Swedish DJ Alexander Ljung wanted to share his music–original tracks and custom remixes–the same way photos are shared on Flickr and articles written and shared via WordPress. This core desire to create and share music became SoundCloud, which Alex co-founded with Eric Wahlforss in 2007. Arguably, SoundCloud changed the music industry forever.

As a member of IADAS, judge of The Lovie Awards, and multiple Lovie Winner, Alex lends his expertise in mobile each year. Read on for a few things you may not know about Alex and SoundCloud.

He Never Thought He'd be an Entrepreneur

Although music was always his passion, Alex originally dreamed about becoming a sound engineer. It wasn’t until he and Eric Wahlforss–who met in class when they were the only students using Mac computers–interviewed social web pioneers for a book about online sociology that Alex felt the relentless pull of entrepreneurship. This was the moment they realised there was a need for a platform to make it easy for anyone to become a creator in the world of sound and music and easily share it with others.

SoundCloud Reshaped the Music Industry as We Know It

SoundCloud embodies the very DNA of the Internet itself: it’s a platform allowing anyone anywhere to create original content, openly share it online, and find success with their work. If creators are the building blocks of the Web, SoundCloud is one of our sharpest tools. In fact, SoundCloud was a starting springboard for many of today’s successful mainstream artists like Lorde, Bryson Tiller, and Future. Not only for up-and-comers, SoundCloud has become a first choice platform to release exclusive music for artists like Drake and Kanye West.

It's Not Just SoundCloud Anymore

Alex and the team recently launched SoundCloud Go, the monthly subscription service that grants users access to a huge new library of music, putting them in the company of services like Spotify and Apple Music. Now it’s not just the ability to upload and share a track, but users can stream music offline anytime through SoundCloud Go, taking the SoundCloud experience with them everywhere.

Berlin-based with a Global Approach

The SoundCloud staff represents over 30 different nationalities in their headquarters in Berlin. While SoundCloud’s official language is English, the team very nimbly translates and can talk to people from all over the world, without thinking twice. Alex’s international approach threads into the platform itself being truly universal; the UI and UX of SoundCloud is purposefully very simple and elegant, letting the international language of music shine through.

Alex's Words of Wisdom for Entrepreneurs

“Do it.”

No explanation necessary.