Rain Sepp is the Founder and CEO of askRobin - a financial education and inclusion platform operating in Mexico and other LatAm countries. Rain is a serial entrepreneur and a seasoned consumer finance expert. After building a customer base of more than 2 million users for askRobin and raising more than 1.5mEUR, Rain recently announced the winding down of the company.In this episode we talk about the story of askRobin, building a sizeable customer base in Mexico and the risks of doing business in emerging markets. We also go in depth into the decision to shut down the business, how to make that decision, how to deal with investors and other stakeholders. Finally, we talk about some of the less known realities of being a CEO/Founder.The topics covered in this episode with Timestamps[03:00] - INTRODUCTION AND THE ORIGINS OF ASKROBINStarting a business in finance with no background in financeGoing to radically different LatAm marketsThe initial business model and first traction[07:05] - CUSTOMER ACQUISITION AND OPPORTUNITIES IN LATAM MARKETSHuge markets and huge demand for financial servicesMatching demand with ability to serveOnline vs. offlineWeb vs. mobileUnderserved markets in many waysOpen culture[13:25] - THE RISKS OF DOING BUSINESS IN LATAM MARKETSCapital controlsPhysical securityLanguage and cultural barriers[17:05] - THE DECISION TO CLOSE DOWN ASK ROBINThe Pandemic effectDrifting away from the missionMission vs. excelPurpose - market fit[32:30] - HOW TO DEAL WITH HAVING TO SHUT DOWN YOUR COMPANYHave a planFocus on things you can affectTake ownershipBe honest with yourselfBe transparent with your investors from the beginningBeing a CEO is a lonely job[36:50] - WHAT PEOPLE DO NOT REALIZE ABOUT BEING A CEO/FOUNDERPlans vs. realityGetting beaten upNot forgetting to celebrate small successesNot having answersEntrepreneurship as a drugTo reach out to Rain use: LinkedinTwitter: @rainseppFind out more on https://www.pursuitofscrappiness.co/ Support for this episode comes from Nexpay > https://paynexpay.com/Support for this episode comes from Venetor > https://www.venetor.co/ ===See the video content exclusively on Linkedin > https://www.linkedin.com/company/pursuit-of-scrappiness/ Questions/suggestions? Join our Telegram group > https://t.me/pursuitofscrappiness The full interview with Rain is available NOW on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts Questions/suggestions? Join our Telegram group > https://t.me/pursuitofscrappiness The full interview with Rain is available NOW on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts Support the show

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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