We only take on 4 clients per month. Join our October cohort. 1 spot left.
Conversation
Highlights
Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech’s most innovative B2B founders. In today’s episode, we’re speaking with Daumantas Dvilinskas, CEO & Co-Founder of TransferGo, a money transfer platform that has raised over $125 Million in funding.
Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:
- Long-term Focus: TransferGo’s 12-year journey has been defined by a commitment to solving the complexities of cross-border payments, a challenge that Daumantas recognized as a young entrepreneur.
- Innovation Through Partnership: The company’s success lies in building a “network of networks,” partnering with local financial institutions to bypass traditional international settlement systems like SWIFT.
- Regulatory Hurdles: Navigating regulatory landscapes and securing necessary licenses was a significant early challenge, especially when dealing with banks that were hesitant to work with a new and unproven company.
- Community Trust: TransferGo’s marketing strategy focuses on building trust within migrant communities, emphasizing referral-based growth and strong brand credibility.
- Strategic Market Entry: The company’s early entry into emerging markets like Ukraine, driven by a gut feeling rather than existing data, has paid off significantly, making it the largest digital money transfer service in the region.
- Expansion Lessons: Daumantas reflected on the challenges of segment expansion, particularly into business clients, which required a different organizational culture and strategy than consumer-focused efforts.
Actionable
Takeaways
Trust is Key in Community-Driven Markets:
When targeting niche or community-driven markets, especially in financial services, building trust is essential. Leverage referral programs and invest in strong brand credibility to create a loyal customer base. This approach is critical when handling something as sensitive as people's finances.
Partnerships Can Be a Strategic Advantage:
Instead of relying solely on in-house technology, consider forming partnerships with local institutions to navigate complex regulatory environments and fragmented markets. This can allow your company to scale more efficiently by leveraging existing infrastructure.
Avoid Premature Expansion:
Before expanding into new segments or markets, ensure your core business is fully optimized. Daumantas emphasized that focusing deeply on a strong core market can yield better results than spreading resources too thin across multiple initiatives.
Regulatory Navigation Requires Persistence:
Securing licenses and navigating regulatory frameworks is challenging, especially for startups. Persistence and resilience are crucial—expect initial rejections and be prepared to continuously engage with regulators and financial institutions.
Spotting and Capitalizing on Emerging Markets:
Trust your instincts when it comes to emerging markets, even if existing data doesn't support the move. TransferGo's success in Ukraine was driven by foresight into labor migration trends rather than market reports, highlighting the importance of vision and timing in market entry decisions.
Recommended Founder
Interviews
Rafael Loureiro
CEO of Wealth
Rafael Loureiro, CEO of Wealth: $16 Million Raised to Build the Future of Estate Planning
Patrick Mollard
CEO & Co-Founder of Fipto
Patrick Mollard, CEO & Co-Founder of Fipto: $16 Million Raised to Build the Future of Blockchain Payments
Daniel Grunstein
CEO and Co-Founder of Crowded
Daniel Grunstein, CEO and Co-Founder of Crowded: $6.4 Million Raised to Transform Nonprofit Financial Management
Dan Beck
Dan Beck, CEO & Co-Founder of 401GO: $14 Million Raised to Build the Future of Retirement Benefits for Small Businesses
Arik Shtilman
CEO of Rapyd
Arik Shtilman, Rapyd: $15 Billion Valuation (Unicorn Builders)
Rodney Reisdorf
Co-Founder & CEO of Co-Founder & CEO
Rodney Reisdorf, CEO of Verivend: $3 Million Raised Transform Private Capital Transactions
Kalpesh Kapadia
CEO and Founder of Deserve
Kalpesh Kapadia, CEO and Founder of Deserve: $50 Million Raised to Build the Future of Credit Cards
Iris Pfeifer
VP of Growth of Wisetack
Iris Pfeifer, VP of Growth at Wisetack: Mastering B2B Marketing Through Sales Alignment and Product Strategy
Steve Pomfret
Steve Pomfret, CEO & Founder of Cygnetise: $8 Million Raised to Build the Future of Signatory Management
John Lunn
CEO and Founder of Gr4vy
John Lunn, CEO and Founder of Gr4vy: $27 Million Raised to Build the Future of Payments Infrastructure
Julio MartÃnez
Co-Founder and CEO of Abacum
Julio MartÃnez, Co-Founder and CEO at Abacum: $40 Million Raised to Build the Future of FP&A
Jeremy Almond
CEO & Founder of Paystand
Jeremy Almond, CEO & Founder of Paystand: $100M Raised to Power the Future of B2B Payments
Wade Arnold
CEO and Founder of Moov
Wade Arnold, CEO and Founder of Moov: $77.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Embedded Payments
Laura Kornhauser
Co-Founder and CEO of Stratyfy
Laura Kornhauser, Co-Founder and CEO at Stratyfy: $10 Million Raised to Power the Future of Financial Inclusion
Olga Chin
CEO and Founder of InterPrice Technologies
Olga Chin, CEO and Founder of InterPrice Technologies: Over $10 Million Raised to Build the Future of Capital Markets Treasury Management
Fady Hawatmeh
Founder and CEO of Clockwork
Fady Hawatmeh, Founder and CEO of Clockwork: Nearly $3 Million Raised to Make Financial Modeling and Cash Flow Forecasting Easy
Helen Chong
Head of Growth of Puzzle
Helen Chong, Head of Growth at Puzzle: Collaborating with Founders – Insights for Effective Marketing Alignment
Florian Wimmer
Co-Founder & CEO of Blockpit
Florian Wimmer, Co-Founder & CEO of Blockpit: $15 Million Raised to Power the Future of Crypto Tax Management
Bob Suh
CEO of OnCorps
Bob Suh, CEO of OnCorps: $18M Raised to Help Large Financial Institutions Solve Operational Problems with AI
Ankit Ratan
Co-Founder and CEO of Signzy
Ankit Ratan, Co-Founder and CEO of Signzy: Over $38 Million Raised to Build the Future of Digital Onboarding Infrastructure
Felix Rodriguez
CEO & Founder of Finally
Felix Rodriguez, CEO & Founder of Finally: $110 Million Raised to Power the Future of Finance Automation
Shamir Karkal
Co-founder and CSO of Sila
Shamir Karkal, CEO of Sila: $20+ Million Raised to Build the Money API For Fintech
Thibaut Sahagian
CEO of Multis
Thibaut Sahagian, CEO of Multis: $9 Million Raised to Build a New Category of Software Designed to Meet the Needs of Web3 Organizations
Jack McDonald
CEO of PolySign
Jack McDonald, CEO of PolySign: $50 Million Raised to Power the Future of Digital Assets
Brian King
CEO of LODAS Markets
Brian King, CEO of LODAS Markets: $8.5 Million Raised to Power the Future of Alternative Investments
Steven Greene
CEO of Standard Practice
Steven Greene, CEO & Co-Founder of Standard Practice (Previously Nibble Health): $8 Million Raised to Bring the Fintech Revolution to the World Healthcare Payments
Yasmin Graeml
Marketing & Communication Leader of Flourish Fi
Yasmin, Marketing & Communication Leader at Flourish Fi: Driving Financial Engagement with Innovative Tech
Ron Benegbi
CEO & Founder of Uplinq
Ron Benegbi, CEO & Founder at Uplinq: Over $5 Million Raised to Transform SMB Lender’s Existing Credit Evaluation Process
Magali Chapuis
Marketing Manager of Embat
Magali Chapuis, Marketing Manager of Embat: Strategic Insights for Scaling Fintech Marketing Across Borders
Reed Switzer
CEO of Hopscotch
Reed Switzer, CEO of Hopscotch: $10M to Build the Future of B2B Payments For SMBs
Brendan Playford
CEO of Pngme
Brendan Playford, CEO of Pngme: $18 Million Raised to Support Financial Inclusivity and Unlock Economic Potential Across the Developing World
Swapnil Shinde
CEO and Co-Founder of Zeni
Swapnil Shinde, CEO and Co-Founder of Zeni: $47+ Million Raised to Build the Finance Operations Category
Scott Dorey
Co-Founder of OpenPath
Scott Dorey, Co-Founder of OpenPath: $25 Million Raised to Build the Future of Payments
Colin Luce
CEO & Co-Founder of Basis Theory
Colin Luce, CEO & Co-Founder of Basis Theory: $20 Million Raised to Build the Future of Payments Tokenization
Jonas Overgaard
CEO of Anyday.io
Jonas Overgaard, CEO of Anyday.io: $4M Raised to Transform the Buy Now Pay Later Market
Ben Borodach
Co-Founder and CEO of April
Ben Borodach, Co-Founder and CEO of April: $40 Million Raised to Embed Intelligent Tax Experiences
Sohaib Zahid
CEO and Co-Founder of Railz
Sohaib Zahid, CEO and Co-Founder of Railz: $15 Million Raised to Build to Accounting Data as a Service Category
Eric Velasquez Frenkiel
Founder and CEO of Pomelo
Eric Velasquez Frenkiel, CEO of Pomelo: $70 Million Raised to Build the Future of Remittance
Nik Talreja
CEO & Co-Founder of Sydecar
Nik Talreja, CEO & Co-Founder of Sydecar: Over $16 Million Raised to Make Venture Deal Execution a Frictionless Process
Ben Goldin
CEO and Founder of Plumery
Ben Goldin, CEO and Founder of Plumery: $4.5 Million Raised to Power the Future of Digital Engagement for Banks
Ahmad Ibrahim
CEO of NeoTax
Ibrahim, CEO of NeoTax: $13 Million Raised to Build the Future of Tax Automation
Stephany Kirkpatrick
CEO and Founder of Orum
Stephany Kirkpatrick, CEO and Founder of Orum: Over $85 Million Raised to Build an API integration for Instant Payouts
Don Muir
CEO of Arc
Don Muir, CEO of Arc: Over $180 Million Raised to Empower Startups with a Better Cash Management Experience
Kevin Hart
Founder and CEO of Green Check Verified
Kevin Hart, Founder and CEO of Green Check Verified: $16 Million Raised to Power the Future of the Cannabis Business