Introducing the latest entry in the Luminar Ventures Founder Series-our ongoing platform spotlighting journeys and insights from visionary entrepreneurs in the portfolio. This edition features Baltsar Sahlin, CEO and Co‑founder of Mynt, a Nordic spend‑management platform built to streamline SME finances by tightly integrating modern corporate cards with accounting and expense automation.
Mynt runs a dual go-to-market strategy. In Sweden, Norway, and Finland, Mynt offers a direct-to-business solution: a full end-to-end spend management system with company cards, plus mobile and web apps tailored for local businesses. Alongside this, Mynt powers partners through a white-label platform. ERPs, banks, and fleet or mobility operators can embed selected modules- such as expense management or card management-directly into their systems, or adopt the entire platform under their own brand.
Drawing on a background spanning management consulting, high‑growth operating roles, and company building, Baltsar traces the white space he saw between banks and accounting systems, the long road from regulatory licensing to product‑market fit, and the partnership‑led go‑to‑market that’s shaping Mynt’s next phase across the Nordics and Europe.
What pain points led to Mynt, and how did those insights shape the company?
Earlier ventures made it clear SMEs were drowning in admin. There was a white space -now called spend management -between banks and accounting systems. Banks were tied to legacy tech, and accounting platforms weren’t built for end‑to‑end payments and spend. That gap defined our product and value proposition.
What were the toughest steps turning the idea into a real product?
The problem was more complex than we thought. To truly solve it, we had to build much more - and secure the right licenses and funding. Complex fintech isn’t something you can test overnight. Once the product launched, the progress became much more tangible and exciting.
What milestones stand out from founding to today?
It starts with a clear mission and a complementary, high‑trust founding team. Early financing helps, but product–market fit is the real inflection-everything changes once customers truly resonate. More recently, approaching profitability-seeing scale, solid unit economics, and acceleration-has been pivotal.
How did the collaboration with Luminar begin?
We met Luminar very early-literally at the PowerPoint stage-and kept a close, ongoing dialogue from the start. They came in on our second round and became our first institutional VC partner. That timing worked well, by then we had sharpened the problem definition and roadmap, and Luminar helped translate that into the right foundations-legal structures, governance, and core processes-so we could scale without friction. Beyond capital, they made the whole process smoother and faster, acting as a pragmatic sounding board on hiring, partner strategy, and sequencing milestones. In hindsight, that early relationship-building mattered; when it was time to move, we already had trust and context, which let us hit the ground running. We’ve been very happy to have them on board.
How do you choose the right go‑to‑market partners?
We start from the customer. SMEs don’t want another tool-they already have a bank and an accounting system. If we can integrate tightly or be embedded there, it’s better for them. Scaled platforms-like Fortnox-make sense because they already have distribution. These are big builds, so we’re selective and focus on partners with real scale.
How has growth evolved, and what’s driving it now?
We wanted faster growth earlier, but the product needed to work “really, really well.” Once it did, adoption accelerated. Word‑of‑mouth helps-many users run multiple businesses. Partnerships are now kicking in. Overall, growth has started to compound.
How would you describe your leadership style and Mynt’s culture?
Ambitious and competitive, but fundamentally team‑centric. Hiring is critical-people who complement each other, can be trusted, share the mission, and take ownership. We set clear goals and avoid micromanagement. Strong cross‑functional execution is key.
What challenges did you face, and how did you navigate them?
Early runway pressure is real. Complex builds take longer than planned, so strong delivery management and fast course‑correction matter. We also had to raise more capital than expected before the business became fully solid
How do you handle regulatory compliance?
We operate under an e‑money institution license, which has been a great strength for our growthl. It requires robust legal, compliance, and process infrastructure-a meaningful investment-but it’s the right balance for what we do.
What’s the plan beyond the Nordics?
The Nordics still offer huge headroom-we serve only a fraction of the TAM. We’re also signing platform deals in Europe. These take time to win and implement, so we’re building carefully with a long‑term goal of becoming a very large European player.
How are you using AI internally and in product?
Internally, AI improves efficiency across tech and customer success. In product, the vision is zero‑touch expense management -expenses that handle themselves. Today, AI reads receipts, extracts amounts, infers categories, and matches digital receipts to transactions. It works well, and we’ll expand it further.
Where do you want Mynt in five years?
Deepen our Nordic position to match Sweden, win more European and UK platform deals, and be among the largest spend management companies globally.
What advice do you give fintech founders starting now?
Choose a problem that demands scale and design a solution that can scale. Expect higher capital needs, different margin dynamics, and longer build cycles. Plan fundraising carefully and make sure the model supports scale.
Stay tuned for more inspiring stories from visionary founders within the Luminar Ventures portfolio, published regularly as part of The Founder Series.