Jack Zhang: CEO & Co-Founder, Airwallex

Published 22nd October, 2025.

Welcome to this classic episode. Classics are our favorite episodes from the past 5 years, published every month or two. These are N of 1 conversations with N of 1 people. This is  a replay of Episode 157, originally released in February 2024 — one of our most loved classics.

Episode #229 features Jack Zhang, Co-Founder and CEO of Airwallex, one of the world’s fastest-growing fintech companies valued at over $8 billion. Born in rural Shandong, China, Jack moved to Melbourne at 15, juggling multiple jobs while studying computer science before launching Airwallex in 2015. A former engineer and trader turned global founder, he’s known for his relentless drive, humility, and vision — building a company that powers payments for businesses in over 190 countries.

In this conversation, Jack reflects on his humble upbringing in China, moving to Australia as a teenager with little English, and the years of bartending, coding, and side hustles that shaped his discipline. He shares the early failures and pivots that defined Airwallex’s journey, what it took to convince banks and investors to believe in a startup from Melbourne, and how he rebuilt the business three times before global success.

We go deep into founder psychology, hiring intuition, and leadership under pressure, as Jack opens up about stress, sacrifice, and resilience — from anxiety attacks to moments of clarity that shaped his philosophy that “wealth is fluid, but time is not.”

It’s time to explore your curiosity, please enjoy.

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