#49 How to make hard decisions, reality of being a startup CEO, opportunities & risks of Latin America, and the importance of transparency with Rain Sepp (askRobin)

Rain Sepp is the Founder and CEO of askRobin - a financial education and inclusion platform operating in Mexico and other LatAm countries. Rain is a serial entrepreneur and a seasoned consumer finance expert. After building a customer base of more than 2 million users for askRobin and raising more than 1.5mEUR, Rain recently announced the winding down of the company.

In this episode we talk about the story of askRobin, building a sizeable customer base in Mexico and the risks of doing business in emerging markets. We also go in depth into the decision to shut down the business, how to make that decision, how to deal with investors and other stakeholders. Finally, we talk about some of the less known realities of being a CEO/Founder.

The topics covered in this episode with Timestamps

[03:00] - INTRODUCTION AND THE ORIGINS OF ASKROBIN

• Starting a business in finance with no background in finance
• Going to radically different LatAm markets
• The initial business model and first traction

[07:05] - CUSTOMER ACQUISITION AND OPPORTUNITIES  IN LATAM MARKETS

• Huge markets and huge demand for financial services
• Matching demand with ability to serve
• Online vs. offline
• Web vs. mobile
• Underserved markets in many ways
• Open culture

[13:25] - THE RISKS OF DOING BUSINESS IN LATAM MARKETS

• Capital controls
• Physical security
• Language and cultural barriers

[17:05] -  THE DECISION TO CLOSE DOWN ASK ROBIN

• The Pandemic effect
• Drifting away from the mission
• Mission vs. excel
• Purpose - market fit

[32:30] - HOW TO DEAL WITH HAVING TO SHUT DOWN YOUR COMPANY

• Have a plan
• Focus on things you can affect
• Take ownership
• Be honest with yourself
• Be transparent with your investors from the beginning
• Being a CEO is a lonely job

[36:50] - WHAT PEOPLE DO NOT REALIZE ABOUT BEING A CEO/FOUNDER

• Plans vs. reality
• Getting beaten up
• Not forgetting to celebrate small successes
• Not having answers
• Entrepreneurship as a drug

To reach out to Rain use: Linkedin

Twitter: @rainsepp

Find out more on https://www.pursuitofscrappiness.co/ 

Support for this episode comes from Nexpay > https://paynexpay.com/

Support for this episode comes from Venetor > https://www.venetor.co/ 

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The full interview with Rain is available NOW on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts   

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