Mikkel Hippe Brun
InvestorFounderCo-founder at Tradeshift
Copenhagen, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark
FoundedTradeshift
About
Mikkel Hippe Brun combined early SGML/XML entrepreneurship, a University of Copenhagen computer-science master's and public-sector architecture work to help build Denmark's e-invoicing infrastructure and the European PEPPOL network. With Christian Lanng and Gert Sylvest he converted that experience into Tradeshift, where he led product and partner strategy, APAC expansion, the Baiwang China joint venture and the payment-automation business. His own China retrospective is unusually candid: local-market learning, a failed initial on-premise model, costly maintenance, delayed revenue and a difficult joint-venture restructuring preceded later customer wins. Tradeshift reported unicorn-scale fundraising and network activity during his tenure, but those are company outcomes and institutional capital, not his personal portfolio. He left in October 2023 after saying reduced autonomy and a late-2022 episode of acute heart inflammation made him reassess his work; he said he had fully recovered. He then joined the family-built Session platform, served six months as ShipServ's interim CEO, heads Copenhagen activity for the ELIAS AI network, and in 2026 helped launch the self-financed GoCoach marketplace. His public views join open, interoperable infrastructure with human-centered digitization, citizen control of data, responsible automation, AI access and deliberate company-building. Greenbridge is his only currently verified external corporate board. Registry records show his ZTLment/ComplyPay board service ended in January 2026 despite a stale self-reported profile. No named personal angel portfolio, personal Tradeshift liquidity event or realized investment return was verified; byFounders participation is fund/collective activity, and Session/GoCoach is documented only as collectively family-financed founder capital.
Invests in
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingEnterprise SoftwareFintechMarketplaces
Co-founder at Tradeshift
Intro paths
In turn, Mikkel can intro founders to Tradeshift's investors below.
Tradeshift's investors · 6
Co-founders at Tradeshift
Experience
- Kilmer Van Nostrand Co. LimitedDirector, Tax and Financial Planningcurrent2021 — presentToronto, ON
- SunwingSenior Tax Manager2021Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- SunwingTax Manager2020 — 2021Toronto, Canada Area
- DeloitteManager, International Tax2018 — 2020Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- DeloitteSenior Tax Analyst, International Tax2017 — 2018Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- DeloitteTax Analyst, International Tax2016 — 2017Toronto, Canada Area
- DeloitteTax Analyst, Private Company Services2015
- Presidents Choice FinancialPersonal Banking Representative2013 — 2014
- Laurier Athletic ComplexHawk Desk Attendant2012 — 2013
- The LinkCo-VP Conference2012 — 2013
- The LinkCo-Director Conference Events2011 — 2012Waterloo, Ontario
- The LinkCase Team member2010 — 2011Waterloo, Ontario
- Gordon Marine Ltd.Dock Attendant2010 — 2012Gananoque, Ontario
- TA AndreYard Manager2010 — 2012Kingston, Ontario
Skills & more
+3 more
AccountingFinancial AnalysisTax AccountingFrom Mikkel's professional profile.
Investments
Investor
Session / GoCoach
Per curated public sources.
Founder fit — who Mikkel backs
Technically credible Nordic or Baltic founders tackling difficult infrastructure, B2B network, payments, AI, education or service-marketplace problems who want operating help with product strategy, public-private infrastructure, Asian expansion, joint ventures, P&L design or scaling.
['Requests that treat byFounders portfolio companies as his personal deals', 'Requests that treat Greenbridge investments as his personal checks', "Claims that Tradeshift's institutional financing or acquisitions are his investments", "Assuming GRANNOV HOLDING's undisclosed assets form a public portfolio", 'Pitches relying on a public check size, fixed stage mandate or active angel program', 'Closed vendor lock-in where interoperable architecture is central to the problem', 'Automation that ignores training, consent, inclusion or human outcomes', 'Any outreach based on the false Queue-it association']
How to pitch
Lead with the hard problem, system architecture, participant incentives, interoperability, evidence of adoption and the exact operating challenge. Explain why the business can scale globally and how human, regulatory and democratic effects are handled. Ask whether the opportunity fits a personal, family-company, byFounders, Greenbridge, board or advisory capacity; do not presume those pools are interchangeable. No personal check range or open angel mandate is public.
Stages: pre-seed and seed through byFounders context, not individualized, company-building and growth-stage operating support · Sectors: B2B networks and marketplaces, E-invoicing, procurement and payments, Digital public infrastructure, Enterprise software and interoperability, Artificial intelligence and sustainability, Education, coaching and service marketplaces, Nordic and Baltic technology
Editorial inference from Mikkel's portfolio, writing and public record — not a published mandate.
Investment themes
12 documented themes from Mikkel's essays, talks and portfolio, grouped by what they say about founders.
▶More themes12
Open, interoperable digital public infrastructure
B2B networks replacing one-to-one integration
Digital-by-default commerce with open APIs and specialist apps
Local trust, autonomy and tenacity in international expansion
Human-centered automation paired with training
Citizen control, consent and democratic protection of data
Technology measured by quality of life and societal values
AI-augmented, equitable and socially rich learning
Innovation teams as diverse leadership accelerators
AI for sustainability and European research-to-industry links
Family-funded service marketplaces and quality before forced scale
Founder autonomy, health and sustainable role design
Podcasts & interviews
featuring Mikkel Hippe BrunDoing Business in China
notion.vc · notion.vc
Mikkel Hippe Brun: Enhjørningens Hemmelighed
atv.dk · atv.dk
China Is a Prize for Western CEOs, but Google and Facebook Failed
businessinsider.com · businessinsider.com
Interview with Mikkel Hippe Brun, Co-founder of Tradeshift
techround.co.uk · techround.co.uk
Situation Room #1: Observations from the Front Lines
medium.com · medium.com
Mennesket før maskinen
danskerhverv.dk · danskerhverv.dk
Writing
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Mikkel Hippe Brun?
- He is a Danish computer scientist, digital-infrastructure architect and entrepreneur who co-founded Tradeshift, later led its APAC, China and payment-automation operations, and now works across Session, GoCoach, ELIAS and Greenbridge.
- What did he study?
- Computer science at the University of Copenhagen from 1989 to 1996, with a master's focus on SGML/XML, groupware and collaborative editing, plus a 1994-1995 UC Irvine CSCW/groupware period.
- What did he do before Tradeshift?
- He co-founded XML/SGML company Integrator, created SchemaWorks, advised Denmark's national XML program, became a chief consultant and IT architect in the National IT and Telecom Agency, and served as PEPPOL technical director.
- What was his role in EasyTrade and Danish public digitization?
- He helped architect national web-service and e-invoice infrastructure, handled technical standardization and validation work, participated in OASIS UBL and helped turn the public-sector experience into Tradeshift. Exact responsibility was shared with colleagues and is not treated as his alone.
- Who founded Tradeshift and how were roles divided?
- Hippe Brun founded it with Christian Lanng and Gert Sylvest after shared e-government work. Hippe Brun led product/partner and global strategy, then APAC, China and payment automation; Lanng was CEO and Sylvest led core technical work.
- What did he believe was different about Tradeshift?
- Businesses should connect through a reusable social-network-like layer rather than build costly one-to-one integrations, then digitize invoicing, purchasing, risk and specialist services through open APIs and apps.
- What happened in Tradeshift's China expansion?
- He built a Suzhou operation and Baiwang joint venture to reach the Golden Tax System. The first customized on-premise model was costly and did not generate expected revenue, forcing a difficult restructuring before later customer wins.
- Why did he leave Tradeshift?
- In his own October 2023 statement, he cited reduced autonomy after moving from China leadership into a central role and reflection after late-2022 acute heart inflammation. He said he had fully recovered and remained supportive of Tradeshift's mission.
- What is he doing now?
- He is Session and GoCoach Chief Strategy Officer, heads Copenhagen activity for the ELIAS AI network, remains a byFounders Collective member and serves on Greenbridge's board.
- Did he become ShipServ CEO?
- He served as interim CEO for roughly six months from December 2024 to May 2025. Companies House confirms a matching directorship from December 5, 2024 to May 10, 2025.
- Is he still on the ComplyPay board?
- No. His profile and some biographies are stale: Danish registry-derived records show both ZTLment and Complypay Group board service ending January 9, 2026.
- What are his views on data and democracy?
- He argues that digitization should serve quality of life and democratic values, with citizens controlling access to their data rather than accepting every technically possible form of institutional or commercial optimization.
- Does he invest personally in startups?
- No named personal angel deal was verified. He calls himself an investor and byFounders Collective member, but that is fund/collective activity. Session/GoCoach is documented as family-self-financed, without his individual amount. Greenbridge and Tradeshift transactions are company capital.
- Was he a Queue-it founder or executive?
- No reliable evidence supports that association. Queue-it's official history and current leadership pages do not connect him to the company; his documented 2010 Copenhagen founding role is at Tradeshift.
Same school
Also attended University of Waterloo424
+ 418 more
Also attended Wilfrid Laurier University117
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+ 111 more
Also attended Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada)87
+ 81 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Kilmer Van Nostrand Co. Limited3
Also worked at Sunwing1
Also worked at Deloitte1,858
+ 1,852 more