Vom Weltraum zur Mensch-Maschine-Interaktion:
I was born in Ukraine back when it was still the Soviet Union, but I grew up in Canada. I studied Computer Science and then worked for about four years on a project that would excite any space fan: my first job involved developing software for the International Space Station, specifically for the robotic arm on the ISS.
As a huge SciFi fan and space nerd, that was a dream start to my career! However, like many such large projects, we eventually moved from a “building mode” into a more maintenance-oriented phase, and I began wondering what I wanted to do next. While I’ve always been passionate about technology, I was also interested in broader topics beyond pure tech. So, I decided to go to the U.S. to pursue a master’s degree in Human-Computer Interaction—a program that combined technology, design, psychology, and some business elements.
Wie ein Uni-Kurs das Gründer-Feuer entfachte
I took a course called “Entrepreneurship for Computer Scientists”—essentially a beginner’s guide for people who can code but know little about launching a business. It was taught by two former entrepreneurs with real-life startup experience, and hearing them discuss their journeys really sparked my interest in entrepreneurship. The element of adventure, of thriving as a generalist across multiple disciplines, of creating something entirely new all excited me and spoke to who i felt I was – or at least I wanted to be.
After that course ended, my friend (who later became my co-founder) and I already had the “entrepreneurial bug.” When our master’s program took us to Portugal for a year-long capstone research project, we looked for ways to spin that passion into something real. The project had a corporate sponsor—a banking software provider for Portuguese banks and for Portuguese-speaking emerging markets like Mozambique, Angola, and Cape Verde. Our research team’s task was very open-ended: “What could we build for emerging markets, where internet penetration is only about 10%, and smartphones are still rare and expensive? What will banking look like in the next 10 years in those regions?”
Zwischen Spreadsheets und Cloud: Der Start einer globalen FinTech-Plattform
One of these ideas was to create a Software-as-a-Service solution enabling smaller financial institutions in emerging markets to build modern, simple, flexible banking products in the cloud. At that time, in 2009, the big, expensive, legacy core banking systems were the only options for large banks, while smaller institutions in emerging markets often relied on spreadsheets and paper. We felt there was a huge gap in the middle. We drew inspiration from the success of cloud-based services like Salesforce, thinking: “What if we applied that approach to financial services?” That was the spark for founding Mambu.
When we finished our master’s, we tried to see if our corporate sponsor would fund and spin out the idea, but they chose a different strategic direction. So, my co-founder and I moved to his hometown in Germany, decided to build the product ourselves, and officially started working on Mambu in 2010.
Von Stuttgart nach Berlin: Wie Mambu zum VC-ready Startup skaliert wurde
Later that year, we secured our first angel investment. We spent around two and a half years in Stuttgart before relocating to Berlin, where we raised our first real round of VC funding. Our product evolved through various phases. Initially, we focused on microfinance organizations in emerging markets, but when the FinTech wave arrived, we were perfectly positioned as a proven, cloud-based solution for digital-only banks and also for established banks looking to launch new digital products.
Internationalisierung & Exit:
We grew quickly, and as our need for experienced talent outstripped what we could easily find in Berlin, we moved Mambu’s headquarters to Amsterdam. From there, we expanded globally. Eventually, we had about 800 employees in Europe, , Latin America , and Asia Pacific. We achieved success not only in fundraising but also in attracting customers across numerous markets. By 2023, after around 14 years since the conception of the Mambu idea, I decided it was time to create space for new leadership and spend more time with my family—my wife and our two young daughters—and also think about my next steps. We took some time to travel before the kids started school, and then we moved to Freiburg, my wife’s hometown, in August of last year.
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