Welcome to the first edition of TSL’s community-sourced newsletter. 💜 Enjoy the read!

This week, we’re putting the spotlight on Ed Robinson’s epic switch from investment banker to building Stash, a billion-dollar fintech startup. He’s got some game-changing insights on hacking low customer acquisition and scaling like a pro (sneak preview right here!).

Have you tuned in to our latest episode with Marta Krupinska of CUR8 yet? She’s out here tackling the trillion-dollar climate crisis with some seriously cool tech.

And just for you, we’ve rounded up fan-favourite episodes and a sneak peek at the sweet perks of subscribing to TSL newsletter!

Episode Spotlight ✨: Investment Banker Turned Founder of Billion Dollar Fintech - Stash.

In this episode of the Startup Leap podcast, we speak to Ed Robinson, Co-Founder of Stash—a fintech platform empowering over 6 million customers and disrupting the traditional investing space.

Ed shares how Stash built customer trust in a regulated space, managed co-founder dynamics and raised initial funding. Plus, he talks about being featured as Apple’s App of the Day back in 2014—Yvonne even recalls seeing Stash go viral on Instagram in 2015 (back when "viral" wasn’t even a thing!) and Maria talks about the intricacies of building the MVP of a regulated fintech (licensing and partnerships) given her time building a digital bank.

If you're a founder looking to build in the fintech space, this episode is packed with practical insights to help you grow and scale your startup.‪

In this episode, we cover:

(02:02) Ed’s background and what sparked his interest in building solutions.

(15:35)  The origins of Stash, leaving to pursue Stash full-time.

(26:16) Steps to launch Stash, initial funding, and app release.

(32:00) Navigating a lack of consumer tech experience.

(36:28) Building trust with customers.

(39:08) Navigating low customer sign-ups

(53:00) Dealing with fraud in the fintech space.

(01:01:51) Advice Ed gave his younger self.

Key takeaways:

💡 Product to Market, Fast: From idea to beta in just 4 months. Ed's north star was speed, building a waitlist, the MVP, partnering with regulated partners and growth hacking to keeping momentum. Quick execution was key.

🎯 Milestones and Capital: Ed emphasises the importance of setting clear milestones and ensuring you have capital and runway before scaling up. It’s all about timing and preparation.

🔄 Iterate to Unlock Growth: Stash’s growth didn’t happen overnight. By continuously refining their onboarding process — like adding a “remind me later” feature to the app to skip high touch KYC requirements till users have to —they boosted conversions and solved metric challenges.

Watch or Listen to the episode on your next commute to get in-depth insights!

Have you listened to our latest episode? Ex-Googler, Building For the $1 trillion Climate Challenge - CUR8. 

In this week’s episode, we sit down with Marta Krupinska, co-founder of CUR8, to chat about her leap from fintech to climate tech.

She talks about tackling the $1trillion climate crisis through carbon removal, despite not coming from a science background, and how inequality shaped her view of climate challenges. Marta also shares her tips on startup culture and building mission-driven businesses. This one’s full of insights for founders looking to make an impact!

Watch TSL audience favourite!

💼Three Time Founder, Eight Figure Exit with Timothy Armoo of Fanbytes 

Thanks for reading 💜

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TSL Team 💜