Jack Zhang co-founded Airwallex in 2015 after struggling with high cross-border payment fees at his Melbourne coffee shop. He is known for building a multi-billion dollar financial platform that replaces traditional correspondent banking with a faster, software-driven network. This profile collects his most useful advice on scaling a startup, learning from early hiring mistakes, and navigating the unglamorous reality of building global infrastructure.

Visual summary of operating lessons from Jack Zhang.

Part 1: The Origin Story and Vision

  1. On Spotting the Problem: "The idea for Airwallex came from the high fees and slow processing times we faced when importing coffee beans for our café." — Source: Airwallex
  2. On Moving Beyond Middlemen: "We wanted to go beyond being a middleman and build the underlying global financial infrastructure." — Source: Wikipedia
  3. On the True Pain of Cross-Border Trade: "Small businesses are unfairly penalized by the traditional correspondent banking system when trying to operate internationally." — Source: Airwallex
  4. On Building a Financial OS: "We describe Airwallex as a financial operating system that is real-time, borderless, and intelligent." — Source: The Finanser
  5. On First-Hand Frustration: "Operating a coffee shop in Melbourne exposed the massive inefficiencies of cross-border payments, directly inspiring our core mission." — Source: Business Insider
  6. On Global Ambition: "The vision from day one was to simplify global financial operations for businesses of all sizes, from SMBs to large enterprises." — Source: Capterra
  7. On rebuilding cross-border infrastructure: In Founders in Arms, Zhang described the original pain concretely: coffee-bean and packaging payments were slow, expensive, and operationally painful, which is why Airwallex set out to build modern infrastructure to fix cross-border payments rather than just smooth over a small workflow annoyance. — Reference: Founders in Arms interview with Jack Zhang
  8. On Empowering Businesses: "Our role is to empower businesses to grow beyond borders without being constrained by outdated financial systems." — Source: Wharton FinTech
  9. On Real-Time Capabilities: "A modern financial network must operate in real-time, matching the speed at which modern commerce actually happens." — Source: Airwallex
  10. On Evolving the Mission: "Our mission expanded from solving our own café's payment issues to completely replacing the legacy correspondent banking model." — Source: The Jay Kim Show

Part 2: Hiring and Building Culture

  1. On Prioritizing Mindset: "We shifted our hiring criteria to prioritize curiosity, decisiveness, and resilience over deep industry experience." — Source: Note.com
  2. On the Danger of Rigid Experience: "Hiring people purely for their banking background often backfired because they struggled to adapt to the speed of a startup." — Source: Business Insider
  3. On Building a Builder Culture: "We look for a builder mindset, specifically people who are customer-obsessed and want to move with speed." — Source: Built In
  4. On Technical Depth: "Leaders at a technology company need to go wide and go deep; they should be able to act as individual contributors when necessary." — Source: Substack
  5. On Early Recruiting Mistakes: "I spent too much time doing manual recruiting myself in the early days; I should have hired professional help sooner." — Source: Business Insider
  6. On Cultural Alignment: "It's essential that team members are deeply aligned with the company's mission, rather than simply looking for a job." — Source: That Was The Week
  7. On Empowering Employees: "Our goal is to create an environment where employees are inspired to do the most impactful work of their careers." — Source: Airwallex
  8. On prioritizing curiosity and grit: Business Insider quoted Zhang saying Airwallex should have hired curious, determined, optimistic people from the start instead of overweighting pedigree, supporting a sharper lesson that startup hiring should favor mindset and resilience over resumé prestige. — Reference: Business Insider interview with Jack Zhang
  9. On Adapting to Startups: "People who only know how things have always been done often struggle when tasked with building something completely new." — Source: Business Insider
  10. On the Importance of Culture: "Not investing in company culture early enough led to friction and required us to actively rectify our team dynamics later on." — Source: Business Insider

Part 3: Overcoming Early Mistakes

  1. On Rushing Expansion: "Expanding into international markets too quickly before achieving true product-market fit was a significant, unnecessary risk." — Source: Business Insider
  2. On Outsourcing Non-Core Tasks: "Founders need to outsource administrative tasks early to keep their focus entirely on the mission." — Source: Business Insider
  3. On Product Failures: "Our first two products failed, but those failures were essential to learning and pivoting toward the current model." — Source: Unimelb
  4. On Misjudging Talent: "We initially over-indexed on seniority, which taught us that a senior title does not guarantee startup success." — Source: Business Insider
  5. On Handling the Pandemic: "Losing half our revenue overnight during the pandemic forced us to re-evaluate and strengthen our business model." — Source: Grit Podcast
  6. On Acknowledging Missteps: "I freely admit that we made mistakes in our early culture, which required active effort to fix as we scaled." — Source: Business Insider
  7. On the Value of Luck: "While we got lucky with our early international expansion, luck is not a strategy you can rely on for long-term growth." — Source: Business Insider
  8. On Focusing Energy: "Spending too much time on manual tasks instead of strategy is a trap many early-stage founders fall into." — Source: Business Insider
  9. On Learning from Rejection: "Being rejected by many VCs initially taught us how to better articulate our vision and strengthen our resilience." — Source: 20VC Podcast

Part 4: Resilience and the Entrepreneurial Mindset

  1. On the long slog of infrastructure: Tatler's interview with Zhang makes the same point in plainer terms: Airwallex was built to replace slow, expensive wire and SWIFT-era payment rails, which is a hard infrastructure problem that compounds over years rather than something you solve with a quick product flourish. — Reference: Tatler Asia interview with Jack Zhang
  2. On Embracing the Process: "It's not about crossing the finish line, but about showing up day after day, even when things get tough." — Source: Airwallex
  3. On Wealth and Time: "Wealth is fluid, but time is not, which is why you should spend time building an enduring company." — Source: Smartkarma
  4. On Core Values: "My core values can be summarized simply: never settle, work hard, and be optimistic." — Source: Airwallex
  5. On Reframing Feedback: "Seeing feedback as the path to improvement, rather than criticism, is a small shift in perspective that sparks big changes." — Source: Airwallex
  6. On doubling down on the mission: In the BigGo interview, Zhang called the decision to reject a major acquisition offer a life decision and said the team doubled down because the mission was not finished, supporting a grounded lesson that founder judgment matters most at inflection points where a big check could end the real work too early. — Reference: BigGo interview with Jack Zhang
  7. On Long-Term Commitment: "Building a meaningful company means enjoying the day-to-day work, rather than focusing entirely on the end goal or exit." — Source: Airwallex
  8. On Letting Go of Limits: "Growth happens when we let go of limiting beliefs and fully embrace the unknown." — Source: Airwallex
  9. On Navigating Crises: "Moments where the company was on the brink of failure ultimately forged the grit required to build a multi-billion dollar business." — Source: Grit Podcast

Part 5: Leadership and Management

  1. On Operating Principles: "Codifying our 12 operating principles provided the clarity needed to ensure consistent decision-making as we scaled globally." — Source: Airwallex
  2. On Transparent Leadership: "Initiatives like ask me anything sessions and transparent town halls are essential for maintaining employee engagement." — Source: Airwallex
  3. On Leading by Example: "Leaders must be willing to dive into the details and understand the foundational technology of their products." — Source: Substack
  4. On Customer Obsession: "A true builder culture must be completely customer-obsessed, prioritizing solutions that genuinely help clients." — Source: Built In
  5. On Decision Speed: "Moving with speed is a competitive advantage, and our principles are designed to empower fast, decisive action." — Source: Airwallex
  6. On Continuous Improvement: "We encourage an environment where continuous improvement is the norm, and past mistakes are openly discussed as learning opportunities." — Source: Airwallex
  7. On Mission-Driven Focus: "Transparent, mission-driven leadership ensures that every team member understands how their work contributes to the broader vision." — Source: That Was The Week
  8. On Rejecting Early Exits: "Turning down a $1.2 billion acquisition offer was a statement of belief in our ability to build an enduring, independent brand." — Source: Smartkarma
  9. On Adapting as a CEO: "The role of the CEO changes dramatically at every stage of growth, requiring constant personal reinvention." — Source: 20VC Podcast

Part 6: Building Global Financial Infrastructure

  1. On regulatory complexity as core work: Airwallex's 2025 funding announcement says the company built its network from the ground up with direct integrations into local clearing systems and one of the most comprehensive licensing portfolios in fintech, supporting a stronger lesson that regulation and local market infrastructure are core operating work, not cleanup work after expansion. — Reference: Airwallex funding announcement
  2. On Direct Licensing: "Maintaining direct oversight and obtaining licenses in multiple jurisdictions ensures our infrastructure remains resilient." — Source: Airwallex
  3. On Platform Consolidation: "Consolidating multi-currency accounts, FX transfers, and corporate cards into a single system dramatically simplifies operations for businesses." — Source: Airwallex
  4. On Bypassing Traditional Banking: "Our network is designed to bypass the traditional correspondent banking system, which is fundamentally unsuited for modern global trade." — Source: Airwallex
  5. On Scale and Volume: "Processing hundreds of billions of dollars requires infrastructure to be exceptionally fast and inherently fault-tolerant." — Source: Airwallex
  6. On AI in Finance: "Integrating AI into our systems helps automate compliance and routing, making the entire financial operating system more intelligent." — Source: Airwallex
  7. On Empowering Startups: "We want to give a new startup on day one the same global financial capabilities as a multinational corporation." — Source: Airwallex
  8. On Cross-Border Inefficiencies: "The high costs of FX and cross-border transfers act as a tax on innovation, which we are determined to eliminate." — Source: The Finanser
  9. On Localizing the Global: "True global infrastructure must feel entirely local to the end user, regardless of where they are transacting." — Source: Fintech Leaders
  10. On Building for the Future: "We are laying the tracks for the next decade of digital commerce while also solving today's immediate payment problems." — Source: Wharton FinTech

Part 7: Product Strategy and Customer Focus

  1. On Product Superiority: "At the end of the day, we always believe in the principle that the best product wins in a fair market." — Source: Scribd
  2. On Solving Client Problems: "Entrepreneurs must focus their energy on helping clients solve real problems, save time, and achieve tangible efficiency." — Source: Scribd
  3. On Iterative Development: "Our current platform is the result of constant iteration, moving past early failures to find exactly what the market needed." — Source: Unimelb
  4. On Unifying Financial Tools: "Businesses shouldn't have to use ten different fragmented tools to manage their global spending and revenue." — Source: Airwallex
  5. On Listening to Users: "Our most successful features were born directly from listening to the operational frustrations of our early customers." — Source: Fintech Leaders
  6. On Designing for Simplicity: "Financial software is traditionally clunky; our goal is to bring consumer-grade design to enterprise financial infrastructure." — Source: Airwallex
  7. On Transparent Pricing: "Hidden fees in FX and payments erode trust, which is why transparent pricing is a core part of our product strategy." — Source: The Jay Kim Show
  8. On Feature Expansion: "We expanded from just FX transfers to corporate cards and expense management because our customers asked us to solve their entire financial workflow." — Source: Airwallex
  9. On Reliable Performance: "When you are handling a company's money, reliability is the entire product, rather than a single feature." — Source: Airwallex

Part 8: Scaling, Competition, and Long-Term Vision

  1. On Fair Competition: "We welcome competition because it forces everyone to build better products, which ultimately benefits the end customer." — Source: Airwallex
  2. On Staying Independent: "Remaining an independent company allows us to aggressively pursue our long-term vision without compromising for short-term gains." — Source: Smartkarma
  3. On Global Expansion Readiness: "You should only aggressively expand internationally once your core product has undeniable traction and stability in its home market." — Source: Business Insider
  4. On Building a Enduring Brand: "We aren't building Airwallex for an exit; we are building it to be a permanent fixture in the global financial system." — Source: Substack
  5. On the Fintech Ecosystem: "Our goal is to move beyond being a participant in the fintech ecosystem and become the foundational layer others build upon." — Source: Airwallex
  6. On Competing with Giants: "Competing with giants like Stripe requires us to be more focused, more localized, and more deeply integrated into our customers' workflows." — Source: Founders in Arms
  7. On Sustainable Growth: "Scaling from $1 million to over $1 billion requires a relentless focus on unit economics and sustainable growth, rather than vanity metrics." — Source: 20VC Podcast
  8. On Melbourne Roots: "Choosing to remain based in Melbourne while building a global company proves that world-class tech can be built outside of Silicon Valley." — Source: Founders in Arms
  9. On the Future of E-commerce: "The future of global trade is entirely borderless, and the financial infrastructure must evolve to make that a seamless reality." — Source: Wharton FinTech