🎙️ From Farm to FinTech: Building the Future of Accounting with Founder Thomas Helms

Episode Overview

In this episode, we sit down with Thomas Helms, serial entrepreneur and founder of Crispa, a modern accounting platform rethinking how startups manage their finances.

Thomas shares his journey from growing up on a Danish farm — where hard work, ownership, and problem-solving were daily realities — to management consulting, and ultimately into entrepreneurship. Along the way, he reflects on the mindset shifts required to move from strategy decks to building real products, teams, and companies.

We dive deep into the inefficiencies of traditional accounting, the role of automation and AI in modern finance, and what it really takes to build and scale a FinTech company across borders. This conversation blends personal story with highly practical insights for founders navigating fundraising, team building, and fast-moving markets.

💡 Key Takeaways

1. Entrepreneurship demands relentless effort, resilience, and curiosity
2. Deep understanding of financial operations is a superpower for founders
3. Automation and AI are essential to scaling modern startups efficiently
4. Small, empowered teams can outperform much larger organisations
5. Fundraising works best when treated as a structured, intentional process
6. Flexibility in technology and workflows enables long-term scalability
7. Authentic leadership builds trust with both teams and investors
8. Experimentation and iteration are critical to sustained innovation

🗣️ Sound Bites

1. “You need to be so much on top of those things.”
2. “Every no brings me closer to a yes.”
3. “Do things that don’t scale.”

🧭 Chapters

00:00 – Introduction to Thomas Helms and Crispa

01:48 – Childhood Influences on Entrepreneurship

05:41 – Transitioning from Corporate Life to Startups

09:33 – Lessons from Consulting and Startup Execution

13:17 – Building a Small, High-Impact Team

16:59 – Why Traditional Accounting Systems Are Broken

21:02 – The Reality of Being a Solo Founder

24:45 – Hiring, Empowerment, and Trust

28:38 – Vision, Values, and Company Culture

32:20 – Vulnerability and Risk in FinTech

36:03 – Fundraising Lessons and Strategy

39:37 – Valuation, Timing, and Investor Alignment

42:21 – Strategic Pivot: Platform vs. Firm Model

45:39 – International Expansion & Regulatory Complexity

49:22 – Cold Calling and Learning Sales

54:50 – Choosing the Right Technology Stack

59:56 – Early-Stage Startup Challenges

01:02:10 – Maximising Long-Term Value and Cash Flow

🧠 Why You’ll Love This Episode

If you’re a founder who wants to actually understand your numbers, not just outsource them, this episode is for you. Thomas offers a rare mix of strategic clarity and operational honesty — from fundraising realities to building tech that truly scales. It’s a grounded, no-fluff look at what it takes to build a FinTech company from scratch, and why financial literacy is one of the most underrated founder skills.

🏷️ Keywords

Entrepreneurship, FinTech, Accounting, Crispa, Fundraising, Automation, AI, Leadership, Team Building, Startup Scaling

🏢 Companies Mentioned

1. Crispa

Founders Meeting | Benjamin / Every: Reviving Shared Mealtimes Through Plant-Based Innovation

What if frozen food wasn’t a compromise — but the future of healthy, sustainable eating?

In this Founders Meeting episode, we sit down with Benjamin, co-founder of Every, a Berlin-based company redefining convenient food with chef-crafted, plant-based frozen meals. Every isn’t just building a food brand — they’re rebuilding trust in the frozen aisle.

Benjamin shares the journey of starting Every with his lifelong friend Casimir, the challenges of sourcing high-quality ingredients, and how shock-freezing technology preserves nutrients, flavour, and integrity. We explore how transparency, sustainability, and shared mealtimes sit at the heart of their mission — and why frozen food deserves a rebrand.

This conversation goes beyond product. It’s about culture, connection, and building a food company rooted in values.

🔑 In this episode, we talk about:

Why Every exists — and the problem with modern convenience food

The cultural importance of shared mealtimes

Building a plant-based brand for everyone, not just vegans

The sourcing challenges within the food industry

How shock freezing preserves nutrients and reduces waste

Transparency in packaging and building consumer trust

Launching a company with a lifelong friend

Financing and early-stage decisions

Community-driven growth and customer feedback

Reframing frozen food as premium, sustainable, and delicious

🧠 Key Takeaways:

Healthy eating should be effortless and enjoyable.

Shared mealtimes foster connection in a fast-paced world.

Shock freezing locks in nutrients and quality.

Transparency builds trust in a sceptical food market.

Plant-based food can appeal to a broad, mainstream audience.

Building a business with a friend requires clarity and shared values.

Sustainability and quality sourcing are long-term competitive advantages.

Community engagement strengthens both brand and product.

💬 Sound Bites:

“The future of frozen food is sustainability.”

“Shared mealtimes foster connections.”

“Trust in the food industry is essential.”

“Healthy eating should never feel like a compromise.”

📍 Chapter Highlights:

00:00 – Introduction to Every and Its Mission

02:21 – Healthy Eating & Convenience

05:23 – Childhood Influences and Food Heritage

08:04 – Starting Every

11:10 – Sourcing & Sustainability

14:17 – Packaging & Direct-to-Consumer Strategy

17:02 – Shock Freezing Explained

20:18 – Challenges in Frozen Goods

23:01 – The Future of Frozen Food

26:06 – Plant-Based Market Perceptions

29:14 – Building a Company with a Friend

48:52 – Early Challenges & Decisions

50:41 – Financing the Journey

51:44 – Strategic Partnerships

55:04 – Shared Values

55:54 – Branding Evolution

01:07:36 – Core Market Focus

01:09:39 – Customer Education

01:20:07 – Shared Mealtimes

01:24:16 – Community Engagement

🔗 Links & Resources:

🥦 Every → https://every-foods.com/

📍 Berlin, Germany

🧡 Why You’ll Love This Episode:

If you’re building a mission-driven brand — especially in a competitive, trust-sensitive industry — this episode is packed with insights. Benjamin shares what it really takes to challenge category assumptions, build with integrity, and create a product that aligns convenience with quality. It’s a powerful reminder that food isn’t just fuel — it’s culture, connection, and community.

📣 Connect with Us:

This podcast is brought to you by SERIOUS.BUSINESS.

If your brand is growing but your positioning, messaging, or differentiation isn’t as strong as your product — we+ll fix that.

1. 👉 Apply for your FREE Brand Masterplan 🦄

🎙️ Vulnerability as a Superpower in Tech with Ahana Banerjee

What does it take to build a tech startup in a crowded market—while staying authentic, visible, and resilient?

In this episode, Helga sits down with Ahana Banerjee, founder of Clear, a skincare-tracking app designed to cut through the noise of an oversaturated beauty industry. From growing up across the UK, India, and Singapore to teaching herself how to code, Ahana’s journey reflects the power of discipline, vulnerability, and intentional personal branding in entrepreneurship.

Together, we explore what it means to be a young female founder in tech, how vulnerability can become a competitive advantage, and why building both a product and a personal brand requires consistency, resilience, and belief—especially when facing bias in fundraising. Ahana also shares how Clear balances a dual business model, serving both consumers and global skincare brands through data-driven insights.

This episode is an honest look at startup life behind the scenes—rejections, resilience, and the long game of building something meaningful.

🔑 In this episode, we talk about:

Growing up across cultures and how it shaped Ahana’s entrepreneurial mindset

The personal skincare struggles that inspired the creation of Clear

Teaching herself to code and transitioning from academia to startups

Using vulnerability as a strength in personal branding

Building credibility as a young female founder in tech

Navigating bias and rejection in fundraising

Balancing consumer value with brand monetisation

Why discipline matters more than motivation in content and growth

Scaling a startup while protecting team culture

🧠 Key Takeaways:

Vulnerability can be a powerful tool for trust and connection.

Personal branding requires consistency, not perfection.

Fundraising resilience means expecting rejection—and continuing anyway.

Strong team culture is critical as startups begin to scale.

Understanding both user and brand needs unlocks sustainable growth.

Entrepreneurship is a long game built on discipline and belief.

📍 Chapter Highlights:

00:00 – Introduction to Ahana and Clear

02:34 – Growing up across cultures

12:35 – Discovering coding and technical confidence

15:31 – The moment that sparked Clear

26:13 – Committing fully to the startup journey

28:06 – Vulnerability and personal branding

31:56 – Credibility challenges as a young founder

33:03 – Consistency and content creation

36:21 – Authenticity on social media

46:16 – Personal support systems

53:16 – Facing bias as a female founder

59:00 – Navigating fundraising realities

01:10:00 – Resilience and leadership

01:20:58 – Balancing consumer and brand needs

01:24:17 – Scaling Clear and future growth

🔗 Links & Resources:

📱 Clear App → getclearapp.com

👤 Ahana Banerjee → LinkedIn

🌍 Companies mentioned: Clear, L’Oréal, Beiersdorf, Unilever, Y Combinator, Forbes

🧡 Why You’ll Love This Episode:

This conversation is a powerful reminder that building a startup isn’t just about technology or traction—it’s about identity, resilience, and showing up honestly. Ahana’s story offers inspiration for founders navigating self-doubt, bias, and the pressure to prove themselves, while still building with integrity and intention.

📣 Connect with Us:

This podcast is brought to you by SERIOUS.BUSINESS.

If you’re scaling fast but your messaging, your story, your brand haven’t caught up—let’s fix that now👇🏻

👉 Apply for your FREE Brand Masterplan 🦄

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What happens when technology, self-discovery, and environmental awareness collide?

In this episode, we sit down with Georg Molzer, founder of Shadowmap, a groundbreaking platform that visualises sunlight and shadows in three dimensions. What begins as a conversation about sunlight, urban planning, and innovation quickly unfolds into a much deeper exploration of authenticity, personal growth, and the often exhausting work of becoming yourself.

Georg shares how living in dense urban environments sparked the idea behind Shadowmap, a tool now used by architects, urban planners, and individuals who want to better understand their relationship with sunlight. Alongside the technical journey, Georg opens up about his inner journey — from making mistakes and seeking forgiveness, to embracing authenticity as an ongoing, imperfect process.

This episode bridges the worlds of entrepreneurship, self-discovery, spirituality, and impact, offering listeners both practical insights and reflective depth.

1. Why authenticity is a lifelong process — not a destination
2. The emotional and spiritual work behind entrepreneurship
3. How Shadowmap tracks sunlight and shadows in 3D
4. Democratizing access to sunlight in dense urban spaces
5. Making mistakes, taking responsibility, and asking for forgiveness
6. Why self-discovery can be deeply exhausting — and necessary
7. Integrating personal growth with leadership and business
8. The role of awareness and consciousness in innovation
9. Building community around shared values and wellbeing

1. Authenticity is encouraged by the universe — but it requires effort.
2. Self-discovery is a continuous and often uncomfortable journey.
3. Making mistakes is a natural and essential part of growth.
4. Asking for forgiveness is a vital step in becoming more authentic.
5. Being true to yourself does not mean being perfect.
6. Authenticity can unintentionally cause friction or harm — awareness matters.
7. Personal growth demands commitment, courage, and reflection.
8. Embracing your true self is foundational to meaningful work and life.

00:00 – Introduction and Insights from Georg

00:32 – Exploring Modern Health Myths

(Full chapter expansion can be added once final timestamps are locked)

“This is the work, which is exhausting.”

“This is a process as well.”

“You will make mistakes.”

This episode goes beyond tactics and tools. It’s a raw, thoughtful conversation about what it really means to build something meaningful — both externally and internally. Georg’s reflections on authenticity, forgiveness, and growth offer rare honesty, while Shadowmap stands as a powerful example of how personal experience can inspire impactful innovation. If you’re a founder, creative, or someone navigating their own path of self-discovery, this conversation will resonate deeply.

🌞 Shadowmap → https://shadowmap.org/

This podcast is brought to you by SERIOUS.BUSINESS.

If your business is growing but your brand, positioning, or story no longer reflects who you truly are — it’s time to realign.

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