"Most people don't get into entrepreneurship because they are passionate about accounting" — says Alex Wheldon, co-founder of Rho Banking, a New York-based technology company that raised 350 million dollars to disrupt the business banking sector in the United States.
Still, it goes without saying that even if you have the best possible product out there, your company has to be good at managing money. Otherwise, you might go down faster than you think. That is the exact reason why Rho Banking was founded by Alex and his co-founder Everett Cook, who grew it into one of the most well-respected fintech scaleups, which is now valued at almost half a billion dollars.
We caught up with Alex during his recent visit to Belgrade, Serbia, where IBB and Mia Biberovic had the opportunity to talk about his beginnings in music production and advertising to becoming a serial entrepreneur with a knack for innovation in the regulated industries.
"I truly believe in challenging conventional solutions and seeing the potential to solve fundamental financial management problems for businesses", said Alex who revealed that he wasn't initially interested in finances, but he learned through experience that managing cash flow and maintaining financial discipline are crucial to sustaining and growing a business.
"Rho, in a way, reflects this philosophy by aiming to simplify and enhance financial operations for businesses".
Our guest explained why Rho is not a bank, but is offering banking services and partnering with banks that are more inclined to offer traditional services such as lending and are not focused on the technology part. That is exactly the gap that Rho is filling in, with Alex explaining how their products are helping various businesses across different industries manage money more effectively — from early startups to well-established companies.
Despite his background in advertising, Alex uncovers why Rho is deeply focused on referrals for customer acquisition and not ads. He firmly believes that this approach allows Rho to maintain a close connection with customer needs and refine the product based on feedback. He also reveals how the company fundraised all the way to Series B and how his experience from the dot-com boom helped him deliver a greater value to investors.
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Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
00:42 - What is the episode about?
01:54 - Not a bank, but...
03:15 - Musician with a knack for advertising
05:39 - Don't be foolish with your (company's) money
07:34 - The rule of First Principles
09:13 - Who are Rho's customers?
12:00 - Starting a business
14:05 - Working with competitors
19:14 - Truth behind funding
23:35 - Disrupting regulated industries
25:44 - Culture of risk evaluation
30:03 - Does the product change with scale?
34:08 - Looking for talent outside US
37:47 - Building out the culture of entrepreneurship
39:37 - The future of Alex in Rho
