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: 

https://www.airwallex.com/uk

StartmeupHK: 

https://www.startmeup.hk/startmeuphk-festival-2022/

HKBN / HKBN Enterprise Solutions:

www.hkbn.net / www.hkbnes.net