Hyperactive co-founder of Spotify: Who is Martin Lorentzon?

Lorentzon, who opened his eyes in 1969, had only one dream in his primary school years to become a billionaire.

In fact, he often shared this dream with his classmates and close circles. Who knew that this dream, which seemed to be a product of a little child's rosy world, would one day come true?

We are sure that Martin Lorentzo knew this. Because he was determined to take the steps that came before him on the way from his dream to reality. The success that Martin achieved as a result of his efforts throughout his school life was proof of this.

Martin Lorentzon and School Life

Martin completed his primary education in Särlaskolan in Borâs. Information from his close circle shows that he has an entrepreneurial spirit at a young age. He started taking lessons in the technical department of Sven Ericsongymnasiet, who gave entrepreneurship lessons in his high school years.

Young Lorentzon, like any teenager in his teenage years, loved to take part in parties and various entertainment. However, unlike his friends, he gave priority to education. In fact, it is known that Martin did not attend party events that conflicted with the exam schedule, on the grounds that he "feels sick, not well".

Taking firm steps towards his goal, Lorentzon completed his undergraduate degree in industrial economics at Chalmers University of Technology. It is possible to say that his interest in economics is not a coincidence. Because Martin's father is known to be a solid economist.

In addition, he did not limit his education life only to the field of economy. He has a master's degree in engineering. Meanwhile, he continued to take additional courses on economics in Gothenburg. On the other hand, he took rhetoric courses at Stockholm University.

Career Life

It would not be an exaggeration to say that Martin received a great reward for his efforts in his education life. Already his brilliant career life is enough to support this discourse.

The telephone company, Telia, which Martin Lorentzon started to work in 1995 to complete his internship, can be considered as the first stop of his career. But literally, the first step in his career journey is his office job at search engine company AltaVista after moving to San Francisco.

Meanwhile, Lorentzon was attending an event that gathered talented entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley. Through this event, he met Felix Hagnö, the son of the owner of a Swedish clothing brand.

Known to have established a good friendship between them, the duo established Tradedoubler, known as a famous digital marketing company, in 1999. The company, which managed to spread to the entire European market in a short time, was awarded the Swedish Guldmusen award in 2001.

It is stated in the records that the company doubled its income and profit as of 2002. In addition, the company, which experienced its golden age in terms of success in 2020, became a partner of TikTok, one of the famous social media platforms.

In an interview, Lorentzon states that luck plays a big role in the success of the company. After the company's outstanding success and wealth, he returned to Sweden. It is among the rumors that Martin became depressed during this process. Having finally realized his dream of becoming a millionaire, Martin's overcoming his depression coincides with the time he met Daniel Ek.

Entrepreneurs like himself Daniel Ek and Martin Lorenzon had something in common. Their common ground was based on one idea. The idea was that “unexpected wealth brings lack of purpose, and loss of purpose brings depression.” The two, who were known to agree on this idea, had to act immediately. A new purpose required a new idea.

A New Purpose, A New Idea: Spotify

Lorentzon and Daniel soon formed a very close friendship. The idea that “unexpected wealth brings a lack of purpose” was the seed sown for the consolidation of their friendship.

The Spotify initiatives of these two friends, who have been communicating every day since the moment they met, are based on an attempt Daniel had previously dreamed of to prevent pirated music.

Daniel Ek's passion for music led to the idea of ​​starting a digital music company that would help people to listen to better quality music, to stop the pirate music that had come to light in 2005. Ek, who has not yet taken the step to realize his dream, shared his dream with Lorentzon.

Seeking a new purpose and idea, Lorentzon supported his dream of entrepreneurship. The two friends founded the Spotify company in 2006. The company was launched in 2008.

When the calendars showed September 15, 2010, Spotify reached 10 million users. Ultimately, the platform, which met the targets, reached 144 million paid subscribers and 320 million monthly active users in 2020.

The March 2021 data of the platform are as follows: The number of free users is 198 million, and the number of Premium members is 158 million. The total number of members is 356 million.

Martin Lorentzon, who is known to have a new purpose for himself and invested large sums of money in this venture, thus adds wealth to his fortune. Because as a result of his support, Martin becomes the company's largest shareholder.

While he has 43.3% voting rights in the company, his share percentage is 12.7%. Martin Lorentzon, who dreamed of becoming a billionaire as a child, is on Spotify today; He takes part in the positions of the company's future goals, the company's development strategy, budget and salary determination, and verification of legal and annual financial reports. It is known that his fortune is more than 6 billion dollars today.

He is very curious about the effects of science and technology on human life. He especially likes to write about names that have contributed to the world of science and technology. Researching, reading, and writing in these areas are indispensable. He is also interested in philosophy, psychology, sociology, and cinema. He produces content on these fields on various platforms and in a printed magazine.