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Startups Turning Employees Into Founders
Klarna produces the most startup founders, the Klarna spinout fighting debt, and more...
SearchVentures
April 02, 2025
Klarna has overtaken Spotify
Klarna has produced more startup founders than any other European tech company, making it the biggest founder factory in Europe, overtaking Spotify.
What’s driving this founder trend?
This Week’s Trends
Klarna produces the most startups
Turning Pay Later Into Pay Smarter
Europe’s largest female-led VC and more
Read Time 3 minutes
The Startup Trend
Founders are facing mental health issues
The data highlights the number of startups each major European tech company has produced, based on former employees who started their own ventures.
> Klarna was the top founder factory among fintechs last year, overtaking Spotify. Its current total is close to double the 32 startups that stemmed from it in 2023.
> London is Europe’s top founder factory, with 33 unicorns from the city producing 326 startups in 2024. This is followed by Berlin and Paris.
“Klarna has a fast-paced iterative and adaptive culture that demands senior leaders be deeply embedded, this approach taught me how to build and scale businesses with agility”
Startup Feature
Turning Pay Later Into Pay Smarter
At Klarna, three employees spent years building one of Europe’s most valuable fintechs. But what they saw behind the curtain raised concerns. They watched as users fell into high-interest debt, often refinancing one payment with another. In 2017, they decided to leave and build something different.
Their new startup, Anyfin, focuses on helping consumers refinance existing loans and credit cards to lower their interest rates. Today the startup is backed more than $100 million dollars in funding with a mission to help people get out of debt, not into it.
“We saw how easy it was for people to take on debt and how hard it was to get out of it.”
From Klarna to Anyfin
Anyfin was founded by Mikael Hussain, Filip Polhem and Sven Perkmann after years working in product, risk and engineering roles at Klarna. They left the company with a shared goal to shift the power dynamic in consumer finance back toward the borrower.
Rather than encouraging spending through easy credit, Anyfin helps users reduce it. The app uses open banking data to scan and evaluate existing loans, then offers to refinance them at lower rates. For users struggling with expensive instalment plans or credit cards, the promise is simple.
“We want to put consumers back in control of their finances.”
What began as a single product in Sweden has since expanded across Germany, Norway and Finland. The startup now offers savings tools, budgeting features and a pay tracker that helps users avoid overdraft cycles. Anyfin reports that it can reduce customers’ interest rates by as much as 50 percent on refinanced credit.
A Different Approach to Consumer Credit
The idea has resonated. Anyfin has raised over 100 million dollars and expanded its team to more than 160 people. In 2023, it launched a credit builder product aimed at younger users in Germany and began working on embedded financial tools for employers.
Its Series C round included investment from Citi Ventures, a sign that even large institutions see value in responsible lending models.
The shift from Klarna’s business model to Anyfin’s is more than just a pivot. It highlights growing demand for consumer-first financial products in Europe. Rather than selling credit as convenience, Anyfin has built a business around helping people move away from it.
“We believe fintech should reduce financial stress, not add to it.”
As economic pressure mounts and debt levels climb across Europe, Anyfin is betting that less borrowing can be a valuable business that solves a core problem among newer generations with higher spending habits.
Sponsored by Ryse
Is this startup the next billion dollar buyout?
Imagine investing in Ring before its $1.2B buyout by Amazon
Or Nest, before Google's $3.2B acquisition.
By the time we hear about industry-changing companies, it’s usually too late. But right now, there’s a smart home startup making their way to homes in America. This tech startup is RYSE, and unlike Ring, you can still invest before their $1.90 round closes May 30.
Like how Ring disrupted home security, this company is revolutionizing smart blinds & shades.
With $10M+ in revenue, 200% YoY growth, and sold in 127 Best Buy stores, they are primed for massive expansion and forecast 5X in revenue this year.
Past performance is not indicative of future results. Email may contain forward-looking statements. See US Offering for details. Informational purposes only.
Headline News
This Week In Startups ✍️
Founders
> Abound, a UK-based fintech firm specialising in AI-driven lending, has secured £250 million in financing from Deutsche Bank.
> Fairmat, a carbon composite recycling startup, secures €51.5 million Series B to close the loop on material recycling.
> Gradyent, a startup building a digital twin platform tracking CO2 emissions, has secured €28 million Series B in an oversubscribed growth funding round.
Investors & VCs
> Revaia, Europe’s largest all-women led VC, closes €250 million growth fund to back startups from Series B and beyond.
> THENA A British member of parliament has launched a ‘Y Combinator for Wales’ in a bid to support budding tech talent in the country.
> Elbow Beach, one of the UK’s most active specialist climate impact seed investors, has achieved the first close of its second fund at £63 million.
Cheers,
Odin Lund & Hari Mohandas
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