Get QuoteDark Inspirational Quotes App

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

Taavet Hinrikus

Related Quotes:

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

Taavet Hinrikus

" 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. "

Taavet Hinrikus

" 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. "

Taavet Hinrikus

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

Taavet Hinrikus

" There are lots of people building the next TransferWise, not in a sense of competing with us but in a sense of building large, successful companies that are doing something important. I just enjoy helping these founders navigate the journey. "

Taavet Hinrikus

" Doing something that empowers people makes you realise how boring it would be to work for a place where the goal is just to make more money. It's much easier to get out of bed and look forward to 12 hours of work if you're making the world a better place. "

Taavet Hinrikus

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

Taavet Hinrikus

" 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. "

Taavet Hinrikus

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

Taavet Hinrikus

" 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. "

Taavet Hinrikus

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

Taavet Hinrikus

" There's always been a lot of interest in the tech community about how to foster innovation and creativity - both within a company but also in the ecosystem of a tech cluster. In both cases, creating opportunities for people who don't encounter each other normally to meet and talk is key. "

Taavet Hinrikus

" 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. "

Taavet Hinrikus

" 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. "

Taavet Hinrikus

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

Taavet Hinrikus

" People bought bitcoin because they thought it would be worth more tomorrow. And a lot of people got lucky. But we're not seeing real people use bitcoin. And we don't know what problem it solves. Now, blockchain, I think, is a genius advancement in technology. "

Taavet Hinrikus

" 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. "

Taavet Hinrikus

" 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

" 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. "

Taavet Hinrikus

" There's the risk of a serious case of FOMO at a place like Davos. "

Taavet Hinrikus

" If the U.K. leaves the E.U., we'll have to consider whether it makes business sense to stay headquartered here. "

Taavet Hinrikus

" A seed depends on a whole host of factors to grow - from the fertility of the soil to the right mix of rain and sun to not being eaten by a passing bird. The same goes for an idea. For an idea to really take hold, other factors come into play, from timing to the emerging technology that makes it possible. "

Taavet Hinrikus

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

Taavet Hinrikus

" 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. "

Taavet Hinrikus

" 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. "

Taavet Hinrikus

" 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. "

Taavet Hinrikus

" As technology progresses, I believe that fintech will fundamentally change finance. "

Taavet Hinrikus

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

Taavet Hinrikus

" 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. "

Taavet Hinrikus

" 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. "

Taavet Hinrikus