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1. For Estonia, joining Europe meant our potential as a country increased — not decreased — because of that connectedness.
2. Companies that are natively technology-focused I would trust more than a bank.
3. 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.
4. Climate change, migration… they transcend national borders and require an international response.
5. As consumers in general, and with Millennials in particular, we’re getting used to everything being cheaper, faster, better — and banks aren’t keeping up.
6. Competition and variety in financial services are always good things.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. I was pretty vocal about being anti-Brexit before the referendum vote.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. In 2011, when we launched TransferWise, it was our frustration with banks not giving us what we wanted or needed as customers. The motivation was a strong desire to solve a problem and not just fix something that was broken but create a better alternative and a new system for doing things.
14. If you think about the influence it has had, it’s incredible. Think of all the relationships that have been saved because of Skype.
15. I get a kick out of helping the next generation of founders.
16. 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.
17. Changing behaviour is a very slow process.
18. Most of my time at Skype was spent doing new things.
19. 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.
20. 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.