Riding Unicorns

Building Europe’s Investment Rails with Martin Kassing, Founder & CEO @ Upvest

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Episode notes

This week on Riding Unicorns, we're joined by Martin Kassing, founder and CEO of Upvest, one of Europe’s fastest-growing fintech infrastructure companies.

Martin’s journey spans private equity, Rocket Internet, multiple startups, and now leading a company that powers investment products for the likes of Revolut and N26. In this wide-ranging conversation, we explore what it really takes to build an enduring infrastructure company in Europe.

🎧 Topics covered include:

• The founding journey of Upvest and its pivot from blockchain to API investment infrastructure
• Lessons from being a repeat founder (including early failures and a Klarna acquisition)
• Building a high-performance team and the hiring strategies that work
• The challenges of finding product-market fit in fintech
• Fundraising insights: raising from Bessemer, lessons from Series A and B
• How Martin keeps himself motivated and structured as a high-pressure founder
• Why he still does outbound hiring personally on LinkedIn
• His view on IPOs, partnerships, and what comes next for Upvest

Martin shares candid reflections, hard-earned wisdom, and a rare glimpse into the emotional rollercoaster of building something meaningful. A must-listen for fintech founders, investors, and operators.