Jack Zhang believes he would have sold Airwallex to Stripe if he lived in the US, where society is more "capital driven." In Melbourne, the incremental lifestyle benefits of a billion-dollar exit were less compelling. This cultural context was a key factor in his decision to remain independent.
Airwallex CEO Jack Zhang compares his role to a professional athlete's. He doesn't describe the daily work as "fun" or "enjoyable." Instead, his fulfillment comes from the "high order of happiness" derived from competing at the highest level against giants like Stripe and changing a global industry.
The idea for Airwallex came directly from a side hustle. While running a coffee shop, co-founder Max Lee’s payments to international bean suppliers were constantly blocked by the inefficient SWIFT system. This mundane operational headache became the inspiration for building a new global financial infrastructure.
Airwallex's early growth was hampered by hiring experienced executives from large banks. They insisted on building systems based on outdated industry "best practices," which led to costly rewrites. Founder Jack Zhang learned that first-principles thinking is more valuable than supposedly relevant experience.
Despite a lucrative $1.2B offer from Stripe, Jack Zhang declined after verbally agreeing. He questioned whether wealth and a five-year lockup as a GM would bring him happiness, deciding that pursuing his own vision as a founder was ultimately more valuable, even if it was a harder path.
When Airwallex's first angel investor offered $2M within hours of meeting, founder Jack Zhang countered by inviting her to join as a co-founder. This aligned incentives and gave her direct oversight of her capital, turning a passive investment into an active partnership that is now worth half a billion dollars.
After his family lost its fortune, Jack Zhang went from privilege to working 16-hour days at menial jobs to pay for college. This abrupt shift from abundance to scarcity, crystalized by not being able to afford a $1.50 chocolate, instilled the grit required to build a multi-billion dollar company.
To get access to interbank FX rates, Jack Zhang cold-called Macquarie Bank and reached a trader on the overnight shift. He sold his vision and convinced the major investment bank to alter its API to accommodate small $50k trades—an unprecedented move that was crucial for Airwallex's survival and growth.
At 14, Airwallex CEO Jack Zhang made nearly $100,000 from a magazine he started. Since his family was wealthy and he had no concept of money, he donated the entire sum to his school to build six basketball courts, demonstrating an early focus on impact over personal gain.