39 Taavet Hinrikus Quotes for You to Enjoy

Taavet Hinrikus

Estonian

Born: 1981

Business People Technology Think World You

Related authors: Bikram Choudhury Jocko Willink Louis Zamperini Mahavira Michael McDonald Thomas Frey Tony Evans

I spent my workdays at Skype creating a more connected world. We were shrinking the distances between people, making it easier to connect across countries. Then I'd go to my bank to transfer my euros to pounds, and it was like going back in time 50 years: expensive, inconvenient, and painfully slow. It was a nightmare. Taavet Hinrikus

Time People World Slow Back Distances Spent Easier More Pounds Between Countries Like Making Go Were Years Going Bank Expensive Transfer Then Creating Across Painfully Connect Connected Skype Shrinking Inconvenient Nightmare

There are so many instances in banking where 'free' simply doesn't mean free, whether it's opaque overdraft charges or credit card providers that are quietly raising interest rates without customers noticing. Taavet Hinrikus

Competition and variety in financial services are always good things. Taavet Hinrikus

Good Good Things Competition Financial Financial Services Variety Always Things Services

There's one thing a CEO should always keep at the front of their mind, and that's customer needs. Taavet Hinrikus

Needs Mind One Thing Always Front Customer CEO Should Keep Thing

There are lots of people building the next TransferWise, not in a sense of competing with us but in a sense of building large, successful companies that are doing something important. I just enjoy helping these founders navigate the journey. Taavet Hinrikus

Journey People Important Building Sense Enjoy Something Doing Lots Just Us Successful Next Companies Large Navigate Helping Founders Competing

Maybe I think too highly of myself, but I think maybe sometimes I can give some good advice - sometimes bad advice, I'm sure - and I think that's a way of giving back. Taavet Hinrikus

Myself Good Sometimes Giving Advice Think Too Back Way Bad Some Give Giving Back Highly Sure Maybe Good Advice

The fact that Skype was founded in Estonia, the fact that Skype had a successful exit, which meant that Estonia benefited in a major way, meant that entrepreneurship became legitimate. There were more than a thousand people who either worked or had worked at Skype who had seen what it takes to build a global business. Taavet Hinrikus

Business People Seen Build Way Thousand More Fact Entrepreneurship Had Takes Major Global Became Were Exit Than Legitimate Either Which Estonia Worked Successful Meant Who Skype Founded

Being a 'global citizen' is not something reserved for the global elite anymore. Thanks to the democratising power of technology, it's not a trend determined by privilege or even age but by attitude. Taavet Hinrikus

Attitude Technology Age Trend Citizen Power Thanks Determined Something Global Privilege Being Anymore Even Reserved Elite

People need the financial sector to be safe; people also need the financial sector to go through a massive phase of innovation. That means delivering on the positive rhetoric, like around settlement accounts, not allowing Open Banking to be diluted, and leading the way on AML. Taavet Hinrikus

Positive Innovation People Financial Settlement Way Diluted Sector Through Open Delivering Allowing Leading Like Safe Massive Also Around Go Accounts Banking Rhetoric Means Phase Need

The world is getting smaller thanks to technology. Taavet Hinrikus

Technology World Thanks Smaller Getting

Most of my time at Skype was spent doing new things. Taavet Hinrikus

Time New Things Spent My Time New Most Doing Skype Things

The financial crisis of 2008 created a seismic shift in the dynamics of trust in financial services. FinTech would have happened without the global financial crisis - but it would have taken much longer. Taavet Hinrikus

Trust Financial Financial Crisis Crisis Financial Services Would Taken Longer Global Without Shift Happened Dynamics Much Created Services

There's always been a lot of interest in the tech community about how to foster innovation and creativity - both within a company but also in the ecosystem of a tech cluster. In both cases, creating opportunities for people who don't encounter each other normally to meet and talk is key. Taavet Hinrikus

Creativity Innovation People Key Opportunities Community Other Meet About Cases Both Ecosystem Talk Also Within Always How Been Encounter Lot Normally Interest Cluster Creating Who Company Foster Each Tech

No amount of PR works if you've got a bad product. Taavet Hinrikus

You Bad Got Product Works Amount

The attitude to failure is one of the characteristics that's often called out as the difference between the U.S. and Europe. And we do need to be less risk-averse, more embracing of failure. Having failed makes you look bad in Europe. But in the U.S., it makes you look experienced. Taavet Hinrikus

Attitude Failure You Characteristics Out Bad Embracing Having More Failed Between Look Makes Often Difference Experienced Less Europe Need

Scaling a business at speed can feel like an out of control roller-coaster. Taavet Hinrikus

Business Control Speed Scaling Out Feel Like

I was in my early 20s when Estonia joined the E.U. For a kid who'd grown up in the Soviet Union, it seemed like my country had come of age. For a country that had been isolated and cut off from the rest of the world, it seemed like we were becoming part of the global community. It opened a whole new world of possibility. Taavet Hinrikus

Age World Rest Country Community Kid Possibility Seemed Joined Had Part Opened New Come Like Global Becoming Isolated Were Been Off Up Soviet Soviet Union New World Estonia Cut Union Whole Whole New World Grown Grown-Up Early Early 20s

For Estonia, joining Europe meant our potential as a country increased - not decreased - because of that connectedness. Taavet Hinrikus

Country Increased Our Potential Joining Because Estonia Meant Europe

The technology is not an end in itself: it is a tool. It can make it easier for us to communicate or manage our finances. It can help us take care of our health or help policemen in their work. It can create jobs and boost growth. It can enhance transparency and accessibility to services. Taavet Hinrikus

Work Health Technology Communicate Care Tool Our Finances Easier Boost Jobs Take Take Care Policemen Make Accessibility End Itself Manage Us Create Transparency Help Enhance Growth Services

The world is becoming more global. More than ever, people are proactively deciding where to live, where to study, where to work. Sometimes it's out of necessity, sometimes it's out of choice. Taavet Hinrikus

Work People World Sometimes Live Out More Study Global Becoming Than Where Deciding Choice Ever Necessity

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