How do you go from pitching Sequoia to ringing the bell on a US IPO?
Sebastian Siemiatkowski, co-founder and CEO of Klarna was raised in a home where ambition met accountability. Even as Klarna thrived in Sweden, his parents reminded him: “That’s fantastic. When are you going to get your degree?”
That grounding, paired with Sebastian’s own ambition to measure up to companies like Google and Facebook, pushed Klarna beyond local success to a global stage.
In this episode, we also get into:
• how sci-fi books inspired him to see entrepreneurship as an adventure
• how Klarna brought Sequoia on board
• how Klarna got ahead of Afterpay in the U.S market
• navigating co-founder tensions and pivoting leadership
• turning Sweden’s strict bill collection into Klarna’s advantage
ABOUT US:
We’re proudly sponsored by Brex—a brand I co-founded, now supporting over 30,000 businesses like Anthropic, DoorDash, and Scale AI, helping them make every dollar count.
I’m grateful for their continued support as I bring you all conversations with some of the most exceptional founders of our generation. For more information, please go to: https://www.brex.com/?ref_code=bmk_audio_HDinHD
Connect with us here:
1. Sebastian Siemiatkowski- https://x.com/klarnaseb
2. Brex- https://x.com/brexHQ
3. Henrique Dubugras- https://x.com/hdubugras
This episode was produced and distributed by our friends at Atomik Growth: https://atomikgrowth.com/
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
05:03 Background and Immigration
12:59 University Life
23:55 Gap Year Adventures
37:57 Finding Multiple Jobs
41:57 The Birth of Klarna
53:42 The First Product
01:15:32 Sequoia's Investment
01:34:50 Entering the US Market
01:49:01 AI and the Future
