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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. "

Taavet Hinrikus

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

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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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" The fact that Skype was founded in Estonia, the fact that Skype had a successful exit, which meant that Estonia benefited in a major way, meant that entrepreneurship became legitimate. There were more than a thousand people who either worked or had worked at Skype who had seen what it takes to build a global business. "

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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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" Bitcoin, I think we can say, is dead. "

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" There's most definitely a Davos bubble. You're in a small Alpine town that, for just four days in January, sees its population tripled with world leaders, CEOs, media, police, the army... and a whole bunch of people who aren't invited but just come to hang out. "

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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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" Without immigration, nations would stagnate. It is key for innovation and for economic growth. "

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

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" I spent my workdays at Skype creating a more connected world. We were shrinking the distances between people, making it easier to connect across countries. Then I'd go to my bank to transfer my euros to pounds, and it was like going back in time 50 years: expensive, inconvenient, and painfully slow. It was a nightmare. "

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" I was in my early 20s when Estonia joined the E.U. For a kid who'd grown up in the Soviet Union, it seemed like my country had come of age. For a country that had been isolated and cut off from the rest of the world, it seemed like we were becoming part of the global community. It opened a whole new world of possibility. "

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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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" Large incumbents become big and sometimes become lazy and set themselves up for failure in the future. "

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" Changing behaviour is a very slow process. "

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" There are so many instances in banking where 'free' simply doesn't mean free, whether it's opaque overdraft charges or credit card providers that are quietly raising interest rates without customers noticing. "

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" Talent is a complex subject: from the education our kids get in kindergarten and beyond to the re-skilling of some parts of the workforce; from the opportunities available for research to how we attract the best people to work in our companies. "

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" Most banks tell their customers that they only pay a small upfront fee for international payments. But in reality, customers pay much more. "

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" Traditional consumer finance has been unfair for decades. Banks have had a monopoly on financial services and have been able to overcharge and underserve consumers. "

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

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

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

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

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

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" If you think about the influence it has had, it's incredible. Think of all the relationships that have been saved because of Skype. "

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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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" No amount of PR works if you've got a bad product. "

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

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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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