00:32:45 · Henrique Dubugras, Nik Storonsky
[00:32:45] S1: Gotcha. And like, I guess, have you always liked being optimum... Optimizing costs like that in your life? [00:32:51] S0: No. I mean, to be honest, you... Like I was all about revenues rather than cost. Of course, I I never cared. But for me, it was... I just don't like waste. You see what I mean? Yeah. So for me, it was waste. Right? It's it's... Okay. One type of money goes into another type of money and then it's less. I mean, it's waste. It's commodity. Right? [00:33:12] S1: So it's... You felt that like growing up, it's not that you're super focused on your costs. You would like spend money. No problem. [00:33:18] S0: Yeah. I was like completely... You don't like waste I didn't really care about costs. For me, was always okay. I need to make more money. And then then costs, I mean, doesn't matter. Right? Because, okay, you reduce costs by 10%, 20%. Revenues can grow a thousand percent. [00:33:31] S1: The waste is kind of what bothers you? [00:33:33] S0: Waste is always bothering me. Yeah. I want to be as efficient as possible. [00:33:36] S1: Oh, interesting. Interesting. Where do you think that came from? Like, is there anything that [00:33:42] S0: I don't know. I'm all... I was always, you know, perfectionist in what I do. Right? And for me to get something done well, I do not want to have waste. Yeah. For me it's like... [00:33:52] S1: Interesting. Okay. So then you're you're doing this first version and how long did it take you to... Did you code it yourself? Like how do you get the first people to code it? Did you
00:33:52 · Henrique Dubugras, Nik Storonsky
[00:33:52] S1: Interesting. Okay. So then you're you're doing this first version and how long did it take you to... Did you code it yourself? Like how do you get the first people to code it? Did you [00:33:59] S0: raise money? Basically... So I done first research myself. Like, you know, figure out that it's possible. And I got the contracts done with all the providers. [00:34:07] S1: And [00:34:07] S0: you had [00:34:07] S1: a little bit of money at this point yourself, right? Because you had made some bonuses and... [00:34:10] S0: I had quite a lot of money back then. [00:34:12] S1: Oh, you did? [00:34:13] S0: Yeah. Because of trading, right? And basically, so first, because I was very new to tech, right, into development, I hired a kind of outsourcer, like a team on outsourcing to build the product. Yeah. You like engineers? Engineers plus designer outsourcing and... [00:34:34] S1: And you paid up your shell out of your own pocket at this point? [00:34:37] S0: I just paid them, like, you know, transferred money to them. They were freelancers. [00:34:41] S1: But like it wasn't venture money. It was your own money.
00:34:41 · Henrique Dubugras, Nik Storonsky
[00:34:41] S1: But like it wasn't venture money. It was your own money. [00:34:43] S0: No, no, it was my own money. Yeah. And so basically we kind of, you know, build their... So we build something. I think back then it wasn't really working and it was like a very bad quality. So I very quickly realized that outsourcing doesn't work. So I kind of... No. Now I learned how to do like development, right? I know who to hire. I started hiring people in house myself. So I ended up hiring six or seven people, like engineers plus designing house. And then we continue building the product and we will build the product. [00:35:14] S1: And did you know how to code? [00:35:16] S0: Yeah, of course. [00:35:17] S1: Yeah. You did already? [00:35:18] S0: Because I learned it right plus in trading. Was also like, you know, doing in Python and MATLAB as well. Yeah. [00:35:24] S1: Oh, interesting. I didn't know that. So in trading, you had to code? [00:35:27] S0: No, not really, but I was always, you know, back testing different strategies. [00:35:32] S1: Got it. Got it. You knew how to interview engineers for someone good or bad at that point? [00:35:39] S0: No, I wasn't good at it. No, it's Got mostly, [00:35:42] S1: it. So you just hired people that you thought were smart? [00:35:44] S0: Yeah. I just hired first contractors. And then I brought the team in house. [00:35:50] S1: And this is all yourself. You're just building, you know, the prepaid card. And you need to get like a provider. Who was your first provider for prepaid card? Your first bank partnership or?
00:35:50 · Henrique Dubugras, Nik Storonsky, Henrique Dubugras
[00:35:50] S1: And this is all yourself. You're just building, you know, the prepaid card. And you need to get like a provider. Who was your first provider for prepaid card? Your first bank partnership or? [00:35:58] S0: It was actually... Big then it was called the Optimal Payments. They were issuing bank. I think they later became PaySafe. [00:36:06] S1: PaySafe? Yeah. Okay. So they were kind of like your bin sponsor. [00:36:09] S0: Yes, exactly. [00:36:10] S1: Early on. And then you had a processor back then, [00:36:12] S0: are you used So it was GPS. GPS? GPS. Yeah. [00:36:18] S2: This episode of HD in HD is brought to you by a brand that's close to my heart, Brex. When we started Brex, it wasn't just about creating another financial product. It was about solving the real gritty challenges that founders and startups face every day. Building something from the ground up is hard enough without having to navigate clunky legacy banks with endless fees. That's why Brex is the financial stack that scales with you no matter where you are in your journey. From maximizing runway to earning yield on your cash, Brex was designed to make every dollar count. So you can focus on what really matters, building your dream. So whether you're just getting started or you're ready to take on the next big thing, Brex has your back. Check it out and see why the world's most innovative startups like Anthropic, Scale AI, and Robinhood trust Brex.
00:36:18 · Henrique Dubugras, Henrique Dubugras, Nik Storonsky
[00:36:18] S2: This episode of HD in HD is brought to you by a brand that's close to my heart, Brex. When we started Brex, it wasn't just about creating another financial product. It was about solving the real gritty challenges that founders and startups face every day. Building something from the ground up is hard enough without having to navigate clunky legacy banks with endless fees. That's why Brex is the financial stack that scales with you no matter where you are in your journey. From maximizing runway to earning yield on your cash, Brex was designed to make every dollar count. So you can focus on what really matters, building your dream. So whether you're just getting started or you're ready to take on the next big thing, Brex has your back. Check it out and see why the world's most innovative startups like Anthropic, Scale AI, and Robinhood trust Brex. [00:37:07] S1: Okay. So you started... You brought this team in house and they were building of these partners that you got in. And how long did it take you from starting to build to launching? [00:37:15] S0: Eighteen months. [00:37:17] S1: Eighteen? Oh, so it's kinda like a long build. Like in, you know... [00:37:21] S0: It was... I think in a beta version, like in our... We were testing already around like within twelve months, but on official launch, we... Official launch to external people to a lot of external people to... In eighteen months. [00:37:32] S1: And did you fund all of it yourself or you like kind of raised money in the machine?
00:37:32 · Henrique Dubugras, Nik Storonsky
[00:37:32] S1: And did you fund all of it yourself or you like kind of raised money in the machine? [00:37:36] S0: Yeah. No, I funded all myself. And then when we started having our first customers, I raised money because I was running out of money. [00:37:42] S1: Oh, interesting. And you applied to YC at some point, I think, right? [00:37:45] S0: Yeah, I did. Yeah. [00:37:46] S1: I think you were YC's biggest miss ever. Don't there's a company that's more successful than Revolut that like YC missed. When was this? Do you remember [00:37:55] S0: kind of? It was 2015, probably '20 Yeah. [00:38:02] S1: And that's when you launch or that's when you... [00:38:05] S0: I think I applied before we launched officially, yes. [00:38:08] S1: Before we launched. So you're kind of trying to raise money a little bit at this point or... [00:38:12] S0: No, for me it was... Yeah, I think back then, you know, I wanted to raise money already because I know I was, you know, running out of cash. And the advice was first to go to Accelerator.... Types of, you know, Accelerator or YC because then they'll promote you to other investors. Because I was starting pitching to investors and, like, every single investor declined me. And someone gave me advice, okay, why don't you go to Accelerator? Then you have a wider reach of investors, and then they will also prepare you to fundraise. [00:38:42] S1: Interesting. Why do you why do you think, like, looking at your pitch with, you know, now back then, like, why do you think you didn't get in?