In the payments industry, the important decisions are rarely about technology. They are made by procurement departments, operations managers and IT architects responsible for making sure systems never stop. "Distribution trumps innovation, almost every time," says Pål Andre Fredriksen. It is an insight he has spent two decades understanding, and now puts to active use.

As COO, he is the link between what X-Receipts builds and those who will put it to use. He speaks the partners' language because he has sat on their side of the table. As General Manager at Verifone and Sales Director at Nets, he learned early on that credibility is what opens doors in this market. "Trust opens doors, but it breaks down just as quickly if we don't deliver," he says.

Others have tried this market before. "They didn't fail on technology, they failed on distribution," he says. X-Receipts went in through the bank and the card infrastructure, following the transaction where it already happens. That is the insight that changes everything.

At Verifone, he had influence within an established system, but that system moves slowly. "I'm at a point in my career where I'd rather own a part of something that could become big than manage something that already is," he says. What he draws from the rest of the team is technological depth and product understanding. "I can sell something I believe in, but I can't build it. That's a healthy division of labour."

Pål Andre trains to think clearly. Many of his best solutions have come to him on a treadmill or in the cross-country ski tracks.