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Petr Kozyakov didn’t set out to build a crypto company. He set out to solve a problem. After struggling to make a simple cross-border payment, he realised the gap in how money moves, and turned that frustration into Mercuryo, a 300+ person fintech bridging crypto and traditional finance.

He talks candidly about building a culture that survives hypergrowth, learning where not to waste energy, and the habits that keep him grounded as both a founder and a father. This is the human side of fintech leadership, told by someone scaling at global level.

🔗 Find Petr on LinkedIn

Takeaways from Petr’s episode

1️⃣ Energy is better spent building

Petr learned that proving a point or winning an argument drains momentum. Direct that energy into collaboration and creation instead.

2️⃣ Culture can’t be compromised

Even in hypergrowth, Mercuryo cut loose “A-players” who didn’t fit the culture. Skills don’t outweigh behaviour, because misalignment poisons the team.

3️⃣ Growth requires constant adjustment

Every stage of Mercuryo demanded a shift in focus, from landing the first customer, to building new products, to hiring leaders and keeping hundreds of people aligned. What worked at 20 people no longer worked at 300.

4️⃣ Create their own experts

In crypto, there were no ready-made compliance veterans. Petr hired open-minded people from traditional finance and helped them grow into crypto specialists, turning a gap into an edge.

5️⃣ Founders need real recovery

For Petr, daily workouts, strict sleep routines, and quality time with family are non-negotiables. Burnout kills judgement, and no fintech playbook will save you from it.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 Introduction to Petr Kozyakov

02:34 The Transaction That Started A Business

04:17 Bridging Crypto and Fiat: Making Transactions Easy

07:16 The Evolution of Crypto: From Niche to Mainstream

09:36 Use Cases for Crypto: Beyond Just Investment

14:19 Building a Team: Culture and Hiring Principles

17:17 Scaling Challenges: Lessons from Growth

23:05 Navigating Compliance: The Regulatory Landscape

28:38 Control, Focus and Delegation

32:24 Systems to Manage Remote Teams

35:02 Finding Balance: Personal Sacrifices and Well-being

43:35 Advice for Future Founders: Learning from Experience

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