BUILDERS Patricia Montesi, CEO & Co-Founder of Qolo: $30 Million Raised to Build the Future of Omnichannel Payments Infrastructure
Patricia Montesi leads Qolo, a modern cloud-based financial payments platform that has raised $30 million to reimagine payment processing infrastructure. In this episode of Category Visionaries, Patricia shares insights from building a platform that combines card issuing, bank payments, and ledger capabilities to help both fintech companies and traditional banks modernize their payment systems without requiring complete infrastructure overhauls.
Topics Discussed:
- Building a unified platform that handles both traditional and modern payment methods
- Navigating the transition from "grow at all costs" to sustainable growth
- The journey to reaching $7 million ARR and targeting $10 million ARR
- Evolution of the bank-fintech partnership model
- Challenges of fundraising as a first-time founder
- Strategic pivot from product-led to balanced growth
GTM Lessons For B2B Founders:
- Solve the integration burden: Qolo succeeded by taking on the complex task of unifying different payment types that customers previously had to integrate themselves. Patricia explained, "That burden is actually shifted to the client...Qolo actually unifies it for them." B2B founders should look for opportunities where they can absorb complexity that customers are currently forced to handle themselves.
- Navigate market corrections strategically: During the fintech market correction, Patricia's team refocused on fundamentals: "Put the excitement aside...let's make sure we're all focused on verticals that we have a right to win in, that we have a fast path to monetize." B2B founders should be prepared to make hard decisions about resource allocation and organizational focus when market conditions shift.
- Balance product and go-to-market investment: Qolo initially focused heavily on product perfection at the expense of sales and marketing. Patricia admitted, "We are terrible at marketing and we're going to change that." B2B founders should ensure they don't over-index on product development while neglecting go-to-market capabilities.
- Leverage strategic customer wins: Qolo used their success with major banks to build credibility: "To the extent that you get a top 25 bank to sign an enterprise level agreement...we capitalize on that from a social media and marketing perspective." B2B founders should strategically amplify significant customer wins to build market momentum.
- Focus on sustainable unit economics: Rather than pursuing growth at all costs, Qolo prioritized efficiency and profitability. Patricia noted, "We're all sort of now thinking about profitability versus grow at all costs. I think that's a healthy thing." B2B founders should build their growth strategy around sustainable unit economics rather than pure top-line growth.
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