Jeremy Almond.
CEO & Founder · Paystand
Jeremy Almond is the CEO and Co-Founder of Paystand, with over 15 years of experience as a serial entrepreneur and startup advisor. He started his career as an engineer, contributing to significant technological innovations. Jeremy's focus on leveraging technology to transform B2B financial services led to the creation of Paystand, where he now leads efforts to modernize commercial payments through blockchain and cloud-based solutions.
Guest
Jeremy Almond
CEO & Founder
Company:
Paystand
Location:
Santa Cruz, California, United States
Funding:
$100M Raised
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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 Jeremy Almond, CEO & Founder of Paystand, a B2B payment network that has raised over $100 Million in funding.

Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:

Five takeaways from this conversation.

Actionable for Fintech and Banking founders

  1. Focus on Building Real Value, Not Hype
    Jeremy emphasized that successful businesses don’t rely on hype, even when dealing with cutting-edge technologies like blockchain. Instead, focus on creating tangible value for customers, like improving efficiency or cutting costs, which drives adoption. Actionable takeaway: Ensure your value proposition solves a clear problem for your customer, rather than banking on hype cycles.
  2. Unlock Growth Stages by Identifying Barriers
    Jeremy’s approach to scaling Paystand was to continuously identify and remove what was blocking the company from reaching the next stage. Whether it’s securing initial customers or expanding sales repeatability, growth depends on removing these roadblocks. Actionable takeaway: Regularly assess what’s limiting your company’s growth and focus on unblocking those areas to unlock the next stage.
  3. Nail a Specific Market Before Expanding
    Paystand’s growth came from targeting specific, underserved ecosystems like Oracle and Microsoft, allowing them to dominate those niches before broadening their reach. Actionable takeaway: Before aiming for widespread adoption, focus on deeply understanding and serving a niche market. Success there creates the foundation for broader expansion.
  4. Sales Before Marketing
    In the early days, Jeremy took a sales-first approach, building credibility through customer success stories before ramping up marketing efforts. This strategy helped Paystand grow steadily without relying on flashy marketing. Actionable takeaway: Focus on building strong customer relationships and success stories before pouring resources into large-scale marketing campaigns.
  5. Position for the Long Game
    Jeremy’s long-term vision is to replace outdated financial systems with blockchain infrastructure, a process he believes will take time. His strategy is centered on building a durable company focused on long-term success rather than short-term gains. Actionable takeaway: Don’t chase short-term wins at the expense of long-term sustainability. Position your company to last by building solid infrastructure and partnerships.