Hejerr Opalen (Pacifica)

Hejerr Opalen
Opalen at the 2019 Lara Awards
Pronunciation	['heːjerː 'uːpʰɑːl̪eːn̪]
Born	(1983-11-27) November 27, 1983 Ȳmmoll, Sedunn
Citizenship	Sedunn
Education	Goends University of Technology, MScEng
Occupation	Entrepreneur Filmmaker
Years active	1991–present
Known for	Founder of Stream Founder of Lini Actor in Frying Pan and Single Me
Notable work	Foreign Flower Single Me IV
Parents	Matts Limienn (father) Aenn Skalienn (mother)
Awards	Grevienn Innovation Award (2018) Lara Award (2018) Entrepreneur of the year (2015) Golden Fly (best child actor, 1992 & 1993)

Hejerr Opalen (/'uːpʰɑːl̪eːn̪/ OO-pal-en; born November 27, 1983), nicknamed Qwerty, is a Sedunnic business magnate, entrepreneur, actor, film maker, philantropist and engineer. He is the founder and CEO of the Stream social media service, the Lini fast food restaurants and the battery manufacturer Ep. Opalen is also known for his lead role Juice in the popular sitcom Frying Pan and as Tavtid in the Single Me movies (vol. I-III).

Nickname

During the early days of Stream, Opalen often introduced himself as Qwerty. According to him, this was an online nickname that he had when playing LAN games during his exchange year in New Mako University, Izaakia, using an Austral keyboard with the QWERTY design, which was exotic to him. In recent years his usage of the nickname has been diminishing.

Early life and acting

Hejerr Opalen was born on November 27, 1983 in Ȳmmoll, Limravad, Sedunn. He grew up on the apple farm that belonged to his father Matts Limienn and mother Aenn Skalienn. Seven years old he was cast as Juice, the main protagonist in the television series Frying Pan, which he was awarded the Golden Fly twice. Due to the time spent on acting, he lagged behind in school. According to himself this and early fame made him feel like an "outcast", which he had issues dealing with. Eleven years old he was forced to change schools due severely bullying several classmates. His parents now declined all acting offers to let Opalen focus on school. He finished comprehensive school with good grades. For secondary education he attended the Dalmdarrg public school for technology and natural sciences in Ullenst. After finishing secondary school, he picked up acting again and was cast as Tavtid, lead role in the Single Me comedy films (vol I & II in 2000 and 2003 respectively). For his role, he was voted Sedunn's funniest man. During this time he picked up an interest in programming.

Education and early social media

Opalen was admitted to Goends University of Technology and the program for statistics in 2005. During his studies, he started experimenting with various chat clients and blogging platforms. In 2006 he launched Eras, an early social media platform, in cooperation with the Goends University of Technology Student Union. It gained some popularity due to a feature that allowed planning and organisation of events and was soon used by university officials too. He spent his fourth year as an exchange student in New Mako University, Izaakia, where he also had a brief career in e-sports. He introduced Eras to fellow students. In 2008 He finished his fifth year in university with a master's degree in engineering, and by that time, Eras had become popular among other Sedunnic students, starting to gain in popularity abroad as well.

Early business career

In 2009, seeing the rapid growth of Eras, Opalen decided to focus on developing the platform and founded a company together with university friends. They called the company Stream, to better appeal to international users. Backed by statistical trend analysis tools that they developed, they soon reached new markets and the number of users increased rapidly. By 2015, Stream had established itself as one of the major social media platforms with a global reach and hundreds of millions of daily users. This success was monetised by letting other companies advertise their products and services.

Opalen bought the bankrupt Sedunnic fast food chain Bettō in 2015 and rebranded it to Lini. Opalen used statistical data generated from Stream users to analyse what where to open new restaurants and what to offer on the menu. This controversial move was instrumental to the success of the Lini restaurants according to Opalen. There were two lawsuits, but Opalen was never convicted. Following the controversies, Opalen started donating 10% of his fortune to international aid in a likely move to restore his tarnished reputation.

Filmmaking

In 2016, Opalen picked up acting once again and reprised his role as Tavtid in Single Me III. The film was received well and is considered the most successful Sedunnic film in terms of revenue. Later that year, Opalen directed his first film in close cooperation with the Erinoran Ministry of Culture. Foreign Flower received good reviews internationally. In 2018 took over as director of the fourth Single Me film, where he also made a cameo as Tavtid. In 2019 Opalen said he was finished with filmmaking, but founded the Juice Foundation that funds independent films.

Later business career

Early in 2020, Opalen founded a new company called Ep that is to produce batteries, mainly to vehicles. Later this year, a joint venture with the Sedunnic aircraft manufacturer Levea was announced to develop electric airplanes for commercial traffic. In December 2020, Opalen announced that Stream will launch its own operating system in 2021.

Awards and honours

Hejer Opalen has received several awards for acting and entrepreneurship, including the following.

Acting and directing:

• Golden Fly twice for best child actor 1992 & 1993
• Lara Award for Patron of Film in 2018

Business:

• Grevienn Innovation Award 2018
• Entrepreneur of the year 2016
• Entrepreneur of the year 2015

Personal life

Opalen lives in Ullenst, where the headquarters of Stream is located. He is currently not in a relationship and has no children.

Health issues

In 2015, Opalen was found unconsciousness in his home by a close friend. According to Opalen's doctor, he suffered from blood pressure issues due to "conditions concerning weight". An "unhealthy and excessive diet for many years" was the cause, according to Opalen. He has recovered and been on a strict diet since.