It started with a piece of XML code. Lars Helbostad ran it through a JSON viewer, and a receipt appeared. "That's when we realised this was the start of something new and good," he says.

That story says something about the way Lars works. He is an operator and controller by nature, with an iron grip on the numbers. Over 24 years in the payments industry, from cash register systems and POS to payment infrastructure, he has built a network and a practical understanding of the market that is hard to replicate. He knows the industry from both sides: as a supplier of solutions to Norwegian businesses, and as someone who helped build the infrastructure they now use. Lars is known as jovial, reliable and credible, and is well known in the industry.

By the time X-Receipts raised capital from some of Norway's strongest technology investors, the company had already delivered. Partnerships with banks, accounting software and POS providers. A business model that had stayed true to one thing all the way. "They didn't just buy an idea," he says.

Lars lives in Steinkjer with his family and his dog, Milo. When autumn comes it's hunting season, and the rest of the year it's all about the mountains.