This article is part of Fintech Leaders, a newsletter with 51,000+ dreamers, entrepreneurs, investors, and students of financial services. I invite you to share and sign up! And, if you enjoy this conversation, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your shows so more people can learn from it.
In this episode, I sit down with Prajit Nanu, CEO & Co-Founder of Nium, a billion dollar fintech building global payments infrastructure supporting 100 currencies across 190+ countries.
Founded almost seven years ago in Singapore, Nium has raised almost $300 million from top fintech investors including Riverwood, GFC, Temasek, and Visa amongst others.
In this episode, we discuss:
The advantages of outsiders. Prior to Nium, Prajit was not a payments guy, so how did his non-payments background actually become a source of strength?
“A lot of people whom I spoke to back in 2014-2015, now when we meet, they say: Prajit, one reason why Nium is doing well is because you didn't come from payments. Because if you had come from payments, you would have thought about all the glass ceilings that exist in the world of payments.”
Why it’s crucial to narrow your focus and double down on your strengths as a company.
“By narrowing down our use-cases to three lines of businesses, we've now found the focus where I'm fairly confident we can generate a billion dollars of revenue over the next five to seven years.”
A couple of years ago Nium realized it need to shift and narrow its focus from offering infrastructure for all to focusing on three key industries (banks and fintech, travel, and digital platforms) and powering seven use cases. The shift in strategy allowed the company to find focus, platform stability, and a go-to-market success motion. This laser-focused strategy catalyzed them to 140% in 2022 with 90% of its revenue coming from Europe and Asia, and Prajit is confident they could reach a billion dollars in annual revenue in the next five to seven years.
Lessons from hiring 100s of people. What have they learned about startup recruiting over the last several years?
“A good team will help build your business, and a bad one will kill your business.”
Building and scaling a B2B Sales organization, board management lessons… and a lot more!
“Good board members push you aggressively… And are also very complimentary on the other side… and say, I understand this challenge. Let me work with you to solve the challenge.”
Interestingly, Prajit considers the main function of a board of directors to ensure governance in the company but also sees it as a two-way street. Board members should be challenging company leaders, but also working together to help open doors and offer a helping hand. And it's definitely not productive for board members to be solely focus on reading spreadsheets, without understanding the bigger picture.
Want more podcast episodes? Join me and follow Fintech Leaders today on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app for weekly conversations with today’s global leaders that will dominate the 21st century in fintech, business, and beyond.
Previous Episodes You May Enjoy:
Video Highlights You Will Definitely Like:
Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder & Managing General Partner of Gilgamesh Ventures, a seed-stage investment fund focused on fintech in the Americas. He also hosts and writes the Fintech Leaders podcast and newsletter.
Prajit Nanu, CEO & Co-Founder of Nium – Building a Billion Dollar Business, Startup Recruiting Mistakes, & The Power to Staying Lean and Scrappy