Construct with intentionality. Lead with authenticity. Prioritize clients over your ego. And give attention to the issue you’re fixing — with flexibility on the answer.
That’s a part of the playbook Matt Oppenheimer adopted as he helped develop a three-person Techstars Seattle startup into one of many world’s main remittance platforms.
After almost 15 years main Remitly as CEO, Oppenheimer introduced Wednesday that he’s stepping down as CEO and transferring to a board chair function. He’s passing the baton to Sebastian Gunningham, a longtime tech and finance chief who beforehand led Amazon’s market and funds companies.
“I really feel great, truthfully,” Oppenheimer advised GeekWire on Thursday. “One factor that has at all times pushed me from the second I began the enterprise 15 years in the past is affect and function and doing issues with a way of intentionality. And I really feel like that’s how we’ve achieved this succession planning.”
The Remitly story started greater than a decade in the past after Oppenheimer had simply returned from Kenya, the place he was working for Barclays and realized how exhausting it was for households to ship and obtain cash abroad.
He teamed up with co-founders Josh Hug and Shivaas Gulati, navigating an early pivot earlier than touchdown product-market match and elevating round $400 million. The corporate went public in 2021 at a valuation of almost $7 billion.
Remitly’s cellular expertise lets individuals ship and obtain cash throughout borders, eliminating lots of the kinds, codes, and in-person brokers historically related to worldwide transfers. It’s utilized by greater than 9 million individuals. The corporate reported income of $442.2 million in This fall, up 26% year-over-year, and had its first full 12 months of GAAP profitability in 2025.
We spoke to Oppenheimer about classes discovered from Remitly’s journey and his recommendation for entrepreneurs. Listed here are some key takeaways.
Fall in love with the issue, not your product
Oppenheimer remembers the frustration he noticed and felt watching households battle to ship cash throughout borders. That sparked the thought for Remitly. The important thing, he says, was locking onto that drawback — not anyone product concept. The hazard is when founders apply their grit within the incorrect place.
“In the event that they channel that perseverance within the incorrect space — the product or making an attempt to power one thing into existence that clients don’t care about — they fail,” he mentioned. “They run out of time, vitality, or cash.”
Get near clients
Within the early days, Remitly arrange a sales space at Southcenter Mall close to Seattle outdoors a legacy remittance location, full with scotch-taped signage.
Oppenheimer referenced a phrase from Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky: “discover advertising and marketing channels that don’t scale.” The purpose wasn’t development, however quite perception.
They discovered why clients weren’t utilizing Remitly. That suggestions drove an enormous pivot from cellular wallets to money pickup, financial institution deposit, and door-to-door supply.
“We needed to comply with clients,” Oppenheimer mentioned. He added: “If we’d have been cussed about solely doing cellular wallets — that’s what our pitch mentioned — then we’d have failed.”
Outline tradition as behaviors — and preserve rewriting it
Oppenheimer mentioned many firms cease at a brief checklist of imprecise values. “Tradition is how individuals in an organization or establishment work together to ship for his or her clients,” he mentioned.
Earlier than Remitly launched its product, the founding staff did an offsite to outline the tradition on a whiteboard. Early values like “relationships” have been well-intentioned however too broad. Remitly refreshed its values each six months and now each couple of years, evolving them into extra particular behaviors equivalent to “be a compassionate accomplice,” “lead authentically,” and “constructively direct.”
Buyer centricity sits on the prime as the one overarching worth. Oppenheimer mentioned the take a look at is whether or not values present up in concrete decision-making: “When you’ve obtained it outlined, [you embed it] into the interview course of and the efficiency assessment course of.”
Discover complementary co-founders
Oppenheimer mentioned Remitly wouldn’t exist with out his co-founders, pointing to Hug’s product abilities and Gulati’s engineering chops.
“It’s vital for all founders to encompass themselves with complementary abilities and respect these abilities deeply,” he mentioned.
Within the very early days, his personal contribution was usually clearing obstacles: cash transmission licenses, workplace leases, even taking out the trash. “My job was to assist them construct,” he mentioned. Oppenheimer confused the significance of shared values however completely different strengths.
Increase extra capital than you suppose you want
Remitly raised a whole lot of thousands and thousands of {dollars} on its solution to an IPO throughout a number of rounds. None have been simple.
“It requires getting numerous no’s,” Oppenheimer mentioned. “It requires that grit, tenacity and perseverance that’s crucial for any entrepreneur to achieve success.”
He suggested treating fundraising as a two-way dialog, not a one-sided pitch. “Traders can sniff desperation,” he mentioned. Make sure that buyers are asking the suitable questions, and take into consideration whether or not you need them in your board.
When the accomplice is true, Oppenheimer leans towards elevating a bit extra. “Issues at all times take a bit of bit longer than you think about,” he mentioned. For firms pursuing daring visions, “in case you’ve obtained the suitable accomplice, you’ll be able to elevate sufficient capital, then it’s well worth the dilution to have the ability to make progress in opposition to carrying out that imaginative and prescient.”
Deal with your personal development like a product, with critiques and roadmaps
As he centered extra on administration, Oppenheimer constructed a proper course of for his personal improvement as CEO, particularly as Remitly grew from a handful of individuals to greater than 3,000.
He began asking every new investor who joined Remitly’s board to run his efficiency assessment. “I’d such as you to speak to all different board members. I’d such as you to speak to my management staff,” he’d inform them. “After which I’d like your insights.”
He turned that enter right into a written improvement plan, shared it with the corporate, after which discovered coaches and mentors to assist him work on particular gaps. “It took numerous intentionality to develop as a frontrunner,” he mentioned.
That work continues in his new function as chairman. “After mission and function, my second greatest motivator for me personally is rising as a human,” he mentioned. “That’s what I’ve cherished in regards to the journey, and it continues on this subsequent function.”
Don’t underestimate the function of neighborhood
Seattle is a large a part of Remitly’s story. Techstars Seattle helped launch Remitly (again when it was referred to as Beamit Cellular); expertise from the area’s tech ecosystem helped scale it.
“The expertise we’ve been in a position to recruit from among the largest expertise firms has been foundational,” Oppenheimer mentioned. With fewer growth-stage firms within the metropolis than in another hubs, he believes Remitly may appeal to individuals trying to be part of a mission-driven startup with scale ambitions.
Final 12 months the corporate moved into a brand new headquarters in downtown Seattle. Oppenheimer mentioned he and Remitly stay dedicated to Seattle, noting that he needs to ensure “that’s the case for the following decade to return.”
