If you don’t have Snoop Dogg, what do you have?
That’s what fintech startups other than Klarna must be thinking after the Swedish payments company announced this week it was bringing the rap icon onto its team as an investor.
Snoop Dogg called it a “big project” for him as an investor and said it was “time we change the game” when it comes to payments.
Here I am. Smoooth Dogg. This is a big project for me as an investor in Swedish payment provider @klarna. It's time we change the game. #getsmoooth https://t.co/rpQ1Ama4of pic.twitter.com/rkaiMZQyG6
— Snoop Dogg (@SnoopDogg) January 17, 2019
As the face of a major campaign Klarna is rolling out, Snoop Dogg will now be known as Smoooth Dogg, and those three “o”s are no typo.
The “Get Smoooth” campaign will focus on Klarna’s aim to remove friction from payments. The company offers buy-now-pay-later services at thousands of retailers in Europe and across the U.S.
“The Coronation of Smoooth Dogg,” a YouTube video you kind of just need to see for yourself announcing the star’s involvement in the company, was released Wednesday and had 670,000 views by early Friday afternoon.
“I’ve endorsed them, advised them, and now I’m looking to invest in them,” Snoop Dogg, whose actual name is Calvin Broadus, told Forbes. “I plan to keep growing the portfolio, ya dig?”
But how did the campaign go over on Twitter in the fintech world?
Kilian Thalhammer, a fintech angel investor, replying to Snoop Dogg’s post announcing his Klarna investment, called it a “bold” marketing shift.
New target group for Klarna – Bold Marketing move
— Kilian Thalhammer (@kilian2002) January 18, 2019
London, U.K.-based digital banking consultancy 11:FS tweeted that considering the firm’s 2019 goal was just to get the rapper on its podcast, “we are officially reaching out.” “#FinAndJuice” was also a nice touch.
Okay, so @SnoopDogg has invested in @Klarna. Considering our 2019 goal is to get him on the @FinTechInsiders podcast, we are officially reaching out. 😂
SNOOP.
We need you.
Fintech needs you. #FinAndJuice 🥃 pic.twitter.com/YJKaPANLci
— 11:FS (@11FS) January 17, 2019
Dion F. Lisle, managing director of FACERE25, a fintech lab, warned against dismissing the rapper’s involvement in the company, saying he’s “WOKE, smart and very on top of a range of subjects.”
Do NOT dismiss Snoop Dogg, listen to him on Howard Stern he is WOKE, smart and very on top of a range of subjects. He started a youth football league that has done very well for under privileged kids in LA. Klarna is smart and lucky to have him. https://t.co/DgGsiiLVNN
— Yes, still working towards an exciting outcome… (@dionlisle) January 17, 2019
Josh Glover, lead engineer at Klarna, said he never suspected that one day he’d be working for Snoop Dogg, “but here I am. #smooothdogg”
I never in my life suspected that one day I'd be working for Snoop Dogg, but here I am. #smooothdogghttps://t.co/Dkd3T3FDmr
— Josh Glover (He/Him) (@jmglov) January 18, 2019
Klarna is valued at about $2.5 billion and has backing from Institutional Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital and General Atlantic, according to CB Insights’s Global Unicorn Club list.






