Trailblazer: Checkout.com founder and CEO Guillaume Pousaz
As the high-flying CEO and founder of Checkout.com, Dubai-based Guillaume Pousaz is the Swiss billionaire with an estimated net worth of $20 billion
Born in 1981 in Geneva, Switzerland, Guillaume Pousaz studied mathematical engineering at the Ecole Fédérale Polytechnique De Lausanne, before enrolling in a bachelor’s degree in economics at HEC Lausanne, aiming to enter the world of investment banking.
As a youth and student, he was always interested in the creative side of life and was fascinated by street art – a passion that has resulted in his Checkout.com offices being decorated with unique design pieces that mix logic with art.
But in 2005, his decision to enter banking was put on hold when his father was diagnosed with cancer. He dropped out of university and reportedly moved to California to become a surfer “for a while”.
Entry into finance
Although the surfing life appealed to his bohemian outlook, Pousaz soon began to think about a career in finance again. While in California in 2006, he started working for the financial company IPC, which seemed like a good compromise as it had offices close to the beach.
The role at IPC introduced Pousaz to the payments industry – and highlighted how the world of online commerce was changing retail and the consumer experience. Pousaz was so inspired by the payments space that in 2007 he had launched his first start-up – a fintech called NetMerchant that facilitated payments from US and European companies that needed to make payments in foreign currencies.
He ran NetMerchant until 2009 and then diversified again, buying Mauritius-based fintech SMS Pay for USD 300,000. He also launched his second startup, Opus Payments, in 2009 – another payment processing fintech – only this time the target market was Asia. Opus Payments was based in Singapore and managed payments from Hong Kong businesses to process their international transactions from global buyers.
The launch of Checkout.com
Now it was clear that Pousaz had found his groove. He liked payments, he was good at it, he understood the power of the internet and its potential for customers. But he had run into problems during his early start-up years. Indeed, one drawback was the problem of payment processing on a global scale, for both stores and shoppers.
He solved the problem by launching his third startup, Checkout.com, in 2012. The user-friendly and frictionless experience the fintech offered its customers made it an instant hit with online retailers. In 2019, Checkout.com was one of the world’s most successful fintech stories.
Pousaz and his management team even raised $230 million in funding that year—which ended up being the largest Series A funding round ever for a European fintech company.
Pandemic accelerated growth for Checkout.com
Of course the rest is history. With COVID-19 taking its toll, forcing the world to shut down, online payment companies reaped the rewards, and Checkout.com was no exception. In fact, by January 2021, the company had launched its next round of funding, raising another $450 million at a $15 billion valuation. Forbes then estimated Pousaz’s net worth to be $9 billion. During 2020, Checkout.com released a report saying that its payment processing volume had tripled in that year alone.
What’s next for Pousaz?
Well, so far he seems intent on sticking with Checkout.com. Now married with three children, he spends his time commuting between Dubai and London, telling Forbes he makes the red-eye trip from Dubai to London every Sunday night so he can work his four-day, 80-hour week . in the London office, before heading back to his family in the UAE on a Friday morning.
By anyone’s standards, it’s a brutal work pattern, but one that Pousaz seems to enjoy. And with Saturdays dedicated to his children, he tries not to get distracted. “I get 800 emails a day at this point,” he said.
