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I sit down with Alberto Dalmasso, CEO & Co-Founder of Satispay, the largest fintech in Italy and one of largest in Europe. Founded in 2013, Satispay has 4 million consumers and 330,000 merchants active on the platform. Started as a payments network, they’ve now evolved to a wider financial services ecosystem and super-app. Satispay has raised $500 million from Block, Greyhound, Addition, Coatue, Banca Sella, Endeavor, and many more.
In this episode, we discuss:
Strategies and key metrics on building one of the largest payment networks in Europe, bypassing Visa and Mastercard
“If you want to become a daily behavior, and in Italy people tell you they're using you to pay coffee, you are on the right path.”
At the heart of Satispay's strategy lies a commitment to simplicity and transparency, particularly in its pricing model. Early on, they identified Italy’s merchant’s rejection for traditional banking and credit card fees for small transactions, which often seemed opaque and arbitrarily complex. Satispay introduced a clear, straightforward pricing structure—free transactions below €10 and a modest fee structure otherwise—Satispay not only demystified costs but also aligned its interests with those of its users. This approach helped build trust with merchants, but also encouraged widespread adoption.
Dalmasso's journey is one of getting to a nuanced understanding of growth and rejecting a one-size-fits-all expansion model in favor of a more localized, community-centric approach. Starting with a focus on smaller cities before scaling to larger urban centers allowed Satispay to cultivate a strong and loyal base of users and merchants through direct engagement and tailored incentives. This strategy facilitated organic growth, building a two-sided market where both sides could see immediate value. Additionally, Satispay leveraged local networks and banks as partners rather than viewing them solely as competitors.
Balancing aggressive growth and a culture of efficiency, and why he believes in learning through small mistakes
“You gotta learn the lessons by making small mistakes. And in a small city, you can make very small mistakes.”
Satispay’s culture is rooted in the principle of iterative learning, particularly through the lens of localized testing. The early days of the company were focused on achieving growth in smaller cities before tackling larger markets – this way, the team was able to figure out some of the complexities with a more manageable risk profile. This strategy allowed for real-world experimentation in environments where the cost of failure was significantly lower, enabling the team to refine their value-prop, better understand merchant and consumer needs, and make adjustments quickly. The successes and failures in these smaller markets turned out to be key and informed future strategies for scaling up.
Evolving into a wider super-app for consumers
“Every time we launch an additional service, 45% - 65% of our monthly active users jump on that [new product]. So this is really strengthening our relationship with our users.”
Satispay's steps towards becoming a super app are marked by its deliberate expansion into services that address everyday financial tasks and needs. By integrating functionalities such as mobile phone credit top-ups, government and tax payments, and even helping people save, Satispay has significantly broadened its appeal and utility for the Italian consumer. Their goal to simplify and enhance the financial lives of its users seems to be working and they have become an indispensable tool for managing personal finances for 4+ million people and almost half a million merchants.
Leadership lessons on handling pressure and spreading confidence instead of fear… and a lot more!
“From sports, I come to the realization that when there are big challenges ahead of you, you just get on and try to solve them without thinking about the problem and only thinking about the solution and enjoying the process. And I think that really gives me the ability to lead a team that is bigger and bigger.”
Alberto gets his competitive drive from sports. He’s been a water polo player (and team captain) and a sailing skipper, two experiences that gave him a profound understanding of team dynamics and leadership under duress. He tells us that these sports dynamics have translated into the business realm, where Dalmasso has applied lessons to maintaining team cohesion amidst the high-pressure environment of hyper-scaling Satispay. His leadership style encourages the team not to fear failure but to embrace it towards greater achievements, spreading confidence, instead of fear, across the organization.
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Alberto Dalmasso, CEO of Satispay – Building Italy's Everyday Fintech App, Serving 4M Users & 330k Merchants, Early Failures and Successes