Interview with TransferWise's Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Kaarmann - Business Insider

TransferWiseThe TransferWise team by Old Street roundabout.

TransferWise became London's highest profile startup in January after it was reportedly valued at $1 billion (£650 million) in a funding round led by Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.

The $58 million (£37.8 million) investment made the peer-to-peer international money transfer startup one of London's few "unicorns." It also meant TransferWise became one of only a handful of tech companies in the capital to have attracted serious investment from Silicon Valley.

Business Insider caught up with the company's co-founders, Estonian expats Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Käärmann, to hear about how things have changed since the mammoth funding round.

What we found is a business with ambitions to become the Google or Facebook of financial services — a global tech giant in the world of banking. To get there, TransferWise is using the kind of loss-leading, venture capital-fueled growth strategy perfected by Uber.

Detractors say this high-stakes bet on continued free and easy funding to reach "scale" is a risky gamble. The business is not profitable, appears to generate little revenue, and spends a lot on marketing.

But TransferWise, its investors, and others in the industry believe the bet will pay off — and make the 4-year-old startup one of Europe's few truly global tech success stories.

via uk.businessinsider.com