Podcasts about airwallex

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Best podcasts about airwallex

Latest podcast episodes about airwallex

The High Flyers Podcast
#267 Vandita Pant: BHP's CFO on How Curiosity Took Her from a Family of Teachers in India to the C-Suite

The High Flyers Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 28, 2026 96:49


Vandita Pant is the Chief Financial Officer of BHP, one of the world's largest resources companies, with a market capitalisation of approximately US$150 billion and annual revenue of around US$55 billion. This is Vandita's first-ever podcast interview. Growing up in Delhi, India in a family of academics, Vandita reflects on her childhood dinner table debates, teachers and love of books for shaping the curiosity that has defined her career. After studying at Shri Ram College and IIM Lucknow, she built a global career across India, Singapore, Japan and the UK before joining BHP, where she now helps oversee the financial strategy of a company at the centre of AI, electrification and the energy transition. In this conversation, Vandita shares why she deliberately pursued unfamiliar challenges, the career setback that unexpectedly led her into risk management, what it was like helping steer RBS through the Global Financial Crisis, the leadership lessons from earning trust in Japan, why she believes the modern CFO is a value creator rather than a scorekeeper, how she thinks about AI and capital allocation, and why Australia and India have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deepen their economic partnership. Please enjoy exploring your curiosity. ________ Get in touch with us via email at contact@curiositycentre.com Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG, Vanta, Allens, Macquarie Capital, City of Sydney and more.  Show notes and more episodes here Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here Contact us via our website ________ The High Flyers Podcast features in-depth interviews with the world's most influential figures in business, tech, finance, government and sport. Launched in 2020, it has ranked in the global top ten for past three years, with listeners in 27 countries and over 200+ episodes released, and featured in Forbes, Daily Telegraph, and at SXSW. Our guests include -- Malcolm Turnbull (Prime Minister of Australia), Jason Collins (Head of BlackRock, Asia Pacific), Brad Banducci (CEO, Woolworths), Michael Schneider (CEO, Bunnings), David Eckstein (CFO, Legora), Jesse Zhang (CEO, Decagon), Vandita Pant (CFO, BHP), Elena Verna (Head of Growth, Lovable), David Haber (a16z Partner), Jodie Auster (Uber's Global Head of Travel), Rob Giglio (CCO, Canva), Jean-Michel Limieux (CTO, Shopify and Atlassian), Stevie Case (CRO, Vanta), Cristina Cordova (COO, Linear), Gautam Chari (Head of Capital Commitments, Bank of America), John Haddock (CBO, Harvey), Mark Suster (Partner, Upfront Ventures), Niki Scevak (Partner, Blackbird), Craig Tiley (CEO, USA Tennis), Jeanne DeWitt Grosser (COO, Vercel), Paul Bassat (Partner, Square Peg), Bowen Pan (Creator, Facebook Marketplace), Peter Varghese (Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Australian Government), Sam Sicilia (CIO, Hostplus), Jack Zhang (CEO, Airwallex), Tim Doyle (CEO, Eucalyptus), Sukhinder Singh Cassidy (CEO, Xero), Sanjeev Gandhi (CEO, Orica) and Philip Green (Australia's Ambassador/High Commissioner to India).  Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG, Vanta, Allens, Macquarie Capital, City of Sydney and more. ________ Welcome to the 12th episode in our special series with the Australian Government and their Centre for Australia–India Relations (CAIR), spotlighting the growing Australia–India relationship across technology, business, media, culture and sport. Other guests in this series include Bank of America's Head of Capital Commitments Gautam Chari, Renowned Music Composer Tushar Apte, Australia's High Commissioner to India Philip Green, MUFG's CEO Vivek Bhatia, Australia's Secretary of Foreign Affairs Peter Varghese, NAB's EGM Sweta Mehra, Deputy Secretary of Australia's Home Affairs Brendan Dowling, Orica's CEO Sanjeev Gandhi, Sports Journalist Bharat Sundaresan, Cricket Legend Lisa Sthalekar and CAIR's CEO, Ryan Neelam, reflecting the breadth of Indian-Australian leaders at the most senior levels.

The High Flyers Podcast
#266 Caroline Rawlinson: Culture Amp's CEO on Lessons from China, Founder Succession & Evolving a Growth Stage Tech Company

The High Flyers Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2026 78:44


Caroline Rawlinson is the CEO of Culture Amp, the global employee experience platform trusted by more than 6,000 organisations and 25 million employees. Underpinned by people science and AI, Culture Amp helps organisations build high-performing teams at scale. Before joining Culture Amp, Caroline held executive leadership roles at MYOB, Trade Me and Fletcher Building across Australia, New Zealand and Asia. In her first ever in-depth interview, Caroline shares the journey behind becoming CEO of Culture Amp. She reflects on growing up in Auckland, captaining hockey teams, meeting her husband at McDonald's, landing a role at PwC despite knowing almost nothing about finance, and the forgotten career goal she wrote down at 28: "I want to be CEO." Vidit and Caroline explore the big learning in Shanghai when she was a first time CFO that changed how she leads forever, the partnership that made an international executive career possible, succeeding Culture Amp's founder as CEO, balancing today's business with an AI-native future, building high-performing cultures at global scale, and why the closer she came to becoming CEO, the harder it became to believe she could. Please enjoy exploring your curiosity. ________ 00:00 Who is Caro? 00:03 Growing up in Auckland 00:10 Talking her way into PwC 00:16 The best commercial leaders 00:21 Designing a career with intent 00:24 "I want to be CEO" 00:28 Building confidence in others 00:30 Why direct conversations matter 00:34 The China lesson that changed everything  00:43 Becoming CFO at 33 00:49 Ambition, marriage & family 00:56 From CFO to CEO 01:03 Taking over from Culture Amp's Founder at the start of 2026 01:10 AI and the next era of software  01:16 Advice for future CEOs 01:18 Rapid Fire Sprint ________ Get in touch with us via email at contact@curiositycentre.com Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG, Vanta, Allens, Macquarie Capital, City of Sydney and more.  Show notes and more episodes here Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here Contact us via our website ________ The High Flyers Podcast features in-depth interviews with the world's most influential figures in business, tech, finance, government and sport. Launched in 2020, it has ranked in the global top ten for past three years, with listeners in 27 countries and over 200+ episodes released, and featured in Forbes, Daily Telegraph, and at SXSW. Our guests include -- Malcolm Turnbull (Prime Minister of Australia), Jason Collins (Head of BlackRock, Asia Pacific), Brad Banducci (CEO, Woolworths), Michael Schneider (CEO, Bunnings), David Eckstein (CFO, Legora), Jesse Zhang (CEO, Decagon), Elena Verna (Head of Growth, Lovable), David Haber (a16z Partner), Jodie Auster (Uber's Global Head of Travel), Rob Giglio (CCO, Canva), Jean-Michel Limieux (CTO, Shopify and Atlassian), Stevie Case (CRO, Vanta), Cristina Cordova (COO, Linear), Gautam Chari (Head of Capital Commitments, Bank of America), John Haddock (CBO, Harvey), Mark Suster (Partner, Upfront Ventures), Niki Scevak (Partner, Blackbird), Craig Tiley (CEO, USA Tennis), Jeanne DeWitt Grosser (COO, Vercel), Paul Bassat (Partner, Square Peg), Bowen Pan (Creator, Facebook Marketplace), Peter Varghese (Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Australian Government), Sam Sicilia (CIO, Hostplus), Jack Zhang (CEO, Airwallex), Tim Doyle (CEO, Eucalyptus), Sukhinder Singh Cassidy (CEO, Xero), Sanjeev Gandhi (CEO, Orica) and Philip Green (Australia's Ambassador/High Commissioner to India). 

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Former Intel CEO on What Went Wrong, What's Next + Lovable CEO on the Real Promise of Vibe Coding

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 15, 2026 49:44


(0:00) Former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger joins Jason! (1:41) What Went Wrong at Intel (15:19) Why a Taiwan Blockade Would Cripple the US Economy (25:00) Lovable's Anton Osika: One Million New Apps a Week (33:38) How Lovable is Bringing Down Builder Costs Thanks to our partners for making this possible! Airwallex is a leading global payments and financial platform for modern businesses, offering trusted solutions to manage everything from business accounts, payments, treasury, and spend management to embedded finance. https://airwallex.com/allin Plaud - If your work depends on conversations — meetings, deal flow, interviews, customer calls — Plaud helps you capture and organize everything with highly accurate AI-generated notes that are not just simple summaries, but also highlight pain points, key decisions, next steps, and customizable summary templates. Check out Plaud at https://plaud.ai/allin and use code ALLIN for up to 20% off! Which is also available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/43URLff (Code: ALLIN20X) Follow Pat: https://x.com/PGelsinger Follow Anton: https://x.com/antonosika Follow the besties: https://x.com/chamath https://x.com/Jason https://x.com/DavidSacks https://x.com/friedberg Follow on X: https://x.com/theallinpod Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theallinpod Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@allin Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/allinpod Intro Music Credit: https://rb.gy/tppkzl https://x.com/yung_spielburg And a special thank you to Raise Summit for hosting us in Paris

The High Flyers Podcast
#265 Jesse Zhang: Decagon's CEO on Maths Olympiads, No Small Talk & Transforming Airlines, Banks, Large Corporates

The High Flyers Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 14, 2026 78:29


Jesse Zhang is the Co-founder & CEO of Decagon, one of the world's fastest-growing AI companies. In just two and a half years, Decagon has grown to around 500 employees, raised approximately US$500 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Accel and Bain Capital Ventures, and today powers AI customer service for many of the world's largest airlines, banks, retailers and technology companies. In this rare in-depth conversation, Jesse reflects on growing up in Boulder, Colorado, an intensely disciplined childhood shaped by maths competitions and Chinese immigrant parents, graduating from Harvard in just three years, and why his first startup taught him far more than his second. Vidit and Jesse explore how Decagon found its billion-dollar opportunity by interviewing hundreds of customers, why they reached US$1 million in ARR with just two people, how to hire exceptional talent, why speed has become the ultimate competitive advantage in AI, building one of Silicon Valley's leading AI companies, and what it really takes to scale from founder mode to leading 500 people. Please enjoy exploring your curiosity. ________ 00:00:00 Who is Jesse Zhang? 02:10 The Huawei story that shaped Decagon 07:20 Why Maths Olympiads create successful founders 13:05 Leaving Harvard a year early 17:40 The startup that nearly broke him 23:30 Losing two co-founders 29:15 Why he started again 34:20 The question that found Decagon 40:10 Hitting $1M ARR with just 3 employees early on 45:25 Learning enterprise sales from scratch 50:35 Building AI agents before the hype 56:15 Why Decagon is beating bigger rivals 1:02:20 Hiring only "serious people" 1:08:15 Letting go as CEO 1:13:10 Marriage, sleep & startup obsession 1:17:05 What he's really building ________ Get in touch with us via email at contact@curiositycentre.com Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG, Vanta, Allens, Macquarie Capital, City of Sydney and more.  Show notes and more episodes here Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here Contact us via our website ________ The High Flyers Podcast features in-depth interviews with the world's most influential figures in business, tech, finance, government and sport. Launched in 2020, it has ranked in the global top ten for past three years, with listeners in 27 countries and over 200+ episodes released, and featured in Forbes, Daily Telegraph, and at SXSW. Our guests include -- Malcolm Turnbull (Prime Minister of Australia), Jason Collins (Head of BlackRock, Asia Pacific), Brad Banducci (CEO, Woolworths), Michael Schneider (CEO, Bunnings), David Eckstein (CFO, Legora), Jesse Zhang (CEO, Decagon), Elena Verna (Head of Growth, Lovable), David Haber (a16z Partner), Jodie Auster (Uber's Global Head of Travel), Rob Giglio (CCO, Canva), Jean-Michel Limieux (CTO, Shopify and Atlassian), Stevie Case (CRO, Vanta), Cristina Cordova (COO, Linear), Gautam Chari (Head of Capital Commitments, Bank of America), John Haddock (CBO, Harvey), Mark Suster (Partner, Upfront Ventures), Niki Scevak (Partner, Blackbird), Craig Tiley (CEO, USA Tennis), Jeanne DeWitt Grosser (COO, Vercel), Paul Bassat (Partner, Square Peg), Bowen Pan (Creator, Facebook Marketplace), Peter Varghese (Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Australian Government), Sam Sicilia (CIO, Hostplus), Jack Zhang (CEO, Airwallex), Tim Doyle (CEO, Eucalyptus), Sukhinder Singh Cassidy (CEO, Xero), Sanjeev Gandhi (CEO, Orica) and Philip Green (Australia's Ambassador/High Commissioner to India), 

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
The Trillion-Dollar Industries AI Is Disrupting: Voice, Law & the End of the Billable Hour

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 13, 2026 51:33


(0:00) ElevenLabs' $600M ARR Ramp, 600 Employees & Life Without PMs (15:34) Celebrity Voice Deals, Deepfake Impersonation & Racing OpenAI and Anthropic (31:42) Legora's Hypergrowth, Disrupting Law Firms & the Billable Hour (42:31) LexisNexis Decline, Legal Data Moats & Legora's Narrow AI Models Thanks to our partners for making this possible! Airwallex is a leading global payments and financial platform for modern businesses, offering trusted solutions to manage everything from business accounts, payments, treasury, and spend management to embedded finance. https://airwallex.com/allin Oracle powers AI at every scale—from frontier labs to enterprise production. Your data. Leading models. No lock-in. One platform, architected for AI. Built for business. Visit https://www.oracle.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-experience/?source=:ex:sn:::::AllIn&SC=:ex:sn:::::AllIn&pcode= Follow Mati: https://x.com/mati Follow Max: https://x.com/MaxJunestrand Follow the besties: https://x.com/chamath https://x.com/Jason https://x.com/DavidSacks https://x.com/friedberg Follow on X: https://x.com/theallinpod Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theallinpod Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@allin Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/allinpod Intro Music Credit: https://rb.gy/tppkzl https://x.com/yung_spielburg And a special thank you to Raise Summit for hosting us in Paris

Paymentandbanking FinTech Podcast
#573: Plattform oder Produkt? Tom Sellin über PayPal-Jahre und die nächste Welle im Payment

Paymentandbanking FinTech Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 10, 2026 76:28 Transcription Available


Tom Sellin über das PayPal-Lehrstück, was Lokalisierung 2026 wirklich bedeutet – und warum der Unterschied zwischen Plattform und Produkt über die nächsten Jahre im Payment entscheidet.

The High Flyers Podcast
#264 David Eckstein: Legora's CFO on Living Someone Else's Life, AI Economics and Raising $500M in 45 Days

The High Flyers Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 7, 2026 75:46


David Eckstein is the CFO of Legora, one of the world's fastest-growing enterprise software companies, which grew from $1 million to $100 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) in just 18 months. David reflects on his parents' divorce, graduating from college in three years, and realising at 22 that he was “living someone else's life” before leaving investment banking for Silicon Valley. Vidit and David explore his journey through Box, OpenDNS, Menlo Security and Vanta to Legora; helping sell OpenDNS to Cisco; investing in more than 100 startups; and how 16 years of relationships helped Legora attract $1.5 billion in investor demand and raise a $600 million Series D. They also discuss the changing role of the CFO, AI economics and token spend, how to diligence a startup before joining, lessons from exceptional founders, Legora's extraordinary growth, and David's philosophy of loyalty and giving more than he takes. Please enjoy exploring your curiosity. ________ 00:00:00 Meet David Eckstein 00:05:00 Why Loyalty Drives Everything 00:13:00 The Obsession With Permanence 00:23:00 “I Was Living Someone Else's Life” 00:28:00 How Relationships Helped Raise $600M 00:38:00 The New Economics of AI 00:45:00 Lessons From Four Hypergrowth Companies 00:55:00 Why He Bet His Career on Legora 01:05:00 What Makes Legora Special 01:12:00 The Hardest 25 Days of His Life 01:15:00 Give More Than You Take 01:21:00 Rapid Fire ________ Get in touch with us via email at contact@curiositycentre.com Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG, Vanta, Allens, Macquarie Capital, City of Sydney and more.  Show notes and more episodes here Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here Contact us via our website ________ The High Flyers Podcast features in-depth interviews with the world's most influential figures in business, tech, finance, government and sport. Launched in 2020, it has ranked in the global top ten for past three years, with listeners in 27 countries and over 200+ episodes released, and featured in Forbes, Daily Telegraph, and at SXSW. Our guests include -- Malcolm Turnbull (Prime Minister of Australia), Jason Collins (Head of BlackRock, Asia Pacific), Brad Banducci (CEO, Woolworths), Michael Schneider (CEO, Bunnings), Elena Verna (Head of Growth, Lovable), David Haber (a16z Partner), Jodie Auster (Uber's Global Head of Travel), Rob Giglio (CCO, Canva), Jean-Michel Limieux (CTO, Shopify and Atlassian), Stevie Case (CRO, Vanta), John Haddock (CBO, Harvey), Mark Suster (Partner, Upfront Ventures), Niki Scevak (Partner, Blackbird), Craig Tiley (CEO, USA Tennis), Jeanne DeWitt Grosser (COO, Vercel), Paul Bassat (Partner, Square Peg), Bowen Pan (Creator, Facebook Marketplace), Peter Varghese (Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Australian Government), Sam Sicilia (CIO, Hostplus), Jack Zhang (CEO, Airwallex), Tim Doyle (CEO, Eucalyptus), Sukhinder Singh Cassidy (CEO, Xero), Sanjeev Gandhi (CEO, Orica), Philip Green (Australia's Ambassador/High Commissioner to India), Vivek Bhatia (CEO, MUFG), Cristina Cordova (COO, Linear) and more.

Finance Forward - Der Podcast zu New Finance, Fintech, Crypto, Blockchain & Co.
FFWD #313 mit Airwallex-Deutschlandchef Tom Sellin

Finance Forward - Der Podcast zu New Finance, Fintech, Crypto, Blockchain & Co.

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 1, 2026 37:58 Transcription Available


Elf Milliarden Dollar. So viel ist Airwallex wert – ein Fintech aus Australien, das klassische Auslandsüberweisungen neu erfunden hat und gerade im Verdopplungstakt wächst. Manche nennen den Gründer schon den „australischen Elon Musk“, Drama inklusive. Jetzt kommt Airwallex nach Deutschland, mit dem ehemaligen PayPal-Manager Tom Sellin als DACH-Chef. Im Podcast erklärt Sellin, wie er den deutschen Markt erobern will, warum Agentic Commerce die nächste große Welle im Payment-Geschäft werden könnte und weshalb er trotz aller Skepsis ein „Riesenfan“ der europäischen PayPal-Alternative Wero ist.

The High Flyers Podcast
#263 Gautam Chari: Mumbai Engineer to one of Asia's Most Senior Investment Bankers | Why Great Careers Aren't Linear

The High Flyers Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 30, 2026 75:12


Episode #263 features Gautam Chari, Managing Director and Head of Capital Commitments (Asia Pacific) at Bank of America. Growing up in Mumbai, Gautam thought his path was already written. Like many students of his generation, he became a civil engineer, started work on construction sites and expected to spend his career building physical infrastructure. Instead, a series of bold decisions took him to Australia, into investment banking, and eventually to one of the world's largest financial institutions. In this rare and deeply personal conversation, Gautam reflects on the teachers who changed the trajectory of his life, the culture shock of moving from Mumbai to Adelaide, breaking into investment banking without a finance background, living through 9/11 in New York, and the lessons from building a global career across Sydney, London, New York and Hong Kong.  Vidit and Gautam explore why the best careers are rarely linear, the difference between confidence and conviction, how great leaders develop judgment, why listening is an underrated superpower, the AI investment cycle, and why the Australia-India relationship will be one of the defining economic stories of the coming decades. This is Gautam's first-ever podcast interview. Please enjoy exploring your curiosity.  ________ Get in touch with us via email at contact@curiositycentre.com Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG, Vanta, Allens, Macquarie Capital, City of Sydney and more.  Show notes and more episodes here Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here Contact us via our website ________ The High Flyers Podcast features in-depth interviews with the world's most influential figures in business, tech, finance, government and sport. Launched in 2020, it has ranked in the global top ten for past three years, with listeners in 27 countries and over 200+ episodes released, and featured in Forbes, Daily Telegraph, and at SXSW. Our guests include -- Malcolm Turnbull (Prime Minister of Australia), Jason Collins (Head of BlackRock, Asia Pacific), Brad Banducci (CEO, Woolworths), Michael Schneider (CEO, Bunnings), Elena Verna (Head of Growth, Lovable), David Haber (a16z Partner), Jodie Auster (Uber's Global Head of Travel), Rob Giglio (CCO, Canva), Jean-Michel Limieux (CTO, Shopify and Atlassian), Stevie Case (CRO, Vanta), John Haddock (CBO, Harvey), Mark Suster (Partner, Upfront Ventures), Niki Scevak (Partner, Blackbird), Craig Tiley (CEO, USA Tennis), Jeanne DeWitt Grosser (COO, Vercel), Paul Bassat (Partner, Square Peg), Bowen Pan (Creator, Facebook Marketplace), Peter Varghese (Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Australian Government), Sam Sicilia (CIO, Hostplus), Jack Zhang (CEO, Airwallex), Tim Doyle (CEO, Eucalyptus), Sukhinder Singh Cassidy (CEO, Xero), Sanjeev Gandhi (CEO, Orica), Philip Green (Australia's Ambassador/High Commissioner to India), Vivek Bhatia (CEO, MUFG), Cristina Cordova (COO, Linear) and more. Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG, Vanta, Allens, Macquarie Capital, City of Sydney and more. ________ Welcome to the eleventh episode in our special series with the Australian Government and their Centre for Australia–India Relations (CAIR), spotlighting the growing Australia–India relationship across technology, business, media, culture and sport. Previous guests include Renowned Music Composer Tushar Apte, Australia's High Commissioner to India Philip Green, MUFG's CEO Vivek Bhatia, Ex Secretary of Foreign Affairs Peter Varghese, NAB's EGM Sweta Mehra, Deputy Secretary of Australia's Home Affairs Brendan Dowling, Orica's CEO Sanjeev Gandhi, Sports Journalist Bharat Sundaresan, Cricket Legend Lisa Sthalekar and CAIR's CEO, Ryan Neelam, reflecting the breadth of Indian-Australian leaders at the most senior levels.

Go To Market Grit
Airwallex's Jack Zhang on Fintech, Failure, and Growth

Go To Market Grit

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 29, 2026 71:52


In 2020, Airwallex lost nearly half its revenue overnight. Today it's worth $11 billion.Jack Zhang reflects on the decisions that kept the company alive, raising capital during uncertainty, and leading through its toughest chapter.This episode is a candid look at why Jack chose to keep building, even when a $1.2 billion acquisition was on the table.Guest: Jack Zhang, founder and CEO, AirwallexConnect with Jack ZhangXLinkedInConnect with JoubinXLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.comFollow Grit on: LinkedInX​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

Fintech Game Changers
Steve Hind | Lorikeet: The $50m AI Startup Every VC Wanted In.

Fintech Game Changers

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 29, 2026 46:27


If you're looking for AI Native leaders - start at www.tieronepeople.comSteve Hind is the co-founder and CEO of Lorikeet, an Australian AI startup that has raised more than $50 million USD to build AI concierges for high-regulation businesses in fintech, healthcare and energy. Lorikeet's customers include Airwallex, Linktree and Eucalyptus, the telehealth company recently acquired by Hims & Hers in a deal worth up to $1.15 billion.Before founding Lorikeet with former Google Brain researcher Jamie Hall, Steve worked in product roles at Stripe and climate tech company Watershed, following an earlier career at BCG and Bridgewater Associates and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He first connected with Dexter in 2019 while working in Silicon Valley. Here's what they discuss in this episode:00:00 Introduction01:32 Understanding Lorikeet and Its AI Concierge Solutions05:54 The Origin of Lorikeet and Its Founding Story09:50 Navigating the AI Landscape and Company Growth12:49 Regulatory Challenges in FinTech and AI Compliance15:12 The Role of AI in Compliance and Customer Relationships20:03 Steve's Career Journey and Lessons Learned23:51 The Art of Startup Hiring28:34 Navigating AI's Impact on Work33:36 The Future of Work and Leadership39:05 Optimism in the Age of AI41:57 Advice for Aspiring FoundersFind out more about careers - https://www.lorikeetcx.ai/careersSend us Fan MailConnect on with Dexter Cousins on LinkedinHire Exceptional Fintech TalentSubscribe on LinkedIn

GREY Journal Daily News Podcast
Will AI Agents Reshape Fintech Operations After Airwallex's Raise?

GREY Journal Daily News Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 26, 2026 1:07


CNBC reported that Airwallex raised $320 million at an $11 billion valuation and plans to expand into finance run by AI agents. The company aims to embed automation across payment operations, reconciliation, and cash management. Finance agents can monitor transactions, route approvals, process invoices, and optimize foreign exchange execution. Adoption will depend on integrations with enterprise resource planning systems, payment gateways, and bank rails, plus role-based controls and audit logs. Investors will focus on verified unit economics such as lower exception handling costs and faster settlement. Compliance, explainability, and human-in-the-loop controls remain required for sensitive actions.Learn more on this news by visiting us at: https://greyjournal.net/news/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Les Explorateurs du E-Commerce
Paiement agentique : où en est-on réellement ?

Les Explorateurs du E-Commerce

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 24, 2026 34:40


1️⃣ Nous décryptons donc ce vaste sujet du commerce agentique et plus précisément où en est le paiement agentique en analysant notre actualité phare. Le paiement agentique devient l'un des sujets les plus sensibles du commerce IA. Depuis deux ans, les assistants IA progressent rapidement sur la partie amont du parcours d'achat : recherche produit, comparaison d'offres, génération de paniers, recommandations personnalisées, suivi des prix. Mais une question reste décisive pour les banques, les réseaux de cartes et les e-commerçants : comment sécuriser une transaction quand l'achat n'est plus directement initié par un humain mais par un agent IA agissant pour son compte ? Nos questions :  Qu'est-ce que le paiement agentique par rapport au commerce agentique ? Quelle est la différence entre un checkout classique et un checkout agentique ? Concrètement, comment fonctionne le paiement ? Qu'en est-il d'un point de vue réglementation ? Où en sommes-nous aujourd'hui ? Comment le paiement agentique va changer le e-commerce et comment s'y préparer ? Les limites ? Notre épisode précédent sur Wero : https://youtu.be/2sqgOzRkNEQ

The High Flyers Podcast
#262 Brad Banducci: Fmr Woolworths CEO on Identity, Intrapreneurship and Why Directionally Correct Beats Perfect

The High Flyers Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2026 63:33


Welcome to this classic episode. Classics are our favorite episodes from our back catalogue, published as frequently as possible. These are N of 1 conversations with N of 1 people. This is a replay of Episode 202, originally released in April 2025— one of our most loved classics.  Brad Banducci is the recent CEO of Woolworths Group, one of the world's largest retail businesses, generating more than $65 billion in annual revenue, employing over 200,000 people and serving millions of customers every week. In this rare interview (and his first since he left Woolworths after 8+ years) Brad reflects on growing up in South Africa during apartheid, the lessons learned from his entrepreneurial family, and the experiences that shaped his identity, ambition and worldview long before he stepped into the CEO's office. Vidit and Brad explore his remarkable journey from engineer and management consultant at Boston Consulting Group to leading one of the Southern Hemisphere's most complex organisations. They discuss intrapreneurship versus entrepreneurship, making high-stakes decisions with imperfect information, leading through transformation at scale, and the leadership philosophy behind one of his most memorable ideas: being directionally correct beats being perfectly right. They also unpack failure, purpose, family, curiosity, succession, building leaders who outperform you, and why the best executives spend less time chasing certainty and more time moving towards what matters. Please enjoy exploring your curiosity. ________ Get in touch with us via email at contact@curiositycentre.com Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG, Vanta, Allens, Macquarie Capital and more.  Show notes and more episodes here Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here Contact us via our website ________ The High Flyers Podcast features in-depth interviews with the world's most influential figures in business, tech, finance, government and sport. Launched in 2020, it has ranked in the global top ten for past three years, with listeners in 27 countries and over 200+ episodes released, and featured in Forbes, Daily Telegraph, and at SXSW. Our guests include -- Malcolm Turnbull (Prime Minister of Australia), Jason Collins (Head of BlackRock, Asia Pacific), Brad Banducci (CEO, Woolworths), Michael Schneider (CEO, Bunnings), Elena Verna (Head of Growth, Lovable), David Haber (a16z Partner), Jodie Auster (Uber's Global Head of Travel), Rob Giglio (CCO, Canva), Jean-Michel Limieux (CTO, Shopify and Atlassian), Stevie Case (CRO, Vanta), John Haddock (CBO, Harvey), Mark Suster (Partner, Upfront Ventures), Niki Scevak (Partner, Blackbird), Craig Tiley (CEO, USA Tennis), Jeanne DeWitt Grosser (COO, Vercel), Paul Bassat (Partner, Square Peg), Bowen Pan (Creator, Facebook Marketplace), Peter Varghese (Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Australian Government), Sam Sicilia (CIO, Hostplus), Jack Zhang (CEO, Airwallex), Tim Doyle (CEO, Eucalyptus), Sukhinder Singh Cassidy (CEO, Xero), Sanjeev Gandhi (CEO, Orica), Philip Green (Australia's Ambassador/High Commissioner to India), Vivek Bhatia (CEO, MUFG), Cristina Cordova (COO, Linear) and more.

Les Explorateurs du E-Commerce
Wero : l'Europe tient-elle enfin une alternative crédible ?

Les Explorateurs du E-Commerce

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 17, 2026 18:41


1️⃣ La première actualité que nous décryptons nous permet de revenir sur la stratégie initiale de l'application en évoquant notamment la notion de souveraineté européenne ainsi que les principes de base de Wero. 2️⃣ Nous poursuivons avec l'analyse de notre deuxième actualité qui nous permet de revenir sur la mise en place de Wero sur le marché du e-commerce, d'abord en novembre 2025 en Allemagne puis en mars 2026 en Belgique avant de réaliser un focus sur la France, aves une application active depuis avril 2026. 3️⃣ Enfin, notre dernière actualité nous permet de nous projeter quant à l'avenir de Wero en Europe pour le e-commerce. Pour aller plus loin sur le lancement européen de Wero :  En Allemagne : https://www.ecommerce-nation.fr/wero-lance-sa-solution-e-commerce-en-allemagne/ En Belgique : https://www.ecommerce-nation.fr/wero-ecommerce-belge-worldline-premier-paiement/

The High Flyers Podcast
#261 Ameet Bains: Tatts Lotto Win to Leading the Western Bulldogs as the AFL's First Indian Heritage CEO

The High Flyers Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2026 70:40


Episode #261 features Ameet Bains, CEO of the Western Bulldogs, an AFL club with more than 65,000 members, $100 million in net assets, and a reach spanning elite sport, community programs and one of Australia's fastest-growing regions. Ameet reflects on growing up as the son of Indian migrants, embracing both Australian and Punjabi cultures, and the entrepreneurial sacrifice his parents made to fund his education and future. Vidit and Ameet explore his journey from lawyer at MinterEllison and Toyota to AFL executive, the setbacks and missed opportunities that ultimately shaped his career, and the leadership lessons learned from managing player contracts, building high-performing teams and leading through intense public scrutiny. They also discuss sustaining success in elite sport, balancing ambition with family, the future of AI in organisations, engaging Australia's rapidly growing Indian community, and why humility, service and long-term thinking matter more than headlines. Please enjoy exploring your curiosity. ________ Get in touch with us via email at contact@curiositycentre.com Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG, Vanta, Allens, Macquarie Capital, City of Sydney and more.  Show notes and more episodes here Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here Contact us via our website ________ The High Flyers Podcast features in-depth interviews with the world's most influential figures in business, tech, finance, government and sport. Launched in 2020, it has ranked in the global top ten for past three years, with listeners in 27 countries and over 200+ episodes released, and featured in Forbes, Daily Telegraph, and at SXSW. Our guests include -- Malcolm Turnbull (Prime Minister of Australia), Jason Collins (Head of BlackRock, Asia Pacific), Brad Banducci (CEO, Woolworths), Michael Schneider (CEO, Bunnings), Elena Verna (Head of Growth, Lovable), David Haber (a16z Partner), Jodie Auster (Uber's Global Head of Travel), Rob Giglio (CCO, Canva), Jean-Michel Limieux (CTO, Shopify and Atlassian), Stevie Case (CRO, Vanta), John Haddock (CBO, Harvey), Mark Suster (Partner, Upfront Ventures), Niki Scevak (Partner, Blackbird), Craig Tiley (CEO, USA Tennis), Jeanne DeWitt Grosser (COO, Vercel), Paul Bassat (Partner, Square Peg), Bowen Pan (Creator, Facebook Marketplace), Peter Varghese (Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Australian Government), Sam Sicilia (CIO, Hostplus), Jack Zhang (CEO, Airwallex), Tim Doyle (CEO, Eucalyptus), Sukhinder Singh Cassidy (CEO, Xero), Sanjeev Gandhi (CEO, Orica), Philip Green (Australia's Ambassador/High Commissioner to India), Vivek Bhatia (CEO, MUFG), Cristina Cordova (COO, Linear) and more.

Les Explorateurs du E-Commerce
Le plan de Zalando pour dominer la mode en Europe

Les Explorateurs du E-Commerce

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 10, 2026 18:04


1️⃣ Notre article fil conducteur est donc lié à Zalando cette semaine, qui démarre 2026 avec une puissance de frappe renouvelée. Les chiffres publiés impressionnent : 4,3 milliards d'euros de GMV (+21,7%) et 3 milliards d'euros de chiffre d'affaires (+23,8%). Le 1er trimestre 2026 révèle surtout autre chose : le groupe allemand ne se comporte plus comme un simple distributeur de mode. Il construit progressivement une infrastructure technologique et logistique capable de gérer le e-commerce fashion européen à grande échelle. L'IA irrigue désormais toutes les couches du groupe : expérience client, automatisation des entrepôts, gestion des catalogues, onboarding partenaires et outils B2B. La vraie accélération vient surtout de l'intégration d'ABOUT YOU, son concurrent, acheté l'été dernier (1,1 milliard d'€), dont Zalando commence désormais à absorber les volumes, les clients et les synergies. Voici les questions que nous nous posons :  Ce que ça change l'acquisition d'About You pour Zalando ? Quel est le rôle de l'IA chez Zalando ? Focus sur la logistique de Zalando Est-ce que Zalando devient de plus en plus une plateforme BtoB ? Comment se positionne Zalando sur le marché européen ?

The High Flyers Podcast
#260 Maxine Minter: Japanese Before English, Unpacking Generative Ambition and Building a VC Fund Nobody Expected

The High Flyers Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 9, 2026 92:15


Episode #260 features Maxine Minter — Founder and General Partner of the Pre-Seed Venture Capital Fund, Co Ventures. Maxine reflects on growing up between Australia, Japan and Europe, speaking Japanese before English, and raised by a fiercely entrepreneurial single mother. Vidit and Maxine explore her childhood, the influence of her grandparents, executive coaching, the idea of “generative ambition”, and the lessons learned from building companies, backing founders and how and why she started her own VC fund, Co Ventures. They also discuss the specifics of how the best Aussie founders go global, the realities of venture capital, AI, partnership, importance of play, and why the biggest opportunities often come from stepping outside the boxes others expect you to fit into. Please enjoy exploring your curiosity. ________ Get in touch with us via email at contact@curiositycentre.com Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG, Vanta, Allens, Macquarie Capital, City of Sydney and more.  Show notes and more episodes here Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here Contact us via our website ________ The High Flyers Podcast features in-depth interviews with the world's most influential figures in business, tech, finance, government and sport. Launched in 2020, it has ranked in the global top ten for past three years, with listeners in 27 countries and over 200+ episodes released, and featured in Forbes, Daily Telegraph, and at SXSW. Our guests include -- Malcolm Turnbull (Prime Minister of Australia), Jason Collins (Head of BlackRock, Asia Pacific), Brad Banducci (CEO, Woolworths), Michael Schneider (CEO, Bunnings), Elena Verna (Head of Growth, Lovable), David Haber (a16z Partner), Jodie Auster (Uber's Global Head of Travel), Rob Giglio (CCO, Canva), Jean-Michel Limieux (CTO, Shopify and Atlassian), Stevie Case (CRO, Vanta), John Haddock (CBO, Harvey), Mark Suster (Partner, Upfront Ventures), Niki Scevak (Partner, Blackbird), Craig Tiley (CEO, USA Tennis), Jeanne DeWitt Grosser (COO, Vercel), Paul Bassat (Partner, Square Peg), Bowen Pan (Creator, Facebook Marketplace), Peter Varghese (Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Australian Government), Sam Sicilia (CIO, Hostplus), Jack Zhang (CEO, Airwallex), Tim Doyle (CEO, Eucalyptus), Sukhinder Singh Cassidy (CEO, Xero), Sanjeev Gandhi (CEO, Orica), Philip Green (Australia's Ambassador/High Commissioner to India), Vivek Bhatia (CEO, MUFG), Cristina Cordova (COO, Linear) and more.

The High Flyers Podcast
#259 Ryan Neelam: Diplomacy, Persuasion, the UN, Hong Kong and Shaping One of the World's Most Important Relationships

The High Flyers Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 4, 2026 61:05


Episode #259 features Ryan Neelam, CEO of the Australian Government's Centre for Australia–India Relations (CAIR). A career diplomat, Ryan has represented Australia at the United Nations, negotiated global development goals, led through the Hong Kong protests and COVID-19, and spent his career helping Australia navigate an increasingly complex world. Ryan shares his journey from migrating to Australia as a child from Malaysia, growing up with Indian and Malaysian Chinese heritage, and accidentally finding his way into diplomacy. He reflects on representing Australia at the UN, negotiating alongside countries with vastly different worldviews, leading through the Hong Kong protests and COVID-19, and why luck plays a bigger role in successful careers than most people admit. Vidit and Ryan explore diplomacy as the art of persuasion, how trust is built across cultures, and why understanding different perspectives has never been more important. They also discuss the rise of India, Australia's biggest opportunities with its fastest-growing diaspora, clean energy, innovation, and the future of one of the world's most consequential relationships. Please enjoy exploring your curiosity. Please enjoy exploring your curiosity. ________ Get in touch with us via email at contact@curiositycentre.com Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG, Vanta, Allens, Macquarie Capital, City of Sydney and more.  Show notes and more episodes here Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here Contact us via our website ________ The High Flyers Podcast features in-depth interviews with the world's most influential figures in business, tech, finance, government and sport. Launched in 2020, it has ranked in the global top ten for past three years, with listeners in 27 countries and over 200+ episodes released, and featured in Forbes, Daily Telegraph, and at SXSW. Our guests include -- Malcolm Turnbull (Prime Minister of Australia), Anil Sabharwal (Global VP, Product at Google), Jason Collins (Head of BlackRock, Asia Pacific), Jodie Auster (Uber's Global Head of Travel), Stevie Case (Chief Revenue Officer, Vanta), Brad Banducci (CEO, Woolworths),  David Haber (GP, a16z), Rob Giglio (CCO, Canva), Jean-Michel Lemieux (CTO, Shopify + Atlassian), Sweta Mehra (EGM, NAB; ex CMO, ANZ), Bowen Pan (Creator, Facebook Marketplace), Sam Sicilia (Chief Investment Officer, Hostplus), Craig Tiley (CEO, US Tennis), John Haddock (CBO, Harvey), Niki Scevak (Co-Founder, Blackbird Ventures), Mike Schneider (CEO, Bunnings), Trent Cotchin (3x Premiership Winning Captain, Richmond FC), Peter Varghese (Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Australian Government), Jack Zhang (CEO, Airwallex), Matteo Franceschetti (CEO, Eight Sleep), Vivek Bhatia (CEO, MUFG), Sanjeev Gandhi (CEO, Orica) and more.  Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG, Vanta, Allens, Macquarie Capital, City of Sydney and more. ________ Welcome to the tenth episode in our special series with the Australian Government and their Centre for Australia–India Relations, spotlighting the growing Australia–India relationship across technology, business, media, culture and sport. Previous guests include Renowned Music Composer Tushar Apte, Australia's High Commissioner to India Philip Green, MUFG's CEO Vivek Bhatia, Ex Secretary of Foreign Affairs Peter Varghese, NAB's EGM Sweta Mehra, Deputy Secretary of Australia's Home Affairs Brendan Dowling, Sports Journalist Bharat Sundaresan, Cricket Legend Lisa Sthalekar and Orica's CEO Sanjeev Gandhi, reflecting the breadth of Indian-Australian leaders at the most senior levels.

The Fintech Factor
Fintech Recap: Charters, BaaS & the Fed

The Fintech Factor

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2026 73:23


Welcome back to Fintech Recap. I'm Alex Johnson, joined as always by my partner in recapping, Jason Mikula. We kick things off with the accelerating trend of fintech companies becoming banks. Chime's CEO confirmed it's a matter of when, not if — reversing their "we're a software company" stance. Mercury got conditional OCC approval for a national bank charter the same week it raised $200M at a $5.2B valuation. We explore what the fintech-to-bank stampede does to your valuation (our case studies are Chime, SoFi, and LendingClub), and why some companies chartering today might wish they hadn't. Then, BaaS Island calls us back (I'm a sucker for the sirens' song). The OCC issued a consent order against Community Federal Savings Bank, a single-branch institution in Queens that grew from $140M to $900M in assets by running fintech partner programs for Airwallex, Wise, Payoneer, among others. We discuss why the OCC acted, and why the order is unusually narrow. From there, we walk through two executive orders from the White House on fintech and bank regulation and the Federal Reserve's convoluted master account situationship. Finally, in our Can't Let It Gos: Jason can't let go of SpaceX dumping on retail investors as exit liquidity for their VCs, and I can't let go of PayPal's settlement with the DOJ over a fair lending investigation into a program that never made a single loan. Truly, this will haunt me forever! This episode is brought to you by Persona.  The best fintechs expand what's possible for users. Persona does that for fraud prevention. Their recently upgraded link analysis tool surfaces connections in real time, letting you spot deepfakes, identity farms, and fraud rings during onboarding and investigations.  They just published their Fraud Leader's Guide to Link Analysis, a practical look at today's top risk signals, automating decisions, and scaling link analysis for fraud prevention. Download it now: http://withpersona.com/ftt-fraud  Sign up for Alex's Fintech Takes newsletter for the latest insightful analysis on fintech trends, along with a heaping pile of pop culture references and copious footnotes. Every Monday and Thursday: https://workweek.com/brand/fintech-takes/  And for more exclusive insider content, don't forget to check out my YouTube page. Follow Jason: Newsletter: https://fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonmikula/   Follow Alex:  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJgfH47QEwbQmkQlz1V9rQA/videos LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson

The High Flyers Podcast
#258 Cristina Cordova: Linear's COO on Catching Taxis Alone to School, scaling Stripe as the 28th hire and more

The High Flyers Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 26, 2026 87:06


Episode #258 features Cristina Cordova — employee number 28 at Stripe, an early hire at Notion, former Partner at First Round Capital, and now COO of Linear. This conversation is less about startup tactics and more about ambition, identity and operating inside some of Silicon Valley's most respected companies before they became obvious to everyone else. Cristina reflects on growing up in Los Angeles with a single mother, becoming fiercely independent from a young age, and navigating worlds that initially felt completely foreign to her own. She shares the emotional complexity of spending more than a decade inside elite tech environments, from joining Stripe in its earliest days to helping scale Notion during its breakout years. Vidit and Cristina explore what separates companies that become deeply loved from those that simply grow fast, why some people thrive in ambiguity while others struggle as organisations scale, and how her “run through walls” mentality became both a superpower and a source of tension as companies matured from dozens to thousands of employees. They also discuss partnerships and developer ecosystems at Stripe, community-led growth at Notion, building products with taste and quality, AI and modern software companies, founder psychology, career reinvention, and the challenge of building a meaningful life when work becomes such a large part of who you are. Please enjoy exploring your curiosity. ________ Get in touch with us via email at contact@curiositycentre.com Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG, Vanta, Allens, Macquarie Capital, City of Sydney and more.  Show notes and more episodes here Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here Contact us via our website ________ The High Flyers Podcast features in-depth interviews with the world's most influential figures in business, tech, finance, government and sport. Launched in 2020, it has ranked in the global top ten for past three years, with listeners in 27 countries and over 200+ episodes released, and featured in Forbes, Daily Telegraph, and at SXSW. Our guests include -- Malcolm Turnbull (Prime Minister of Australia), Anil Sabharwal (Global VP, Product at Google), Jason Collins (Head of BlackRock, Asia Pacific), Jodie Auster (Uber's Global Head of Travel), Stevie Case (Chief Revenue Officer, Vanta), Brad Banducci (CEO, Woolworths),  David Haber (GP, a16z), Rob Giglio (CCO, Canva), Jean-Michel Lemieux (CTO, Shopify + Atlassian), Sweta Mehra (EGM, NAB; ex CMO, ANZ), Bowen Pan (Creator, Facebook Marketplace), Sam Sicilia (Chief Investment Officer, Hostplus), Craig Tiley (CEO, US Tennis), John Haddock (CBO, Harvey), Niki Scevak (Co-Founder, Blackbird Ventures), Mike Schneider (CEO, Bunnings), Trent Cotchin (3x Premiership Winning Captain, Richmond FC), Peter Varghese (Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Australian Government), Jack Zhang (CEO, Airwallex), Matteo Franceschetti (CEO, Eight Sleep), Vivek Bhatia (CEO, MUFG), Sanjeev Gandhi (CEO, Orica) and more. 

The High Flyers Podcast
#257 Elena Verna: Learning English Through SpongeBob and Leading Growth at Lovable in the AI Era

The High Flyers Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 20, 2026 89:50


Welcome to this classic episode. Classics are our favorite episodes from our back catalogue, published as frequently as possible. These are N of 1 conversations with N of 1 people. This is a replay of Episode 217, originally released in July 2025— one of our most loved classics. Elena Verna is one of Silicon Valley's most respected growth operators, whose career has spanned companies including Lovable, SurveyMonkey, Miro and Dropbox. In conversation with Vidit Agarwal, Elena reflects on growing up in post-Soviet Russia during the collapse of communism, immigrating to the United States at 14 without speaking English, learning the language through SpongeBob, and going from rejected university applicant to one of tech's most influential voices in growth. She shares the story of obsessively chasing a role at SurveyMonkey that changed her life, lessons from legendary CEO Dave Goldberg, why “not respecting roles and responsibilities” became both her superpower and weakness, and how navigating corporate politics shaped her leadership style. The conversation also explores AI-native companies, the future of growth, why experienced operators may carry “historical baggage”, how Lovable operates with extreme velocity, and what separates companies that scale from those that stall. Elena also dives into hiring, creativity, accountability, solo entrepreneurship, and why she believes victim mentality is one of the most dangerous traits in modern work culture. Please enjoy exploring your curiosity. ________ Get in touch with us via email at contact@curiositycentre.com Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG, Vanta, Allens, Macquarie Capital, City of Sydney and more.  Show notes and more episodes here Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here Contact us via our website ________ The High Flyers Podcast features in-depth interviews with the world's most influential figures in business, tech, finance, government and sport. Launched in 2020, it has ranked in the global top ten for past three years, with listeners in 27 countries and over 200+ episodes released, and featured in Forbes, Daily Telegraph, and at SXSW. Our guests include -- Malcolm Turnbull (Prime Minister of Australia), Anil Sabharwal (Global VP, Product at Google), Jason Collins (Head of BlackRock, Asia Pacific), Jodie Auster (Uber's Global Head of Travel), Stevie Case (Chief Revenue Officer, Vanta), Brad Banducci (CEO, Woolworths),  David Haber (GP, a16z), Rob Giglio (CCO, Canva), Jean-Michel Lemieux (CTO, Shopify + Atlassian), Sweta Mehra (EGM, NAB; ex CMO, ANZ), Bowen Pan (Creator, Facebook Marketplace), Sam Sicilia (Chief Investment Officer, Hostplus), Elena Verna (Head of Growth, Lovable), Craig Tiley (CEO, US Tennis), John Haddock (CBO, Harvey), Niki Scevak (Co-Founder, Blackbird Ventures), Mike Schneider (CEO, Bunnings), Trent Cotchin (3x Premiership Winning Captain, Richmond FC), Peter Varghese (Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Australian Government), Jack Zhang (CEO, Airwallex), Matteo Franceschetti (CEO, Eight Sleep), Vivek Bhatia (CEO, MUFG), Sanjeev Gandhi (CEO, Orica) and more. 

The High Flyers Podcast
#256 Shernaz Daver: Growing Up Indian-American, Standing Up to Steve Jobs & Advising Netflix, Waymo and Khosla Leaders

The High Flyers Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2026 79:38


Episode #256 features Shernaz Daver, one of Silicon Valley's most respected executive advisors and communications strategists, who has worked alongside leaders including Steve Jobs, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, Khosla Ventures founder Vinod Khosla and Waymo/Udacity founder Sebastian Thrun. In conversation with Vidit Agarwal, Shernaz reflects on a remarkable journey shaped across India, Japan and the United States — from growing up between cultures as part of the small Zoroastrian community to navigating the inner circles of Silicon Valley's most influential founders and companies. She shares stories from Motorola, Electronic Arts and Sun Microsystems, the rejection that changed her trajectory, the unforgettable moment Steve Jobs told her she had done a “terrible job” marketing a product, and the lessons she learned working alongside elite founders and operators. The conversation also explores insecurity, ambition, storytelling, AI, burnout, hype versus reality in Silicon Valley, and what separates visionary leaders from merely successful ones. Please enjoy exploring your curiosity. ________ Get in touch with us via email at contact@curiositycentre.com Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG, Vanta, Allens, Macquarie Capital, City of Sydney and more.  Show notes and more episodes here Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here Contact us via our website ________ The High Flyers Podcast features in-depth interviews with the world's most influential figures in business, tech, finance, government and sport. Launched in 2020, it has ranked in the global top ten for past three years, with listeners in 27 countries and over 200+ episodes released, and featured in Forbes, Daily Telegraph, and at SXSW. Our guests include -- Malcolm Turnbull (Prime Minister of Australia), Anil Sabharwal (Global VP, Product at Google), Jason Collins (Head of BlackRock, Asia Pacific), Jodie Auster (Uber's Global Head of Travel), Stevie Case (Chief Revenue Officer, Vanta), Brad Banducci (CEO, Woolworths),  David Haber (GP, a16z), Rob Giglio (CCO, Canva), Jean-Michel Lemieux (CTO, Shopify + Atlassian), Sweta Mehra (EGM, NAB; ex CMO, ANZ), Bowen Pan (Creator, Facebook Marketplace), Sam Sicilia (Chief Investment Officer, Hostplus), Craig Tiley (CEO, US Tennis), John Haddock (CBO, Harvey), Niki Scevak (Co-Founder, Blackbird Ventures), Mike Schneider (CEO, Bunnings), Trent Cotchin (3x Premiership Winning Captain, Richmond FC), Peter Varghese (Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Australian Government), Jack Zhang (CEO, Airwallex), Matteo Franceschetti (CEO, Eight Sleep), Vivek Bhatia (CEO, MUFG), Sanjeev Gandhi (CEO, Orica) and more. 

The High Flyers Podcast
#255 Proserpine, State Treasurer at 30, Lost His Seat Live on TV at 35, Now Chairing Australia's Top Institutions | Andrew Fraser

The High Flyers Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 28, 2026 63:55


Episode #255 features Andrew Fraser, Chair of Bank of Queensland, Chancellor of Griffith University, President of Motorsport Australia, and former Deputy Premier and Treasurer of the state of Queensland. In conversation with Vidit Agarwal, Andrew shares his journey — from entering politics young and rising rapidly to the top of Queensland Government, to the very bitter public loss that ended his political career, becoming a stay-at-home dad in the aftermath, and the reinvention that led him to some of Australia's most significant boardrooms. He breaks down what that period of collapse taught him about ego, judgment and sustainable leadership, how he now thinks through complex strategic decisions, why he uses sport constantly as a metaphor for teams and performance, the importance of “keeping up the chat” as a leader, and the revealing question he asks every new hire to test for self-awareness and honesty. Andrew also unpacks the realities of chairing major institutions, transitioning from operator to governance, and how Australia should think about leadership, sovereignty and long-term competitiveness. Please enjoy exploring your curiosity. ________ Get in touch with us via email at contact@curiositycentre.com Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG, Vanta, Allens, Macquarie Capital, City of Sydney and more.  Show notes and more episodes here Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here Contact us via our website ________ The High Flyers Podcast features in-depth interviews with the world's most influential figures in business, tech, finance, government and sport. Launched in 2020, it has ranked in the global top ten for past three years, with listeners in 27 countries and over 200+ episodes released, and featured in Forbes, Daily Telegraph, and at SXSW. Our guests include -- Malcolm Turnbull (Prime Minister of Australia), Anil Sabharwal (Global VP, Product at Google), Jason Collins (Head of BlackRock, Asia Pacific), Jodie Auster (Uber's Global Head of Travel), Stevie Case (Chief Revenue Officer, Vanta), Brad Banducci (CEO, Woolworths),  David Haber (GP, a16z), Rob Giglio (CCO, Canva), Jean-Michel Lemieux (CTO, Shopify + Atlassian), Sweta Mehra (EGM, NAB; ex CMO, ANZ), Bowen Pan (Creator, Facebook Marketplace), Sam Sicilia (Chief Investment Officer, Hostplus), Craig Tiley (CEO, US Tennis), John Haddock (CBO, Harvey), Niki Scevak (Co-Founder, Blackbird Ventures), Mike Schneider (CEO, Bunnings), Trent Cotchin (3x Premiership Winning Captain, Richmond FC), Peter Varghese (Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Australian Government), Jack Zhang (CEO, Airwallex), Matteo Franceschetti (CEO, Eight Sleep), Vivek Bhatia (CEO, MUFG), Sanjeev Gandhi (CEO, Orica) and more

The High Flyers Podcast
#254 Jeanne DeWitt Grosser: How I became COO of Vercel and CBO of Stripe by influencing in engineering led companies

The High Flyers Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 21, 2026 78:34


Episode #254 features Jeanne DeWitt Grosser, COO at Vercel, and former Chief Business Officer at Stripe, and one of the most respected go-to-market leaders in tech. In conversation with Vidit Agarwal, Jeanne shares her journey — from growing up in California with a psychologist mother and tech sales father, to joining Google as an early employee in 2004, to navigating an unplanned career that led her to leadership roles at Stripe and now Vercel. She breaks down how to manage your energy at work and at home, how she learned to influence effectively in engineering-led environments, why “perfect” careers rarely feel that way, and how those lessons shaped her approach to leadership, decision-making, and company building. Jeanne also unpacks how to build credibility with engineers, design modern go-to-market systems, transition from founder-led sales, and rethink sales and marketing in an AI-native world. Please enjoy exploring your curiosity. ________ Get in touch with us via email at contact@curiositycentre.com Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG, Vanta, Allens, Macquarie Capital, City of Sydney and more.  Show notes and more episodes here Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here Contact us via our website ________ The High Flyers Podcast features in-depth interviews with the world's most influential figures in business, tech, finance, government and sport. Launched in 2020, it has ranked in the global top ten for past three years, with listeners in 27 countries and over 200+ episodes released, and featured in Forbes, Daily Telegraph, and at SXSW. Our guests include -- Malcolm Turnbull (Prime Minister of Australia), Anil Sabharwal (Global VP, Product at Google), Jason Collins (Head of BlackRock, Asia Pacific), Jodie Auster (Uber's Global Head of Travel), Stevie Case (Chief Revenue Officer, Vanta), Brad Banducci (CEO, Woolworths),  David Haber (GP, a16z), Rob Giglio (CCO, Canva), Jean-Michel Lemieux (CTO, Shopify + Atlassian), Sweta Mehra (EGM, NAB; ex CMO, ANZ), Bowen Pan (Creator, Facebook Marketplace), Sam Sicilia (Chief Investment Officer, Hostplus), Craig Tiley (CEO, US Tennis), John Haddock (CBO, Harvey), Niki Scevak (Co-Founder, Blackbird Ventures), Mike Schneider (CEO, Bunnings), Trent Cotchin (3x Premiership Winning Captain, Richmond FC), Peter Varghese (Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Australian Government), Jack Zhang (CEO, Airwallex), Matteo Franceschetti (CEO, Eight Sleep), Vivek Bhatia (CEO, MUFG), Sanjeev Gandhi (CEO, Orica) and more. 

De Lotgenoten Podcast
Eigenaar OLAF: Iedereen Dacht Dat Ik Succesvol Was Terwijl Ik Elk Moment Failliet Kon Gaan… - Olaf Hussein #522

De Lotgenoten Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 21, 2026 110:32


Vietnam Innovators
Scaling Expert: This Is The #1 Rule For Growing Your Business | Andrew Yi Hua Chim | EP 385

Vietnam Innovators

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 14, 2026 38:03


With the strong economic fundamentals and growth potential, Vietnam has emerged as one of the most dynamic markets in Asia, drawing increasing attention from international investors and businesses.Yet alongside these opportunities come operational challenges, particularly in areas such as cross-border payments, capital controls, and foreign exchange conversion costs. These financial frictions can add unnecessary expenses for businesses and slow their expansion into global markets.To help address these issues, Airwallex - a global financial infrastructure platform - is building solutions designed to simplify international payments, reduce FX costs, and help companies manage cash flow more efficiently so they can focus on long-term growth.---Watch this episode on YoutubeAnd explore many amazing articles about the pioneers at: https://vietcetera.com/vn/bo-suu-tap/vietnam-innovatorFeel free to leave any questions or invitations for business cooperation at hello@vni-digest.com

Growth Colony: Australia's B2B Growth Podcast
Rebroadcast: Building Global Marketing from APAC: Lessons from Airwallex with Jon Stona

Growth Colony: Australia's B2B Growth Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 9, 2026 31:49


Running a global marketing function from APAC sounds like a logistical headache. For Jon Stona, VP of Global Marketing at Airwallex, it's a deliberate competitive advantage. In this episode, Jon unpacks how one of the world's fastest-growing fintechs has architected a marketing org that's globally consistent yet locally authentic - spanning Singapore, San Francisco, London, and regional hubs across Asia, Europe, and Australia. From making the case for product marketing before performance spend, to using an F1 sponsorship to systematically close a trust gap against legacy financial institutions, Jon brings rare clarity to the strategic decisions that most B2B marketing leaders only talk about in theory. If you want to think bigger about brand, team design, and what marketing can actually own in a scaling business, this episode is worth your time. Guest Introduction Jon Stona is VP of Global Marketing at Airwallex, the Australian-founded global payments and financial platform supporting over 150,000 businesses worldwide. Before joining Airwallex, Jon held senior marketing roles at Stripe, Google, and Nike - giving him deep experience scaling marketing across global technology platforms and challenger brands at every stage of growth. Key Topics Why Airwallex built its global marketing org out of APAC, and why the APAC talent pool - wired for fragmentation and global trade from day one - is a genuine strategic assetHow the team is structured across Singapore, San Francisco, London, and regional markets, and why a flat, matrix model is essential when you're this geographically dispersedThe case for investing in product marketing before growth marketing - and why getting your positioning, segmentation, and value prop right is the "root" everything else depends onThe four truths Jon applies to any market expansion: brand truth, product truth, market truth, and user truth - and how product marketing is the function that calibrates where the variation sitsHow Airwallex uses its McLaren F1 partnership to build trust at scale, structured around the reliability-credibility-intimacy-low self-orientation framework - and how they actually measure the pipeline and employee sentiment impactWhere AI is genuinely delivering efficiency gains in marketing (Writer, Jasper, Profound) and the paradox this creates: as AI levels the playing field on distribution, the non-technical facets of marketing - storytelling, positioning, insight - matter more than everJon's advice for B2B marketers who want to take bolder moves: return to first principles, and remember you're marketing to humans who happen to make business decisions Resources & Links Books Nudge by Richard Thaler and Cass SunsteinPredictably Irrational by Dan Ariely AI Tools Writer - AI content platform for brand voice consistency and marketing workflow efficiencyJasper - AI platform for end-to-end marketing content creationProfound - Tool for tracking how your brand appears across LLM platforms Blogs & Publications HubSpot Blog People Mentioned Reko Rennie - Internationally acclaimed Kamilaroi artist who collaborated with Airwallex and McLaren on the 'Shifted Perspectives' campaign at the 2025 Australian Grand PrixDan Ariely - Behavioural economist and author Companies & Platforms AirwallexMcLaren Racing Contact & Credits Host: Shahin Hoda Guest: Jon Stona Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell Edited by: Alexander Hipwell Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder APAC's B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

Cloud Stories | Cloud Accounting Apps | Accounting Ecosystem
Scaling Finance for Hyper-Growth: ERP Lessons from a CFO

Cloud Stories | Cloud Accounting Apps | Accounting Ecosystem

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 18, 2026 30:41


Fast-growing businesses eventually reach a point where their finance systems struggle to keep up. In this episode, CFO Anita Chow shares how Acusensus moved from a Xero and spreadsheet-based environment to a full ERP Oracle Netsuite platform to support rapid growth and international expansion. The discussion explores what triggers the shift to ERP, the challenges of managing multiple entities and growing transaction volumes, and the benefits of having a scalable financial infrastructure. The move dramatically improved automation across key areas such as reporting, lease accounting, and financial consolidation while enabling the finance team to spend more time partnering with the business. The conversation also highlights important lessons for finance professionals and advisors supporting scaling companies. Clean data, thoughtful change management, and clear success metrics are critical. Ultimately, technology is only the enabler. The real value comes from how finance teams use better systems to deliver insights, manage risk, and support strategic decisions. Apps & Tools Mentioned: NetSuite, Xero, Excel, ProSpend, Zone & Co, Netgain, Employment Hero, Airwallex, NetSuite Planning and Budgeting Contact details: Oracle Netsuite : https://www.netsuite.com/portal/home.shtml Acusensus : https://www.acusensus.com/ Anita Chow: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anita-chow-b77a0016/ Accounting Apps newsletter: http://accountingapps.io/ Accounting Apps Mastermind: https://www.facebook.com/groups/XeroMasterMind LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/HeatherSmithAU/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/ANISEConsulting X: https://twitter.com/HeatherSmithAU

Woodburn Thrive in China
Basics of Registering a Hong Kong Company

Woodburn Thrive in China

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 12, 2026 5:42


Thinking about starting a business in Hong Kong? In this episode of China & HK Compliance Essentials, we break down the basics of registering a Hong Kong company, including:Why Hong Kong is an ideal hub for international businessKey requirements: company type, directors, shareholders, and registered addressStep-by-step registration processPost-incorporation compliance essentialsTips for opening a corporate bank account with AirWallexIf you're ready to get started, we offer an all-inclusive Hong Kong incorporation package for HKD 5,000, covering both company registration and an AirWallex corporate account.

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Graham Allison on the Global Realignment: Iran, China, Israel, Greenland

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 9, 2026 63:26


(0:00) The Besties welcome legendary Harvard professor Graham Allison (1:14) Iran Conflict: Strategy, Netanyahu's influence, Trump's motivation, redefining Middle East security (11:44) Iran endgame scenarios: Democracy, extremism, second-order effects (21:07) Israel: Is Netanyahu destroying Israel's democracy? (24:28) China: Taiwan invasion, trade, and Trump's April meeting (39:50) Greenland: Importance, deal scenarios, EU socialism angle (48:58) Nuclear proliferation: 80-80-9 framework explained (56:20) Rising socialism in America: wealth inequality and political risk Thanks to our partner Airwallex! Airwallex is a leading global payments and financial platform for modern businesses,offering trusted solutions to manage everything from business accounts, payments, treasury, and spend management to embedded finance. https://airwallex.com/allin Follow the besties: https://x.com/chamath https://x.com/Jason https://x.com/DavidSacks https://x.com/friedberg Follow on X: https://x.com/theallinpod Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theallinpod Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theallinpod Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/allinpod Intro Music Credit: https://rb.gy/tppkzl https://x.com/yung_spielburg Intro Video Credit: https://x.com/TheZachEffect

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Ray Dalio: Our System Is in Jeopardy - Debt, AI & the Cycle That Destroyed Rome

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 3, 2026 49:14


(0:00) Friedberg Introduces Ray Dalio (1:29) 5 Forces That Will Decide America's Future (7:26) Why Government Reform Is Nearly Impossible (11:19) Gold vs. Bitcoin (28:16) What Economists Got Wrong About Tariffs (41:11) Is America Heading Towards Collapse? Airwallex is a leading global payments and financial platform for modern businesses, offering trusted solutions to manage everything from business account, payments, treasury, and spend management to embedded finance. Check it out: https://airwallex.com/allin Ray Dalio joins the All-In Podcast for the third time to break down why America's debt crisis is worse than most people realize, and what comes next. Dalio covers the five forces reshaping the global order, why DOGE faced structural limits, what's driving gold to all-time highs while Bitcoin stumbles, the real story behind tariffs and trade deficits, and why he believes the US might be approaching a collapse. Follow Ray Dalio: https://x.com/RayDalio Follow the besties: https://x.com/chamath https://x.com/Jason https://x.com/DavidSacks https://x.com/friedberg Follow on X: https://x.com/theallinpod Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theallinpod Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theallinpod Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/allinpod Intro Music Credit: https://rb.gy/tppkzl https://x.com/yung_spielburg

Tipping Pitches
The MLB Team Political Compass

Tipping Pitches

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 23, 2026 133:05


Bobby and Alex discuss the Philadelphia Phillies' new hyperbaric chamber partnership and its medical and scientific merit. Then, they update the ranking of the San Francisco Giants' new jersey sponsor, Airwallex. Finally, in a deeply unhinged effort, they place all 30 MLB organizations on a political compass where the x-axis is a measure of their economic policy and the y-axis is a measure of their social policy.For the first time in Tipping Pitches history, you can follow along, in real time, as Bobby and Alex place the teams on the chart ONLY ON PATREON.Links:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the Tipping Pitches Patreon ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tipping Pitches merchandise ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Call the Tipping Pitches voicemail: 785-422-5881Tipping Pitches features original music from Steve Sladkowski of PUP.

The Fintech Blueprint
The Quiet Fintech Behind $85 Billion in Transactions, with Payoneer CEO John Caplan

The Fintech Blueprint

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 2, 2026 44:24


In this episode, Lex speaks with John Caplan — CEO of Payoneer, a public fintech company driving over $85 billion in annual cross-border payment volume. With roots as a prepaid card provider, Payoneer has evolved into a global financial operating platform serving 2 million entrepreneurs across 190 countries.Caplan shares insights from his entrepreneurial journey—from building OpenSky and scaling it to $50 million in revenue before its acquisition by Alibaba, to now leading Payoneer's transformation into a full-service banking alternative for global SMBs.We explore how Payoneer is addressing the complex financial needs of international businesses, competing in a dynamic payments landscape, and preparing for a future that includes stablecoins, workforce management, and potentially $1 trillion in annual volume.NOTABLE DISCUSSION POINTS:Payoneer's Strategic Evolution from Payout Processor to Global SMB Bank AlternativeUnder John Caplan's leadership, Payoneer expanded beyond marketplace payouts to become a comprehensive cross-border financial platform, offering AR/AP, intra-network transfers, cards, and global workforce management. This shift has significantly increased customer retention, take rate, and profitability—highlighting how product expansion and upmarket focus can unlock durable growth in fintech.Execution Over Hype in Global Fintech InfrastructurePayoneer operates in 190 countries with 100+ banking partners and 7,000 payment routes—demonstrating the importance of deep regulatory compliance, local licensing, and multi-entity support in building resilient cross-border infrastructure. Unlike crypto-native entrants, Payoneer emphasizes last-mile utility and customer trust as core differentiators for scaling in complex markets.Profitable Scale and Global Demand for SMB Financial ServicesWith $1B+ revenue, $200M+ EBITDA, and $7.5B in customer funds held, Payoneer is proving that serving cross-border SMBs is not just a mission, but a highly profitable business. Their customer base spans from Bangladeshi freelancers to European firms doing $1M+ in volume, signaling massive, underserved global demand for modern financial tools outside the traditional banking system.TOPICSPayoneer, Alibaba, OpenSky, Stripe, Wise, Airwallex, Mercury, NuBank, digital banking, embedded finance, stablecoins, blockchain, regtech, B2B payments, SPAC, supple chain, ecommerce ABOUT THE FINTECH BLUEPRINT

Transparent Venture Capital by Tribe Global Ventures
Tribe Talkin' Ep 110: IPO Market Dead. Airwallex In Lifecycle Terms. Don't Wait For Perfection. Sharts.

Transparent Venture Capital by Tribe Global Ventures

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 1, 2026 55:35


AML Conversations
Global AML Shakeups, Crypto Crime Surges, and Major Enforcement Moves

AML Conversations

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 30, 2026 16:53


In this week's episode, Elliot and John cover a fast-moving slate of anti–financial crime developments across the U.S. and around the globe. They break down former President Trump's multibillion-dollar lawsuit against JPMorgan, evolving debates over U.S. regulatory burden and supervisory staffing at the Federal Reserve, and new legislative pushes to change AML reporting thresholds. Internationally, they explore AMLA's next steps toward direct supervision of 40 high-risk EU financial institutions, significant enforcement actions in Spain and the U.K., and Austrac's probe into payments giant Airwallex. The conversation also highlights new leadership at the Wolfsberg Group, Europol's report on skyrocketing maritime cocaine trafficking, and crypto crime findings from Chainalysis and TRM Labs. The episode closes with a discussion of recent money laundering cases and industry responses to the tragic Minneapolis shooting.

Down Round
Airwallex + Payments

Down Round

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 28, 2026 35:22


You asked, we answered. We're doing a much-requested episode on "Australian" fintech Airwallex, which has gotten a lot of untoward attention of late — anti-money laundering audits, accusations by American VCs of being a financial backdoor to China. But there's a bigger story here: the proliferation of payments companies doing a big land grab from traditional financial institutions, and quickly learning that regulation and bank policy exists for a reason. We take a crash course of Airwallex, its current controversies, and where it fits into the bigger payments story.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transparent Venture Capital by Tribe Global Ventures
Tribe Talkin' Ep 109: Public ARR Trouble For Venture. Few Get the Money. Airwallex Own Goal. Sendle Gondel. Sharts.

Transparent Venture Capital by Tribe Global Ventures

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 25, 2026 75:22


What The Flux
Biggest banking & fintech stories - 2025 Recap

What The Flux

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 21, 2025 6:18 Transcription Available


ANZ is cutting 4,500 jobs and scaling back consultants in a $560 million restructure under its new CEO. Macquarie has smashed the Big Four banks in July this year, snapping up nearly 40% of all Australian home loans written. Airwallex has pulled off Australia’s second-largest VC raise ever with a $US330 million raise… but it’s not without its controversy. _ Download the free app (App Store): http://bit.ly/FluxAppStore Download the free app (Google Play): http://bit.ly/FluxappGooglePlay Daily newsletter: https://bit.ly/fluxnewsletter Flux on Instagram: http://bit.ly/fluxinsta Flux on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@flux.finance —- The content in this podcast reflects the views and opinions of the hosts, and is intended for personal and not commercial use. We do not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, statement or other information provided or distributed in these episodes.__See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Twenty Minute VC: Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
20VC OGs: SpaceX Valued at $800BN & Harvey Raises $160M at an $8BN Price | Airwallex Raises $330M and The Battle with Keith Rabois | Netflix Acquires Warner Brothers | IPO Market Predictions for 2026: Anthropic, Stripe, Databricks and SpaceX

The Twenty Minute VC: Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 11, 2025 91:48


AGENDA: 03:46 SpaceX's $800 Billion Valuation: A Deep Dive 09:18 IPO Market Predictions for 2026 18:18 Netflix's Bold Move: Acquiring Warner Brothers 27:43 Tiger's New Fund Strategy 33:02 Databricks' Head of AI $500 Million Seed Round 36:38 Harvey Raises $160M at an $8BN Valuation 48:22 Will LLMs Kill the App Layer 01:02:02 Google's AI Capabilities 01:06:58 Chinese Open Source Models in US Startups 01:08:57 Airwallex Raises $330M at an $8BN Valuation 01:23:50 Prediction Markets and Insider Trading  

What The Flux
RBA big cash rate call | Paramount cuts Netflix's lunch | Airwallex lands massive VC haul

What The Flux

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 9, 2025 7:00 Transcription Available


The Reserve Bank of Australia has paused the cash rate at 3.60% in its final meeting of the year…after inflation reared its ugly ugly head once again. Paramount has crashed the Hollywood party with a $108 billion USD hostile bid for Warner Bros Discovery. Airwallex has pulled off Australia’s second-largest VC raise ever with a $US330 million raise… but it’s not without its controversy. _ Download the free app (App Store): http://bit.ly/FluxAppStore Download the free app (Google Play): http://bit.ly/FluxappGooglePlay Daily newsletter: https://bit.ly/fluxnewsletter Flux on Instagram: http://bit.ly/fluxinsta Flux on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@flux.finance —- The content in this podcast reflects the views and opinions of the hosts, and is intended for personal and not commercial use. We do not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, statement or other information provided or distributed in these episodes.__See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Startup Gems
How to Start a Couch Flipping Business with $0⏐Ep. #249

Startup Gems

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 19, 2025 40:53


Check out my newsletter at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://TKOPOD.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and join my new community at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://TKOwners.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠━Manage your business finances globally and save on fees with Airwallex: ⁠https://www.airwallex.com⁠━Want to make $10k/month on Facebook Marketplace?

Startup Gems
8 Untapped Business Ideas You Can Start This Weekend ⏐Ep. #248

Startup Gems

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 17, 2025 41:28


Check out my newsletter at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://TKOPOD.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and join my new community at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://TKOwners.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠━Manage your business finances globally and save on fees with Airwallex: https://www.airwallex.com━This was honestly one of my favorite HoldCo Bros sessions ever. We broke down the math on 8 different business ideas that are completely wide open right now.I'm talking about everything from simple local service arbitrage to high-level psychological pricing hacks. We even break down how one guy in a tiny town is generating a quarter-million dollars a year with zero employees.The opportunities are hiding in plain sight—you just have to know where to look.In this episode, we breakdown:The "Virginity Rocks" Case Study: How a simple brand does $70M/year.The Influencer Partnership Play: How to monetize someone else's audience (using Tesla as an example).The $240k Local Newsletter: How a guy in a small town makes a killing (and how you can copy him).The "Gray Hat" Growth Hack: A slightly controversial way to get high-value clients quickly.Botox Arbitrage: A genius way to partner with neighbors for a cash-flowing side hustle.The Lifetime Warranty Hack: A psychological pricing strategy that sounds crazy but prints money.The "Middleman" Agency: How to sell Local SEO to dentists without doing the work yourself.Reverse-Engineering Etsy: How to find best-selling products just by looking at reviews.Enjoy! ---Watch this on YouTube instead here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tkopod.co/p-yt⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ask me a question on or off the show here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://tkopod.co/p-ask⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Learn more about me: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://tkopod.co/p-cjk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Learn about my company: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://tkopod.co/p-cof⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow me on Twitter here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://tkopod.co/p-x⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Free weekly business ideas newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://tkopod.co/p-nl⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Share this podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://tkopod.co/p-all⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Scrape small business data: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://tkopod.co/p-os⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠---

Fintech Confidential
How to Make Compliance Your Secret Growth Weapon

Fintech Confidential

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 22, 2025 67:56


Building a successful fintech consulting firm without venture capital requires more than industry knowledge. It demands a willingness to sacrifice, a clear understanding of what customers need, and the ability to treat compliance as a commercial function rather than a cost center.Tedd Huff founder & CEO of Voalyre a fintech advisory firm sits down with Jas Randhawa, founder and CEO of Strategybrix, a compliance consulting firm that serves high-growth fintechs, exchanges, and partner banks. The discussion covers the hard lessons learned from bootstrapping, the common mistakes fintech founders make, and why approaching compliance strategically can unlock growth rather than block it. Jas spent over 20 years working with major banks like Citibank, JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank, and HSBC. His background as a computer science engineer gave him an inside view of how compliance systems work, from KYC and onboarding to transaction monitoring and fraud detection.Takeaways:1️⃣ Prepare budget negotiations with specific numbers and risk examples so you walk in ready to win.2️⃣ Replace compliance roadblocks with conditions for approval that define the guardrails needed to say yes safely.3️⃣ Audit your onboarding flow against competitors to remove unnecessary friction that causes customer drop-off.4️⃣ Create a one-page explainer showing how your AI compliance tools process data and produce outputs for regulators.5️⃣ Build a trusted advisor network and schedule calls this week to validate major hiring and spending decisions.Links:Jas Randhawa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/randhawajasStrategybrix: https://www.strategybrix.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/strategybrixFintech Confidential:Podcast: https://fintechconfidential.com/listenNewsletter: https://fintechconfidential.com/accessLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintechconfidentialX: https://x.com/FTconfidentialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/fintechconfidentialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/fintechconfidentialSupporters:Under: Streamlines application and underwriting with digital form processing. https://under.io/ftcSkyflow: Zero-trust data privacy vaults as an API to collect, secure, and tokenize personal information while keeping compliance and usability. https://skyflowsecure.comDfns: Wallets as a service with API-first, multi-chain design secured with MPC; powers crypto payments across 50+ networks. https://fintechconfidential.com/dfnsHawk AI: Real-time screening, ML monitoring, and dynamic customer risk ratings to strengthen fraud and financial-crime prevention. https://gethawkai.comAbout:Jas Randhawa is the Managing Partner at StrategyBRIX, a boutique Risk and Compliance Consulting firm. Before StrategyBRIX, Jas was the Head of Financial Crimes and Compliance at leading fintechs, including Stripe and Airwallex. In addition, at PwC, Jas built and led the firm's Financial Crimes practice across the US West Coast. He has over 18 years of experience building and managing programs in the Compliance space.StrategyBRIX is a boutique consulting firm specializing in risk and compliance management for fintechs, crypto platforms, and digital banks. Founded in 2021, the firm helps organizations build sustainable financial crime compliance programs that balance regulatory rigor with operational efficiency.Tedd Huff is the Founder of Voalyre, a professional services advisory firm focused on global payments. He is also a video podcast host and executive producer on the Fintech Confidential network. Over the past 25 years, he has contributed to FinTech startups as an Advisory Board Member, Co-Founder, and Chief Experience Officer.DD3 Media is...

The Fintech Blueprint
Building the $130B global payments platform, with Airwallex's Ravi Adusumilli

The Fintech Blueprint

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 21, 2025 50:49


In this episode, Lex speaks with Ravi Adusumilli - President and GM of the Americas at Airwallex. Ravi and Lex discuss how Airwallex has evolved into a global financial platform by offering businesses an integrated suite of cross-border payments, treasury, and banking services. Founded in 2015, Airwallex now supports 150,000 customers, processes $130 billion in annualized volume (up 73% YoY), and projects a $1 billion revenue run rate by year-end.The company's success stems from its end-to-end infrastructure, homegrown payment rails, and multi-product strategy, with 80% of revenue now coming from customers using more than one product. Airwallex differentiates itself by focusing on global-first B2B use cases and building regional autonomy alongside centralized infrastructure. While not prioritizing stablecoins today, the company is exploring AI-driven financial operations and aims to reach $1 trillion in transaction volume by 2030. NOTABLE DISCUSSION POINTS:Airwallex's Infrastructure: Proprietary Global Payment NetworkAirwallex operates a proprietary global payment infrastructure that processes 95% of its $130 billion in annualized transaction volume. The company has developed its own technology and regulatory framework in partnership with over 60 banks worldwide. This approach reduces dependence on legacy systems such as SWIFT and supports greater control over transaction speed, cost, and compliance.Expansion Through Multi-Product OfferingAirwallex has expanded its services beyond cross-border payments to include card issuance, spend management, treasury functions, and merchant acquiring. According to company data, 80% of revenue is generated from customers using multiple products. Payments now account for 70% of net revenue and are growing at three times the rate year over year.Decentralized Go-To-Market StructureAirwallex employs a regional management model, with General Managers responsible for performance and operations in specific geographies. This structure is supported by centralized functions such as product development, compliance, and engineering. With 1,700 employees in 26 offices, the company uses this hybrid model to manage growth and adapt to local regulatory environments across multiple regions, including Latin America and Asia-Pacific. TOPICSAirwallex, Stripe, Brex, Rippling, Shopify, Pinterest, Visa, fintech, global payments, e-commerce, cross-border transactions, paytech, embedded payments, CFO stack, stablecoins, AI ABOUT THE FINTECH BLUEPRINT

Secrets To Scaling Online
7 EXPENSIVE Mistakes I Made as a 7x Ecom Brand Owner (Don't Do These)

Secrets To Scaling Online

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 25, 2025 14:49


Send us a textWant to save $100K+ a year in your eCommerce brand? Start here.If you're building, scaling, or even barely surviving in the eCommerce space right now—this video is your wake-up call.In this video, I pull back the curtain and reveal the seven most painful, profit-killing mistakes I made—so you don't have to repeat them.Whether you're a solo founder, a small team, or a scaling operation, these lessons could be the difference between growth and collapse.Here's what you'll learn:The truth about cash flow (and why profit ≠ cash)How overhiring early creates long-term chaos and inefficiencyThe pricing mindset that actually protects your marginsHow to cut $20K+ in bloated operational expensesWhy over-relying on paid ads is one of the riskiest movesThe real cost of ignoring trend waves like TikTok ShopWhy organic content is now the centerpiece of my growth strategyBonus insights:I also walk you through my personal tech stack—how I use tools like StoreHero, Triple Whale, and Airwallex to forecast cash flow, track profitability in real time, and scale without drowning in debt or bad data.If you're tired of spinning your wheels and ready to build a leaner, smarter, and more resilient brand—this is the video you've been waiting for.Subscribe for more brutally honest insights, founder frameworks, and growth strategies that actually work.Apply to work with me via eCommerce OS (link below) and let's double your profit—without doubling the pain.

Unchained
Crypto and Fintech Are Colliding. Who Wins, and How? - Ep. 856

Unchained

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 24, 2025 78:58


Cross-border payments. Mobile money. Stablecoins. Crypto. Elizabeth Rossiello has lived through every cycle, not from a trading desk, but the front lines of African markets. Now, the founder of AZA Finance is selling her company to global fintech giant dLocal, a signal that the line between crypto and traditional finance is blurring fast. In this episode, she talks about: How stablecoins are powering 24/7 commerce in emerging markets Why new entrants keep failing to gain traction And how liquidity, not tech, will determine who wins this new game All that, plus the inside story of AZA's journey from a Nairobi-based Bitcoin exchange to one of the most important fintech players in Africa. Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com Bitwise Human Rights Foundation Xapo Bank Elizabeth Rossiello, CEO and Founder of AZA Finance Previous appearance on Unchained: BitPesa's Elizabeth Rossiello on Necker Island dLocal announces intention to acquire AZA Finance to strengthen AZA Finance: dLocal announces intention to acquire AZA Finance to strengthen presence in Africa and expand capabilities Bloomberg: Uruguay's DLocal to Buy AZA Finance in Africa Push American Banker: What experienced payment execs can pass to a new generation The Startup Leap: Building A Remittance App for Africa's $1tr Market | Elizabeth Rossiello | Aza Finance Jack Zhang of Airwallex tweet saying he doesn't see “a single use case” for crypto Timestamps:

The Twenty Minute VC: Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
20VC: The Most Insane Story in Startups: Airwallex: The Angel That Turned $1M into $1BN | The Fund That Pulled a Term Sheet & Lost $1BN | Rejecting Stripe's $1.2BN Offer | Scaling to $1BN in Revenue & 100% YoY Growth for 8 Years with Jack Zhang

The Twenty Minute VC: Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

Play Episode Listen Later May 27, 2025 86:48


Airwallex is the most insane story in startups: The best angel investment ever: The angel that turned $1M into $1BN. One of the world's best VCs pulled a term sheet and lost $1BN.  The company turned down a $1.2BN offer from Stripe.  The company scaled to $1BN in transaction volume in 9 months.  The company has never not grown 100% in a year.  Jack Zhang is the Co-Founder and CEO of Airwallex, one of the world's fastest-growing global payments and financial infrastructure companies. Since founding the company in 2015, Jack has scaled Airwallex to over $130B in annual payment volume, $720M in ARR, and a global team of 1,800+ employees. Under his leadership, Airwallex has raised over $1.2BN from investors including Square Peg, Lone Pine, and Tencent.  In Today's Episode We Discuss: 00:00 – The Best Angel Investment Ever: From $1M to $1BN 06:55 – From Lemon Factory and Petrol Station to Billionaire: The Early Days 15:20 – $5M side hustle while working full-time: how Jack did it 24:45 – Failing Three Times Before Product-Market-Fit 31:00 – The Term Sheet That Got Pulled and Lost Matrix $1BN 34:40 – Why We Rejected Stripe's $1.2BN Acquisition Offer 49:05 – 0-$1B transaction volume in 9 months: How Shein Saved Airwallex 1:03:40 – We F****** Up Scaling internationally... & Burnt $200M/year 1:08:00 – When COVID hit, they lost 50% of revenue overnight 1:11:45 – Why Jack raised at 6x revenue and is now buying back stock himself 1:15:00 – The truth about secondaries and how much is “enough” 1:18:00 – The hiring mistakes that almost broke the culture 1:20:15 – Why Jack is Taking Out a Line of Debt for $70M