Michele Ferrario is the co-founder and CEO of StashAway, an investment platform that makes it simple to build your wealth for the long term. 

Launched in 2016, the startup is currently active and licensed as a fund manager in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates.

StashAway is backed by Sequoia Capital India and SEA (now Peak XV Partners), Fidelity (Eight Roads), Square Peg, and more!

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

I help people make their money work for them, and achieve financial peace of mind.

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

My most important responsibility is around people: do we have the right people in the right places with the right motivations?

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

StashAway’s first $1B in assets under management was a milestone I can’t forget. It screamed, “We’re solving a real problem and people like our solution!” Starting from $0 in 2017, we achieved this milestone in January 2021!

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

No surprises here. I am following what’s happening with generative AI and how it can help each of us be more productive. 

I have been skeptical of some of the other tech trends of the last few years, but I think that generative AI is different. There’s certainly some overhype, but I do believe it has the potential to change the way we work (and not only that!).

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

Same advice in every industry: choose people, not industry, function, title, or money. 

It’s the people around you that will make you learn and grow and make your days great (or awful!). If you learn a lot early on, money will follow: it does not work the other way around!

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

Financial education. I have observed how making a few smart personal finance decisions can change the financial situation of a family, and I am shocked that education systems around the world don’t teach people how to manage their money. 

It’s a few simple concepts and habits that can make the difference between struggling to make ends meet and building financial safety.

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🎥 What's your favorite movie/TV show? 

I love Pixar’s movie Ratatouille. I watched it for the first time with my kids a few years ago, and it became my favorite movie. 

I love food and I am fascinated by cooking (my wife is a great cook!), but most importantly I love the idea that it takes courage, initiative, and hard work to thrive, instead of just accepting the status quo and surviving. 

In addition, I also love the idea that anyone can succeed, given enough courage, initiative, and willingness to work hard!

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

It used to be chocolate…now it’s a fight between chocolate and berries. 

When I was a kid, I used to go to this gelato place in Cinqueterre, Italy, and I used to order a cone with 3 scoops and say “chocolate”, then wait for the first scoop to be on the cone, then I would say “chocolate”, again waiting for the gelato to be fully scooped on the cone, and then again “chocolate”. 

I was worried that if I simply asked for “all chocolate” I would have been cheated of some gelato!

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FYI. We've edited this interview for clarity.