ofthecountry’stopfive‘unicorns’–astartupvaluedatover
$1billion.)It’seasytoseewhyit’scapturedtheworld’sattention.
Withitspop-ybranding,cutesyPepto-pinklogoandflashy
celebritycredentials(SnoopDoggisaninvestorandthere
havebeenstarrycollaborationswiththelikesofLadyGaga),
Klarnaisn’tyouraveragebank.It’scool.It’sfun.It’soneofus.
Butcelebrityendorsementsandhighlystylisedadvertsaside,
reactionstoKlarnahaven’talwaysbeenfrictionless.Therehas
beenwidespreadcriticismthatKlarnais infactjusta modern-day
loanshark,butwithbetterbranding.It claimstransparency,but
encouragesdangerousspendinghabits,sometimesleading
consumers–particularlyitsyounger consumers(ofwhich
therearemany)– intolargeamountsofdebt.
‘Wecarealotaboutresponsibility,’Siemiatkowskisays,
stallingslightlyashesearches
fortherightwords.Headmits
that he is a player in an
industrythat‘unfortunately
has historically ruined
people’s lives. Banking
hasneverbeencustomer-
friendlyandI thinkwecanbe
a beamoflightinthatindustry
tochangeandimproveit’.But
whatabouttheparentsof
teenageusers,oneofwhom
tweetedangrily,claimingthat
their14-year-olddaughter
receivedaletterthreatening
debtcollectionafteropening
a Klarna account without
anysecuritychecks?And
thepeoplewhoseshopping
habitsvergeonaddiction?
How doeshe seeKlarna
helpingthem?
‘[Ifyoulookat]Klarna
versusthecreditcardindustry,
I’mmuchhappierforpeople
touseKlarnabecauseit’sona singletransaction,’hesays.‘Would
I ratherhaveayoungpersoncarryingaroundacreditcardor
this?I wouldmuchrathertheyhada debitcardandoccasionally
usedKlarna.’(Infact,at33,theaverageageofKlarnausersis
farhigherthantheofteninflammatoryheadlineswouldsuggest.)t’sclearthatSiemiatkowskitakestheresponsibilityhe
hastohiscustomersseriously.Thisincludesbeingas
transparentaspossibleaboutwhathappensifyou
don’tpayontime,andensuringtheymakea gooddecisionas
towhetheranapplicationisacceptedornot–if asoftcredit
check(onethatdoesn’tappearonyourcredithistory)shows
thatausercouldbeoverspending,theirpurchasewillbe
blocked.Youdon’thavetolookhardforfrustratedtweetsabout
Klarnausershavingtheirorderdenied.
Buthisplanwiththecompany,whichnowhires2,5OO
peopleworldwide,is thatit is farmorethanjusta loansplatform.‘Itstartedasa verysimplistic“buynow,paylater”service,butI’ve
alwayshadanaestheticside,’Siemiatkowskisays,recrossing
hislonglegs,bashinghisArctic-proofleatherbootsagainstthe
coffeetable,andtakinganotherbiteofhisoverfilledeggbap.
‘I’vealwayslovedarts,music...I’vedonea lotofdifferentthings.’ornin 1981 toPolishparentswhohademigratedto
Swedenearlierthatyear,Siemiatkowskiwasahigh
achieveratschool.GrowingupinUppsala,acity
justnorthofStockholm,hisparentsputahugeemphasison
educationandheremembersalwaysgoingbeyond
whatwasdemandedfromhim,reading
RichardBranson’sbusiness
books at the age
of 12. ‘Even when
I flippedburgers at
Burger King, I was
alwaysthinkingabout
howI couldprovidethe
best serviceandmake
people’slivesa biteasier.
‘YoucouldsayI had
twoparentswho,because
theywereimmigrants,didn’t
have the chance to live
uptotheirfullpotential,’he
says,suddenlybecomingvery
serious.‘Myfather,whostudied
foradoctorate,endedupbeing
unemployedforaperiodoftime;
thenhewasa cabdriver.Mymother,
whowasalsoanacademic,was
anearlyretireebecauseshehad
problemswithherback.’Hepauses.
‘I’msuretherewassomelevelof
justwantingtolivemy potential
whenI sawthatmyparentshadn’t.’
It waswhilehewasastudent
atStockholmSchoolofEconomics
thathefirsthadtheideaforKlarna– knownasInvoiceMethen–
alongwithtwofellowstudents,NiklasAdalberthandVictor
Jacobsson,bothofwhomarestillshareholdersinthecompany.
TheearlydaysechothestoriesofMarkZuckerbergcoding
awayinhiscollegedormorJeffBezoscreatingAmazonfrom
a rentedgarageinSeattle,butwitha moreScandinaviantwist.
‘Wehavethisveryoldpicture,whichwastakenduringthe
summer,’Siemiatkowskirecallslaughing.‘Therewasnoair
conditioning,soit wassuperhotandwe’realltheresittinginour
underwearworkingtogether,becauseit wassowarm.’
Thiswasalsothetimewhenbreakfastbecameanimportant
partofhisbusinessplan.‘Wehadarulethatwehadtohave
breakfasttogetherintheoffice,thenweworkedthewhole
day,’ he says.While theirfellowstudents were goingto
class,determinedtogointosteadyjobswithstablesalaries,
Siemiatkowski,AdalberthandJacobssonknewtheywere
takingarisk.‘Wesaidwe’dbereallyfocusedforsixmonths” EVEN WHEN
I FLIPPED BURGERS
I WAS THINKING
HOW I COUL D
PROVIDE THE BEST
SERVICE AND
make people’s liveseasier
”B
I
94 ELLE.COM/UK^ May 2O2O
Elle RE ADS