Akim Arhipov

In the year 2000, I started learning to code as a student. I launched Lineage 2 gaming servers and an international courier service from my small room in Narva, Estonia. Eager to learn, I eventually moved to Edinburgh, Scotland, where I worked long hours on a production line to make ends meet while continuing my studies. This challenging period was incredibly motivating.

I hustled relentlessly and landed a job at HSBC's head office, which had over 10,000 employees, all while pursuing a degree in banking and finance.

During my university years, I received an invitation to help create a new transportation company in Finland and the Baltics. The idea was to make it more affordable and faster for people of all ages and incomes to visit their families. We achieved this ambitious goal by using innovative solutions in data analytics and machine learning. We launched more than 70 routes and completed over 250 trips daily with a fleet of 130 buses. This effort made travel comfortable and convenient for eight million people each year, and the results were truly inspiring. This experience sparked my interest in understanding human interactions, the impact of culture and habits on decision-making, and how IT solutions could improve real-world interactions.

Next, I ventured to Singapore, where my team and I developed a global identity verification platform. We simplified access to financial services for unbanked individuals while maintaining the highest security standards. This endeavor gave rise to BASIS ID, which has since become an essential part of the ZignSec & WebShield family.

In 2018, I was recognized on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for my contributions to digital identity development in Asia. By the age of 26, I had traveled to more than 40 countries.

Over the past decade, my approach was to embrace every opportunity that came my way. However, this strategy eventually made me reconsider my values in life. Today, I focus on what truly excites me - investing in founders.

In 2021, I became a partner at the Stockholm-based startup studio, VNTRS, and took on a role as a board member of the Estonian Founders Society.

Currently, I oversee Fund Fellow Founders, the global 300+ tech angels community, and a family office dedicated to founders.