Persistence, risk taking, and resilience are qualities that without them, it is almost impossible to succeed"
Welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview with Gilad Uziely, the visionary CEO behind Sequence, a fintech company that is revolutionizing the way we interact with finance. In this captivating conversation, we explore Gilad Uziely’s entrepreneurial journey and the profound impact he is making in reshaping the financial landscape.
Gilad Uziely’s story is one of passion, resilience, and a relentless pursuit of innovation. From his early days as a tour operator to his role as a high-end freelance consultant, Gilad’s diverse experiences have played a pivotal role in shaping his vision for Sequence.
With his two close friends, he embarked on a mission to create a platform that empowers individuals to take control of their financial lives through cutting-edge programming capabilities.
Through his leadership and unwavering commitment, Gilad Uziely has positioned Sequence as a frontrunner in the fintech industry, disrupting traditional norms and introducing transformative solutions.
Join us as we delve into the mind of Gilad Uziely and uncover the driving forces behind his journey to transform the financial landscape with Sequence.
Check out more interviews with entrepreneurs here.
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Table of Contents
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Gilad Uziely: Awesome to join! Thanks for having me.
My name is Gilad Uziely. Married to Rebecca and we have two gorgeous girls. I was born in Jerusalem, raised in Tel Aviv and after wrapping up my military service in the IDF I went to the University of Technology, Sydney in Australia.
After graduating, I built my first real business which was a traditional tour operator, from which we spun out my first startup, which was a marketplace for guided tours.
Traveling is still one of my biggest passions, and I try to get as much traveling as possible.
That first startup never took off, and once we closed it, I’ve done a bunch of roles ranging from leading policy-making positions within Tel Aviv’s local government, where I oversaw the cultivation and promotion of Tel Aviv’s startup ecosystem as a global center of innovation and entrepreneurship.
I also worked as a high-end freelance business development and governmental consultant to multinational companies and governmental organizations.
I really enjoyed all that but always had a strong will to build my own company and was always attracted to financial services and technology. The result of the two brought Sequence, which I started with my two close friends Oren (CTO) and Tom (CPO), to life.
What advice do you wish you had received when you started your business journey and what do you intend on improving in the next quarter?
Gilad Uziely: Chill! Startup life is extremely stressful. You have a lot of responsibility to many stakeholders like your employees, investors, co-founders, clients and your family. You are risking a lot.
So being stressed is just normal. However, acting and taking decisions under pressure and stress are usually the wrong ones.
I am working hard to change my modus operandi and to be more relaxed both on the highs and on the lows.
Here is a two-fold question: What is the book that influenced you the most and how? Please share some life lessons you learned. Now what book have you gifted the most and why?
Gilad Uziely: I am a big fan of novels and I absolutely love well-written literature. I’ve read many great books but, in the context of business books, I loved Shoe Dog by Phil Knight.
My takeaways from Shoe Dog is that persistence, risk taking, and resilience are qualities that without them, it is almost impossible to succeed.
To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever given any book as a gift more than once.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as THE real challenge right now?
Gilad Uziely: Top of mind for my team and me is how are we going to cross the chasm and put Sequence in the hands of the majority of users.
We are seeing strong demand and product-market-fit from a group of innovators and early adopters who are just going crazy over the ability to program their money.
While we keep working closely with that group that really pushes us to build the best version of Sequence possible, we are now thinking of how we are making the product suitable for the second wave of users who will need different features and user experience.
In your experience, what tends to be the most underestimated part of running a company? Can you share an example?
Gilad Uziely: Many founders of early-stage companies are not giving enough attention to the legal aspects of building a business. A mistake you’ve made on the legal side early on can haunt you years after you made it and it can also kill your company.
Make sure you use an experienced lawyer that really understands your space, and spends time talking to other clients of his/hers. This is not something you want to save money on!
On a lighter note, if you had the ability to pick any business superpower, what would it be and how would you put it into practice?
Gilad Uziely: That’s an awesome question! Leadership is my pick.
The ability to build a strong vision, articulate it into a mission, and communicate it effectively to a group of women and men who execute and are working towards mutual goals while always having the vision and mission in mind is one of the hardest things and, by far, the most important superpower a CEO needs to have. It is also something that is extremely hard to learn.
Jerome Knyszewski, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Gilad Uziely for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Gilad Uziely or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
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