Shah Ramezani, Founder & CEO of Noah, a global payments infrastructure company using stablecoin technology to make international payments faster and more efficient. Following a $38 million seed round, Noah now supports 60+ currencies across 150+ markets, with payouts to 60+ countries. The company holds 40+ licences and serves over 200 clients, including Western Union, Checkout.com and Opera.
Shah shares his experience building Noah and why hiring exceptional people has become his most important responsibility as CEO. He explains how the company maintains high recruitment standards during rapid growth, challenges candidates during interviews and identifies people who thrive under pressure.
The conversation explores Noah's journey from blockchain experimentation to recognising the commercial opportunity in stablecoins during the cryptocurrency downturn. Shah discusses anticipating market shifts, taking calculated risks and building ahead of competitors.
James and Hector also explore the future of global payments, including transactions between AI agents, the changing fintech landscape and how artificial intelligence could reshape financial services.
Topics Covered
- Building Noah and raising a $38 million seed round
- Scaling payments infrastructure across 150+ markets and 60+ currencies
- Serving 200+ clients and securing 40+ licences
- Why hiring is Shah's most important responsibility
- Maintaining high recruitment standards during rapid growth
- Building an internal talent team and recruiting ahead of demand
- Identifying ambition, resilience and coachability
- How stablecoins are transforming international payments
- Spotting opportunities during the cryptocurrency downturn
- Anticipating market shifts and thinking ahead of competitors
- Taking calculated risks and knowing when to double down
- AI agents, autonomous payments and the future of fintech
- How AI could reshape companies like Stripe and Revolut
- Shah's advice for early-stage founders
- Managing pressure and prioritising physical and mental health
- Future Unicorn prediction: Catena Labs
- Dream dinner guests: Andrej Karpathy, Boris Cherny and Elon Musk
Shah also reflects on the personal challenges of entrepreneurship, maintaining perspective and the importance of resilience when building a high-growth company.
A conversation about the future of payments, identifying emerging opportunities and building exceptional teams.