Khaled Benguerba is the co-founder and CEO of Dobin, a financial platform that helps Southeast Asia's fully banked and underbanked customers improve their financial outcomes by aggregating accounts, maximizing savings and rewards, and providing access to credit.

Launched in July 2023, Dobin is active in Singapore and the Philippines.

‍

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

I am the captain of the Dobin ship! I launched a tech startup, Dobin, with two amazing co-founders and a talented team. and together we are trying to make the impossible possible.

‍

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

I am the CEO, yet I am very hands-on! My daily tasks can be as strategic as setting out our execution direction or pitching to senior leaders at banks, and as tactical as testing the app myself and crafting messages for our website

For early-stage startups, everyone needs to deliver tangible value!

‍

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

I’ve had many amazing experiences. I started as a tech developer in a trading floor, then an M&A banker, before becoming a payments industry leader, and finally an entrepreneur.

I’m a builder, I’ve built software, teams, products, businesses, and now a company. My drive comes from getting something off the ground and making it flourish, the ultimate highlight of my career is now!

‍

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

I like technology and innovation, but I’ve always been doubtful of “trends”. There are many buzzwords that come and go but mean more or less the same thing. I still remember when AI was called Big Data.

I launched Dobin because I strongly believed, and still do, that Open Finance will unlock massive value, even though the trend is less fashionable than a few years ago, I still closely follow it!

‍

💼  What advice would you give someone starting out in your industry?

People who inspired me display two traits: they have deep knowledge, and they are authentic.

The former makes me respect them and want to learn from them, the latter makes me follow them and want to work for them. For someone starting his/her career, it’s hard to be authentic, it takes time and a lot of self-awareness to get there.

My advice is to focus on learning as much as possible!

‍

🗣  What's one thing you can keep talking about for hours?

For the last two years, it’s been my startup. I am no exception, entrepreneurs are often obsessed with the problem we are solving, the customers we are serving, and the people we are inspiring.

‍

🎥  What's your favorite movie/TV show?

Interestingly, my favorite movie and TV show are both in Finance, the area I left earlier in my career: Wall Street and Billions.

‍

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

I’ve always been a big fan of ice cream!

When I was living in London, an MBA classmate left his Investment Banking job to launch a chain of Italian ice cream stores (he was Italian!). He made me taste Nocciola (Hazelnuts) and Pistachio, 15 years later they are still by far my favorite flavors!