[quote style=”boxed”]Every day is different, but most days I try to get my mail done in the mornings and evenings. In between it’s meeting people, connect, share and build.[/quote]
Nalden is regularly sought out for his fresh perspective and obstinate but clever style of consulting on everything from music and gadgets to authenticity and reinventing word-of-mouth.
With a background in the music- and advertising industry, his expertise of online-trends and most of all; as powerful blogger with his unique and internationally recognized blog, Nalden.net, he keeps reinventing himself and other businesses. As a ‘social entrepreneur’ he’s focused on exploring new ways to reach people without interrupting them, in which he already succeeded with his Wallpaper Advertising business model on Nalden.net, WeTransfer.com and Kuvva.com.
With his knowledge about technology and the impact this new media is having on the world Nalden is always working on connecting the dots to make this a better world to live in, by sharing, supporting and investing.
What are you working on right now?
Currently I’m working on Kuvva.com to turn dead-space into creative space. It’s a great new project that allows me to both push artists to get their artwork seen and connect brands with fans.
What does your typical day look like?
Every day is different, but most days I try to get my mail done in the mornings and evenings. In between it’s meeting people, connect, share and build.
What is the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?
I guess news paper boy. Did this for a week and I learnt I should only invest time in stuff I really like. Back then, I learnt how to program HTML and started building websites for friends to earn money. As you can guess, that paid way better then delivering local news papers.
3 trends that excite you?
The cloud.
Android vs iOS
Music
How do you bring ideas to life?
I’ve various channels to share ideas. Most of the time via twitter or my blog. Then I just start doing it.
A great example is this verified pin I made >
This started as a joke (like many things) and then we just made it. For fun. To get verified for life haha.
What inspires you?
Sounds cliche, but life itself. The small things are the best…
People inspire me too. I’m blessed with all the people around me.
But also visionaries like Steve Jobs inspire me to take things to the next level.
What is one mistake you’ve made, and what did you learn from it?
To start a record label the old fashion way. I learnt to always do it the way YOU want to do it.
Never do any concessions if you’re 100% sure about yourself. Gut feeling is my drive 🙂
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
It would be great if you could turn Twitter into a market space…. Wouldn’t it? Think a mix of Etsy/Twitter
What do you read every day, and why?
I like PSFK, who gives a global insight on what’s happening. Cool Hunting. But also Autoblog haha.
of all the newspapers I like The Guardian the most. I guess it’s the way they write and how the site is structured.
And they are European based, which I like haha.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read, and why?
REWORK by Jason Fried.
What is your favorite gadget, app or piece of software that helps you every day?
Besides my own app? Haha. I’m addicted to REEDER. Best rss reader out there.
Three people we should follow on Twitter, and why?
My friend @Boris from The Next Web. Because he isn’t verified hahaha. Nah, mainly because it’s a good blend between personal jokes and tech news. I like how he starts Socialstatistics over a night and get on BBC the next day.
@the99percent gives you great insight on how to maximize your work flows and businesses.
@rands an engineer from the valley who is just great with words. His book, Being Geek gives also a good insight in how to communicate with nerds hahaha
Who would you love to see interviewed on IdeaMensch?
My buddy @renn who’s on his way to disrupt the business cards business with his company Cardcloud.
When is the last time you laughed out loud? What caused it.
Yesterday. This blogger from The Impossible Cool posted a picture of me on his blog wishing Robert de Niro a happy birthday.
Little did he know it was a picture of me (people say I look like Robert de Niro in his early years, think Taxi Driver).
Being an Entrepreneur how did it all begin?
I guess it all started with my blog, nalden.net, which is my playground since I was 16. 10 years ago I built the blog and started sharing my enthusiasm on stuff I like. Over the years the blog evolved to an alternative platform for creative people, artists and brands to be seen & heard. All on the premise of my postive enthusiasm and sharing the stories that excite me.
Because I didn’t like banner advertising, I started experimenting with full screen advertising via Wallpapers. Challenging brands to be visually creative and make sure people acutally like the ‘ads’. This worked out pretty well and within 6 months I was able to make a living with doing the blog. It’s non-obtrusive advertising exactly the way I like it. I love branding, so the right brands can get in and show what their made of. My visitors, who I consider future friends, are like me and love to download these wallpapers to put them on their desktop of whatever device they carry. To me, that’s about connecting brands with fans. And this is where my entrepreneurial spirit kicked in haha.
One other great effect of the blog was the fact it automatically attracts like-minded people. A lot of my new friends I know because of this. Based on postive thoughts and the same interest this resulted also in new businesses. While I was slowly becoming my own ‘brand’ I started a simple file transfer service with a friend of mine. We scaled the full screen business model of my blog, and made the service as easy as possible, so my dad was able to use it. 1,5 years later we have 6 million unique people making use of WeTransfer. What’s even more interesting, is the fact the advertising model got noticed by the big brands and agencies. Slowly it’s becoming a mature model and at one point even an IAB standard haha. That would be rad.
Either way, that’s the mission of my next startup called Kuvva. To turn dead space into creative space and remove the banner from the internet. We think we are able to provide in an alternative way to provide people with relevant ads they start to like. Being independent, it’s a long bumpy road, but that’s the only way to find out if you’re a true entrepreneur right?
Are you satisfied with yourself as a person?
Yes at the moment I really found peace with myself. But, knowing me, I’ll never get used to the comfort zone and will look how to improve or try out things.
Connect
Nalden on Twitter: @nalden
nalden.net
google nalden also works.
Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.