🎙️ 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