like attracting customers and investors, many things take time and transactions are almost never as fast as you hope or think they will be.
What is the best advice you have ever received? And what advice can you give to someone who wants to do similar things with you or go in a similar direction?
Fredrik Haga: Nothing is linear – we received excellent advice from our pre-investor to start a start-up. You can work on something for a long time with little result, and then suddenly, when something takes off, it goes incredibly fast. It is important to remember this when working on a project in which you believe, but which may show a lack of control from the start.
What are the three most popular books or movies (series) that changed your life and why?
Fredrik Haga:
Black Swan – Nassim Taleb. I have changed my attitude towards the world, the risks and the results. It had a very big influence on me because it was in stark contrast to what I learned at university.
Think fast and slow. Danielle Kaneman. The way you and the people around you think and work is always relevant – a great book, full of new ideas that are both fun and very appropriate.
The code book is Simon Singh. An amazing mix of education and colourful stories. They understand how something as complex as cryptography works, see it in its historical context and appreciate it.
How do you maintain your motivation on a daily basis?
Fredrik Haga: Creating a useful product in an important and dynamic industry is of great value to me. I am also a great advocate of a healthy diet, getting enough sleep and regular exercise (outdoors).
What are the three most important life lessons your (future) sons and daughters need to know?
Fredrik Haga:
- Have fun, don’t take yourself too seriously or what you’re doing.
- Take your own health and well-being very seriously.
- Maintain integrity – it can be about the music or culture you love, or what you do in your career.
Why do you want to be remembered?
Fredrik Haga: It would be someone who has built something useful and who likes to meet people at the same time.
You can follow Fredrik Haga.
Tweets from DuneAnalytics
If you’re looking for a solid investment for your start-up or a passionate person, follow our section on interviews.
Follow the Asia Tech Daily to learn more about innovative start-ups and how they are revolutionising the ecosystem.
What do you think?
+1
0
Strong voices
+1
0
Cotton
+1
0
Cotton
+1
0
It burns.
+1
0
Bont
+1
0
Cotton
+1
0
Related Tags:
