The Untold Stories of Change

On the Scale podcast: "Disagreeing with each other is great because then you engage in conversation" In the second episode of the On The Scale podcast, host Fabian Zwaan talks with Leo van der Voort about the lightning-fast development of finance technologies, personal development in today's working world, and how your story can lead to the most interesting discussions. During his impressive career, Leo has worked as a corporate advisor, keynote speaker and CFO, among others, from which he has gained virtually endless sources of knowledge. He is also an avid writer, with several books to his name and a blog website in which he and other talented writers push the boundaries of what is known. In short, a fascinating guest with an equally fascinating story. Payhawk is de alles-in-één oplossing voor uitgavenbeheer ontworpen voor financiële teams in Europa, de VS en het VK. Door zakelijke betaalkaarten, onkostenvergoedingen, crediteurenbeheer en ERP-en boekhoudsoftware-integraties te combineren in één product, houd je de controle over bedrijfsuitgaven. Plan hier een gratis demo in met één van onze experts. This podcast was produced by Cognito Amsterdam About Payhawk: LinkedIn: Payhawk Website: Payhawk.com About Leo van de Voort LinkedIn: Leo van de Voort Website & Blog: Fantoomtrots

Welkom bij de podcast aangeboden door Payhawk, On the Scale. Hierin praat host Fabian Zwaan met uiteenlopende gasten over uitdagingen en kansen, over finance, kosten en uitgaven en de focus op value. Tijdens de eerste aflevering waren te gast: Joeri Nanov, Marketing Director, en Kwint Jansen, Spend Management Specialist, beiden werkzaam bij Payhawk. Joeri Nanov, zelf half Bulgaars, raakte geïnteresseerd in Payhawk omdat het los van de enorm snelle groei van het bedrijf, de eerste Bulgaarse unicorn was. Een unicorn is een private startup die meer dan 1 miljard dollar waard is. Payhawk is de alles-in-één oplossing voor uitgavenbeheer ontworpen voor financiële teams in Europa, de VS en het VK. Door zakelijke betaalkaarten, onkostenvergoedingen, crediteurenbeheer en ERP-en boekhoudsoftware-integraties te combineren in één product, houd je de controle over bedrijfsuitgaven. Plan hier een gratis demo in met één van onze experts. Deze podcast is geproduceerd door Cognito Amsterdam LinkedIn: Payhawk Website: Payhawk.com

Today's guest is Ian Johnson. Ian is Managing Director at Marqeta, Europe and he has spent most of his career in payments.  In this episode, we go over the evolution of the payments industry ; Some of the biggest misconceptions in the fintech world ; The role of financial managers and how it has changed after the rise of new tech ; The role of traditional banks ; How do companies think about security and trust in the adoption of new payment methods and service providers ;  Common biases that fintech companies have to battle with when pitching to corporates ;  What people don't know about credit cards ; The power of open APIs and other topics. 

In this episode, Dendra systems' finance manager Robbert Hadfield shares his unique perspective on the role of finance teams and how it has it evolved because of automation, how can the finance manager contribute to the rest of the organization by system and process implementation as well as the challenges that come with that. He goes on to discuss the importance of scaling finance operations and choosing the right software tool for your company. 

Jenny Herald's career started in the US Air Force and US Navy subsequently.  Though her background is mainly in finance and operations, she has found her true calling in Wunderlist and later Microsoft, where she led and supported product teams, crafted and executed the product strategy to deliver one of the most popular to-do applications in the world.  During our conversation, we talked about what working in the navy taught Jenny on the importance of customer success; moving from California to Berlin and the importance of making decisions from a clear mind; Why OKRs matter, and what most companies worry about the most? ; How can financial managers benefit from using OKRs? ; Gtmhub's unique approach to building an OKR software and other topics.

Today's guest is Louisa Murray.  Louisa is a Chief Operations Officer at Railsbank which is Payhawk's partner e-money institution. Louisa's career spans more than 30 years in the financial services sector. She made her mark early on as one of the first female derivative traders at Barclays and CIBC and has been recently named a 'Rising Woman in Crypto' by Wirex and The Fintech Times. During our conversation, we also discussed: the role of banks and how it has changed over the years; financial managers in the world of open banking; the importance of real-time financial models; the value of EMI and Raisbank in particular, and Louisa's current role as Chief Operating Officer. 

In this episode, Jean-Cristophe, founder of Mad Kings, talks about his journey from programming to business and his trip to Silicon Valley that inspired him to found his first company - Pictawall, which served clients like Tomorrowland.  During our conversation, we also talk about his transition from traditional to digital marketing; founding a company based on the growth hacking methodology; filtering ideas; changing company culture; common mistakes in implementing the growth marketing strategy; challenges in expense management, and Mad Kings' vision for the online economy.  Jean-Cristophe is the Co-creator of the Growth Marketing Canvas and Founder of the Mad Kings growth agency.  His background is in business and IT, and now he’s mainly focused on helping companies implementing Growth Marketing methodology. 

Roland Manger,  Co-Founder & Partner at EarlyBird, started his career as an entrepreneur when he joined Cybernet, providing enterprise-grade Internet service all across Germany. The company eventually became the first Internet-related company in the country that went public.  Roland moves on to start one of the best-performing venture capital firms focusing on early-stage investments in Europe - Earlybird.  During that time, there was a gold rush and hundreds of similar companies raising capital. However, according to Roland, it was their systematic approach and insight that led Earlybird to stand out and become one of the top-performing VCs in Europe.  During our conversation, Roland also shared what some common investors’ biases are; why and how he started the Digital East Fund; his focus and vision for Emerging Europe; the importance of anticipating change; what it takes to be a good founder, and his experience with Payhawk.

Gijs is the European director at the LIFEAID beverage company.  Gijs started out as a professional soldier in the military and then eventually moved into sports and Crossfit training & fitness in particular. He quickly fell in love with the entrepreneurial side of training. He has owned several gyms and supported online shops in the meantime. During our conversation, he shares how he started working for LIFEAID, grew the business in Europe, and sustained it in the toughest times of Corona. 

In this episode, Hristo Borisov, founder at Payhawk, takes us for a look behind the curtains of a Techfin startup.   During our conversation, he shares the journey that led him to programming and eventually to becoming a product manager in Telerik. He then tells the story of how he left the security of a well-paid job in a big company to create the product that will ultimately make him most proud - Payhawk. 

How did someone from Spain who spent the majority of their career working on international development end up in a Bulgarian fintech company?  Raquel was brave enough to share her story. In the first episode of the Untold Stories of Change, you will find out how her early life influenced her career ; why she studied business but spent the majority of her career in international development ; what was it like to enter the world of startups ; the tools she uses when she's overwhelmed.