Go Upstream_
Founder support & angel investments

We help founders go upstream_

Go Upstream AB, founded by George Brontén, helps entrepreneurs on their journey: as a thinking partner on strategy, product, and go-to-market, and sometimes as an angel investor. Our home turf is technology, first and foremost SaaS.

About

25+ years of doing the work

Go Upstream is not a fund with a clock ticking. It is the personal company of George Brontén, a serial entrepreneur who has spent 25+ years building software companies from first line of code to profitable scale and exit. He created it to share that journey with other founders.

What we bring is operating experience: product strategy, go-to-market for complex B2B sales, pricing, positioning, and the patience to build companies that last. When the fit is right, we also invest. But the partnership always comes first.

25+
Years building software
80+
Countries served by Membrain
300+
Customers at Upstream, then sold
2
Companies founded and run
Engagements

Companies and communities we're part of

Founder · Exited

Upstream

Software solutions for proactive, automated IT operations in the Nordics. Founded, scaled to 300+ business customers, and sold.

upstream.se →
Founder · Majority owner

Membrain

The B2B Growth Platform for companies where HOW you sell matters. Sales execution, coaching and CRM. Used by clients in 80+ countries.

membrain.com →
Ambassador member · Shareholder

Founders Alliance

Sweden's leading network for founders. George is an ambassador member and small shareholder, and shares their burning passion for entrepreneurship.

foundersalliance.com →
Founder

Helny

A second-hand shop should sell things, not administer them. Snap a photo and Helny's AI does the rest: social media, auction sites, sales results.

helny.app →
Founder

ABKoll

That nagging feeling. Was the annual report due? One day late costs 7,500 kr. We built ABKoll so you never wonder again, and stay on top of your dividends.

abkoll.se →
What we look for

Founders who zoom out, then in

The founders we back can work at both altitudes: the whole system one moment, the single broken step the next. We partner selectively, mostly in Nordic B2B SaaS, at stages where operating experience makes a real difference. When the fit is right, we invest as angels. If this sounds like you, we'd like to hear from you.

01
B2B SaaS with recurring revenue
Products that solve a painful, well-understood problem for business customers, ideally with early proof of willingness to pay.
02
Founder-led and mission-driven
Entrepreneurs with deep domain insight, who care about craft and customers more than hype cycles.
03
Capital-efficient growth
Companies built to become profitable, not just to raise the next round.
04
A long-term mindset
We think in years, not quarters, and we prefer partners who think the same way.
We think in years, not quarters_
George Brontén · Founder & Investor
George Brontén
George Brontén
Founder & Investor
Founder

Meet George Brontén

George is a life-long entrepreneur with 25+ years in the software industry. He founded Upstream, building it into a leading Nordic provider of IT management solutions before its successful exit, and is the founder and majority owner of Membrain, the award-winning B2B Growth Platform used in 80+ countries.

He writes about the art and science of complex sales, and invests in founders who share his belief that great companies are built on craft, patience, and solving problems at the source.

Contact

Start a conversation

Go Upstream is more than capital. We act as a thinking partner to founders: a sounding board on strategy, product, and go-to-market. And we make angel investments in companies we believe in.

If that resonates, reach out and tell us your why: the problem you can't stop thinking about, and the long-term vision you're building toward.

Direct, no forms
george@membrain.com_
No contact form, no tracking, no analytics. This site collects nothing. Email reaches George directly.