Board member and investor
Board philosophy
Tine Thygesen is an external board member for several organisations. Her experience as a tech entrepreneur helps companies transform towards a digital future where speed and customer contact will be in focus.
As an operator and CEO, she understand the operational and psychological challenges a management team experiences. That gives her a different perspective to board members that have never been in the driving seat themselves.
Her business philosophy revolves around speed, courage to experiment, technology and sustainable business. She believes board members should actively contribute to growth, and uses her extended network to open doors.
Board Track Record
Tine Thygesen has served as strategic board member for 20 organisations, both public and private and has more than 10 years board experience, mostly in
Investment companies, funds and foundations that invest or donate to young businesses, startups and commercial opportunities (ex. Atomico, Coop Invest, Markedsmodningsfonden, Rockstart, ITU, Innovationsfonden)
Companies that want a strong technological foundation to be able to compete in the new digital markets. (ex. Gyldendal, Dagbladet Information, Voluntas)
Public organisations that want to grow the economy using entrepreneurship, ecosystems and digital (ex. Klimaskovfonden, EU, Regeringens Iværksætterpanel, Nordisk Ministerråd)
Most of the companies are in a growth phase or technological transition. Many are mission-driven.
Technology & Strategic communication
Tine Thygesen works with technology powered growth. Today, all companies are technology companies, because the market moves faster than ever. As management you need to think big, move fast, automate and build scalable products and services, regardless of the industry you’re in. As such, “tech startup” can be considered a method of working.
Tine Thygesen also works with branding, strategic communication and community as a source of growth. She has vast experience in finding, shaping and telling the interesting stories inside a company that attracts customer and media interest.
Operator Experience
It’s easy to make plans work on paper. It’s hard to execute them in real life.
While many board members are professional advisors, investors, lawyers and non-operators Tine Thygesen has been CEO and C-level exec in five companies. She has built companies from scratch up to 100 employees and and actively worked with 20+ growth and high-growth organisations. This hands-on experience gives a detailed understanding and perspective that cannot be gained from non-operator experience alone.
Core areas of expertise are strategic communication, fundraising, technology, organisational growth and community.
Confidential sparring
It’s lonely at the top.
As a CEO or founder you often have no one to discuss ideas and concerns in confidence with. Towards your employees you want to appear strong and towards your investors you want to appear in control. But there are many tough decisions to be made, and it’s lonely and stressful to make them on your own.
Tine Thygesen helps founders and CEOs as an unbiased confidential advisor with whom you can share your doubts, ambivalence and considerations. Because she has been in your shoes (multiple times) and worked closely with multiple founders she has seen the worst and the best, and can help you consider the best way forward in any situation.
What others say
“As a board member, Tine shows a great mixture of pragmatic, result oriented and energetic insights combined with a strategic overview and a keen eye for the potential of the organization. She brings a positive and constructive engagement and I really appreciated our collaboration during the 4 years where we had the opportunity to work together”
/Stephan Christgau, Partner at Novo Seeds. Board Chairman Venture Cup
“Tine is an inspiring board member. She never looses focus on the large scale, but also has a keen eye for the details. Always positive, she time and time again delivers strategic insights and well as constructive feedback”
/Nynne, Managing Director, Copenhagen School of Entrepreneurship
“Tine is one of the most dedicated, intelligent and hard working people that I have ever had the pleasure to work with. An accomplished CEO with the analytic and strategic mindset of a great entrepreneur”
/ Chris Kaalund, CEO Triptale”
Board work
Notable board posts
Include Gyldendal A/S, Coop Invest, Klimaskovfonden and chairman of Innfounder by Innovationsfonden
Rockstart Enterprise
Supervisory Board member of Rockstart from 2016 to 2021. Today special advisor to the CEO.
Rockstart started as an accelerator and evolved into a micro VC.
Based on track record and proprietary dealflow Rockstart recently raised its first two funds, Rockstart Agrifood fund 1 (€22mio) and Rockstart Energy fund #1 (€21m). The company will soon raise two further funds in “Emerging Tech” one based out of Europe and one out of Colombia.
Rockstart is based in Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Bogota. The company invests very early stage and helps entrepreneurs get the training and the network they need to succeed.
Rockstart Agrifood invests in the future of food, agriculture and food distribution. They look for improvements and alternatives to feed a growing population in a time when the climate needs increased protection. Rockstart Energy invests in young technology companies who work in the Energy sector or supportive component industry.
Rockstart has invested in 200+ startups and supported them in their journey to raise €89 million and hire more than 700 people. Most notable exit is 3D Hubs sold for $330m to Protolabs.
https://www.rockstart.com/
Dagbladet Information
A free and unbiased press is a prerequisite for democracy to function. Ethical media houses that forego fake news and sloppy reporting are the foundation on which democracy rests. Dagbladet Information is such a media house — a national newspaper that takes pride in digging deep, covering the environmental crisis and standing up to the establishment when needed.
Dagbladet is a mission-driven organisation with a strong moral code and a correspondingly low turnover rate for both employees and subscribers.
In addition to its newspaper business, Dagbladet Information runs a publishing house, a podcast section and an events business. I've been a board member since 2017.
www.information.dk
Mesh Community / Matrikel1
In 2011 Tine Thygesen was part of starting the first tech co-working space in the Nordics, Founders House, which merged, grew and became Mesh Community (formerly The Creators Community) .
Mesh Community operate more than 25,000 square metres of flexible office space in the heart of Oslo, Copenhagen and Trondheim. Today, the brands are called Matrikel1, Mesh Nationalteatret, Mesh Youngstorget, Digs and Startup Village.
The purpose of the business has always been to help entrepreneurs grow faster - by taking care of facilities and by connecting them to a network of investors and entrepreneurs. Mesh Community provides a daily home for more than 800 businesses and 2,000 people. 750 annual events are held and 100,000+ people visit annually. Three public cafes provide meeting points for the ecosystem beyond our own members.
Tine Thygesen was board member 2011 - 2022 and Group CEO from 2016 - 2018. Today she is a large shareholder.
www.matrikel1.com I www.foundershouse.dk I www.digsnorway.com I www.meshnorway.com