| Birth name | Jacob Louis de Geer |
|---|---|
| Birth date | 1975 (age 51–52) |
| Education | Stockholm School of Economics |
| Occupation | Investor · Entrepreneur |
| Known for | Founder of Zettle |
Jacob Louis de Geer (born August 1975) is a Swedish entrepreneur. He is best known as the co-founder and CEO of financial technology company Zettle.[1]
Early life and education
De Geer grew up in Stora Wäsby Castle in Upplands Väsby, Sweden. His father, Carl de Geer, was a banker and his mother Christina worked as a teacher.[2]
De Geer graduated with a Master of Science in Business Administration from the Stockholm School of Economics in 1999.[3]
Career
In 1999, de Geer became the first employee of TradeDoubler, a digital marketing company founded by Martin Lorentzon.[4][1][5]
In 2007, de Geer left TradeDoubler and co-founded a media agency, Tre Kronor, and film sharing service, Ameibo. He sold both companies in 2010.[2][6][5]
In 2010, de Geer co-founded financial technology company Zettle, a producer of mini chip card readers and software for mobile devices.[7] He came up with the idea for Zettle after his ex-wife, a sunglasses importer, lost out on business at a trade fair after being unable to process card payments for customers.[8][1]
In 2018, de Geer sold Zettle to PayPal for $2.2 billion.[3][9] De Geer continues to operate as Zettle's CEO in their head office in Stockholm, Sweden.[9]
References
- ^ "The Swede leading the way to a cashless society". BBC News. 2016-10-02. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
- ^ "Intervju: King träffar Izettle-miljardären Jacob de Geer" (in Swedish). Kingmagazine. 2018-10-24. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
- ^ "Jacob de Geer". Slush. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
- ^ Duke, Simon. "Cashless is king, says the tycoon taking on banks". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
- ^ "CEO Talk: Jacob de Geer". HuffPost. 2017-12-19. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
- ^ "Interview: Jacob de Geer, iZettle". Daily Business Magazine. 2017-06-02. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
- ^ "PayPal Completes Acquisition of iZettle". www.businesswire.com. 2018-09-20. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
- ^ Milne, Richard (24 April 2017). "Swedish tech know-how aids Stockholm's start-ups". Financial Times. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
- ^ "Why Sweden's iZettle sold to PayPal for $2.2 billion rather than IPO". VentureBeat. 2018-05-18. Retrieved 2021-08-04.