Scaling Fintechs: Lessons from COO & Fintech Leader Erik Seiving

How To Successfully Scale FinTechs: Lessons from COO and Fintech Leader Erik Seiving

In Fintech, where speed and innovation often dominate the headlines, the quieter disciplines of governance, operations and leadership can be overlooked. Yet it’s these foundations that determine whether a business can truly scale. Erik Seiving, a Swedish native who has spent the past decade building and leading Fintechs across Europe and Africa, knows this better than most. From his early days in strategy consulting to scaling a digital bank from 20 to more than 100 people, his journey offers valuable lessons for today’s leaders.

From Consulting to COO: Building scale the hard way

Erik began his career in consulting, advising Nordic businesses on international expansion. That early exposure to different scaling playbooks, across industries and regions, gave him a strong foundation. But the real test came when he stepped into Fintech operations.

“I spent years connecting strategy to execution,” he reflects. “I started off advising scaleups and multinationals on their international growth journey, and that became my launchpad into operations where I could actually build the systems and frameworks myself.”

At SPENN, he joined as one of the first 20 employees and helped scale the company into a full digital bank, with current accounts, savings products, credit and investment opportunities. During his tenure, the team grew fivefold and expanded into two additional markets.

It wasn't smooth. Scaling never is.

One breaking point came with KYC. Manual verification processes couldn't keep up with demand. Applications piled up. Customer satisfaction dropped.

"We had to fix it on two fronts. Short term, we strengthened the onboarding team to clear the backlog. Long term, we built automation to improve pass-through rates and customer experience."

It's the kind of problem you don't see coming until you're in it. And it taught him something crucial: you need both immediate fixes and structural solutions.

Leadership that evolves with scale

Asked to describe his leadership style, Erik points to calmness and structure. He credits consulting with teaching him how to stay composed under pressure. But over time, his approach evolved from being a hands-on problem solver to empowering teams through clear systems.

“I started out very hands-on, rolling up my sleeves and driving projects. But to scale, you need to empower others. At SPENN, I rebuilt the management layer, introduced strategic priorities and dashboards, and created cadences that allowed leaders to take ownership while staying aligned.”

Transparency and data-driven decisions are central to how he leads. “Making dashboards visible across the organisation and being open about why decisions are made builds trust,” he says. “My role is to set the vision, provide guardrails and ensure people have what they need to succeed.”

Balancing compliance and growth

Scaling Fintechs in emerging markets brings unique challenges. Erik highlights one above all: finding the balance between compliance and growth.

“One of the key things that took a while to get right was ensuring sufficient governance without stifling growth. And trust was everything. Without it, you can have the best product, but you’ll get nowhere.”

The lesson? Bake compliance into the product from day one. Don’t bolt it on later.

Scaling with discipline

For Fintechs looking to scale globally, Erik stresses discipline and sequencing. “You need rigorous market selection, looking at for example regulation, infrastructure and average revenue per user,” he says. “Your platform has to be modular so launches are repeatable, and strong local partnerships are essential.”

Governance and decision-making structures, he adds, are as important as product-market fit in sustaining growth.

Technology as a lever, not a distraction

On technology adoption, Erik is pragmatic. He warns against chasing hype and urges leaders to focus on solving real problems.

“It’s not about the technology itself,” he explains. “It’s about your pain point or problem. For example, at SPENN, we automated onboarding to cut costs, increase conversion and improve satisfaction. Technology should always be a lever for efficiency and revenue -not a distraction.”

His teams experimented with blockchain applications and other technologies. But his principle remained: start with the business problem, then test, measure and scale what works.

Culture, autonomy and inclusion

Attracting talent to a fast-growing fintech isn’t just about salaries. For Erik, the pitch was about purpose and autonomy.

“We focused on three things: meaningful work, a mission-driven company, and giving people autonomy and opportunities to grow,” he says. “We couldn’t always compete on packages, but we could offer purpose, ownership and visibility.”

Working across multiple markets brought organisational challenges. Different team cultures had different expectations around hierarchy and decision-making. Erik emphasises the value of listening and creating accountability without ignoring local expectations practices.

Operational excellence and metrics that matter

Measuring success in scaleups requires both growth and efficiency lenses. Conversion rates, ARPU and customer lifetime value are critical - but so are burn rate, vendor consolidation and automation.

“Whatever the metric, it has to be linked to ownership,” Erik stresses. “When teams see the impact they’re having, efficiency becomes part of the culture.”

Dashboards aren't just for leadership. They're for everyone. When the person handling onboarding can see conversion rates in real time, they spot problems faster and care more about fixing them.

What’s next for Fintech

Looking ahead, Erik is watching trends such as open banking, real-time payments and the rise of stablecoins. He sees huge potential in combining them with AI, provided leaders pair innovation with operational discipline.

“Stablecoins are emerging as a really strong use case of blockchain and digital currencies,” he says. “The magic lies in marrying these technologies with disciplined delivery.”

Final advice for future leaders

If he could go back, what advice would Erik give his younger self? Three things would top the list. Document playbooks early, anticipate where the business will be in 6–12 months, and build the foundations before you need them.

“Take the time to create a solid foundation, it will enable you to move faster later,” he says. “Keep the product simple, keep your data clean, and keep your runway sacred.”

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For today’s founders, investors and operators, Erik Seiving’s reflections offer a reminder that scaling is about more than growth at any cost. His journey shows how calm leadership, disciplined scaling, and pragmatic technology adoption create resilience in uncertain markets. As Chris Pestell notes, these lessons resonate far beyond fintech—they’re relevant to any leader tasked

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