Two men in business attire sitting at a desk in a conference room, attentive with one man clasping his hands, and the other looking forward.

Felage is founded by Tobias Mathiasen to encourage more people to think big.

Two themes have defined Tobias’ journey: startups and global vision. A high-school attempt (and failure) to use the first smartphones to build a digital marketplace for emerging markets sparked a curiosity that led him to study global business in Hong Kong, Beijing, and Taiwan. Combining financial tools with a builder’s mindset, he has spent half his life building significant experience in early-stage startups and funding.

In Dublin’s vibrant tech scene, Tobias helped founders and investors position startups for maximum value. In Hong Kong’s financial sector, he guided international entrepreneurs in raising capital from Chinese investors. From Stockholm and Geneva, he spent five years as COO of Katalysen Ventures, investing into Nordic early-stage innovation.

Since 2022, Tobias has increasingly focused on Japan’s startup ecosystem. Today, he continues to support Katalysen Ventures as Venture Partner while based in Japan, exploring what matters most to him: helping Japanese founders and investors think big.

10 years of professional work at the intersections of early-stage innovation and finance.

Nighttime aerial view of Hong Kong skyline with skyscrapers, Victoria Harbour, and colorful sunset sky.

  • Helped founders, top management, and investors figure out how to best position and present innovation for maximum value.

  • Helped western tech companies raise over $300 million in growth capital from Asian investors.

  • Investing into European tech companies as Venture Partner at publicly-listed Katalysen Ventures.

  • Founded Felage to deploy my experience globally, collaborate with entrepreneurs and investors, and enable similar opportunities for like-minded people with global experience.

Eager to exchange experience and contribute to ecosystems, as speaker, moderator, and advisor.

A man with curly hair and glasses speaking into a microphone, wearing a navy blazer, light blue shirt, red tie, and beige pants, standing in front of a light-colored wall.
A man is giving a presentation at a conference with a slide that reads "Winning Over Mainstream Users, Will People Ever Want to Use Crypto?" The slide has a graphic of a person with labels such as "Lazy," "Want stability," "Don’t want multiple currencies," "Skeptical," "Have privacy concerns," and "Cash addict." The audience is seated and facing the speaker and screen.
A panel discussion with six people seated at the front of a room, with a woman speaking at a podium on the left and an audience seated facing the panel.
Sign for Nordic Startup Day event at Expo 2025 Nordic Pavilion in Osaka, Japan, on May 6th, 2025, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, featuring logos of Business Finland, Business Iceland, Innovation Norway, Danish Business Authority, Swedish Trade & Investment Council, Nordic Council of Ministers, Nordic Innovation House, and others.
Group of diverse people posing for a photo at an event, with a large screen behind them displaying a message of thanks for joining the Nordic conference.
Large screen displaying judges for a pitch contest, group 2, with four judges' portraits and names: Shinji Asada, Tina Cheng, Tobias Mathiasen, and Keisuke Ide, at an event with stage lights and equipment.

  • On “Challenges and opportunities for global investors in Kansai”.

  • On “How to build startup ecosystems for a better world”.

  • On “Digital Currencies and the Quantum Threat”.

  • On “Founding and Funding Startups in Japan”.

  • On “Investment Opportunities in the Nordics for Japanese Companies”

  • On “Potential of Kansai’s ecosystem for global deeptech investors”.

  • Kansai Inspiration Day 2024 was a startup pitch event held on February 28, 2024, in Kyoto, Japan, focusing on connecting startups with local governments and key players in the startup ecosystem to foster innovation and overseas expansion.

  • TAKEOFF Tokyo is a 2 days event that brings together visionaries, entrepreneurs, investors, and tech enthusiasts from around the world.

  • SUITz Tokyo is a global acceleration program for Climate Tech startups.

  • Knowledge Capital aims to become a hub for generating and sharing the “future of living” by leveraging the high potential of the Umekita (Osaka Station North District). By drawing on cutting-edge resources, Knowledge Capital develops initiatives under the theme of proposing, experiencing, and learning the lifestyles of the future. Through active interaction between people, ideas, and products, it fosters the creation of new knowledge.

  • The Global Startup Campus (GSC) Tokyo is a Japanese government initiative to create a global hub for deep tech innovation and startups by 2028, focusing on fields like AI and biotech to solve global challenges. This national project will establish a flagship center in central Tokyo with labs and collaborative spaces, fostering international talent and seamlessly connecting research to global market application. The goal is to revitalize Japan's economy through innovation, boost startup investment, and build a globally competitive ecosystem.

  • Joined JETRO and Antler to help lecture 100s of Japanese founders on global investor thinking and IR.