A Polish national , Siemiatkowski ’ s family moved to Uppsala in Sweden during the early 1980s , where he was born soon after . Siemiatkowski took an early interest in leading entrepreneurs such as Richard Branson , the Founder of Virgin , and IKEA Founder Ingvar Kamprad .

While respecting his national heritage , Siemiatkowski credits the origins of his career as an online payments leader to Sweden ’ s digital policy , which subsidised the ownership of computers , enabling his parents to acquire one .

Founding Klarna Fast-forward to the end of his education , which saw him study for a Master ’ s degree from the Stockholm School of Economics , Siemiatkowski was on the path to establishing Klarna aged just 23 . Not that he could have imagined where it would eventually take him .

Siemiatkowski met Klarna Co-founder Niklas Adalberth while flipping burgers at Burger King , before they established Klarna in 2005 alongside Victor Jacobsson . The company was then launched as part of a competition at the Stockholm School of Economics . Reflecting on the experience , Siemiatkowski previously told Forbes Europe : “ We presented our idea at an innovators pitch , and they said ,

‘ forget about it . It ’ s never going to work .’ I didn ’ t feel great .”

However , an observer approached Siemiatkowski and co during the competition and gave them some welcome encouragement .

“ He said , ‘ you know what , I don ’ t care what those guys said . Just go for it , and the banks will never understand what happened ’. I ’ m still on that mission .”

While he may still be on the path to sustained growth for Klarna , Siemiatkwoski has already been recognised by Forbes ’ 30 Under 30 and later Fortune ’ s 40 Under 40 , making him a billionaire as a 7 % owner of the company in the early 2020s .

And although , like many fintechs , Klarna ’ s valuation has dropped in the last

22 March 2024