In today's episode, Ally McCloskey sits down with Hussein Ahmed, Founder & CEO, and Ryan Conway, Head of Business Development & Strategic Partnerships, at Oxygen. Oxygen is a modern financial platform designed for the 21st century economy - providing digital natives, creators and entrepreneurs pushing everyday boundaries a banking partner that understands how they live and work. Oxygen offers a seamless user experience for both personal and business accounts and is available on both iOS and Android. Its users enjoy no monthly fees, early direct deposit, simple transfers, and cashback rewards on everyday purchases. Businesses can easily control their finances with integrated solutions that are elegant, simple and secure. Their motto? Reject ordinary. Banking for the Extraordinary.

In this lively conversation, Ally, Hussein, and Ryan cover a wide range of topics including:

-Redefining the Gig Economy beyond Uber drivers and DoorDash deliverers to include the full on-demand workforce of creators

-The material difference that aesthetics and design can make in customer engagement and NPS scores

-Lessons learned from their many marketing 'experiments' - from partnering with influencers to running ad campaigns on the back of muni buses

-Why many neobanking startups are 'doomed to succeed' given the segment's funding and press buzz

-Reflections on fundraising, particularly after their $17mm Series A

-Why building a capital-intensive and reliable fintech startup that handles something as personal and critical as money doesn’t afford you the typical startup luxury of hiring hustlers to move fast and break things

And so much more!

Hussein Ahmed

Hussein, Oxygen's Founder & CEO, is a multi-time founder originally from Egypt. After selling his first company to a PE firm, Hussein completed his PhD in Computer Science at Virginia Tech, earned his MBA at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, built and exited another SMB-focused company called Transpose, and faced the unique challenges of banking with variable income while consulting in the Bay Area.

Ryan Conway

As Head of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships, Ryan leads growth and partner efforts focusing on product, distribution, and revenue. He previously held roles at Mastercard in Digital Partnerships, Worldpay in Payments through the company’s IPO, BlueSnap, and completed his MBA at the Thunderbird School of Global Management.

As mentioned in the episode, be sure to check out Oxygen's open roles here: https://jobs.lever.co/oxygen .

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Referenced in this episode:

Dribbble: https://dribbble.com

Twine: https://www.twine.net

Freelancing Females: https://www.freelancingfemales.com

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