Taavet Hinrikus

“As technology progresses, I believe that fintech will fundamentally change finance.”

“Climate change, migration... they transcend national borders and require an international response.”

“Bitcoin, I think we can say, is dead.”

“The financial crisis of 2008 created a seismic shift in the dynamics of trust in financial services. FinTech would have happened without the global financial crisis - but it would have taken much longer.”

“A preoccupation with job title is an immediate giveaway that someone's priorities are not in line with the company's.”

“There's the risk of a serious case of FOMO at a place like Davos.”

“Building a business is a marathon, not a sprint. I don't believe it when people tell me they've been working 80-hour weeks for five years in a row. I just don't think that's possible.”

“If the U.K. leaves the E.U., we'll have to consider whether it makes business sense to stay headquartered here.”

“We built TransferWise focused on customer innovation. That means we build our product based first and foremost on our customers.”

“The U.S.A. is a huge market which has a large immigrant population from Europe, India, from all around the world; lots of them have, still, strong ties to home, so move lots of money.”

“There's always been a lot of interest in the tech community about how to foster innovation and creativity - both within a company but also in the ecosystem of a tech cluster. In both cases, creating opportunities for people who don't encounter each other normally to meet and talk is key.”

“Creating a new country from scratch has given Estonia the license to imagine what a country could be.”

“There's one thing a CEO should always keep at the front of their mind, and that's customer needs.”

“I get a kick out of helping the next generation of founders.”

“The world is getting smaller thanks to technology.”