Life first, business second with e-Residency
E-resident Martin on how e-Residency has supported his nomadic lifestyle and his frank advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Residency
- Germany
Citizenship
- Denmark
Languages
English
German
Danish
Industry
Software development
About me
I'm Martin Nørgaard Gregersen, a Danish entrepreneur with a lifelong passion for building—from Legos as a child to software and businesses today. In 2009, I moved to Berlin, and in 2016, I became an Estonian e-resident, founding Paradigm Shift OÜ, a digital transformation company. Currently, I serve as CTO of sign.online OÜ, where we make online contracts and digital signatures accessible worldwide. This venture holds the world record for the fastest company formation, taking just 15 minutes and 33 seconds.
At sign.online, we aim to simplify legal processes globally, making secure digital signatures and contracts available to everyone. This innovation not only saves time but also makes complex legal procedures more accessible and efficient for individuals and businesses alike.
e-Residency has been crucial, providing the flexibility to manage my business from anywhere. This digital infrastructure aligns perfectly with my love for spending time outdoors, allowing me to balance work and life seamlessly. Whether hiking with my dogs or spending time with my son, I cherish the freedom that e-Residency affords.
"I am grateful to be an e-resident and part of the digital nation since 2016. Personally, I have travelled 40+ countries to explore the world – with e-Residency the world is coming to me. From a founder's perspective, I envision Estonia as the new "Silicon Valley" of the digital age. In a few years, the community has grown to 100K+ people from all around the world and empowered 25K location-independent businesses. As an e-Residency Envoy, I pledge to support digital mobility, digital identity innovation, and empowerment of individuals."
My journey
With e-Residency, you can easily register an EU business online without relocating and free from bureaucracy: great for remote entrepreneurs!
2016
I became an e-resident
I traveled around the world when I was 21 and decided I would not stay forever in my home country of Denmark. So in 2009, I moved to Berlin and began working as a self-employed web designer. Years later I was traveling again and managing my business from abroad while traveling was a challenge. When I moved to Greece, it became almost impossible for me to manage my simple one-man business on my own. After a separation with my Greek ex-wife, I had to leave my home and did not know where to go or how to keep operating my business, now that I was leaving Greece on short notice. A friend told me about e-Residency and I signed up within minutes. A week or two later, I went to the Danish embassy in Athens and picked up my e-Residency card.
2016
I registered my first company as an e-resident
I started my company Paradigm Shift OÜ shortly after and registered for VAT. I finally had a solution that allowed me to manage my business online, in English and pay my European taxes. This allowed me to be a digital nomad for 1,5 years before I was ready to settle down again in Germany.
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