Please login or sign up to post and edit reviews.
EP 109: Sebastian Siemiatkowski (CEO, Klarna) on the Future of Klarna, Valuation Changes and AI in Finance
Podcast |
Cartoon Avatars
Publisher |
Logan Bartlett
Media Type |
audio
Categories Via RSS |
Business
Entrepreneurship
Investing
Technology
Publication Date |
Jun 28, 2024
Episode Duration |
02:05:57

Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski led the rise from a profitable business to their peak $50 billion valuation, in which they were burning $150 million a month. In my latest episode, Sebastian shares how he turned Klarna back to profitability and discusses Klarna’s ongoing pursuit of creating a digital financial assistant. He also reflects on their recent boardroom drama with Sequoia and outlines the operating principles and the repaired mistakes that have made Klarna the company it is today.

(00:00) Intro

(01:45) Personal Reflections on Alcohol and Family

(03:03) The Journey to Sobriety

(05:57) Milestones and Achievements

(07:59) Understanding Company Success

(10:54) Challenges and Pivots in Business

(16:50) Building and Maintaining Company Culture

(26:16) Leadership and Motivation

(32:42) What Klarna Does

(41:33) Reflecting on Leadership and Self-Development

(41:48) Promoting Young Talent and Internal Growth

(44:52) Balancing Autonomy and Standardization

(46:29) Adopting Agile and Toyota's Influence

(55:05) Navigating Regulatory Challenges

(01:00:11) Klarna's Financial Journey and Market Expansion

(01:10:38) Handling Valuation Resets and Layoffs

(01:23:57) Evaluating Individuals in Business Relationships

(01:24:22) Stability of Institutions and Individuals

(01:25:40) Perverse Incentives in VC Firms

(01:26:50) Hands-On Leadership in VC Firms

(01:28:54) The Impact of Michael Moritz

(01:34:52) Leadership Evolution and Self-Reflection

(01:39:11) Facing Challenges and Finding Solitude

(01:42:19) AI Integration at Klarna

(01:52:03) Balancing Capitalism and Societal Impact

(02:00:53) Creativity and Constraints in Problem Solving

(02:05:41) Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Executive Producer: Rashad Assir

Producer: Leah Clapper

Mixing and editing: Justin Hrabovsky

 

Check out Unsupervised Learning, Redpoint's AI Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@UCUl-s_Vp-Kkk_XVyDylNwLA

 

🎙 Listen to the show

 

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-logan-bartlett-show/id1606770839

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5WqBqDb4br3LlyVrdqOYYb?si=3076e6c1b5c94d63&nd=1

Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9zb0hJZkhWbg

 

🎥 Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCugS0jD5IAdoqzjaNYzns7w?sub_confirmation=1

 

Follow on Socials

 

📸 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/theloganbartlettshow

🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/loganbartshow

🎬 Clips on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@theloganbartlettshow

 

About the Show

 

Logan Bartlett is a Software Investor at Redpoint Ventures - a Silicon Valley-based VC with $6B AUM and investments in Snowflake, DraftKings, Twilio, and Netflix. In each episode, Logan goes behind the scenes with world-class entrepreneurs and investors. If you're interested in the real inside baseball of tech, entrepreneurship, and start-up investing, tune in every Friday for new episodes.

This episode currently has no reviews.

Submit Review
This episode could use a review!

This episode could use a review! Have anything to say about it? Share your thoughts using the button below.

Submit Review