Early Life
Taavet Hinrikus was born on June 2, 1981, in Tartu, Estonia. He graduated from Miina Härma Gymnasium in 1999. Before his entrepreneurial journey, he briefly attended university but left to join the nascent company, Skype.
Rise to Success
Hinrikus's career took off when he became Skype's first employee in 2002, later serving as its Director of Strategy until 2008. However, his most significant achievement came in 2010 when he co-founded TransferWise (now Wise) with Kristo Käärmann. Wise was created to address the high fees and lack of transparency in international money transfers. Wise's success led to its public listing on the London Stock Exchange in July 2021, with Hinrikus and Käärmann becoming Estonia's first billionaires.
Key Business Strategies
Wise's success is attributed to its innovative approach to international money transfers. The company uses the real exchange rate, known as the mid-market rate, and charges low fees, which is in stark contrast to traditional banks. This transparency and cost-effectiveness quickly gained traction, attracting millions of customers. Hinrikus's strategy involved creating a user-friendly platform and focusing on customer needs, ultimately disrupting the traditional banking sector.
Philanthropy
Hinrikus is a proponent of positive change through entrepreneurship, technology, and education. He is involved in supporting several initiatives, but specific amounts of his philanthropic contributions are not readily available in the search results. He co-founded the Jõhvi Coding School to increase the number of people with coding skills in Estonia.