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" For Estonia, joining Europe meant our potential as a country increased - not decreased - because of that connectedness. "

Taavet Hinrikus

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" The attitude to failure is one of the characteristics that's often called out as the difference between the U.S. and Europe. And we do need to be less risk-averse, more embracing of failure. Having failed makes you look bad in Europe. But in the U.S., it makes you look experienced. "

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" Maybe I think too highly of myself, but I think maybe sometimes I can give some good advice - sometimes bad advice, I'm sure - and I think that's a way of giving back. "

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" Scaling a business at speed can feel like an out of control roller-coaster. "

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" Most of my time at Skype was spent doing new things. "

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" You start a business being hungry, foolish, and a little bit naive. But more often than not, you end up being disrupted yourself. It happened to Skype. "

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" Companies that are natively technology-focused I would trust more than a bank. "

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" 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. "

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" When we talk about technology changing the world, we often hear about how it makes our lives easier, more connected, safer, or even healthier. They're all things we can easily identify with. The Internet makes our lives easier; services like Skype and WhatsApp allows us to be more connected - the examples are endless. "

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" If we think about how long Google spent searching - I think they came around in '98? And, OK, Gmail came in 2004, but it was literally built by one engineer as a 20%-time project. It was probably 10 years before Google started diversifying. "

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

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" I think that's the beauty of being a private company: you get to choose when you disclose something. You can play it in a strategic way or in a tactical way. "

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" The growth of FinTech has been driven by adoption across age groups, but the demand from the millennial generation to innovate and think about financial services differently has been a catalyst for change. "

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" The world is getting smaller thanks to technology. "

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" Hiring new people, opening up in new markets, all of that takes money. "

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

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" Talent is the lifeblood of a fast-growing company. "

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

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" 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. "

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" When a new hire is afraid to roll up their sleeves and get things done, it's a clear sign it's not going to work out. "

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" Banks are really bad when it comes to building consumer-centred products. "

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" Being a 'global citizen' is not something reserved for the global elite anymore. Thanks to the democratising power of technology, it's not a trend determined by privilege or even age but by attitude. "

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" With a smartphone, we have a supercomputer in our pocket and are always connected. The way we bank is changing as part of this macro trend. "

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

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" As a consumer, I'm definitely waiting for what's going to come after banks. "

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" I was pretty vocal about being anti-Brexit before the referendum vote. "

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" Bitcoin and the whole discussion around it shows how big a need there is for innovation about what money is and how it is stored. "

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" If the hard Brexit happens, I would assume that London wouldn't be the centre of the tech world in Europe. "

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" Financial services have always been about trust. Perhaps the biggest barrier to entry has been getting new customers to trust an unknown brand or service, and that's particularly true with digital disruptors who lack a physical presence on the local high street. "

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" Historically, people have flocked to Silicon Valley because of the belief that that's where the latest innovation is happening. It's a snowball effect. "

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" At TransferWise, we started out as - and continue as - idealists. We start with what we can do to make things better and how we can solve problems, focusing on what people need. It turns out you can focus on building the best service and be successful as business. "

Taavet Hinrikus