Cole Bittel left a stable job, moved off Google, started questioning who actually runs the world, and then built a tap-to-pay app to do something about it.

Cole is an American, living in Denmark for seven years, building Walt: a European alternative to Apple Pay and Google Wallet. The pitch sounds clean. The reality is messier. He's a solo founder, a year in, staying up until 2AM, asking his AI co-founder whether humans will actually pay for what he's building. And yes, his mom is covering the Claude subscription.This is what it actually looks like to be in the middle of it.

WHAT WE COVER

- Why building a product for European sovereignty, and why he genuinely believes it's also good for the US- What it costs emotionally to hire AI as your co-founder, and whether loneliness has caught up with him yet- The honest answer to "how are you funding this?" that most founders never say out loud- Why software engineering is no longer a defensible career, coming from a software engineer with 12 years in the field- The bootstrapping myth in fintech: why everyone wants to do it, and why almost no one can- What's happening to VC funds right now that makes pre-seed founders invisible and why most founders don't understand this before they start pitching- The one question no investor ever asks and why Cole thinks it's the only one that actually matters

No one have the answers, not Cole, not Christie, not the Anthropic CEO, not the Pope. That's kind of the point.If you're building something right now, thinking about it, or trying to figure out whether you have what it takes, tune into this candid conversation.

Subscribe for more conversations, share the questions you would like us to ask and help us keep the show running!

The Nordic fintech scene is about to have its Nokia moment. And Monika Liikamaa is one of the few people willing to say it out loud.

In this candid conversation hosted by Christie H.Kristensen, they we delve into the things the industry keeps dancing around:

— Why the Nordics have been coasting on a reputation that's starting to expire— Europe innovates 30% of the world's ideas and commercialises 2%. What the hell is going on?— Why the EU sometimes feels like the world's most expensive book club— The 2% VC funding stat that everyone misreads — it's a consequence, not the problem— Why women aren't pitching big enough (and what "big enough" actually looks like)— How banks lost the plot by choosing compliance theatre over customer obsession— Why Revolut is eating everyone's lunch — and how they turned on the fees and nobody flinched— Social media, the algorithm, and why Monika is still hopeful about the next generation— Writing your own eulogy as a leadership tool— And the two words that kept coming up in every single topic: just do.

This is the kind of conversation fintech actually needs more of. It's candid, direct, and built on real experience.

Tune in on this conversation hosted by Christie H.Kristensen. A candid take from an industry trailblazer, Monika Liikamaa - a fintech founder, builder, and investor who co-built Enfuce into one of Europe's leading cloud-native payment platforms - 24 million end-users. She's now building and backing the next wave of innovation in health and MedTech.

In this episode of the Pantrium podcast, part of the Exit mini-series, Christie H. Kristensen sat down with Tuomas Toivonen, co-founder and CEO of Holvi, for a raw and rather unique founder journey.

Tuomas built Holvi in Helsinki in 2011, before "fintech" was even a recognised term. What started as a group of small business owners scratching their own itch, needing a unified banking and financial management solution that simply didn't exist, became one of Europe's early neobanks. No templates. No category playbook. Just a willing founding team and a lot of building from scratch.

We went the full circle together: the early angel and seed investment rounds, what Tuomas wishes founders understood about taking external capital in regulated industries, the acquisition by BBVA in 2016, operating as an independently regulated entity inside a global bank, the Brexit decision to exit the UK market, all the way to the management buyout in 2020 that brought Holvi back under founder control in the middle of COVID.

Tuomas gave an unfiltered account of what the buyout actually looked like: giving themselves 50/50 odds of being bust within two years, reducing the team dramatically, cancelling all company cards and rebuilding the economics from zero. And then what it took to come out the other side.

The episode closes with his take on exit culture in the startup world, and why — after 15 years with the same company, across phases that felt like completely different businesses — he still believes the journey is the reward.

It’s a Full Fintech Circle

00:00 Welcome to Exit Series

01:08 Founding a Fintech Pioneer

01:35 No Templates in 2011

04:01 Scratching Own Itch

06:26 Taking Money Changes Goals

09:15 Regulation and Investor Fit

11:14 Building the Early Board

12:38 Why Sell to BBVA

14:54 Due Diligence on Acquirer

16:33 Signing Day Emotions

19:20 Life Inside a Big Bank

21:45 Role Shift and Tech Build

22:44 Scaling Across Europe

24:01 Recording Glitch and Return

26:01 UK Expansion Lessons

26:40 Brexit Forces Exit

28:25 Why Reacquire Hal

32:34 Buyout Mechanics

33:30 Turnaround Risk Reality

35:42 Cost Cuts And Layoffs

39:52 Rebuilding Culture Ownership

40:56 Pricing Shift Profitability

43:51 Founder Lessons Patience

45:10 Exit Myth Reality

47:05 Future of Holvi

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In this first episode in the mini series we call Excit - where we go behind the screen of fintech startup champaign and glam to talk about What it feels like when you’ve spent years building something—only to watch it change… or even disappear…And we’re here today to talk about what happened earlier this week. it was announced that Spiir, the leading fintech in the nordics and money app will be shut down.So this conversation is not about how to build a successful startup.It’s about what it actually costs. What it feels like to let go. And whether success always feels like success on the other side.A conversation with the founder behind Spiir and Aiia, which got acquired by Mastercard in 2021. After years of building, pushing, and sacrificing, Rune reached the milestone every founder dreams of—an exit. The company he helped build was acquired by Mastercard. On paper, it was success. Validation. The moment that makes it all worth it.And in many ways, it was.There was pride in what had been built from nothing. Pride in creating something valuable enough to matter. And something deeply personal in being able to “pay back” the people who had supported the journey along the way.But the intensity that had defined everyday life—the constant problem-solving, the chaos, the momentum—suddenly stopped. Going from 15–30 decisions a day, from early mornings into late nights, to a calendar filled with meetings and predictable structure… felt less like progress, and more like standing still.As he puts it, it felt like no longer “moving any stones.”So he made a decision to step away.To start again—this time as an investor, and eventually, as a builder once more.The Founder’s Paradox — Building, Letting Go, and Watching It End”1. The Beginning — Before It Was Obvious“Take me back to 2011—building Spiir before open banking even existed. What did you believe then that most people thought was wrong?”2. The Climb — The Real Cost of Building“We often romanticize startup journeys—but what did it actually cost you personally to build Spear and later Aiia?”3. The Exit — Winning, But at What Price?“When Mastercard acquired Aiia in 2021, what did ‘success’ feel like in that moment—and what didn’t feel the way you expected?”4. The Hard Truth — Watching It End“Now, with Spear being shut down in 2026—how does that actually feel, seeing something you spent years building come to an end under someone else’s ownership?”5. The Reflection — What Founders Don’t Talk About Enough“If you’re brutally honest—what do founders get wrong about building toward an exit, and what would you do differently if you started again tomorrow?”“What gap does Spiir leaving the market create—and does that part of you want to build again?”Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/night-drift/the-cleanerLicense code: GJBCGVW3GGGELEGR

In the latest Pantrium conversation, Christie H.Kristensen and Nabeel Moose, SVP, Embedded Finance solutions at Odevo, discussed Nabeel’s career journey from strategy consulting in London to in-house strategy at Visa and then product at Nets in Copenhagen, highlighting his pattern of leaving roles after learning “enough” to build new skills. He explains why he moved from strategy into product to own end-to-end execution, including leading PSD2/Strong Customer Authentication implementation and learning to translate vague strategy into actionable work with engineers and cross-functional teams. Key takeaways include creating “vehicles” like programs to scale delivery, improving stakeholder management by making decisions bilaterally rather than via large steering committees, tailoring communication to different audiences, and relying less on slides and more on concise docs. He shares leadership beliefs about clarity of purpose, trust, saying no upward, building for regulation, and staying future-proof by tracking industry change.00:00 Welcome and Fun Fact01:42 Career Turning Points04:32 From Strategy to Product08:24 Deep End at Nets10:02 Scaling Execution with Programs15:14 PSD2 and Measuring Success16:40 Aha Moment on Stakeholders19:35 What Is a SteerCo20:35 Steering Committee Dynamics21:34 Stakeholder Focus Framework23:05 Less Context More Speed25:07 Culture Shift Enterprise to Scaleup26:22 Trust Over Risk Decisions27:30 Career Pain Product Strategy33:08 Leadership Clarity and Noise35:11 Content Versus Influence37:14 Build for Regulation39:14 Uncomfortable Truth Input40:24 Staying Ahead of Ecosystem41:52 Closing and Signoff

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Stablecoins, MiCA & Agentic Commerce: The New Payments War Has StartedThe race for the future of money is no longer theoretical — it’s happening now.In this episode, Christie H. Kristensen sits down with Stefan Grasmann (Chief of Blockchain at Zühlke Group) to break down the biggest shifts shaping payments today — from stablecoins and regulation to AI-driven, agentic commerce.We unpack why recent moves from Stripe, PayPal, Visa, and Mastercard signal a global battle for money movement infrastructure — and why Mastercard’s BVNK move is a clear sign that the game is on.You’ll also learn:What MiCA and new U.S. regulation (Clarity Act, GENIUS Act) actually changeWhy stablecoins are gaining traction across both emerging and developed marketsThe hidden “last mile” problem in crypto paymentsWhy intermediaries aren’t disappearing — they’re evolvingHow AI agents could soon transact on your behalfWe also explore bold ideas from Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong around agent-driven commerce, and what innovations like x402 could unlock for the internet economy.The big question: Will this new financial system stay open — or be controlled by the same players, just on new rails?If you want to understand what’s really happening behind the headlines — this conversation is for you.Timestamps 00:00 Welcome and Context03:00 Why Crypto Feels Dirty04:51 MiCA and Bank Adoption08:31 Open Banking 2.011:08 Stablecoin Use Cases Map11:38 Retail in Emerging Markets13:38 Trading and Exchange Rails14:56 Payments Giants Go Onchain16:35 Institutions and Capital Markets19:13 New Intermediaries and Last Mile20:11 Visa vs MasterCard Catch Up24:20 Europe Sovereignty Debate25:07 Europe Tech Sovereignty26:18 Regulation And Political Will27:10 Coinbase X402 Explained29:30 Agents Paying For Data30:04 Old Rails Fight Back32:49 Agent Trust And Liability35:49 Signals Banks Must Watch40:44 Stablecoins Money In Transit43:48 Preparing For The Fast Shift45:48 Wrap Up And Where To Follow🔔 Subscribe for more unfiltered conversations Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/night-drift/the-cleanerLicense code: GJBCGVW3GGGELEGR

In the latest podcast episode, Christie H. Kristensen sits down with Simon Seiter, Managing Director at AllUnity (a EUR stablecoin for global use), to unpack the rise of stablecoins, the dominance of the US dollar, and what Europe must do to compete in the digital financial era.

In this episode, we explore:

What stablecoins actually are (EUR & USD on blockchain)

Why stablecoin payments are instant, 24/7, and near zero-fee

How businesses can start experimenting with small pilots

The massive USD dominance in the stablecoin market (99.9%)

Why euro stablecoins lag behind

The geopolitical impact of US Treasury backing

The Genius Act and its implications for non-US issuers

Why stablecoin issuers buying short-term US Treasury bills strengthens US refinancing

Why Europe needs a level playing field and consistent EU reserve rules

The concept of programmable money and streaming payments

Autonomous agents, machine wallets, and agentic commerce

Financial sovereignty in the digital age

We also discuss a crucial but uncomfortable truth: some actors profit when money moves slowly. Stablecoins change that.This conversation is for leaders in fintech, payments, blockchain, digital assets, treasury, policy, and anyone interested in the future of finance, DeFi, MiCA regulation, euro stablecoins, and digital sovereignty.

If Europe wants to compete with US dollar stablecoins like USDT and USDC, experimentation is key.

Simon’s advice: Try it out.

🔔 Subscribe for more unfiltered conversations

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/night-drift/the-...License code: DCXZVUNGAWM48HT0

Empathy is becoming one of the most underrated competitive advantages in business and AI is changing how we access it.

In this episode of the Pantrium Podcast, I sit down with Leander Wandsøe-Isaksen, Lead Strategist at GetWhy, to unpack why so many products fail, how businesses misunderstand their customers, and how AI-powered qualitative research can help close the empathy gap - fast.

We explore why data alone isn’t enough, how companies fool themselves into thinking they “already know the customer,” and why the future of AI isn’t about better chatbots - but deeper human understanding.

In this episode, we cover:

- Why 95% of products fail and what empathy has to do with it

- Qualitative vs quantitative data: when numbers aren’t enough

- How AI can unlock real customer insight in 24 hours

- The myths companies tell themselves about customer research

- Why emotional drivers matter more than technical features

- How to balance AI automation with human connection

- What true customer obsession actually looks like in practice

If you care about customer experience, AI in business, product-market fit, leadership, fintech, or building brands people trust, this episode is for you.

00:00 Introduction 

02:20 Understanding Empathy in Business

04:33 The Role of AI in Customer Research

06:09 Challenges in Customer Research

17:07 Empathy in the Financial Sector

23:27 Implementing Customer Insights Strategically

34:13 Final Thoughts and Future Predictions

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2026 is the year leaders and founders must disrupt themselves.

In the 2026 season opener of the Pantrium Podcast, host Christie H.Kristensen is joined by Urban Roth, Innovation Studio Lead at IBM, to unpack what the AI era really demands of leadership, organizations, and culture.

From the early days of AI (10 years ago) to today’s full-scale industry disruption, Urban shares what he’s seeing firsthand at the frontlines of innovation. As startups race to reshape markets and legacy companies struggle to adapt, one truth becomes clear: this transformation isn’t just technological - it’s deeply human.

Together, Christie and Urban explore:

• Why old playbooks no longer work in the age of AI

• How leadership must evolve as work, roles, and value creation change

• Why trust, transparency, and openness are essential to successful AI adoption

• How teams can stop hiding their use of AI and start learning together

• What startups get right about speed, purpose, and reinvention

• Why every organization must disrupt itself before it gets disrupted

Urban draws a powerful parallel to the shift from typewriters to computers: technology doesn’t eliminate human roles—it reshapes them. But without honest conversations, shared direction, and a human-centered approach, AI transformation risks becoming fragmented, fearful, and ultimately ineffective.

This episode is a call to action for leaders, founders, and innovators: bring your people with you, build trust before tools, and define how your organization will play in a system that is being rewritten in real time.

“You’re about to take your organization on an AI ride. If you don’t secure trust, you might not survive.”

00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome

00:50 Fun Facts and Personal Insights

02:31 Impactful Books and Ideas

04:20 AI in the Knowledge Economy

05:54 Tech-First vs. Impact-First Approaches

10:21 The New Playbook for AI

15:37 Leadership and Trust in AI Transformation

21:21 Reflections and Future Directions

33:11 Final Thoughts and Conclusion

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

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In this episode of the Pantrium Podcast, Christie H.Kristensen sat down with Mads Otto Hassert, Senior Account Manager at Google, whose path from a small Danish town to New York and Los Angeles has shaped a sharp perspective on leadership, culture, and innovation. An honest conversation exploring what it means to lead in the “messy middle” of AI adoption - a moment when the rules are still forming, yet the pace of change keeps accelerating.

Mads reflects on how cultural shifts across Denmark, the UK, and the US shaped his confidence, communication style, and approach to opportunity. 

They explored why AI should bring customers closer, not push them away, and how companies like Top Denmark are using simple generative AI applications to improve experiences without losing the human element.

Throughout the discussion, Mads emphasises that leaders don’t need to build AI - they need to learn how to apply it. The true advantage lies in experimenting early, starting small, and embracing continuous learning rather than waiting for a perfect roadmap. We also touch on the evolving pressures facing marketers, and why AI, when used thoughtfully, becomes a creative multiplier rather than a threat.

The conversation closed with reflections on grounded leadership, inspired by figures like Demis Hassabi from DeepMind, and why humility combined with ambition will define the next generation of leaders. This episode offers a clear, practical look at how to navigate AI, cultural change, and customer expectations with confidence and curiosity. 

00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome

00:57 Fun Facts and Personal Background

02:16 Career Journey and Lessons Learned

05:14 Cultural Differences in Professional Settings

09:36 Customer-Centric Business Strategies

11:18 AI in Business: Trends and Applications

20:01 Navigating AI and Professional Growth

24:20 Future Outlook and Closing Remarks

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