In the Hot Seat Enfuce

Strong safety nets and early-age encouragement build fearless innovators. Love Dager and Lana Brandorne of Stockholm Fintech jump in the hot seat to talk about where Nordic innovation is today and where it is going. Fintech isn’t dead! Long live fintech!
 
Key Takeaways.
[0:0] Denise Johansson puts Love Dager, CEO and co-founder of Stockholm Fintech, and Lana Brandorne co-founder of Stockholm Fintech, in the hot seat. [3:37] Nordic tech is hot! Lana and Love talk about why that is and the factors that drive innovation from the north. [6:06] The world looks to Nordic countries for innovation, but some legacy systems have to catch up. [8:55] Embedded everything! Denise, Love, and Lana discuss hot trends. [11:01] Flat hierarchies, sandboxing, and sibling-like relationships between Nordic countries drive healthy collaboration and competition in the fintech ecosystem. [14:52] Want to replicate Nordic success? Move your startup to the Nordics! [18:49] Long live Fintech! Lana and Love talk about upcoming movements in fintech and why it’s just getting started, from better investment opportunities to available talent. [22:57] Love and Lana discuss what to watch for in the coming years, from embedded, B2B, AI — with less hype! to increased demand in cyber-security. [24:27] The AI revolution may have been over-hyped in terms of immediate impact, Love and Lana share examples of how it’s making a difference today. [28:02] Lana and Love share their closing thoughts on Nordic innovation in these challenging times. [29:06] Denise signs out until the next time she puts an industry leader in the hot seat.  
People.
Guest Love Dager, CEO and co-founder of Stockholm Fintech, co-founder and COO of Hack for Earth, and founder of Outside Minds, driving innovation and creativity using modern methodology. Guest Lana Brandorne formerly at Mastercard, co-founder of Stockholm Fintech, advancing the fintech landscape through community collaboration, and knowledge sharing. Host Denise Johansson, co-CEO and co-Founder of Enfuce, a female-founded fintech helping drive business growth, solve customer challenges, and extend financial inclusion.  
Links.
Stockholm Fintech Hack for Earth Outside Minds Enfuce  
Guest Quotes (edited).
“Embedded everything” is a mega trend we've seen for a couple of years, but it's definitely ramping up. — Love Dager, Stockholm Fintech, Hack for Earth, Outside Minds, InTheHotSeat A shared sameness makes us good at collaborating in Nordic countries, we are like siblings who want to be the best. It creates an ecosystem of friendly players competing to create innovation and synergies. — Love Dager, Stockholm Fintech, Hack for Earth, Outside Minds, InTheHotSeat Nordic innovation comes from a combination of having the potential to go big and go global, but testing it out in our safe backyard. — Love Dager, Stockholm Fintech, Hack for Earth, Outside Minds, InTheHotSeat It's not a bad time for all fintechs. There are a lot of quality investments being done: more quality over quantity. If you have a good fintech and you have products and customers, it's not that hard to raise money. — Love Dager, Stockholm Fintech, Hack for Earth, Outside Minds, InTheHotSeat For many startups, it's about pushing through these hard times. So maybe look into alternative financing if you're running low on cash and use AI tools to try to be more efficient. — Love Dager, Stockholm Fintech, Hack for Earth, Outside Minds, InTheHotSeat We are very digital in Nordic countries. It's such a natural thing to build companies, we even ask our teenagers to start companies, to think about solutions. And we have the safety net to do so. —  Lana Brandorne, Stockholm Fintech, InTheHotSeat Hierarchies here are flat. Any idea is welcome, whether it is your first day at an entry-level job, if you have a good idea senior management often listens and it fosters a lot of innovation. —  Lana Brandorne, Stockholm Fintech, In

Having it all does mean choosing. Join Sarah Greasly and Denise Johansson as they dive into the myth, break the cycle of mom-shaming, and invite more women into tech. Keep an ear out for tips on how to build the female leaders your organisation needs and what you should never say at work.
 
Key Takeaways.
[0:0] Denise Johansson puts Sarah Greasley, former Director, Solution Architecture and EMEA, Amazon Web Services, in the first hot seat of season 2. [2:17] What having it all means to Sarah and Denise. [4:44] Sarah shares the story of how she got to where she is in tech today. [6:03] How to build a 3-year plan around your interests and why Sarah believes 3 trumps 5. [7:07] The very first time Sarah realized being a woman in tech was an unusual thing. [9:40] Putting on a cloak of invincibility is something Sarah is now passionate about teaching younger generations of women leaders. [11:06] What does the separation of personal and professional look like for Sarah, if it exists at all? [12:22] Sarah’s journey had a traditional start, but tragedy propelled her into unique roles. [16:15] Thinking about “what ifs” is not part of how Sarah lives her life, she explains why. [18:43] Denise and Sarah share what having it all means to them. [21:49] Sarah shares one thing you should never say at work (but should at home!). [24:20] Denise shares how she struggled with managing her schedule to accommodate for her non-negotiables. [26:27] Sarah offers that some of the pressure women feel when balancing home and career might be a little self-inflicted. [28:04] Getting more women into tech can be achieved by focusing on joining, succession planning, and fixing the leaky pipeline. [30:53] 40 years in tech enables Sarah to share what has changed and what she finds incredibly exciting. [34:01] Sarah’s advice for women looking to have it all. [36:12] Denise signs out until the next time she puts an industry leader in the hot seat.  
People.
Guest Sarah Greasley, former Director, Solution Architecture and EMEA, Amazon Web Services, working with customers, and leading solution architects across EMEA. Host Denise Johansson, co-CEO and co-Founder of Enfuce, a female-founded fintech helping drive business growth, solve customer challenges, and extend financial inclusion.  
Links.
Enfuce  
Guest Quotes 
Putting on your cloak of invincibility means separating your professional self from your personal self to preserve the latter. — Sarah Greasley, InTheHotSeat Don’t apologise if you can’t make it to a meeting. Sometimes it’s just that you literally can’t be there at 1:30 a.m.! — Sarah Greasley, InTheHotSeat There is more parity, but by the same token, I think we also put some of that pressure on ourselves as women. — Sarah Greasley, InTheHotSeat Succession planning is a good path to getting more women involved in tech. — Sarah Greasley, InTheHotSeat We have to live in probabilities, we have to live with risk. — Sarah Greasley, InTheHotSeat Every family is different, every partner. Don’t worry about mom shaming and just find what works for you. — Sarah Greasley, InTheHotSeat  
Denise Quotes (edited).
Life will challenge us, we have no idea of the story behind every successful woman. — Denise Johansson, InTheHotSeat There are things that you can’t plan in life. Children are among these. — Denise Johansson, InTheHotSeat I am not the mom who does the cooking, cleaning, and picking up, but I have never compromised on my family being first. — Denise Johansson, InTheHotSeat You can have it all, but you have to choose what having it all means to you. — Denise Johansson, InTheHotSeat Create the leaders that you want to have within your organisation. — Denise Johansson, InTheHotSeat

What is up with the glass ceiling? Charlotte Hogg of Visa joins Denise Johansson to chip away at the obstacles holding future diverse leaders back. They discuss the responsibilities of current leaders, the fundamental difference between targets and quotas, and why pushing for diversity sets you up for success in an increasingly diverse world.
 
Key Takeaways.
[0:00] Denise Johansson puts Charlotte Hogg, Executive Vice-President and Chief Executive Officer for Visa’s European operations, in the hot seat. [4:53] Charlotte shares how her path winded over the years and how both luck and seizing opportunities shaped her career. [6:30] Believing in luck as a way to ground yourself, Charlotte also touches on the role of fearlessness in success. [8:07] Reframing women’s struggle as a list of spectacular accomplishments is important in staying positive while knowing that challenges still exist for future generations. [10:02] Charlotte talks about the principle of responsibility when it comes to ensuring future opportunities and the need to project a less-than-perfect image. [11:40] Diversity in the future will need us to provide role models of every kind. [12:32] Charlotte shares how she helps break out of historical patterns and foster innovation and why celebrating accomplishments is critical to building culture. [15:29] Balancing caring and commercial. [17:29] Being a female CEO calls more applicants to the table and fosters a greater number of women in leadership roles. [18:12] Charlotte shares 4 tips for male-dominated companies looking to diversify. [20:15] Denise shares her experience in increasing diversity. [21:42] The future is diverse! [22:28] Denise signs out until the next time she puts an industry leader in the hot seat.  
People.
Guest Charlotte Hogg, Executive Vice-President and Chief Executive Officer, Europe, Visa, Helping people and businesses in our markets to prosper in a global economy. Host Denise Johansson, co-CEO and co-Founder of Enfuce, a female-founded fintech helping drive business growth, solve customer challenges, and extend financial inclusion.  
Links.
Visa Enfuce  
Guest Quotes
Women who are juggling family and career and not always getting it right are better role models than someone exuding perfection the whole time. There is a responsibility to be less than perfect. — Charlotte Hogg, Visa, InTheHotSeat I've had the downs and ups. The downs can be incredibly helpful and liberating in terms of how you think to lead. — Charlotte Hogg, Visa, InTheHotSeat There is less of a glass ceiling, to be honest. But we still need to play it forward for the next generation, to lift whatever burden there might be or whatever biases might still exist. — Charlotte Hogg, Visa, InTheHotSeat Targets at every level of organization help you broaden your mind when you decide who the next appointment should be. To look for a broader definition of good than perhaps you've historically done. — Charlotte Hogg, Visa, InTheHotSeat When people get to know a diverse leadership team, they feel welcomed, they feel included, and they feel like it's a place they want to be part of. — Charlotte Hogg, Visa, InTheHotSeat  
Denise Quotes (edited).
How you look will influence your voice and that will influence how the other person will receive what you say. — Denise Johansson, InTheHotSeat When it comes to the glass ceiling, we've come a long way, but we shouldn't get lazy. — Denise Johansson, InTheHotSeat Role models in all shapes and colours are needed. Women are just one part of it, there are other minorities in the industry, and making sure we have role models for everyone is important. — Denise Johansson,  InTheHotSeat To build a long-term company, a sustainable company, everyone needs to embrace the same kinds of values and believe in them collectively, no matter who you have around the table. — Denise Johansson, InTheHotSeat When it comes to “caring” or

Building strong partnerships takes a lot of work, Joe Samuel from VISA talks about being fearless, looking for open doors, and keeping a learning mindset. Listen in for tips on avoiding misfit partnerships, what it takes to league with giants, and how your management team dynamics can influence partner decisions.
 
Key Takeaways.
[0:00] Denise Johansson puts Joe Samuel, Vice President, Head of Issuer Enablers, Europe for VISA, in the hot seat. [2:26] Politics is about people and about getting things done, together. [6:00] Joe was going to be a banker, which brought him to Washington DC and surprisingly, tech! [11:02] Having a diversity of partners and looking for common ground is key to building future-proof businesses. [12:18] Surrounding yourself with new insights offers tangible benefits, like not getting left in the dust! [13:36] Joe’s advice on partnering up with a giant: find the open door. [17:11] What do big players look for in fintech partners? Joe breaks down the key qualities of companies he invests in. [20:45] Joe’s honest thoughts on working for VISA. [23:25] Whether you work for a small or large company, in every interaction, you have to learn to find the takeaway. [24:07] Joe’s tips for avoiding partnership misfits. [27:20] Shaking hands and signing the papers is just the start of a whole marathon. [29:00] Find the people who can help you move your mission forward: “Who else should I get to know”. [31:07] Denise signs out until the next time she puts an industry leader in the hot seat.  
People.
Guest Joe Samuel, Vice President, Head of Issuer Enablers, Europe, VISA, Helping people and businesses in our markets to prosper in a global economy. Host Denise Johansson, co-CEO and co-Founder of Enfuce, a female-founded fintech helping drive business growth, solve customer challenges, and extend financial inclusion.  
Links.
VISA Enfuce  
Social.
(edited)
 
Guest Quotes.
To get things done, it's really important to find others. No one does things on their own. — Joe Samuel, VISA, InTheHotSeat A partnership doesn't mean everything has to be shared. Find core areas where two organizations share the same point of view, the same direction, or the same philosophy. — Joe Samuel, VISA, InTheHotSeat It's important to not let fear of the unknown drive decision-making. — Joe Samuel, VISA, InTheHotSeat The bigger players are complex and you might not know where to go or who to talk to, but that doesn't mean there are not people in there who want to find you. — Joe Samuel, VISA, InTheHotSeat Have a strategy that outlines your overall roadmap for growth from a strategic perspective and identify what you need to enhance, and what you bring to the table. If you start off with that mindset, you can build great partnerships. — Joe Samuel, VISA, InTheHotSeat It's not just signing and shaking hands and then walking away. That's just the starting part, after that, you still gotta run the race. — Joe Samuel, VISA, InTheHotSeat  
Denise Quotes.
It's easy to think that to have a good partnership you should be the same size and have more similarities on paper. But it’s not true. — Denise Johansson, Enfuce, InTheHotSeat No matter who you are meeting, always be looking for the lesson to be learned from this conversation. — Denise Johansson, Enfuce, InTheHotSeat Signing the paper, and shaking hands, that's really just the beginning… The fun part comes after that! Depending on if you like dating or being married. — Denise Johansson, Enfuce, InTheHotSeat

90% of startups fail, but in the 10% that don’t, the XXX factor is there. Ricardo Ribelles of Mambu and Wesley van Daijken of Shuttel talk courage, innovation and collaboration. They share their thoughts on what exactly makes or breaks great ideas (people and process!), which quality is paramount to ensure long term success and what bold leadership actually looks like in growing companies.
 
Key Takeaways.
[0:00] Denise Johansson puts Ricardo Ribelles, Director of Partnerships Development at Mambu, and Wesley van Daijken, Director Shuttel B.V. at Shuttel, in the hot seat. [2:28] Is one of the triple X’s more important than the next? [5:21] Good execution trumps good ideas, but starting small and staying nimble is key. [6:15] Ideas are a dime a dozen, it’s all about the people that make or break them. [8:32] From startup to scaleup, Wesley talks about maturing as an organisation. [9:22] Ricardo offers what the foundation of collaboration is. [12:22] Wesley explains cross-section innovation and success as Shuttel is growing. [14:35] Success for Mambu is inclusive, Ricardo explains. [17:05] Leadership, trust, and culture are deeply intertwined and when all three aim in the same direction, you can expect results. [20:58] Wesley and Ricardo share thoughts on what the near future holds for their respective companies. [23:46] Denise signs out until the next time she puts an industry leader in the hot seat.  
People.
Guest Ricardo Ribelles, Director Partnerships Development, Mambu, bringing banking and financial services technology into the digital-first world and making it accessible for all. Guest Wesley van Daijken, Director Shuttel B.V., Shuttel, revolutionizing the mobility sector, making tomorrow's mobility cleaner, more sustainable, and smarter. Host Denise Johansson, co-CEO and co-Founder of Enfuce, a female-founded fintech helping drive business growth, solve customer challenges and extend financial inclusion.  
Links.
Enfuce Mambu Shuttel  
Guest Quotes.
The beauty lies in ruthless execution, methodology, the step by step rather than the idea. I think better execution beats a great idea. — Ricardo Ribelles, Mambu, InTheHotSeat Collaboration needs transparency, it needs honesty. It needs to be able to say no. — Ricardo Ribelles, Mambu, InTheHotSeat Every leader in the company has to feel the company purpose as their own and really link what to what they’re doing on a day-to-day basis. — Ricardo Ribelles, Mambu, InTheHotSeat Innovation is one of the most important things because the markets are changing very fast, compared to five years ago. — Wesley van Daijken, Shuttel, InTheHotSeat Success is offering the right product for the right clients. — Wesley van Daijken, Shuttel, InTheHotSeat I'm not standing on a stage saying “this is the strategy, this is what we are going to do”. No, it's bottom up and top down: we are doing this together. — Wesley van Daijken, Shuttel, InTheHotSeat  
Denise Quotes.
Companies that succeed invest in three key ingredients for success; courage, innovation, and collaboration. — Denise Johansson, InTheHotSeat You will never have all the answers. You won't know exactly what new things are going to look like in one year or two years sometimes. It's about having the courage to actually make a decision, move forward, and trust. — Denise Johansson, InTheHotSeat Collaboration is trust and transparency because within our industry we also need to realize that it's not always going to be happy clappy. — Denise Johansson, InTheHotSeat Setting bold goals is needed to keep the focus on where you are going and not drift apart. — Denise Johansson, InTheHotSeat I need my people to trust me and the decisions I'm making for the business, even though they might not always understand exactly from where I'm coming from, and in return I need to be as transparent as I can. — Denise Johansson, InTheHotSeat Bet on the things that feel righ

Fintechs are a force for good in the world. Christian Rau of Mastercard discusses purpose-driven innovation, how Mastercard identifies trustworthy fintech players, what traditional banks are ignoring at their own risk, and what trends to look for new innovations in.
 
Key Takeaways.
[0:00] Denise Johansson puts Christian Rau, Senior Vice President of Crypto and Fintech Enablement Europe at Mastercard, in the hot seat. [2:16] We all know the brand, but what exactly does Mastercard do? [4:11] The 9 trends to watch in the payment industry and where fintech can fit in. [4:46] Innovation rarely comes from traditional banks, fintech partnerships make that magic happen. [7:07] Christian offers his favorite 2 trends to watch and why: connected finance and unleashing acceptance. [9:59] In a frictionless, safe, secure, simple transaction world, there is room to ponder conscious consumerism. [10:36] Helping organisations focus on their core gives them more time to innovate and push forward. [13:45] Mastercard plays an active role in helping fintechs find partners. [16:12] Building trust and keeping trust is not something to take lightly, and working with a large player requires you to be on your best game [18:46] How Mastercard came to be such a big fintech partner and why being an early innovation adopter is key to growth. [21:09] Enfuce x Mastercard! Increasing advances in technology means you have to partner with knowledgeable, technical actors.  [23:29] Christian highlights a fundamental theme: easy and simple works. [26:07] Advances are unpredictable and surprising, stay on your toes! [27:12] Denise signs out until the next time she puts an industry leader in the hot seat.  
People.
Guest Christian Rau, SVP Crypto and Fintech Enablement Europe at Mastercard, a global payments industry company powering a safe, simple, and secure digital economy benefiting everyone. Host Denise Johansson, co-CEO and co-Founder of Enfuce, a female-founded fintech helping drive business growth, solve customer challenges, and extend financial inclusion.  
Links.
Mastercard Enfuce  
Guest Quotes.
A lot of the trends are shaped, perpetuated, and driven by fintech. — Christian Rau, Mastercard, InTheHotSeat The increasing digitization of consumer-to-merchant commerce, whether it's in-app or mobile, actually determines the consumer journey quite a bit. — Christian Rau, Mastercard, InTheHotSeat Generation Z and all these new founders come with a different attitude. They would like to run a profitable business, but for them, it's equally important to do something that contributes to the wider well-being. — Christian Rau, Mastercard, InTheHotSeat We are not more relaxed with a FinTech than we would be with a high street bank. — Christian Rau, Mastercard, InTheHotSeat Trust is something that takes a lot of time to build, it's very easily lost, and then very difficult to gain back. — Christian Rau, Mastercard, InTheHotSeat It always boils down to offering choice and leveraging partnerships and technology to add value to the ecosystem. — Christian Rau, Mastercard, InTheHotSeat  
Denise Quotes.
Fintechs can play a role for the good of the planet. We discuss conscious consumerism with Christian Rau from Mastercard. — Denise Johansson, Enfuce, InTheHotSeat The Force is With Fintech! InTheHotSeat episode 4 Christian Rau from Mastercard talks about fintechs as a force for good in the world. — Denise Johansson, Enfuce When running a business, you need to understand that you will make mistakes and that you will learn from them. But there is one area where you can’t afford a single mistake, and that is compliance. — Denise Johansson, Enfuce, InTheHotSeat