Some months ago I announced that I had started Likvido, a debt collection company. Starting out, the plan seemed super obvious: smaller companies seem to have a lot of pain, let’s fix that by providing a modern and awesome solution starting in Denmark.
Hi, I'm Lars Holdgaard
28 Years old and entrepreneur since 2012. Currently building the Danish fintech growth-startup, Likvido, with a new approach to the enormous debt collection industry. I also wrote an article: why start a debt collection company?
Previously I co-founded the fintech startup, Monera, which got to 45 employees but later closed. I also built the software outsourcing company Jarboo with 10+ freelancers and I sold my first big project, GodeKarakterer.dk, in 2014.
I believe technology will change the world universe as we know it over the next decades
Software is eating the world, and we're just getting started. To me, this is more than an interest - it's a guiding principle of how I see the world and my own life. That is what I write about on this site.
1.
We will live (much) longer
Biotech and nanotech will explode, making 100 the new 60 years. Already today, the richer poulations add 0.2 years to our expected living age - every year. I believe we will hit the longevity escape velocity within (some) of our lifetimes.
2.
Jobs will be automated
AI and machine learning are not widely accessible yet. This will change dramatically,year by year. As more and more corporates and startups get access to AI/ML, people will be asthonishment how many tasks and jobs we automate.
3.
We will travel the universe
Cost of space travel is plummeting, which will result in the privatization of space. Mars trips, space vacations and space habitats will be extremely unpractical starting out, but the novelty will result in an explosion.
4.
A much better world
Every metric: peace, starvation, famine and illiteracy - are all improving at a very significant rate. Technology will help solve the biggest problems in the world - making the world better, safer and more open to everyone on the planet
Latest posts
Below is my latest posts. I try to post at least monthly!
Category:
Alright, so I make these personal posts now and then. This post is probably relevant to no one but myself, but I do find a big pleasure in making this public. Just like I have all my personal goals in public, I also like to reflect on things in the public.
I started the year by making this post about my goals in 2018. This post is still relevant since my goals have not really changed.
2018 Has been crazy
My 2017 was shit, but 2018 has been absolutely fucking crazy.
Started the year by having the most amazing 6 weeks in Asia. Japan, India, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan… That was so good. Met some amazing girls whom I traveled with, I got to work and just saw amazing things.
After I arrived home, I’ve managed to be very disciplined. I’ve worked out 5-6 times a week and is in my absolute best shape ever. I finished a half-marathon in 1h52m, and hope to get it further down. My startup, Likvido, has not only been doing well, it has been completely nuts. We’re doing insanely considering we’ve been live for 3 months.
I’ve also taken a very serious look at longevity and what it takes to be healthy and live longer. I’ve started on a decade-long learning process with what it takes to obtain a life expectancy of at least 100 years.
I’ve also had a lot of fun. Amazing weekend trips with girls, a network trip in Barcelona and remembering to meet friends most weeks. So all in all, I can say that 2018 has been the best first 5 months of a year – ever.
Some patterns
The last month has worried me though.
Since Likvido has been growing so damn fast, I’ve started to work a lot. Again. That means I’ve seen myself prioritize friends, fun and learning new things much less.
I’m not sure what is the right way to go. On one hand, I love “no matter what it fucking takes” approach, and just get some things live. On the other hand, I do feel significantly more stupid when I don’t step back and take the time off. I read an extremely inspiring article which points out that intelligence is the most important thing we have, and if we don’t have time for learning, relationships and our basic human needs – we become stupid.
And I do agree. When you start to work from 9 am to 9 pm every day, you miss out on a lot of things. I don’t mean things like seeing friends or relax time. Fuck that. No, I mean time for learning new technologies, meet new cool business people, post on my blog or have that amazing weekend trip and meet some new inspiring people.
This is also why I made this post. To collect my thoughts and re-design 2018 a bit. In my goal page, I had my 3 month plan from February to May which was:
Business & Economy & Work:
- MUST WIN: Launch my new startup and get +10 customers onboard as test clients. April 2017 (postponed from last 3-month goal block, because of license postpone and decided to make product better #nonMVPstyle)
Status: Absolutely fucking done! š - Solve my crypto taxation situation. May 2017 (started the process in December 2017, but not waiting for Danish authorities)
Status: Well, pending still.. But have been doing what I possibly can. - Be social and meet a friend / a new person at least once per week. Whole period.
Status: Been doing it most weeks (a few misses in May)
Health & mind & body:
- MUST WIN: Do sports 5 times a week. Every. Fucking. Week. This includes when I’m traveling. (Was also a goal in last 3-month block – and I did it!)
Status: Done it! - Keep bodybuilding 3 times a week whole period
Status: Done it!
Lifestyle & Experiences:
- Launch my react React.js app. Deadline April 2018
Status: Done it!
- Finish a full Udemy course (with practice sessions in real projects!) about React and Typescript. Deadline April 2018
Status: Done it!
- Release a public API people can use with documentation. Deadline May 2018
Status: Nope
So no, I haven’t done all. But I’ve done more. And it has been awesome.
Looking ahead the next 3 months, however, I want to be more ambitious.
The next 3 months
Business & Economy & Work:
- Continue the amazing hard-work at Likvido. The next 3 months will be very preparing our systems to handle at least 5.000+ active debt-collection cases and make integrations with partners that can deliver those cases
- Make sure none of my bank accounts has above 750.000 DKK so I’m covered by the Danish state in case my bank goes bankrupt
- Do another dollar-cost-averaging index-fund investment
Health & mind & body:
- Keep doing sports at least 5 times a month, preferably 6.
- Sign up for another marathon in 2018 and at least one more half-marathon
- 2 More bodybuilding cycles (doing 5-week cycles), so I example should be at 50 kg bench press, squats, bend-over-curls and more (yeah, I’m still weak.. š )
- Get the last 1-2 kg off my body and stay at 78kg
- Skip dinner on weekdays (a small snack like an apple or skyr)
- Daily routine with meditation, going on the weighing scale and very low amount of carbs/animal protein
- Sleep on average at least 7.5 hours per week, meaning no-phone and in bed at least 8 hours per night
Intelligence & “bio-hacking”:
- Go to a doctor and get a full blood sample analysis
- Try a blood-sugar measurement device despite being afraid of the pain, and add to a daily routine if it’s survivable
- Have a plan for more supplements in addition to my daily omega 3, magnesium and Rhodiola
Lifestyle, learning & experiences:
- Enjoy my amazing 2 week trip in Italy+France in JulyĀ fully
- Read 8 books, with subjects: deep work, microservices architecture, contindelivery/testingsting, culture, management and potentially some culture related books (like a book about Japanese culture)
- Finish my 2 active Udemy courses on unit testing and productivity in Visual Studio
- Finish 3 more courses: how to learn and two more I haven’t decided yet
- Host at least 3 small parties/events at my home
- Find at least 3 interesting people on LinkedIn and invite them out
- Keep being social at least 1 times a week – either new people or existing friends
Health widget – showing my current weight and other health metrics online
31/03/2018 in Health, TechnologyLately, I’ve been very focused on my general health.
My whole youth I wasĀ severely overweight, and it was first when I was 18 years, I decided to fix the problem back in 2018:
I went from 105kg til ~82kg, and have pretty much stayed there ever since (with slight jumps to higher eighties).
However, my recent goal is a bit different. After my marathon in December, I have made a new goal of getting a sixpack. This probably requires ~12-14% bodyfat (currently ~20%) and quite a lot of bodybuilding, which I started for the first time just over 3 weeks ago.
2008 vs 2018: Has technology improved our daily life – and is technology accelerating in 2018?
24/02/2018 in TechnologyIf we are to follow the beliefs and trends in technology, it should be accelerating. Everything from Moores law, to the concept of accelerating returns coined by likes of futurist Ray Kurzweil, to what seems like to be a general belief: technology is ever-accelerating.
Iām actually a strong believer in this āfaithā. I buy the argument technology is improving faster and faster, and I think that when we dig into the numbers and graphs, itās quite true. However, Iām also disappointed. For the last last 5 years, Iāve followed technology development very much. I’ve read *many* books, blogs and listened to podcasts. I’ve added Singularity University events. I’ve even been through a special 5-day program introducing all these new amazing technologies.Ā
Iāve been in more than 35 countries, and have largely ignored India. Iāve been to Asia many times and had plenty of opportunities to visit. Iāve ignored this trip largely because of two reasons:
- The visa process seemed like a nightmare, and multiple of my friends spoke about insane queues at the embassy
- Everyone Iāve talked to were always a bit challenged when I asked if they liked it, and all replies started with āwellā¦ā.
In addition, Iāve had my troubles with software developers from India. They usually quite good, but because of very big cultural differences, Iāve personally never had any successful projects. This probably says more about me than Indian software developer, but itās clear, there is a pretty huge cultural difference.
However, Iāve had Taj Mahal – one of the new ā7 world wondersā on my bucket list for a while and ignoring such a large country seemed wrong to me. With more than a billion people, and growing towards the most populous country – it was time for a visit!
An example of a potential blockchain usage: replacing publishing houses
05/01/2018 in Blockchain and cryptocurrency, Entrepreneurship, TechnologyToday weāre in 2018. 9 Years ago we saw the Bitcoin white paper and the first Bitcoins were mined, and since we have also seen the sharp rise in prices. The last part of 2017 was full of media writing non-stop about Bitcoin, but mostly with a speculation angle.
We have to admit: we lack serious projects, which has an actual impact. However, as I wrote in my huge 15.000+ words piece, I argued this is caused by weāre currently in the infrastructure phase, not much further than the seventies of eighties of the Internet. This lack of impact seems to let some people believe we wonāt see it, and simply neglect the potential.
Every year, I try to make a review post for myself. The purpose is basically looking back on the last year, and more important – looking ahead.
Unlike every other post on this blog, these review posts are made completely for me. This means I am writing with one reader in mind – myself. So if you stranded on this post, well, good luck, I’m not writing to you with this one š However, I believe in being VERY open about my life and what I do – as you can see in about me or in my goals. You’re *very* welcome to read it, but my angle is not to please others.
But now back to what this post is about: me š
December 17th, 2017.
I have traveled all the way to Pisa, Italy, to run my first marathon. After 6 months serious running training 4-5 times a week, I was ready to run it.
Being a Dane, going to Pisa might seem pretty absurd, but I did this because of two reasons. First and most important, I wanted to finish on in 2017 before leaving for Asia for 3 months, second because Pisa has one of the highest time limits in Europe! At a time limit of 6 hours and 30 minutes, I felt certain that even if my body broke down I could get my “tick in the box” and say I’ve completed a marathon.