I've never taken the obvious route.
I started as an alpine shepherd in the Austrian Alps — five summers, still a kid, high altitude, real responsibility.
Long days alone in the mountains will make you do things. I built a pirate radio station and started broadcasting across the Alps from the peaks. Massive reach. Never caught.
When you're already transmitting from the top of the world, the only way further is up. I worked on communication hardware for microgravity experiments with Saab Space, launched from Esrange in northern Scandinavia.
After years obsessing over how signals travel, I got interested in what they carry. Admitted to the University of Applied Arts Vienna, studying under Peter Weibel and Carel Dudesek. Became Head of the Master's program for Interactive Digital Media at Ravensbourne University London — before finishing my own degree.
Academia wasn't real enough. I combined interactive digital media with radio — this time at global scale. In 2000, I founded Last.fm, pioneering music streaming and collaborative filtering. Millions of users. Acquired by CBS.
Then I went deeper into sound itself. I built RjDj, one of the first iOS apps before the App Store existed, reaching the global Top 10 within weeks. Credited as the inventor of augmented sound. Collaborated with Hans Zimmer and Christopher Nolan.
After building companies, I started backing them. I helped build one of Europe's leading early-stage venture funds, now managing over $1B. Several bets became unicorns.
Four kids and two decades of building later, I went back to solitude. Psychology, contemplative science, Eastern philosophy. The quietest work turned out to be the hardest.
Now: 3-A Capital, Raidical.one, Raidical Academy — a new venture architecture for the AI age. Faster cycles, clearer theses, lean exits, real outcomes.
I work in London, live in the Austrian Alps, and if you're building in Europe or challenging old venture models — let's talk.