Unicorn Podcast Airwallex Co-Founder: From Coffee Shop To 5.5 $BILLION - Max Li
Max Li is Co-founder and Head of Design of Airwallex , where he provides the creative vision for the business, and is responsible for developing and managing Airwallex’s product design initiatives. Leading a global team, Max drives the implementation for designing functional and human-centric products that enable quality user experience in every market where Airwallex operates.
Previously, Max was a professional architectural designer with extensive experience in architecture, product design and user experience. Max also ran a coffee business prior to founding Airwallex, making his entrepreneurial experience so far both diverse and unique.
In this episode, Simon and Max discuss his biggest lessons in building a unicorn company, how self-belief plays a huge part in success, and the future of business + technology.
5 books that Max recommends:
For an excellent cover all guidebook to building products: Build, by Tony Fadell
For emotional baseline: The subtle art of not giving a fuck, by Mark Manson
For perspective: 21 lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Harari
Books with behind-the-scene, detailed processes for different industries are always good reads, recently: Secret Life Of Groceries, by Benjamin Lorr
If language (especially writing) is not your forte: On Writing Well, by William Zinsser
Topics
- 0:00 - Intro
- 1:25 - How Airwallex was born
- 6:33 - Raising money
- 7:46 - Transitioning from a cafe to Airwallex
- 8:40 - Staying focused
- 12:41 - Max’s Family Background
- 14:23 - Working with co-founders
- 18:10 - Changing roles
- 19:40 - Self belief
- 21:00 - Biggest lessons on reflection
- 23:10 - Imposter syndrome
- 25:05 - What motivates you
- 26:51 - The future
- 30:51 - Regulation challenges
- 32:35 - Max’s thoughts on the Metaverse
- 35:03 - Approaching competition
- 37:24 - Luck
- 39:36 - Startup culture
- 44:52 - Advice for your younger self
- 47:20 - Do you have any regrets
- 50:31 - Outro
Max Li:
StartmeupHK:
https://www.startmeup.hk/startmeuphk-festival-2022/
HKBN / HKBN Enterprise Solutions: