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Pei-fu Hsieh

CEO Karbon (YC S21)

Pei-fu Hsieh is the Co-Founder and CEO of Karbon Card, a position he has held since June 2019. Under his leadership, Karbon Card focuses on providing corporate credit cards tailored for Indian startups, aiming to simplify business payments without the typical fees and limitations associated with traditional banking services.13

Professional Background

Pei-fu has a rich professional history, having worked in various sectors including e-commerce, mobile commerce, and venture capital. Before founding Karbon Card, he was a General Partner at 01VC from 2016 to 2019, where he specialized in angel and early-stage investments in Southeast Asia, particularly in the fintech and e-commerce sectors.12

His earlier roles include:

  • VP International at Mamilove (2015-2016): He led the company's expansion into Southeast Asia, focusing on building a community for first-time parents.
  • Country General Manager at Groupon (2014): He worked towards enhancing local commerce.
  • Founder and CEO of Easy Taxi Taiwan (2013-2014): He rapidly grew the company to become the third-largest taxi fleet in Taiwan.
  • CEO and Managing Director at Zalora (2012-2013): He contributed to the growth of this online fashion retailer.12

Education

Pei-fu Hsieh holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Chulalongkorn University and a Master's degree in Business Administration from the University of California at Berkeley Haas School of Business. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst, having received his certification in 2008.12

Skills and Expertise

Pei-fu is recognized for his extensive experience in technology entrepreneurship, private equity, and venture capital. He has successfully managed investments across various industries, totaling over $125 million, and has a deep understanding of markets in Greater China, India, and Southeast Asia.2

Highlights

Aug 3 · linkedin

Karbon just celebrated its fifth anniversary a few months back. It sounds long but always feels there's so much more to do. Would like to share five takeaways that I wish someone had repeatedly reminded me over these years.

  1. the leader is always the ceiling: no matter how talented and intelligent you believe your team is, if you don't grow as a leader, your team will not be able to surpass you. Eg. if you openly object an idea, it takes significant amount of courage and work from your team to confront you since they may think they need to have a well justified reason . And true talents after trying to convince you of certain things will simply leave if you are not able to comprehend and support.
  2. talent density trumps almost all things: applies to all leaders, team members across functions. just gotta keep improving talent density constantly. again, otherwise good people leave and bad people stay.
  3. thinking deeply > doing extensively: you can only do it right if you are doing the right things
  4. pessimists are usually right but it's the optimists that are successful
  5. learn to enjoy the journey with the people (your tribe and your customers) and love the product that you build (if u don't, why would anyone?) bec the goal post will just keep moving

Oh, and definitely stay healthy and have solid evening for a good night's rest and a morning routine rejuvenates your body/mind cuz it's a bumpy ride:)

Note: tried the "rewrite with AI" function, quite cool, definitely sounds better, but I am old school, prefer the message to sound genuine and not touched up.

Sep 8 · linkedin

A lot of our customers really like clear and honest prices when they do business internationally. They've saved a lot of money this way, and you can too! Just say you're interested in the comments below.

#KarbonForex #SaveMoney #internationalbusiness

Related Questions

What inspired Pei-fu Hsieh to start Karbon Card?
How did Pei-fu Hsieh's experience at Groupon influence his career?
What are some of Pei-fu Hsieh's most notable achievements at Easy Taxi?
How does Pei-fu Hsieh's background in venture capital impact his leadership at Karbon Card?
What challenges did Pei-fu Hsieh face while expanding Mamilove into Southeast Asia?
Pei-fu Hsieh
Pei-fu Hsieh, photo 1
Pei-fu Hsieh, photo 2
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Location

Bengaluru, Karnataka, India