1. Please tell us a bit about yourself and Hufsy.

I’m Kristoffer and I’m the CEO of Hufsy. I’m overall responsible for running the business both in our HQ in Copenhagen as well as our office in Berlin. Prior to working with Hufsy I spent many years in the digital media business. I have worked for Microsoft and Bonnier Publications amongst others. My focus has always been commercial whether it has been sales management or business development and I bring my experience from the more corporate world to the start-up world of Hufsy.

 

2. Which services do you sell and who are your competitors?

Hufsy is a business bank account that can be created in under 10 minutes. Perfect for small businesses and freelancers, Hufsy not only provides the account, but users can select from various financial services such as invoicing, VAT and tax calculations, and accounting. Our priority is the user experience. Smooth, simple, secure. We enable our customers to focus their resources on their business not their banking, saving them precious time and money. Our competitors are companies like Penta, Kontist and Holvi and traditional savings banks and union banks.

 

3. How did you get become CEO of Hufsy and how is life in a start-up?

I was asked by the owners if I was ready for a challenge, and I accepted immediately. I thrive where the tempo is high, and changes can be made rapidly and therefore running a start-up like Hufsy is just great.

 

4. How did you finance Hufsy, and what learnings would you like to share from the fund-raising journey?

Hufsy is financed by our owners and we are currently evaluating the opportunities in terms of winning additional investors. The learnings from the fund-raising journey are that it is a very healthy process for any company. It forces us to turn every stone and get an even better knowledge of our company.

 

5. What areas within FinTech do you personally find most interesting and why?

Without a doubt business banking. I see so much potential in this area and both demographics and user behaviour will change this business over the coming years.

 

6. What opportunities do you see for FinTech start-ups in Continental Europe?

Again, I see a lot of potential. The financial industry is somewhat old fashioned, but the consumers are not. This gives room for fintech start-ups that can make cool, user friendly products that are based on modern business models.

 

7. What tip would you like to give other FinTech entrepreneurs?

Look for partnerships. There are so many great fintech companies out there so building every aspect of your product yourself can be both very time consuming and risky. Another tip is to keep it simple. Users like simple and if the product is too complicated it will be very hard to get to the market both in terms of timing and traction.