From Near-Death to Building Different

I'm Jonas. I've built startups, survived cancer twice, and learned that the journey matters more than the destination. Now I help entrepreneurs grow businesses without losing themselves.

The story behind the philosophy

I had cancer twice. 6-7 months of chemo during COVID lockdowns. When you face death at 30, everything changes. The startup metrics you obsess over? They stop mattering. The hustle culture bullshit? It reveals itself as exactly that—bullshit.

You don't have to choose between building something meaningful and staying human. You can grow a business and keep your soul.

During chemo, I dove deep into philosophy. John Vervaeke's "Awakening from the Meaning Crisis" became my companion. Alan Watts, Camus, Heidegger, Viktor Frankl—they helped me make sense of life's absurdity.

I started writing three books on Flow, Love, and Acceptance. Not as theory—as lived experience. These became my framework for everything: relationships, business, creativity, life.

Today, I live in my hometown, grow vegetables and mushrooms, make music, and run Cathedral Studios with a 30-person team. We hit 40K wishlists in 48 hours without paid ads. I consult on growth hacking, fundraising, team building, and AI strategy. And I do it all while staying grounded in what actually matters.

The journey so far

Early Years

Music & Early Ventures

Toured as a musician with Electrick Village. Started learning what it means to create, collaborate, and build something from nothing. The entrepreneurial bug bit early—but I didn't understand what I was doing yet.

2015-2018

Building Startups

Co-founded Nordic Digital and GamerzClass (backed by 500 Startups). Learned growth hacking, fundraising, and team building the hard way. Made every mistake in the book—especially being too greedy, too attached to outcomes, too little focused on people.

2020-2021

Cancer & Transformation

Cancer. Twice. 6-7 months of chemo during COVID. Near-death experiences that forced me to ask: What actually matters? This wasn't theoretical anymore. Philosophy became survival. Flow, Love, Acceptance—these became my answer to the meaning crisis.

2021-2023

Finding Balance

Moved back to my hometown. Started growing vegetables and mushrooms. Continued making music. Began writing three books on flow, love, and acceptance. Learned that you can be ambitious without sacrificing what makes you human.

2023-Present

Cathedral Studios & Beyond

Joined Cathedral Studios as it grew to 30 people. Helped launch on Steam—40K wishlists in 48 hours through systematic growth hacking. Now consulting for other startups on growth, fundraising, team building, and AI strategy. Experimenting with AI for storytelling and automation. Teaching at SoundHub. Building businesses that align with who I am.

What I actually do

My work sits at the intersection of philosophy, growth strategy, and practical entrepreneurship.

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Cathedral Studios
Building games with a 30-person team

I joined Cathedral Studios to help scale our PC game launch. We reverse-engineered Steam's algorithm, localized to 30+ languages, and hit 40,000 wishlists in 48 hours—all without paid ads.

This taught me: platform-specific growth hacking, community building, and how to launch in competitive markets with limited resources.

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Growth Consulting
Helping startups scale sustainably

I work with conscious entrepreneurs on growth hacking, fundraising strategy, team building, and AI implementation. The focus: sustainable growth that doesn't burn out founders or teams.

From my own experience building and fundraising (500 Startups-backed), I know what works—and what destroys teams in the process.

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Philosophy & Writing
Making sense of life through Flow, Love, Acceptance

I'm writing three books on flow, love, and acceptance—not as abstract concepts, but as practical frameworks for living. I share insights on Substack and through this platform.

Philosophy isn't separate from business. It's the foundation for building something meaningful without losing yourself.

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AI Exploration
Experimenting with AI for creativity and automation

I experiment daily with AI—voice cloning, content generation, workflow automation. For Cathedral, I built a GPT API hack that localized our Steam page to 30+ languages in hours.

The question isn't "should we use AI?" It's "how do we use AI to enhance human creativity rather than replace it?"

What I believe

Journey over destination

The obsession with exits, unicorns, and "making it" misses the point. The journey—the people you work with, the problems you solve, the person you become—that's what actually matters.

Evidence over assumptions

I don't believe in growth hacks that sound clever but don't ship results. Everything I teach and apply comes from doing it—40K wishlists, 500 Startups fundraising, 30-person teams. Show me the evidence.

People over revenue

Building a business that makes money but destroys relationships isn't success—it's a slow suicide. Prioritize genuine connections, community, and human dignity. The money follows if you get this right.

Let passion guide pivots

I've gone from music to marketing to gaming to AI. Each pivot followed genuine curiosity, not calculated strategy. Build businesses that match who you are right now—not who you think you should be.

Accept life's absurdity

Camus was right: life is absurd. Most startups fail. We all die. Cancer taught me to accept this—and build anyway. Not despite the absurdity, but because of it. That's freedom.

Want to build differently?

Let's talk about how philosophy-forward growth can transform your business—without the burnout.

Let's Work Together

Join founders who've built $10M+ businesses with clarity