In this Tech Talks Daily Podcast episode, I had the opportunity to engage in a fascinating conversation with Thorbjørn Fink, COO of Pleo, a trailblazing company in the fintech sector. Our discussion offered an in-depth look at how Pleo transforms how businesses handle spending through innovative solutions that streamline financial processes and empower employees.

Thorbjørn began by sharing his journey in finance and what led him to join Pleo. His insights provided a unique perspective on the company's mission and operations, setting the stage for an enlightening discussion about what distinguishes Pleo in the competitive fintech landscape.

Much of our conversation revolved around Pleo's challenges while scaling across different markets. Thorbjørn highlighted the hurdles in attracting and retaining talent and the critical importance of investing in infrastructure and regulatory compliance to facilitate rapid expansion. This part of our dialogue offered listeners a rare glimpse into the complexities of scaling a fintech company internationally.

We then shifted our focus to the role of tools and automation in enhancing organizational efficiency and improving the working lives of employees. Thorbjørn emphasized the need for companies to identify areas where manual tasks bog down employees. He shared how Pleo's solutions, such as intelligent company cards and automated expense reports, are designed to alleviate these burdens, thereby unlocking business value through automation.

Another critical topic we delved into was the importance of automating processes in finance departments. Thorbjørn and I discussed how automation minimizes human errors and allows finance teams to focus on more strategic, value-added tasks. He stressed the necessity of building a scalable foundation in finance departments and being open to adopting new tools to future-proof these critical business units.

Throughout our conversation, Thorbjørn provided insights into Pleo's unique features, including its ability to catch receipts on the go, automatically categorize expenses, and offer full compatibility with Apple Pay and Google Pay. He also touched upon Pleo's innovative Pocket feature, which enables instant out-of-pocket spend reimbursement, illustrating how Pleo captures wall-to-wall spending across businesses.

As we wrapped up, Thorbjørn shared where listeners can find more information about Pleo and its offerings, inviting them to explore how Pleo's solutions can revolutionize their business spending and financial management.