The Swedish startup scene has long punched above its weight. By Clearly Unpleasant iZettle And Sana Labsthe country has spawned a stream of global disruptors that have reshaped industries far beyond Stockholm. Now a new player is entering the US fintech stage:Billco-founded by Julia Delin And Andreas Johanson.
Their story begins in New York, 2019. Julia was in charge SSE Business Labthe startup incubator affiliated with the Stockholm School of Economics. Andreas was present in the meantime SACC New Yorkguiding Swedish startups in their attempts to navigate the US market.
What started as a professional collaboration quickly evolved into a partnership based on mutual respect – and ultimately love.
“We quickly realized that we worked very well together,” Julia remembers. “And we quickly decided that we would start a business together when we were both ready to leave.”
Mid 2024the duo had done exactly that. They resigned from their respective boards and started building Bill– a platform designed to revolutionize the way businesses get paid.
Julia and Andreas had coached together more than 150 startups during their years SSE Business Lab. They had seen the founders rise and fall, and along the way developed a deep understanding of what separates the two.
“You start to see patterns,explains Andreas. “You learn what pitfalls to avoid and you see the resilience needed to scale. That perspective gave us a huge advantage when it came time to build something ourselves.”
That insider knowledge became their greatest asset. When they finally took on the role of founder themselves, they didn’t venture into the unknown; they were executing a playbook that they had helped hundreds of others refine.
Identifying the gap
The concept of Check emerged during dozens of interviews with entrepreneurs. Time and again Julia and Andreas heard the same pain point: Creative agencies waited months for payment, even as payroll deadlines loomed.
“Our first ‘aha moment’ came from a marketing company who said they needed money all the time because they were working on a project basis,” says Andreas. “Every agency we spoke to had come up with a solution, but none had actually solved the problem.”
Check’s model solves both sides of the equation: agencies get paid faster, while clients earn a better return on excess capital by paying early. It’s a win-win scenario that completely bypasses banks.
‘The capital already exists in the system’ Julia explains. “We just redistribute it in real time.”
The implications are enormous: faster money for small businesses, better returns for corporations, and, for the first time, an ecosystem that is not dependent on traditional lenders.
New York: the testing ground
It is no coincidence that Check is launched from New York. The city’s combination of scale, speed and ambition makes it the perfect testing ground for a Swedish-born fintech.
“In New York you see a five-person agency working with Johnson & Johnson,” says Julia. “The American market is more unified than the European market, making it ideal for rapid scaling.”
Their recent seed round – approximately $670,000 led by Friends Capital and joined by investors such as Tom Höglund (epidemic sound) And Samir El-Sabini (June) fuels this expansion.
Despite having built a company for the American market, Julia and Andreas are proud bearers of the Swedish design and business DNA.
“We are an American company, but our approach is very Swedish,” says Andreas. “We’re solving a huge problem and doing it from day one with great design, simplicity and a global mindset.”
It’s a line that connects Check to the same spirit that spawned Klarna, iZettle and Tink – companies that dared to challenge financial conventions from a small Scandinavian base.
What advice do they have for Swedes crossing the Atlantic?
Andreas summarizes his experience in three pieces of advice for founders looking to the US:
“Enter the market first, or after you have achieved product-market fit – never in between.
US budget is very expensive, then double that budget.
And get excellent lawyers – corporate, immigration and tax lawyers. Preferably recommended by someone who has already done it.”
It’s practical wisdom, delivered with the same precision that defines their product.
And the vision for the future?
Cheque’s long-term ambition is nothing short of daring.
But unlike traditional banks, Check does not lend its own capital; it redistributes the liquidity already in the system. That gives it the potential to scale faster and more efficiently than any financial institution in history.
As Julia and Andreas put it: when invoices become liquid assets and payments are made immediately, the entire concept of working capital changes.
“Our vision is to build the largest bank in the world,” Julia puts it simply.
In addition to running Sweden in the United States, Natalie founded the Scandinavian subscription and gift box company The Scandinavia Box and works as a Digital Strategy Consultant.
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