Startup vs. Upstart: My Entrepreneurial Journey in Fintech - Part 1

Startup vs. Upstart

The entrepreneurial world is filled with buzzwords, but few carry as much weight or nuance as “startup” and “upstart.” These terms are often used interchangeably, yet they represent distinct phases, mindsets, and approaches to building a business. Over the past 15 years, I’ve lived through both—first as a startup founder pioneering cloud-based payment infrastructure and now as an upstart leading a bold new venture, FTS.Money. In this blog, I’ll share my journey, unpack the differences between a startup and an upstart, and announce the exciting next chapter of my entrepreneurial story as we prepare to launch our innovative community platform.

This is a story of reinvention, resilience, and relentless hustle. It’s about learning hard lessons, adapting to a fast-moving market, and finding the courage to step out of your comfort zone—not once, but multiple times. Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, a seasoned founder, or simply curious about the fintech space, I hope my experiences offer valuable insights into what it takes to thrive in an ever-evolving industry.

 

The Startup Phase: A Bold Vision in Uncharted Territory

In 2009, I co-founded a fintech company in Hong Kong with a small team of colleagues and a big idea: to revolutionise the payments industry with cloud-based technology. At the time, “the cloud” was a catchphrase few truly understood, and unified payment systems were virtually nonexistent. Our startup introduced a white-label payment infrastructure that integrated retail point-of-sale (POS), e-commerce, mobile payments, and loyalty programs into a single, unified platform.

What set us apart was our all-inclusive approach to transactions. Traditional systems treated card-present, card-not-present, mobile, and loyalty transactions as separate processes, creating inefficiencies for merchants. Our platform processed them as one unified transaction, offering unparalleled flexibility and cost savings. We also moved payment switching to the cloud, enabling merchants—whether operating physical terminals or online stores—to define custom routing rules through a back-office interface. This was the precursor to payment orchestration, a concept that wouldn’t become mainstream for another decade.

Positioned as a payment acquirer, we believed our technology could disrupt a market dominated by global banks and entrenched payment giants. We were driven, ambitious, and fueled by the startup dream of changing the world. But reality hit hard. Competing in Hong Kong, a small but fiercely competitive market, was like David facing a dozen Goliaths. The major players had deeper pockets, broader networks, and established trust. Our platform was innovative—perhaps too innovative—but the market wasn’t ready, and our resources couldn’t sustain the fight.

Those early years were a whirlwind of long nights, high stakes, and constant uncertainty. I remember the exhilaration of landing our first big client, only to be followed by the gut punch of losing another to a competitor’s scale. As a startup founder, you live on the edge, balancing audacity with survival. We learned that innovation alone isn’t enough; you need timing, market fit, and the ability to pivot when the ground shifts beneath you.

The Pivot: Reinvention and Stability

By 2013, it was clear our acquirer model was unsustainable in Hong Kong. Rather than doubling down on a losing strategy, we made a difficult but necessary decision: to pivot. We withdrew from the acquirer space and repositioned ourselves as a payment infrastructure provider, offering white-label solutions to other payment companies. This wasn’t just a business model shift; it was a complete reinvention of who we were and how we operated.

The pivot was painful. It meant restructuring our team, rethinking our priorities, and letting go of the vision we’d poured our hearts into. I wrestled with self-doubt, wondering if we’d made the right call. But it was also liberating. By focusing on infrastructure, we identified a niche where our technological strengths could shine without the intense competition of the payment acquiring world. Our platform’s flexibility and innovation attracted major clients, including some of the biggest names in the payments industry, who relied on us for fully customisable solutions.

This marked our transition from a chaotic startup to a stable business. I stepped back from the startup limelight—no more interviews, no more industry exhibitions—and focused on the day-to-day work of running the company. My priorities became clear: managing operations, adding new features to stay competitive, and expanding our customer base. We were no longer the struggling underdog; we were building something sustainable.

Over the years, our business evolved organically. We expanded into regional Asian payment method aggregation, adding value to our core infrastructure offerings. About five years ago, we integrated crypto acceptance and functionality, enabling our payment company clients to offer these services to their merchants. Each step was a response to market demands, but looking back, I realise we were also slipping into complacency. Stability, while comforting, can dull the edge of innovation.

 

The Wake-Up Call: Shaking Off Complacency

Two years ago, my business partner and I had a candid conversation that changed everything. We took a hard look at our company and the fintech industry, and the truth was stark: we’d grown complacent. The payments landscape had transformed dramatically — new technologies like blockchain and AI, shifting consumer behaviours, and evolving regulations were reshaping the market at lightning speed. Meanwhile, we were coasting on past successes, adding features incrementally but failing to lead.

Complacency is a silent killer in fintech, where disruption is the norm. I felt a mix of frustration and excitement—a reminder of the startup fire we’d lost. We knew we had to innovate, not just to keep up but to reclaim our place at the forefront. I started exploring new ideas, focusing on a persistent pain point for our payment service provider (PSP) clients: the settlement lifecycle. Managing settlements—reconciling transactions, handling cross-border payments, and ensuring timely payouts—was a complex, costly, and error-prone process. I envisioned integrating IBAN accounts and advanced settlement functions into our platform, creating a seamless end-to-end solution.

This idea reignited our hustle. We were stepping out of our comfort zone, taking risks, and dreaming big again. But this time, we weren’t a startup. We had a proven platform, a loyal customer base, and deep industry expertise. We were something else—an upstart...

Stay tuned for Part 2, where I reveal the upstart hustle behind FTS.Money’s bold new vision and our game-changing global community launch!

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