Klarna's IPO CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski

22 snips

Sep 12, 2025

Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO of Klarna, shares his inspiring journey of transforming the company from billion-dollar losses to profitability. He reveals how Klarna isn't just a 'buy now, pay later' service but a full-fledged challenger to the U.S. credit card market. Sebastian discusses Klarna's innovative use of AI, playful branding, and the importance of employee-led initiatives. He also dives into his own coding adventures at night and how customer obsession drives success, all while humorously balancing tech and creativity for a trillion-dollar future.

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ANECDOTE

Blockbuster Roadtrip And The Hat

Sebastian recounts a US roadtrip stop at the last Blockbuster and buying its merch during their IPO roadshow.
He uses the Blockbuster hat as a playful homage while promoting Klarna's storytelling and brand energy.

INSIGHT

Banking Market As Trillion-Dollar Opportunity

Klarna targets retail banking and the $1.2T U.S. credit-card market as its expansion thesis.
Sebastian frames that market's excess profits and low customer mobility as ripe for disruption.

ANECDOTE

Pivot, Pressure, And The Tough Layoffs

Sebastian describes shifting Klarna from payments infrastructure to a consumer retail bank after losing ground to Adyen and Stripe.
He details painful 10% layoffs and an early decision to announce restructuring to regain investor trust.

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Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski joins Sourcery on the eve of their IPO to share the ultimate comeback story — from billion-dollar losses to profit, the hard layoffs, the AI rebuild, and why he let employees lead the charge with new tools. Recorded at the NYSE, this might be the best Sourcery interview to date.

We cover how Klarna balances playful branding — pink logos, surreal fish ads, and Snoop Dogg collaborations — with serious technology that powers 111M users and global expansion. Sebastian also addresses misconceptions: Klarna isn’t just “buy now, pay later,” but a full challenger to the $1.2T U.S. credit card market.

He explains why Klarna’s business model protects them in recessions, how AI is transforming culture and efficiency, and what he gets out of coding himself at night with Cursor. A company equal parts meme factory and trillion-dollar contender, this was so much fun.

1. Sebastian Siemiatkowski: https://x.com/klarnaseb

2. Molly O’Shea: ⁠https://x.com/MollySOShea⁠

3. Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryvc⁠

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