Unicorn Rapyd Doubles Down on Strategy of Recruitment and Acquisition

This year’s turmoil in the fintech market has spooked even the boldest of companies, with big name online payment brands such as Klarna reducing their workforces and canceling ambitious plans for expansion. This pivot is in line with conventional wisdom, which suggests fintechs should wait out this difficult moment and modify their business strategies accordingly.

At first glance, one would think that unicorn fintech Rapyd is following this trend, having laid off employees earlier this year. According to Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Arik Shtilman, however, this round of layoffs is a momentary blip in their otherwise expansionist strategy. Indeed, Shtilman explained in a recent interview, this is a particularly good moment for Rapyd to continue purchasing companies and hiring more workers, as it has even in the height of the fintech downturn.

“The current situation in the market is excellent for small startups in the pre-Seed and Seed stage who are looking for employees that they had no chance of finding in the last two years,” said Shtilman. “They had to fight companies that invested much more money, and now the situation is much easier for them to get employees who will help them become large companies. This is excellent for the industry.”