Thread by @babushka99

I happened to get started in payments & banking, because the technology company that I had founded, went bankrupt. Totally broke. For many years I told people, I decided to move on. That's not the truth. We were as broke as fuck by 2008. By 2010 it was time to packup.

By the time I turned 40 in 2010 (yes, do the math as to how old I am today), I was looking for a place to start anew in. One colleague in @StateBank_Pak gave me the challenge to find an ACH processor (in the US) that would process remittances for #Pakistan.

How hard could that be? Well, it was fucking hard. Every time someone heard the word "Pakistan" the phone went dead, the email communication ceased or I was bluntly told, PK is not a territory they can work with. Fuck that I said. I keep on trying.

I have a little black Moleskine book that shows the 127 (yes, 127 companies that rejected me), until I found company # 128 who was very happy to work with us, despite me trying to make sure he heard the word Pakistan, again and again. He did, and we decided to do business.

Sadly, the bank I was working within PK, got acquired and the whole project fell apart. But I do owe a big thanks to this unnamed colleague(s) in @StateBank_Pak who got me started.

Intrigued by cross-border payments, and US domestic ACH processing, but still not there yet until I came across @bpmilne's O-Reilly's conference where he gave a presentation: @dwolla : Ubiquity by Design.

If you haven't watched it - this was given wayyyyy back in 2012. Here is the link to the talk that @bpmilne gave. He simply kicked ass. I was overjoyed 10,000 miles away and clapping my hands. Here is the link:

Then I read up on @dwolla - Des Moines, Iowa. The only other time I heard about Des Moines, was in the movie "Terms of Endearment" (if you haven't watched it - you're missing out), here is the IMDB Link: imdb.com/title/tt008642… Award-winning cast but no Ben Milne :)

One part of the talk Ben (@bpmilne) CEO of @Dwolla gave, just struck a chord... this... 👇🏽

Remember this is 2012. Even today, you cannot do what he said. In the video you can see him making this comment at:

As if that wasn't enough for me to get hooked, a couple of years later, this article came out: inc.com/30under30/eric… --- read it. This is what addressing a problem is all about. A decade has past and the baton has now been passed to Brady Harris @dwollabrady the new CEO

and then, the bombshell was this problem I was thinking (which came into my mind circa 2014/2015), about real-time payments, micro-payments and cross-border payments, all-in-one, just did not exist. But guess who wrote a comparable article that aired the problem matter more?

You guessed it - @bpmilne - the article is a fantastic read: benmilne.com/2015/06/07/gen…
#money #payments #ach #usdollar @dwolla

and that Ladies and Gentlemen, is how someone far away in the other corner of the world, got me into payments. Imagine my surprise when after a few years he reached out to me and we eventually met.

There are a LOT of good people out there who are *EXTREMELY* passionate about #banking and #payments and not about building the next $10 Billion company to exit. Take your cues from them. Learn from them. Get mentored by them.

There is no denying that Ben Milne (@bpmilne) who is younger than me, I learn so much from him. All. The. Time. Period. So if you're looking at getting started in #Banking or #Payments, have a read of the @dwolla blog.

And you must regularly read Ben's blog which is at benmilne.com

This tweet is NOT sponsored by @bpmilne nor @dwolla. I might be doing this for a coffee and an interesting conversation with them and @dwollabrady.
Okay, maybe a sticker :)

Why did I write this? It is always a good reminder to acknowledge those who had a hand in uplifting you or providing you with inspiration. Or both.

h/t @bpmilne #respect