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