Sweden’s ability to bring out tech giants is well established. Skype messaging has transformed the way of communicating at the turn of the century ; Spotify took over by revolutionizing the music industry; the start-up Klarna is the latest darling in the Nordic country.
The deferred payment specialist (“Buy Now, Pay Later”) is valued at $ 31 billion since its last round of table in March. And, according to some media, fintech is about to complete a new fundraising that would bring its valuation to more than 40 billion dollars …
When asked on the subject, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, the boss of Klarna, kicks in touch. It is true that the timing is not ideal for commenting on (potential) new financing. A few days earlier, the scale-up had indeed been the victim of an embarrassing technical bug.
90 million users
By opening their app, Klarna users gained access to personal and banking data of other customers. “It tarnished our reputation,” concedes Sebastian Siemiatkowski, while indicating that his employees were working hard to shed light on this incident. “We don’t yet know exactly how many people have been affected. “
During this crisis, the forty-year-old Swede has stepped up to the plate by sharing information on Twitter, where he is followed by more than 10,000 people and poses in an acrobatic position. FinTech cannot take this problem lightly: it must restore confidence as quickly as possible if it is to continue its imperial march forward.
The success of Klarna, which boasts 90 million active users and more than 250,000 partner merchants, was not won in advance. When Sebastian Siemiatkowski co-founded the company in 2005 with Niklas Adalberth – whom he met while making burgers at a Burger King – and Victor Jacobsson, skeptics were rife.
But the economics graduate from Stockholm University has a hunch that consumers want more flexibility in their purchases. Klarna will thus popularize deferred payment, which makes it possible to make a purchase on a whim and be charged several days later. The fintech ensures the solvency of the client, advances the funds, and takes a commission on the sales of traders.
Under the leadership of Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Klarna conquered the Nordic countries, then accelerated its international expansion – France is its 17e market. The company, adept at offbeat communication, mainly appeals to young consumers by offering a high-end digital experience – Klarna’s watchword is “smooth”. The giants of venture capital (Sequoia, Atomico, Silver Lake, etc.) have the eyes of Chimene for her. Klarna’s valuation rose from $ 5 billion to $ 31 billion in the space of two years!
Super payment app
“Investors believe Klarna is one of the companies with the potential to transform the payment industry for the better, both for consumers and for merchants,” observes Sebastian Siemiatkowski, the son of two Polish immigrants. .
However, some skeptics warn against a “Klarnage” (contraction of Klarna and carnage), or an addiction to easy credit for modest households. Regulators are therefore closely monitoring the boom in deferred payment players, of which Klarna is the flagship in Europe.
Sebastian Siemiatkowski, whose personal fortune is esteemed to $ 2.2 billion by the magazine “Forbes”, is confident in the future. The credit market is huge and there is room for innovative players, he argues in substance.
Klarna does not want to settle for deferred payment for shopping enthusiasts. In Germany, fintech, for example, allows its customers to open a bank account and have a Visa credit card. Sebastian Siemiatkowski sees far: “We want to offer an everyday payment solution for your expenses. “
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