Ajay Gopal is the founder and CEO of Tinvio, a B2B transactions platform that helps merchants and suppliers manage orders, invoices, and payments via a chat-led interface. Before launching Tinvio, Ajay worked with Rocket Internet in Berlin.

👋🏼 How would you explain your job to someone outside tech?

(i) I raise funds to put bread on the table for the team I lead

(ii) I obsess about building Product that creates long-term user value and delight

(iii) I protect the interests of our investors (who trust and support us with said bread).

🧐 What's something about you or your job that would surprise us?

About me: I ended up in Finance, but as a kid, this wasn't my vibe. I started undergrad with a path to Astrophysics and Business, but ended up dropping the Physics degree because, well, my B-school grades were better, and I didn't want to spend too much time in the library.

Fast forward to today, my personal endgame is still to venture as far beyond Earth as possible.

About my job: I'm one of the few solo Founders in the region. It's definitely a lot of responsibility, so I've adopted a contrarian style in the organization to practice objectivity.

I play good cop and bad cop to every thesis (mine or otherwise), and as a team, we're expected to deconstruct-reconstruct our views. This is a core tenet at Tinvio and an invisible co-founder in the organization.

🏆 What has been the biggest highlight of your career so far?

Started the company with lots of interns and unpolished gems, many of whom have grown to lead key functions in the organization. It's been incredibly fulfilling to observe their exponential growth over such a short time.

🔍 What's a startup trend or space you're watching this year?‍

There's been a squeeze for scaleable unit economics, and this has been pretty challenging for SaaS startups serving SMBs in developing markets.

Don't think anyone's really figured it out yet, so there's going to be a lot of discovery, re-building, and re-engineering in how we acquire, serve and retain users. Lots to learn here.

🎥 What's your favorite movie/TV show?

Titanic and Interstellar. They're quite different story arcs, but they both imaginatively narrate the best and worst of humanity in the face of absolute tragedy.

🍨 What's your go-to ice cream flavor?‍

Earl grey tea! (or any tea-flavored ice creams with lil' biscuit bits)