Smash Notes

What Fuels You

Matt Oppenheimer of Remitly

The consistent theme in Matt Oppenheimer’s life has been people and relationships. When asked what he was ‘into’ in high school, he shares how he started a non-profit called the Youth Lobbying Organization to give people under the age of 18 a voice in the political process. Matt went on to attend Dartmouth and Harvard Business School. During his time…

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  1. What Was It Like for Remitly CEO Matt Oppenheimer to Grow Up Around Entrepreneurs?

    at 4:13 · Transcript

    He grew up inside a family company and was told not to join it yet. On What Fuels You, Matt Oppenheimer says he grew up in Boise, near downtown, in a fifth-generation Idaho family. His grandfather started Oppenheimer Companies, a private mix of real estate and food processing, including a whipped topping called True Whip. His father and uncle run it, and they made the next generation work somewhere else for five years first. Most of his cousins joined. Matt did not. In high school he started the Youth Lobbying Organization so people under 18 could meet their legislators. He says the business made entrepreneurship feel normal, while some friends in Boise were working to pay for food.

  2. What Is Boise Idaho Like

    at 12:36 · Transcript

    Growing up in Boise, Matt got to see how much privilege some had vs. others. Boise was not a very ethnically diverse place, but it was very diverse socio-economically. While he was starting a non-profit, some of his high-school buddies had to work in order to pay for their own food. Matt is the first to recognize that he was privileged and lucky to do what he did.

  3. How Did Matt Oppenheimer Come Up With the Idea for Remitly

    at 16:34 · Transcript

    As a young kid, Matt and his family traveled a lot. He had been to nearly 100 countries, where he got to see poverty and inequality, among other things. Fast-forward to his adulthood, while working for HBS in Kenya, Matt saw saw how remittances could elevate people from poverty and enable opportunities. Kenya was already using mobile phones to transform their financial landscape, and it made a lot of sense to make the concept available to the world. As smart phone adoption continued to grow, so did Remitly.

  4. Do the Best Entrepreneurs Ever Doubt Themselves

    at 19:26 · Transcript

    Matt says he doubts himself all the time, not just at the beginning of the business, but on the daily basis. This doubt helps to keep himself in check. He would be very skeptical about anyone who claims to have no doubts.

  5. How Big Did Matt Oppenheimer Say Remitly Was?

    at 19:56 · Transcript

    Close to 800 people, in offices in Seattle, London, Nicaragua, and the Philippines. Matt Oppenheimer, cofounder and CEO, tells What Fuels You he started Remitly in 2011 after working in banking in London and Kenya, where he saw how hard it was for people to send money home. He calls it the largest private digital remittance company in the United States. The episode intro says Remitly had raised over $200 million by then. Oppenheimer describes the headcount while talking about how different his job had become, and he names those four offices when the host asks where the team sits.

  6. How Did Matt Get Remitly Working Toward the Same Goals?

    at 20:04 · Transcript

    In case of Remitly, Matt is empowering the employees to drive their growth. Every year he puts a development plan that is shared across the entire organization, which sets forth a plan which everyone strives for, including himself. It is, after all, important to lead by example.

  7. How Can I Pick the Right Startup Cofounder

    at 21:41 · Transcript

    First, it is important to know what you do not know. You have to understand that your co-founder's job will be just as difficult as your job, but with a different set of challenges. Second, it's a good idea to really get to know your co-founder before commiting for a very long journey.

    When Matt Oppenheimer and Shivaas Gulati were first talking about working together, for example, they spend a few days over at Matt's place in Boise, getting to know each other and really figuring out if they could work together.

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