#25 - StashAway CEO: Building A Fintech That Doesn’t Burn out | Michele Ferrario: “Passion Gives You Grit & Stamina During Tough Times.” “The Most Important Factor Is People.”

Michele Ferrario, CEO of StashAway, didn’t set out to build a fintech company because it was trendy.

He built it because the banks didn’t align with the kind of investment approach he wanted for his hard-earned money—and he believed there had to be a better way. Nearly a decade later, StashAway is now one of CNBC’s Top Fintech Companies in the World—for the third year running.

In this episode, Michele shares what it really takes to build a business that lasts in the face of intense competition in the financial and banking world, and why people are everything.

We talk about founder–market fit, scaling without shortcuts, choosing co-founders and partners you deeply trust, and why passion isn’t just a cliché—it’s the thing that keeps you going when everything else gets hard.

From his early days at McKinsey to leading Zalora, to building StashAway from scratch, Michele opens up about the lessons that shaped him as a CEO, father, and founder who’s still in the arena.

Chapters:

00:00 – Intro

02:41 – The letter he wrote for his MBA application

07:20 – From McKinsey to Rocket: a path shaped by pivots

10:12 – Did he always want to be a founder?

14:14 – How Zalora prepared him for StashAway

17:48 – Lessons from McKinsey, private equity, and Rocket

23:00 – Knowing what really matters when building a business

24:30 – Passion vs profit: why you need both

30:00 – The personal frustration that sparked StashAway

33:45 – How he found his co-founders (over coffee)

37:53 – Trust, conflict, and co-founder chemistry

40:43 – Scaling a fintech in a competitive financial industry

45:48 – Leading teams across Asia as an Italian

47:38 – Fatherhood, focus, and redefining social life

50:55 – What he’s proudest of 9 years in?

51:59 – Grit, longevity, and the compounding effect

52:41 – What his team might not know about him

54:35 – Advice for aspiring founders

🎙️Follow me for stories on life, career, the unconventional road, and embracing the unknowns.

❤️

Nicole

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Website: https://www.stashaway.sg/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSvy7qvOTCyvG4Dw85Yzm5Q 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StashAwayAPAC/  

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