Taavet Hinrikus

Taavet Hinrikus didn't set out to become one of Europe's most prolific fintech founders. He just wanted to send money home to Estonia without getting fleeced on fees. That simple frustration became the spark for Wise (formerly TransferWise), the global money transfer platform now trusted by over 16 million people.

Long before Wise's 2021 direct listing on the London Stock Exchange, Taavet was making bets on the future. As Skype's first employee, he helped build one of Europe's earliest tech unicorns from the ground up, long before the continent was known for producing them. He led strategy there until 2008, before turning his attention to solving another global problem: the high cost of moving money.

At the time, Taavet was living in London and getting paid in euros while his mortgage was in pounds. He partnered with fellow Estonian Kristo Käärmann to create a peer-to-peer currency exchange model based on transparency, simplicity and fairness. It was a radical idea at the time, especially their choice to publish the real exchange rate, which banks often hid behind margins. But customers came in droves.

The goal was never just to create a better product; it was to challenge an outdated financial system and build something fundamentally fairer. That mindset helped Wise grow from a scrappy disruptor into a global infrastructure layer moving over £10 billion every month. And when the company went public in 2021 with a valuation of £8bn, Taavet transitioned to Chair, continuing to guide its long-term mission.

But Wise was only the beginning. Since stepping away from day-to-day operations, Taavet has become a driving force behind a new wave of European tech. He's backed over 100 start-ups across fintech, healthtech and climate – from Bolt and Synthesia to Veriff and Improbable – and sits on multiple boards. In 2022, he co-founded Plural, the early-stage investment fund that backs the most ambitious founders on a mission to change the world through technology.

He has described Plural as the kind of fund he and his peers wished had existed when they were building their own companies. Beyond writing cheques, it surrounds founders with experienced peers who understand what it takes to scale a company from the ground up. That founder-first model has quickly positioned Plural as one of the most founder-aligned VCs in Europe.

Taavet also serves as a digital adviser to the Estonian Prime Minister and was named a World Economic Forum Tech Pioneer. He co-founded Jõhvi Coding School to upskill a new generation of engineers in Estonia. He and his wife Silvia are members of Founders Pledge, donating a significant portion of their wealth to global education and social causes. Together, they helped establish the Good Deed Education Fund to support Estonian public education reform.

His entrepreneurial instincts emerged early. Raised in newly independent Estonia, he came of age during a period of radical change. He often attributes that backdrop – and Estonia's digital-forward mindset – as a key influence on his belief in rethinking systems from the ground up rather than making minor improvements. He's known for encouraging younger founders to question the status quo and imagine bold alternatives.

Today, Taavet lives in London and continues to invest in ideas that can reshape industries. His ambition isn’t just to build unicorns. It's to create the conditions for many others to do the same.