The Norwegian Tjommi profile, which is behind the popular “influencer bank” in Denmark, turned down 12 million
Light bangs and blue eyes don’t exactly stand out in Copenhagen. But as a former top athlete in cross-country skiing, Sebastian Haugeto was referred to as “the most Norwegian Norwegian in Denmark”.
The applicant with data technology from NTNU was part of the founding team in Tjommi, which is building a price hunting app from Denmark. In September 2021, Haugeto launched the fintech company Dealflow, which is not the same as the Norwegian crowdfunding company Dealflow.
Based on own experiences
Danske Dealflow is an app where influencers and freelancers can send an invoice to a client and get paid the same day. Haugeto himself has made a living by making travel films. He experienced then how demanding it can be to collect payment from different clients. The money often arrives in the account in the first weeks and months after the collaboration ends.
The choice fell on Denmark for regulatory reasons. While it may be required to obtain the necessary licenses to send money flows in most other countries, Danes are much more liberal in this area as well.
– We can use the Danish license to scale throughout Europe. In Norway, we had to have almost a banking licence, says Haugeto.
The company launched the service a few weeks ago, and according to the growing waiting list of influencers by more than five percent a week. They have over 200 pieces at the time of writing.
– We onboard around one influencer a day, and expect 600 new ones over the next three months. We’re taking it easy to make sure the loan algorithm works as it should. We can’t lose money, then we’re screwed.
They charge a 2.9% fee for instant payments, but also offer a free version if you can wait a little longer to get paid.
Tibber makes up half of Schibsted Ventures’ Norwegian portfolio
Unique combination
Perhaps the biggest competitor is Swedish-American Willa Pay, which is owned by EQT Ventures. Haugeto admits that they are currently growing the fastest, but is clear that Dealflow is unique because of the link between payment app and credit card.
– That combination is not found anywhere in the world. Our distribution model is more efficient and cheaper than that of our competitors. We can acquire new customers much more easily, he says.
Once he has acquired brand partners, the distribution to the end users takes place automatically. Currently, he estimates to earn around DKK 5,000 a year per customer.
Thanks no to 12 million
Three months after the company was founded, DKK 12 million was coming in from a group of investors. At this time, the company was valued at 70 million.
– It was really a «done deal». But I got to a point with the previous chief technology officer where the dynamics internally were not quite good. It was bad for the company and bad for me, so I decided to let him go and adjust the round, says Haugeto.
He spent the next six months putting together a new team. According to Haugeto, it went smoothly, although all parts were there and experienced it as dramatic.
– I didn’t say “you’re fired”, but more along the lines that this collaboration doesn’t work for any of us. It is best if you leave the schooner and find something else to do.
Investor disappeared
The technology manager’s resignation was not popular with the potential investors. Two camps were formed, those who had their own experience as grounds and those who did not. According to Haugeto, it was people in the last group who were the most “shaky in the pants”.
– They ended up withdrawing from the round. They wanted to adjust things, and that had led to a process that had taken an extra three months.
The round of 12 million disintegrated. In every conversation with investors in the time afterwards, the breakup became a theme, but Haugeto has settled down with the fact that the decision was right in a long-term perspective.
– I made a decision that was important for us. I strongly believe that we have a strong team now and the customer loves our product.
Now the arrows are pointing in different directions for Dealflow and Folkeinvest
New round
After the heat of 2021, investor interest in fintech has cooled. Since Klarna has collected money recently, shaved was disappeared by 87 percent.
– How has it been to start a new capital round in this new climate?
– It has been bra. We have spoken to many international foundations and received many inquiries.
Well, they have to collect 30 million kroner before the end of the year. They fetched 4 million at the start of the year with an explanation of 40 million, so it has been fast.
They are currently in talks with ten of the largest funds in Europe. A couple of Norwegian foundations are also in the hall.
Generous with the shares
One challenge in the short term is to control fraud. The company has developed an algorithm which must be able to ensure that it only lends money in a responsible manner. In the long term, it’s about making sure that good people will join the team and stay there.
Partner in the influential accelerator Ycombinator, Gustaf Alströmer, recently took to Twitter to spread his message that the vast majority of startups outside the US are too lazy to give employees shares in the company.
Alströmer believes that all full-time employees should be given shares or options and that the vesting period must be four years or more. At the same time, the companies must spend time and diligence on teaching employees who know little about such things, and in any case not exploit the lack of understanding, as there have been examples of.
Haugeto considers itself to be very forward thinking in this area. Recently spent 1.5 months at Launch House in Los Angeles and was inspired, among others, by Alströmer whom he met there, to set aside a maximum of three times the shareholding for employees and what is common in the Nordic countries .
– I have a lot of faith in employee co-ownership.
Now everyone who works full-time in Dealflow gets shares. Exactly how much depends on the role, but everyone on the team already has more than 1 percent ownership.
There are 11 in the team, the most important of which is CTO Siddharth Mudgal from India, who has worked for seven years in Fico. He himself has 45 percent of the shares, while the new Mudgal sits on around 30.
– Where will you be in five years?
– Then we will reach 100 million dollars in annual revenue and one billion in valuation.