Oivind Lorentzen

Oivind Lorentzen, a Principal at Oak HC/FT, joined the firm in 2015 and focuses on growth equity and early-stage venture opportunities in fintech.

Oivind currently serves as a Board Member at IMMO and Board Observer at Justt, Panorays and Rapyd. He is also actively involved with Clara Analytics, Feedzai, MPCH Labs, Paxos, Prove. His prior investments include FastPay (acquired by AvidXchange), Kryon (acquired by Nintex), NextCapital (acquired by Goldman Sachs), and Poynt (acquired by GoDaddy).

Prior to joining Oak HC/FT, Oivind was an Analyst at Morgan Stanley.

Oivind received a Bachelor of Science degree from Stanford University.

As a child, I dissected any household appliance I could get my hands on, leaving radio parts all over the house. I was determined to understand the way things worked. I matured this hobby by studying Mechanical Engineering in university. I wanted to know how the world worked and was eager to explore it. In my first job, I was an engineer and deck hand on a cargo ship with crew mates from over 3 continents. I saw firsthand how interconnected the global economy was, which sparked my curiosity beyond engineering. I was drawn to fintech as I realized that financial services are the true backbone of the global economy— just as critical as the ships that move goods across oceans. To me, fintech entrepreneurs are the engineers for the global economy, solving the big problems that are necessary for progress. When I talk to founders my first question is always: "How does this work, and how can we all make it work better?"

Fintech is exciting because change is both inevitable and constant. The global economy is always evolving, which consistently creates new opportunities for founders. For example, "fintech" first emerged as financial services shifted online, and then became embedded in other applications.

Right now, we are entering the next cycle of change in fintech, which will center on automation. Financial tasks and money movement won't require as much hassle as they do today - they will "just work." Automation can transform financial services from being a point of friction to a modern engine of growth. But it will also create complex challenges around trust, safety, and interoperability. Both areas hold big opportunities for the next generation of founders to solve. This next layer of fintech infrastructure won't just focus on making existing processes more efficient and digital - it will build the avenues for automation and open new ports of commerce, new industries, and new forms of human and non-human interactions.