BitRock Capital met with Ken Zheng, Founder and CEO of Panda Remit, to discuss his journey. Starting off with a corporate career in financial services, Ken tells us how he joined the world of entrepreneurship, established a global network, and launched his vision to a worldwide audience.

Q. Can you introduce us to Panda Remit?

Ken: Panda Remit is a digital money transfer app. Users can send and receive money across the world in an easy, transparent, and cost-effective way. Our transactions typically take seconds to complete - think of it like a WeChat Pay or AliPay but for cross-border transfers.

Panda Remit was initially borne out of an idea to help migrant workers living overseas send money home to their families and loved ones. When I was living in the US, I used services like Western Union to send money to my grandparents. It didn’t take me long to realise that the world needed something more efficient. 

Q. What sparked your venture into entrepreneurship?

Ken: I began my career in the US, where I worked for First Data, Western Union, and then American Express. In 2013, Amex made a strategic investment in a third-party payments company in China. I asked to join that project and moved back to China where I met my fellow co-founder, Eric. Within a couple of years, Eric helped build one of China’s largest third-party payments companies, a process which blew me away and triggered a rush of inspiration.

Q. How did you come up with the idea for Panda Remit?

Ken: Eric and I both believe that, as the world’s economy grows, so will the inevitability of globalisation. With that comes the need for people to easily exchange resources, be it goods, culture, information, and/or money. While a lot of capital has been invested in domestic payments systems by individual countries, infrastructure for cross-border transfers has lagged behind.

At the same time, the financial landscape - once dominated by big banks - has seen a behavioural shift as more people use apps to manage their finances. We saw an interesting play to combine the cross-border piece with the changes in financial management.

Q. Can you describe the company’s journey so far?

Ken: To achieve our vision, you don’t just build an app. There were a lot of compliance and licensing requirements to navigate. So, we started with a smaller, more concrete idea: a digital remittance product allowing users to make single transactions globally.

In the last four years, we’ve expanded our capabilities to build out a global payments network. That involves proprietary competencies to move and collect money between over 130 countries, at a fraction of the cost compared to incumbent players. We also built our own compliance and risk framework to monitor and screen transactions, most of which are done with an automated process. Lastly, we expanded our licensing capabilities to access payments licenses in all of our operating jurisdictions.

Q. That’s quite some progress. How did you motivate yourself?

Ken: Initially it was to prove to myself that I could build something of value. But as the company continued to grow, I didn’t want to let people down. My coworkers, customers, employees, investors - they’ve put trust and faith in us. I don’t want to disappoint them.

Q. What was it like when you first started the business?

Ken: It was a big change! I was quite successful in my previous career with a good position and salary at a young age. I went from that to suddenly moving into a place you couldn’t even call an office - it was just a room with four tables.

When you first start, there’s so much to do in terms of building up your network. And when you’re small, it’s difficult to do that - we went through a hundred banks looking for partnerships and every one of them rejected us.

But Eric reminded me that, if we continue to focus on what we believe is right, things will turnaround. A lot of startups are constantly pivoting their businesses but, before you do that, one should ask if they’re pivoting too early? Starting a company takes time, especially in this industry. One should remember to have patience, believe in yourself, and continue to do what you believe to be right.

Thankfully, things did turnaround for us. We’ve now launched our product in almost 40 countries and managed to scale the business globally.

Q. Any lessons learnt along the way? 

Ken: One of the major things that’s hit me hard over the last two years is the idea of “bāoróng” - a Chinese phrase for showing tolerance. When I was younger, I had a lot of confidence in my ambitions and believed I was right. But in an entrepreneurial environment there’s a lot of unknowns and you have to learn how to tolerate others. You also have to be more inclusive of your team, employees, customers, and investors. Ultimately, you’re not 100% right all the time and you have to realise that you’re working toward a bigger goal. As a leader, you have to be willing to make sacrifices and be more tolerant of others.

I’ve also learnt to develop a habit of constant self-reflection. It’s easy to blame others or the situation itself when problems arise, but that doesn’t solve anything. It’s also not just about your actions but how you approach the problem and your mentality in the situation.

Q. What were some of the good times?

Ken: The people you meet, work, and build trust with has been the most rewarding aspect. These relationships can last a lifetime. There was once a time when we’d hit some serious difficulties while I was on a business trip in Japan - I was frustrated and didn’t know what to do. But Eric reassured me he could take of it and just his words of positivity were enough to keep me motivated.

So now, every time Eric feels down, I try to be the positive one and say “don’t worry I’ve got this”. The camaraderie you build is key. So, while the people aspect can be the most challenging, it’s also the most rewarding.

We now have a team of 150 globally across multiple offices in China, Singapore, Hong Kong, the US, Japan, and Europe.

Q. What do you have planned for the future? Any milestones you hope to reach? 

Ken: We’re aiming to build cross-border infrastructure for the future. Today we have over one million customers worldwide - we hope to reach ten million in the next two years. Eric hopes to take the cost of moving cross-border funds down to zero. We want to get close to stripping down transaction costs while maintaining profitability and generating investor returns.

We’ll continue to invest in our infrastructure and have already been growing triple digits on a revenue and user basis. We also have another product in our pipeline coming up - more details on that to come!

Q. Any key takeaways for other entrepreneurs?

Ken: Teambuilding and onboarding the right people is critical. Don’t always pick the best person from a skillset perspective. Pick someone good but then make sure you can work with and trust them.

When it comes to selecting investors, remember that the process is mutual. Bear in mind the GP’s track record, portfolio companies, and how they manage other founders. Ask yourself: do I feel comfortable picking up the phone, calling the GP, and truthfully telling them the problem? It’s easy to tell them the good things, but do you really want to tell them the bad things?

We have been very fortunate from an investor perspective, with backing from Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Capital, and BitRock, among others. Our investors have been extremely supportive, often asking tough questions, and maintaining an open and honest relationship with us. So, choosing investors with the right mentality is crucial.