Ready for a steamy tech love story?. Thorbjørn Fink, COO of Pleo joins Denise for a spicy chat in the hot seat. Learn from Pleo and Enfuce's love story about building winning partnerships, maintaining great communication, making compromises and navigating the occasional rough patch. Denise and Thorbjørn discuss learning the right love languages, building trust, and dealing with a partner if the shoe doesn't fit.

Key Takeaways.

[0:00] Denise Johansson puts Thorbjørn Fink, COO of Pleo and longtime business partner, in the hot seat.

[3:42] Being a supplier is one thing, being a partner is another beast. Thorbjørn explains why long-term stability drives that choice.

[5:36] Compromise works when partners can grow together and find their respective wins, but building for the long term is about more than just the tech and the deal.

[9:34] Thorbjørn weighs the pros and cons of building everything yourself rather than taking the time to find the right partner: always focus on your mission!

[13:21] Saying goodbye is always hard. But if the partnership isn't right, it's better for all.

[17:10] Looking to become a great partner? Learn to speak the right language!

[20:14] Thorbjørn shares his closing thoughts for listeners.

[21:22] Denise signs out until the next time she puts an industry leader in the hot seat.

People.

• Guest Thorbjørn Fink, COO of Pleo, the spending solution for forward-thinking teams everywhere, making spending management effective and empowering.
• Host Denise Johansson, co-CEO and co-Founder of Enfuce, a female-founded fintech helping drive business growth, solve customer challenges, and extend financial inclusion.

Links.

• Pleo
• Enfuce

Guest Quotes (edited).

• Do the work before you put pen to paper. It's well worth it because you don't want to transplant your lungs and your heart and get something that doesn't match. — Thorbjørn Fink, Pleo, InTheHotSeat
• There's the agreement, there's the tech, but there's also the people behind it. — Thorbjørn Fink, Pleo, InTheHotSeat
• We are not here to build the full stack. We actually care very little about the tech stack. We care about the customer experience. — Thorbjørn Fink, Pleo, InTheHotSeat
• How on earth do I articulate this value to my stakeholders? How do I convince internally? Make sure you put yourself in your stakeholders' shoes and bring them up to standard so you can have an informed discussion. — Thorbjørn Fink, Pleo, InTheHotSeat

Denise Quotes (edited).

• Business is still done between humans, you need to be able to trust them. Because when things don't go as planned, the relationship will be tested and you want the right partner by your side to fix it. — Denise Johansson, InTheHotSeat
• Growing the right leaders and cultures internally is the very start of becoming ready for true partnerships. — Denise Johansson, InTheHotSeat
• Communication is the key to success in private and business partnerships. — Denise Johansson, InTheHotSeat
• Once you are in a good partnership, you need to challenge each other, learn from each other, and trust that you are talking to smart, and capable people. — Denise Johansson, InTheHotSeat