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.
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, straight out of what I'd lived through. These became my framework for everything: relationships, business, creativity, life.
Today, I live in my hometown, grow vegetables and mushrooms, make music, and help build Cathedral Studios. We hit 40,000 interested buyers 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.
I'm always building something. Right now that's Cathedral Studios (games), GoGrowth (this), a few stealth projects, and consulting with founders on whatever they're making. The list changes. The pattern doesn't: understand the platform, find the leverage point nobody's using, build genuine community around it.
40,000 interested buyers in 48 hours, newspapers doubling signups, SaaS founders 3x-ing conversion. Different industries, same principles.
I work with founders and the managers who actually run growth, across industries: gaming studios, SaaS, media companies like Politiken, e-commerce. Lately a lot of that is hands-on AI implementation. The focus: sustainable growth that doesn't burn out founders or teams.
From a game studio hitting 40K buyers in 48 hours, to a newspaper doubling newsletter signups, to SaaS founders 3x-ing conversion. Same patterns, different contexts. I help you find the specific leverage that works for your situation.
I'm writing three books on flow, love, and acceptance, tested on my own life before they went on the page. I share what I'm learning here.
Philosophy is the foundation for building something meaningful without losing yourself.
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.
I've stopped debating whether to use AI. The real question is how to use it 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 comes from doing it. Across gaming, media, SaaS, and startups. Show me the evidence.
People over revenue
Building a business that makes money but destroys relationships is 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. Curiosity picked every one of those pivots. Build businesses that match who you are right now, not the version of yourself you keep planning for.
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.
Want to build differently?
Let's talk about how philosophy-forward growth works in practice, without the burnout.
Let's Work TogetherNo pitch. Just a conversation about what you're building.