'Very serious, very quickly': How fintech unicorn Zeller beat the COVID hump
When COVID hit, payments startup Zeller had just raised its seed round. It had to learn some quick and hard lessons on hiring and building in a new environment.
Zeller became the fastest Australian startup to achieve unicorn status when, in the heady days of 2022, it raised $100 million at a $1 billion valuation.
The company produces payment terminals that compete with Square and Stripe but aims to differentiate itself by offering an all-in-one solution — including debit cards and account services. Last week, it released a second-generation terminal and has plans to expand into a yet-to-be-revealed country.
While Zeller’s funding journey has been smooth sailing so far, there have been some significant challenges. In this edition of In The Arena, founder Ben Pfisterer discusses the “uh oh” moment the pandemic presented, the difficulties of rapidly building a team, and potential regulatory hurdles on the horizon.
The following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
You were the local head of Square for nearly six years. Did Zeller come about from you looking around and thinking you could do it better?
