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Kristjan Kangro

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Kristjan Kangro is an Estonian entrepreneur and investor who is founder and CEO of Estonian fintech firm Change.[1][2][3]

Education

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Kangro completed his bachelor's degree majoring in finance at Maastricht University and participated in an exchange semester at the National University of Singapore.[4]

Career

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At the age of 17, Kangro launched his first company, an electronics accessories venture SOCKme, which received recognition from the Estonian Prime minister and Norwegian Crown Prince. The company was recognized as top 5 student company in European Union and the best in Estonia.[5][6][7][8][9]

He later moved to the Netherlands, where he founded SwingBy, a startup specializing in automated scheduling tools. The company was acquired by Wil Lennaerts, the founder of MadMouse.[6]

After that, he moved to Singapore and took on the role of CFO at Expara, a venture capital firm, where he focused on growing its fintech portfolio.[6][10][4]

In 2016, Kangro founded Change, a fintech firm offering an investment app and multi-asset brokerage platform encompassing cryptocurrencies, stocks, derivatives, and yield products.[10][11][12]

In October 2018, his company raised $17.5 million in a crowdfunding campaign and €22 million in three investment rounds combined.[10][13][14]

In 2021, Change was valued at 175 million, and the Estonian newspaper Äripäev estimated Kangro to be the 43rd richest person in Estonia at the age of 28 years old.[15][16]

In 2018, he was nominated as Leader of Tomorrow in 48th St. Gallen Symposium. He also holds board and advisory roles, including supervisory board positions at Income (2020-2022), Danabijak (2018-2020) and Kingdom Technologies.[17][18][19]

In 2023, Ingmar Mattus, the founder of Tickmill, a UK-based brokerage, acquired 7.8% shareholding in Change from Kristjan Kangro.[20]

In August 2023 private equity company Andromeda Capital acquired a majority stake in Change by buying equity from Kristjan Kangro, increasing its stake in the company from 10% to 51%.[21]

References

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  1. ^ "How low will bitcoin go? 'Crunch time' for cryptocurrency as analysts predict 2019 price". The Independent. 2018-12-13. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
  2. ^ "Riding cryptocurrencies to become a major bank". CNBC. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
  3. ^ "Äripäev 27 september 2016 — DIGAR Eesti artiklid". dea.digar.ee. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  4. ^ a b "Stocks". Bloomberg.com. 2023-07-21. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
  5. ^ "SOCKme esindab Eestit Euroopa õpilasfirmade võistlusel". Kroonika (in Estonian). Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  6. ^ a b c "Kristjan Kangro". moontec.io. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
  7. ^ ERR (2011-04-28). "Aasta parimaks õpilasfirmaks valiti SOCKme". ERR (in Estonian). Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  8. ^ ERR (2011-08-08). "Student Company Lands Among Top 5 in Europe". ERR. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
  9. ^ "Kristjan Kangro - Fintech Finance". ffnews.com. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
  10. ^ a b c ""Eesti maffia" istutab idusid Kagu-Aasias". Äripäev (in Estonian). Retrieved 2023-07-25.
  11. ^ Reila, Bert (2017-11-29). "'Every guest from Singapore tells me – I wish I had come to Estonia sooner!' — Estonia". estonia.ee. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
  12. ^ "Top 300 Startups Founded in The Netherlands". www.failory.com. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
  13. ^ "Amsterdam-based cryptocurrency platform Change raises €2M to empower wealth creation globally | Silicon Canals". 2023-04-07. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
  14. ^ Sainul. "Singapore's community-led crypto-fintech startup Change raises US$17.5M via tokens sale". e27. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
  15. ^ "Tallinn-based crypto investment platform Change closes €3.7 million crowdfunding round, now valued at €175 million". Tech.eu. 2021-06-15. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
  16. ^ "Rikaste TOP 500: kriisiaasta tõi jõukate edetabelisse juurde 6 miljardit eurot". Äripäev (in Estonian). Retrieved 2023-07-25.
  17. ^ "[INTERVIEW] Change Bank wants finance to evolve and fintech aggregation is part of its plan - Innovation Is Everywhere" (in French). 2018-01-02. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
  18. ^ "Danabijak released their Group audited statements and surpassed USD 1M in the net portfolio! | Income marketplace". 2021-10-01. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
  19. ^ "Äripäev 30 aprill 2020 — DIGAR Eesti artiklid". dea.digar.ee. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
  20. ^ "Ingmar Mattuse fond investeeris taas Change'i ja ostis krüptoidust kümnendiku". Äripäev (in Estonian). Retrieved 2023-07-25.
  21. ^ "Swiss-based firm Andromeda Capital buys majority stake in Change Group". Tech.eu. 2023-08-22. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
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