20VC: The Most Insane Story in Startups: Airwallex: The Angel That Turned $1M into $1BN | The Fund That Pulled a Term Sheet & Lost $1BN | Rejecting Stripe's $1.2BN Offer | Scaling to $1BN in Revenue & 100% YoY Growth for 8 Years with Jack Zhang | The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

In this episode of the 20VC podcast, Harry interviews Jack Zhang, the co-founder and CEO of Airwallex, a global payments and financial infrastructure company. Jack recounts his early life, marked by financial struggles and working various jobs in Australia, which instilled in him resilience and a strong work ethic. He details his entrepreneurial journey, including multiple side businesses before founding Airwallex, driven by a passion for technology and solving cross-border payment issues. Jack shares the challenges Airwallex faced, such as initial product failures, almost running out of money multiple times, and turning down a $1.2 billion acquisition offer from Stripe. He emphasizes the importance of vision, perseverance, and building a strong team, highlighting Airwallex's impressive growth, reaching a billion-dollar transaction volume within nine months and maintaining high annual growth rates.

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20VC: The Most Insane Story in Startups: Airwallex: The Angel That Turned $1M into $1BN | The Fund That Pulled a Term Sheet & Lost $1BN | Rejecting Stripe's $1.2BN Offer | Scaling to $1BN in Revenue & 100% YoY Growth for 8 Years with Jack Zhang

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

Introduction to Jack Zhang and His Early Struggles

University Days, Early Entrepreneurial Ventures, and the Drive for Financial Security

The Importance of Passion and the Genesis of Airwallex

Early Funding Challenges and the Vision for Airwallex

Building the Foundation and Early Product Failures

Finding Product-Market Fit and Rejecting Stripe's Acquisition Offer

Scaling Challenges, International Expansion, and Financial Discipline

Navigating COVID, Achieving Profitability, and Future Growth

Advice for Founders and Future Vision

20VC: The Most Insane Story in Startups: Airwallex: The Angel That Turned $1M into $1BN | The Fund That Pulled a Term Sheet & Lost $1BN | Rejecting Stripe's $1.2BN Offer | Scaling to $1BN in Revenue & 100% YoY Growth for 8 Years with Jack Zhang

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

00:00Introduction to Jack Zhang and His Early Struggles

Introduction to Jack Zhang and His Early Struggles

07:37University Days, Early Entrepreneurial Ventures, and the Drive for Financial Security

University Days, Early Entrepreneurial Ventures, and the Drive for Financial Security

17:08The Importance of Passion and the Genesis of Airwallex

The Importance of Passion and the Genesis of Airwallex

27:51Early Funding Challenges and the Vision for Airwallex

Early Funding Challenges and the Vision for Airwallex

37:28Building the Foundation and Early Product Failures

Building the Foundation and Early Product Failures

47:58Finding Product-Market Fit and Rejecting Stripe's Acquisition Offer

Finding Product-Market Fit and Rejecting Stripe's Acquisition Offer

59:58Scaling Challenges, International Expansion, and Financial Discipline

Scaling Challenges, International Expansion, and Financial Discipline

1:11:21Navigating COVID, Achieving Profitability, and Future Growth

Navigating COVID, Achieving Profitability, and Future Growth

1:22:10Advice for Founders and Future Vision

Advice for Founders and Future Vision