Tor Bækkelund

Tor Bækkelund co-founded StartupLab in 2012 with a mission to help Norwegian tech Startups to succeed globally.

Prior to StartupLab he was the CEO of Hugin, a Norwegian Saas company, that he developed into the European leader within its field. He made two successful sales, first to NYSE Euronext (2006) and later to Thomson Reuters (2009). During the tenure the company did as well multiple transactions. He has been a technology director, factory manager & SVP for a Norwegian high-volume technology company within the security business (Assa Abloy, a Swedish Stock listed company). His first professional assignment was tech & project lead of multiple hydro power plants in Africa and Asia.

Since 2010, he has actively helped and invested in early tech startups in Norway which resulted in this initiative in 2013, when he took the initiative to establish a network of entrepreneurs called Founders Fund (in Norway), backing Norwegian tech founders. StartupLab has three funds under management.

To date his team has invested in 80+ promising Norwegian tech startups, many of them with strong IP from Norwegian research.

When he’s not working, he enjoys his family and the Norwegian outdoor either trail biking or backcountry skiing.

He holds a master’s degree from NTNU and is an alumnus from London Business School.