Comments on: Taking a hit like a man: Morten Lund on Nyhedsavisen’s death http://thenextweb.com/2008/09/16/taking-a-hit-like-a-man-morten-lund-on-nyhedsavisens-death/ International technology news, business & culture Thu, 24 May 2012 15:22:58 +0200 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Entrepreneur Morten Lund, of Skype Fame, Officially Declared Bankrupt. « TheNextWeb.com http://thenextweb.com/2008/09/16/taking-a-hit-like-a-man-morten-lund-on-nyhedsavisens-death/#comment-366588 Entrepreneur Morten Lund, of Skype Fame, Officially Declared Bankrupt. « TheNextWeb.com Wed, 14 Jan 2009 19:34:03 +0000 http://thenextweb.org/?p=4373#comment-366588 [...] entrepreneur of Skype fame was yesterday officially declared bankrupt. The founder who we have discussed previously has founded/co-invested in more than 40 startups in the last 10 years - the most famous being [...] [...] entrepreneur of Skype fame was yesterday officially declared bankrupt. The founder who we have discussed previously has founded/co-invested in more than 40 startups in the last 10 years – the most famous being [...]

]]> By: As raw as it gets - Startup legend Lund bankrupt http://thenextweb.com/2008/09/16/taking-a-hit-like-a-man-morten-lund-on-nyhedsavisens-death/#comment-366587 As raw as it gets - Startup legend Lund bankrupt Wed, 14 Jan 2009 15:59:40 +0000 http://thenextweb.org/?p=4373#comment-366587 [...] The free daily newspaper owned by his startup catalyst LundXY- Global Ventures, closed in August 2008 with a reported deficit of approximately $100 million, admittedly generated mostly under the previous ownership. [...] [...] The free daily newspaper owned by his startup catalyst LundXY- Global Ventures, closed in August 2008 with a reported deficit of approximately $100 million, admittedly generated mostly under the previous ownership. [...]

]]> By: dorthe http://thenextweb.com/2008/09/16/taking-a-hit-like-a-man-morten-lund-on-nyhedsavisens-death/#comment-366586 dorthe Fri, 19 Sep 2008 19:59:11 +0000 http://thenextweb.org/?p=4373#comment-366586 "Taking a hit like a man" makes me think. I have been following the events in DK closely. Morten Lund did not take it like a man. When closing down he dissapeared and others took the task of standing up to the press. Morten was hiding and only posting on his blog, not daring to talk to journalists (except from a very few times when things was cooled down). Later on he was revealed lying about his actions. So, honestly guys, I like all the buzz about great entrepreneurship, but Lund acted like a crook and a whimp. “Taking a hit like a man” makes me think. I have been following the events in DK closely. Morten Lund did not take it like a man. When closing down he dissapeared and others took the task of standing up to the press. Morten was hiding and only posting on his blog, not daring to talk to journalists (except from a very few times when things was cooled down). Later on he was revealed lying about his actions.

So, honestly guys, I like all the buzz about great entrepreneurship, but Lund acted like a crook and a whimp.

]]> By: Robin Wauters http://thenextweb.com/2008/09/16/taking-a-hit-like-a-man-morten-lund-on-nyhedsavisens-death/#comment-366585 Robin Wauters Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:23:08 +0000 http://thenextweb.org/?p=4373#comment-366585 @Drivingsouth: point taken, added the amount in EUR to the post :) @Drivingsouth: point taken, added the amount in EUR to the post :)

]]> By: Drivingsouth http://thenextweb.com/2008/09/16/taking-a-hit-like-a-man-morten-lund-on-nyhedsavisens-death/#comment-366584 Drivingsouth Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:42:27 +0000 http://thenextweb.org/?p=4373#comment-366584 OFF-TOPIC: "DKK 426m ($89.7m)" Just wondering: How much of your audience is from Europe Vs rest-of-the-world? Teaser/Suggestion: €?? Time for Europeanization of the world :-) OFF-TOPIC:

“DKK 426m ($89.7m)”

Just wondering: How much of your audience is from Europe Vs rest-of-the-world?

Teaser/Suggestion: €?? Time for Europeanization of the world :-)

]]> By: drivingsouth http://thenextweb.com/2008/09/16/taking-a-hit-like-a-man-morten-lund-on-nyhedsavisens-death/#comment-366583 drivingsouth Tue, 16 Sep 2008 17:17:05 +0000 http://thenextweb.org/?p=4373#comment-366583 "No pain no gain" That's part of the game, ain't it? We'll be fine :) Two more things: - I don't think he is stupid (didn't looked like until now), so there may be some more stuff happening (?) - He bought a war with the old-school newspapers. Nyhedsavisen suffered from a lot of bad press from others and it seams that Morten choose to take that fight head-to-head. I wonder if just ignoring them would be better. I admire the guy: Lots of people think he's just an as#¤%le, but he has balls that's for sure. More, it seamsn to me that there are no much attitude like that around here. PS: also reporting from DK, but from a expat point of view :) “No pain no gain” That’s part of the game, ain’t it? We’ll be fine :)

Two more things:

- I don’t think he is stupid (didn’t looked like until now), so there may be some more stuff happening (?)

- He bought a war with the old-school newspapers. Nyhedsavisen suffered from a lot of bad press from others and it seams that Morten choose to take that fight head-to-head. I wonder if just ignoring them would be better.

I admire the guy: Lots of people think he’s just an as#¤%le, but he has balls that’s for sure. More, it seamsn to me that there are no much attitude like that around here.

PS: also reporting from DK, but from a expat point of view :)

]]> By: Robin Wauters http://thenextweb.com/2008/09/16/taking-a-hit-like-a-man-morten-lund-on-nyhedsavisens-death/#comment-366582 Robin Wauters Tue, 16 Sep 2008 16:26:08 +0000 http://thenextweb.org/?p=4373#comment-366582 Hey Mads, Thanks for the clarifications. I got the DFJ investment part from Wikipedia, so it must be true :) I adjusted the post a bit to reflect your comments. Hey Mads,

Thanks for the clarifications. I got the DFJ investment part from Wikipedia, so it must be true :) I adjusted the post a bit to reflect your comments.

]]> By: Mads Kristensen http://thenextweb.com/2008/09/16/taking-a-hit-like-a-man-morten-lund-on-nyhedsavisens-death/#comment-366581 Mads Kristensen Tue, 16 Sep 2008 16:05:18 +0000 http://thenextweb.org/?p=4373#comment-366581 Being a Dane myself, I just thought I wanted to add two cents to the story for the sake of a bit more clarity/accuracy: There is great confusion as to whether DFJ ever made an investment. You don't make a significant investment and then close shop one month later. Tim Draper has actually stated that he did hold money back, because he didn't know enough about the business to splash the cash. Morten Lund has gotten a lot of stick for this, since based on the 'commitment' from DFJ basically guaranteed they would be in business at least until New Year. It's true that the paper was the biggest. However it's no problem to get great journalists doing great stuff, have a large circulation and thus gain a big readership. The challenge is to make money in the proces, and Nyhedsavisen failed miserably at that. When Morten Lund made his initial investment in the paper, I saw a copy of the business plan from the previous Icelandic owners. It was really, really farfetched and based on a lot of assumptions for which odds of concurrent success was just about the odds of winning the lottery. On a final note there has been some speculation that Morten Lund tried to get out by getting Mecom to pay him - through the UK company of a business associate - approx 20M Euros to close down the paper. Morten has admitted that his lawyer did in fact draw up such an agreement, but there's no evidence that it was ever signed. Having said all this, I believe the world would be a lot more sad without guys like Morten Lund. He has taken a heavy one to the chin here, and it will take a lot of guts and hard work to move on from it. But I am sure that come time he will :-). Being a Dane myself, I just thought I wanted to add two cents to the story for the sake of a bit more clarity/accuracy:

There is great confusion as to whether DFJ ever made an investment. You don’t make a significant investment and then close shop one month later. Tim Draper has actually stated that he did hold money back, because he didn’t know enough about the business to splash the cash. Morten Lund has gotten a lot of stick for this, since based on the ‘commitment’ from DFJ basically guaranteed they would be in business at least until New Year.

It’s true that the paper was the biggest. However it’s no problem to get great journalists doing great stuff, have a large circulation and thus gain a big readership. The challenge is to make money in the proces, and Nyhedsavisen failed miserably at that.

When Morten Lund made his initial investment in the paper, I saw a copy of the business plan from the previous Icelandic owners. It was really, really farfetched and based on a lot of assumptions for which odds of concurrent success was just about the odds of winning the lottery.

On a final note there has been some speculation that Morten Lund tried to get out by getting Mecom to pay him – through the UK company of a business associate – approx 20M Euros to close down the paper. Morten has admitted that his lawyer did in fact draw up such an agreement, but there’s no evidence that it was ever signed.

Having said all this, I believe the world would be a lot more sad without guys like Morten Lund. He has taken a heavy one to the chin here, and it will take a lot of guts and hard work to move on from it. But I am sure that come time he will :-).

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