Hey
James here.
I sent out this massive breakdown on Klarna’s capital raise on Tuesday, but I know half of you probably saw it and thought, I’ll read this later (and never did). I get it - I’m a busy man myself.
So I'm going to make both of our lives easier and give you stuff that actually matters.
Below are the 5 main things you can take away from Klarna's capital raise and apply to your own business:
(1) Don't assume every model will work for you - Just because Klarna's dependency model worked doesn't mean it'll work for your business. Some models work, some don't. Focus on figuring out what actually works for YOUR customers instead.
(2) Show investors people actually stick around - Investors didn't back Klarna because it was profitable (it wasn't). They backed it because users kept coming back for more. Focus on retention rates, repeat usage, customer loyalty - anything that shows your users are actually hooked on what you're building.
(3) Raise money at the right moments - Klarna didn't just ask for $4.2B all at once. They did it in chunks when they hit real milestones. Double your revenue - raise. Launch in a new market - raise. Hit a product breakthrough - raise. Don't go too early or too late.
(4) Keep control of your company - Too many founders give away half their business in the first round and regret it forever. Use smaller raises, mix in some debt, do whatever it takes to keep more equity in your pocket.
(5) Proof beats hype every single time - This is the most important one. Show solid business fundamentals: real revenue growth, healthy margins, clear progress milestones. The flashy LinkedIn posts about "effortless raises" are BS. It's all about - right timing, right strategy, right structure.
Bottom line: Klarna didn't get $800M because they were lucky - they engineered every step. Right timing, right story, right structure. That's the difference between a one-time raise and building something that lasts.
Anything unclear? Fire back a question - I love talking about this stuff (also helps that it’s my job).
One request - forward this newsletter to another business owner or someone you think will find value from it. Trust me, they'll thank you.
PS: If your business needs funding or funding advice, explore the options at my company FundOnion. We’ve helped 13,000+ businesses already.
James