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" Sometimes, companies are better placed than politicians and governments to make change happen. That doesn't mean that they should not be held to account and follow international rules. But with the right motivation, they can be the force for change. "

Taavet Hinrikus

Rules

Better

Change

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

" To be a global business, you need access to the best talent from around the world - fix this, everything else falls into place. Whether it's homegrown or imported, we don't mind where it comes from - we just want the best. "

" 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. "

" Costs should always be presented up front so that consumers can make informed choices and get a fairer deal. "

Taavet Hinrikus

Costs

Choices

" 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. "

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

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

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

" 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. "

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

" 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. "

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

" Changing behaviour is a very slow process. "

" 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. "

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

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

" Building a business is a marathon, not a sprint. I don't believe it when people tell me they've been working 80-hour weeks for five years in a row. I just don't think that's possible. "

Taavet Hinrikus

Marathon

People

" 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. "

" The technology is not an end in itself: it is a tool. It can make it easier for us to communicate or manage our finances. It can help us take care of our health or help policemen in their work. It can create jobs and boost growth. It can enhance transparency and accessibility to services. "

" We're living in a world where international governance is failing to overcome borders, but technology is succeeding in removing them. "

" Securing and attracting the best talent is an obsession in the tech industry for good reason. It's your main asset; it's your edge. "

" 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. "

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

" 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. "

" 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. "

" The world is becoming more global. More than ever, people are proactively deciding where to live, where to study, where to work. Sometimes it's out of necessity, sometimes it's out of choice. "

" I think that if Britain does decide to leave the E.U., that would be a disaster for the technology sector here and probably also for the broader economy. "

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

Taavet Hinrikus

Pay

Only

" 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. "

" I did an MBA because when I left Skype, I didn't have a clear idea of whether I wanted to create or join a company. But you don't need an MBA to become an entrepreneur. "