Co-founder and CEO of Shufti Pro Victor Fredung is a “seasoned fintech innovator with multiple years of experience from the payment sector.”
Before Shufti Pro, Victor Fredung has built up considerable experience in the fintech industry, having established “several successful fintech companies such as Ogion Consulting, GiroSwift LTD, Zensed and Stafftimer.” His experience as founder and owner of successful payment companies brought him practical insights into “the troubles that a lot of Financial Services/FinTech companies are facing and what needs to be built to solve them.”
At Shufti Pro, Victor Fredung runs a company that provides a “platform that enables banks and FinTech companies to expand their business safely by enabling them to verify 7 billion people living on the planet, with 99.6% precision.”
Victor Fredung and Shufti Pro offer “KYC and AML solutions to worldwide clients,” through the application of a hybrid approach of AI and HI technology, whose “accuracy results reach as high as 98.67%.” Currently, the company has verified users in more than 232 countries. The company also uses IDV services to “cover a large number of countries.”
Despite the use of identity verification in the US and Europe, Victor Fredung co-founded Shufti Pro because he still a gap in the market that needs to be filled. Many countries still do not have the technology, “when it comes to verifying individuals.”
Check out more interviews with fintech innovators here.
I have come to the point where challenges or pitfalls do not demotivate me. Victor Fredung, Shufti Pro
Jerome Knyszewski: Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
Victor Fredung: Thank you so much for inviting me first of all. I have more than 10 years of industry experience and currently, I am serving as the CEO of Shufti Pro that is aimed at providing state of the art identity verification services. My passion for technology led me to be a part of a company that does not work for big numbers on the sales sheet but a company that strives for innovation.
Jerome Knyszewski: What was the “Aha Moment” that led to the idea for your current company? Can you share that story with us?
Victor Fredung: Shufti Pro’s co-founder, Shahid Hanif, had some terrible experiences while verifying his identity at a bank. The process was cumbersome and there were some flaws in the traditional process too. This was the “Aha moment” when he came up with the idea that there must be a different solution that would not increase hassles for the customers. So, the idea of a digital identity verification solution struck his mind. In 2017, the product was in action and today, we are serving a wide array of companies and helping them in fighting frauds.
Jerome Knyszewski: Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?
Victor Fredung: Yes, I guess everybody faces this at least once. When I started my journey around 10 years ago, I was motivated and full of enthusiasm to lead a company in the FinTech sector. The beginning was very good and I had all the motivation one could ask for. Unfortunately, there came a point when my company was way behind its goals and all I could see was downfall and shutting down. I wanted to quit and start over, but that was not an option either. My team never let me quit, to be honest. This is where I realised that collaboration is the key driver for any company’s success.
Today, all I know is it’s a team that can help you.
Jerome Knyszewski: So, how are things going today? How did your grit and resilience lead to your eventual success?
Victor Fredung: Thankfully, everything is going pretty smooth now. I have come to the point where challenges or pitfalls do not demotivate me. I took a short break from the routine and enjoyed some time at my favourite place. I gave myself time to think about what’s happening and what could be the best possible solution to overcome the problem. Finally, after a few days, I had everything sorted and in the right place. I got back to work and my hard work paid off.
Jerome Knyszewski: Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘takeaways’ you learned from that?
Victor Fredung: Well, it might not be funny for a lot of people but I made a mistake of believing in the phrase “one-man army.” I thought I could handle everything on my own and just a few team members would suffice for my office. However, it turned out that you cannot be the expert of everything and you do need a team of highly skilled people in every department to ensure higher levels of productivity. Today, all I know is it’s a team that can help you.
Achieving goals without teamwork is impossible. Victor Fredung
Jerome Knyszewski: Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Began Leading My Company”? Please share a story or an example for each.
Victor Fredung: The 5 things I wish someone had told me are:
1) Collaboration is the key to success. Achieving goals without teamwork is impossible.
2) Risk is inevitable and to be an entrepreneur, one should have the courage to take risks without any fear.
3) Learning leads to success in the long-run.
4) Stepping out of the comfort zone is what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur.
5) One should embrace failure with open arms. Failures and challenges shouldn’t demotivate you.
I’ll share one example that might convey all these points.
When I started my journey as a leader in FinTech, I thought a handful of information would be enough to help me start. Well, it didn’t go as I expected. Being a CEO does not give you an edge. In fact, it increases your responsibilities. A handful of information about the industry will never work for you. You have to stay updated about the latest trends and not just the industry, but you have to be fully informed about the processes of every department of your company. How can you guide your team members about a certain process or trend when you yourself are not fully aware? Secondly, you cannot sit back and relax because you have a team of hardworking people. This is where I lacked understanding. For me, it was okay to not ask for updates or reports from your team. It didn’t turn out well for me. You have to be equally involved in all the matters of the company to ensure higher levels of productivity. Lastly, everyone has to bear with pitfalls at some point. Running a company is not a bed of roses, so embrace failures and learn from them rather than feeling disappointed.
Jerome Knyszewski: How can our readers further follow you online?
Victor Fredung: They can reach out to me on LinkedIn or with one of my team members on Gmail.
Gmail: damien.martin@gmail.com
Jerome Knyszewski: This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this!
