As Co-Founder of Beam Wallet, Shezan Amiji is looking to the future of payment solutions with an interest in the potential of blockchain.

His first successful entrepreneurial venture began with 7 Days, the UAE’s first free tabloid newspaper. After successfully exiting this venture, he pursued another venture in sustainability and green technologies before starting up Beam Wallet, the popular mobile payment and wallet application.  Beam Wallet came into existence well before the “Fintech” buzzword had caught on.

Lately, Shezan has been fascinated with the potential of blockchain technology and sees many opportunities for incumbents and newcomers who embrace the technology into future solutions.

Listen to learn more about his journey and where he sees it all going.

Enjoy the show!

Posted on March 8, 2018

Show Notes:

• 1:45 – His early career start in investment banking and exposure to the tech bubble crash
• 3:30 – His views on the crypto-blockchain bubble
• 4:45 – His thoughts on the status-quo views towards
• 5:45 – The larger socio-political agenda behind many blockchain believers
• 7:30 – How some governments will be dragged into blockchain kicking and screaming
• 8:00 – The threats to incumbents from new technologies
• 9:00 – The issues with the blockchain Bitcoin is built on
• 12:00 – The new improved platforms that have evolved from the initial bitcoin blockchain platform
• 16:45 – His first venture into print media with 7 Days
• 18:15 – How they went about attaining a newspaper license in the UAE
• 20:00 – His sustainability startup, eco-ventures that worked with carbon credits
• 23:30 – On the entrepreneur’s dilemma of being unemployable
• 24:00 – The link between all the projects Shezan has worked on
• 25:00 – The importance of a trustworthy team
• 29:00 – The difficulties dealing with industry incumbents
• 29:45 – His views on Apple & Samsung Pay
• 31:00 – The role of incentives in adding value to a system
• 34:00 – On Beam Wallet’s unique product offering
• 35:45 – How a startup’s journey requires the evolving definition of their value proposition
• 36:45 – How a customer became an investor in the business
• 38:00 – The recurring theme of past partnerships
• 38:30 – Time is the determinant for success
• 39:30 – His belief in how the future of technology exists on the Blockchain
• 43:15 – How his team would describe his management style
• 44:45 – The ability of a leader to be introspective
• 45:45 – His attempts to exercise as a physical outlet and get shouted to switch off
• 46:45 – The man he admired growing up and still does today
• 48:30 – The book they have most recently gifted
• 49:15 – His message to people of Dubai to be calm down
• 54:00 – The advice he would give himself, enjoy life and don’t be in such a rush
• 55:30 – Vocalize to people who are important to you, how important they are to you