Gabriella Sahlman has spent much of her career working in parts of financial services that were going through major change, from electronic markets and trading technology to direct lending and private credit.
Now, as managing partner and co-founder of Fuels Capital, she is turning that experience towards another gap in the market: financing businesses that do not fit the standard lending model. The company is expanding from Sweden into Northern and Western Europe, with a focus on entrepreneur-led and growth-stage businesses that can struggle to access traditional sources of capital.
We spoke to Sahlman about her route into fintech, why standardisation can sometimes leave good businesses behind, the lessons she has learned about risk and what comes next for Fuels Capital.
Tell us more about your company and its purpose.
Fuels Capital is a European private credit company working to close Europe’s €39billion debt financing gap, which sees 982,000 and 1.4 million financially viable businesses turned away every year.
The private capital market is booming, but it’s coming at the expense of fintechs and startups because capital is concentrated around one (perfect) kind of borrower: companies with stable, predictable cash flows, usually private equity-backed. Everyone outside that mould – entrepreneur-led firms, growth-stage businesses, companies in transition – gets treated as the exception.
We lend to the exception. We secure financing against real estate, financial assets, unlisted shares, and other assets with underlying intrinsic value, so founders can raise capital without sacrificing equity.
What are some of your recent achievements you’d like to highlight?
I tend not to think too much in terms of achievements. What excites me is being involved in situations where something new is being built. Right now, that is Fuels. We have a proven offering in Sweden, and we’re now taking it to Northern and Western Europe. The opportunity to help shape that next chapter is what I’m most focused on and passionate about.
How did you get into the fintech industry?
In many ways, I have spent most of my career around fintech, even before the term became widely used. I started my career at OM (today Nasdaq OMX) in the late 1990s, at a time when electronic markets were still transforming the financial industry. I later worked at Orc Software (today part of Broadridge), helping financial institutions and professional traders use increasingly sophisticated trading technology.
Over the years, my focus shifted towards investing, private credit and company building, having worked with the European private credit team at Ninety One and co-founded Proventus Capital Partners, an early pioneer in European direct lending and a leading Nordic credit platform. Joining Fuels is less like entering fintech and more like coming full circle.
What’s the best thing about working in the fintech industry?
What I find most exciting is the willingness to challenge established assumptions. Many fintech companies start by asking why something is done in a certain way and whether there is a better solution. That mindset resonates strongly with me.
I also enjoy the pace. Decisions are made quickly, ideas are tested quickly, and the distance between idea and solution is often much shorter than in more established industries.
What frustrates you most about the fintech industry?
If I had to point to one frustration, it is the industry’s natural tendency towards standardisation and scale. Standardisation is extremely powerful and has helped make financial services faster, more efficient and more accessible. But the challenge is that not every company fits a standard template. Many situations require judgement, creativity and a willingness to understand complexity. Technology should help us tackle those situations, not simply reject them because they do not fit predefined models.
How have your previous roles influenced your career?
Looking back, I realise that I have often been drawn to areas of financial services that were undergoing significant change.
I started my career at a time when electronic markets were transforming the industry. In 2001, I was responsible for introducing ETFs to the Swedish market, at a time when the product was still largely unknown in Europe. I later worked within trading technology during a period of rapid innovation in market infrastructure. I helped build one of the early direct lending platforms in Europe and spent many years working in private credit and growth investing.
Those experiences have taught me that the most interesting opportunities emerge when new markets, products or business models are still developing, and to be comfortable with uncertainty and to focus on understanding change rather than resisting it.
What’s the best mistake you’ve ever made?
One lesson that has been reinforced throughout my career is that transactions rarely go wrong because of the risks that have been thoroughly analysed or debated. More often, problems emerge from unexpected human behaviour, changing incentives or governance issues.
That experience has shaped how I think about lending and risk. It is one of the reasons why I place so much emphasis on downside protection, collateral and recoverability. The most valuable lesson has been learning the limits of forecasting and the importance of preparation.
What has the future got in store for your company?
We just announced our expansion into North and West Europe, so that’s our immediate focus. Beyond that, the ambition is to keep expanding across Europe and help more companies access the finance that they’re missing.
What are the next key talking points or challenges for your industry as a whole?
A significant amount of capital is currently concentrated in sponsor-backed cash flow lending. The challenge and opportunity for the industry is to find better ways of financing companies that do not fit those standard models.
Answers provided by Gabriella
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