In this episode of the Danish-language podcast Den Nye Standard, I’m joined by Louise Herping Ellegaard, business angel and co-founder of Clio. We talk about the sale of Clio to the Swedish group Bonnier, what drove her to become an entrepreneur, and her day-to-day life as a business angel.
Louise describes herself as results-driven and as one of the people who helped digitalise Denmark’s state schools. If her entrepreneurs were to describe her, she thinks they’d say she’s fun, but also serious and demanding. Louise helped start one of the first edtech startups in Denmark, entirely self-funded. A trip to Smukfest and the dream of being a digital nomad were what got Clio started, and from 2007 it helped digitalise Denmark’s state schools.
A successful exit
In the episode, Louise takes us from her first venture as an entrepreneur, through a successful exit, to today, where she’s a sounding board as a business angel. The idea of selling Clio came about after a German publisher made an offer in 2014. When Sweden’s Bonnier made an even better offer, they sold 60% in 2015, with an earn-out on the remaining 40% that was settled in 2018. Louise has never regretted selling Clio, because it gave her financial freedom. The concept was also hard to take abroad, because according to Louise, the way we teach is very national and depends on the culture. Her first purchase was a speedboat, which she named after the venture: Clio.
Drive and leadership
It was never on the cards that Louise would go far in life, but at Grindsted Gymnasium she ended up in a class full of children of academics, who introduced her to the idea of going on to university. Louise is driven by product development and by leading other leaders. She’s deeply fascinated by how we behave as people, and she feels that being a leader suits her personality. Louise likes being in charge, so it comes naturally to her.
Her mother always expected a lot of Louise and taught her to take responsibility for herself. She believes her upbringing helped create her urge to give back, which is why she puts a lot of energy into young people, so that as adults they can take responsibility for themselves.
Life as a business angel
The conversation then moves on to Louise’s current work as a business angel. She says she enjoys working with startups, and that it matters a lot to her to have time to be properly involved in each investment. As an investor, Louise brings two things in particular to a partnership: the ability to open doors through her network, and a problem-solving mindset. Louise tells us that her deal flow has got worse since Løvens Hule, the Danish Dragons’ Den. Since the show, more people want a piece of her, for better or worse, and want to bounce ideas off her as soon as they’ve had one.