Maijid Moujaled takes us on his journey growing up in Accra, Ghana and moving to the US to study computer science and engineering and work for Yahoo and Imgur before embarking on his entrepreneurial journey. After being denied an H1B visa and being forced to leave the U.S., Maijid explains how he joined the Remote Year program and traveled the world for a year with 50 digital nomads. And while on Remote Year, Maijid tells the story of how he built “Chipper Cash”, a no-fee African cross border payment app together with a business partner from Uganda. He explains the challenges raising investment capital for the project and describes his first major breakthrough of getting accepted to the 500 Startups accelerator, followed by his first investor and eventually his path to raising a $2.4 million seed round. Maijid then talks about how he rapidly scaled Chipper Cash, built systems and processes for a remote-first company, and how he is hiring and managing a distributed team. He then shares his thoughts on an exit strategy, potential competition, and his 10-year vision for Chipper Cash. Maijid also talks about his personal productivity habits, his super simple morning routine, and the #1 thing he does for stress reduction. He then discusses his travel experiences, his love for Brazil, and the primary way he connects with locals when he can’t speak the language. He concludes by recommending his top book, app, podcast and shares his favorite travel destinations. Full Show Notes Available at www.TheMaverickShow.com
Episode #43: Revolutionizing African Cross-Border Money Transfer, Pitching Joe Montana and Raising $2.4 Million with Maijid Moujaled
Episode Summary
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About the Guest
Maijid Moujaled
Maijid Moujaled is the co-founder & President of Chipper Cash, the no-fee African cross-border payment startup that has been likened to the African version of PayPal. Chipper Cash just raised a $2.4M seed round from renowned investors in Silicon Valley including hall-of-fame quarterback Joe Montana’s fund after pitching the legendary football star directly. Born and raised in Accra, Ghana, Maijid built Chipper Cash while traveling the world on the Remote Year program and, after launching in October 2018, Chipper Cash processed 500,000 transactions for more than 100,000 active users in its first 6 months alone. He has built his company with a location independent infrastructure and can run his business from anywhere in the world.
What You'll Learn
- The key to building a successful side hustle while working at a full-time job.
- Tips for overcoming challenges when raising investment capital.
- Why partner-dancing is the key to cultural immersion, meeting locals and relieving stress.
Links From the Episode
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Download the Chipper Cash app for FREE
WORK-TRAVEL PROGRAM THAT MATT AND MAIJID DID
- Remote Year (Get a $100 Discount off Remote Year By Using This Link)
BOOK MAIJID RECOMMENDS
WINE SHARED ON THIS EPISODE
COMPANIES MENTIONED
DANCE GENRES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
PRODUCTIVITY TOOL MAIJID RECOMMENDS
PODCAST MAIJID RECOMMENDS
THE PERSON WITH WHOM MAIJID WOULD MOST LIKE TO HAVE DINNER
LOCATION WHERE THE INTERVIEW TOOK PLACE
PLACES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
TOP 3 TRAVEL DESTINATION
TOP 3 TRAVEL BUCKET LIST DESTINATION
CHECK FLIGHT PRICES TO ANY OF THESE LOCATIONS
CONTACT MAIJID AND LEARN MORE ABOUT CHIPPER CASH
Time Stamped Show Notes
[2:25] DISCUSSING MAIJID’S HOMETOWN OF ACCRA, GHANA
[8:28] MAIJID’S UPBRINGING AND EARLY ENTREPRENEURIAL TENDENCIES
- Entrepreneurship in middle school
- Leaving Ghana to Study Abroad in the U.S.
- Studying computer science and building apps
- Working for Yahoo and Imgur
[14:39] BEING DENIED THE H1B VISA AND APPLYING TO REMOTE YEAR
- How the H1B Visa process works
- Applying to Remote Year as a Plan B
- Getting Denied the H1B Visa and embarking on Remote Year
[17:30] BUILDING CHIPPER CASH WHILE TRAVELING THE WORLD ON REMOTE YEAR
- Maijid’s experience on Remote Year
- Building Chipper Cash as a side hustle while working full time
[22:49] THE VALUE PROPOSITION OF CHIPPER CASH
- Understanding the problem with transferring money in Africa
- The solution Chipper Cash developed
- Why other people have not yet solved it
- The vision of Chipper Cash
[27:48] THE EVOLUTION OF CHIPPER CASH
- Establishing proof of concept
- Creating the app
- Why other companies cannot get accurate data on the market
- Understanding the market through informal (off the books) data
- Getting accepted to the “500 Startups” accelerator
[35:22] HOW CHIPPER CASH RASIED A $2.4 MILLION SEED ROUND
- The psychology of raising investment capital through repeated rejection
- Landing the first investor
- Raising and closing the rest of the $2.4 million seed round
[39:04] SCALING AND MANAGING CHIPPER CASH
- Opening an office in Kenya
- Hiring a distributed team of remote engineers
- Bringing on full time staff
- The Profit Model for Chipper Cash
- Maijid’s hiring strategy and team building priorities
- Managing an internationally distributed team
- Building systems and processes for a remote-first company
[47:08] THOUGHTS ON EXIT STRATEGIES, COMPETITION AND THE 10 YEAR VISION
- How Maijid thinks about the exit strategy for Chipper Cash
- Maijid’s thoughts on potential competition
- The 10 year vision for Chipper Cash
- The breadth of the Chipper Cash customer base
[55:38] PERSONAL PRODUCTIVITY AND STRESS REDUCTION TECHNIQUES
- Maijid’s super simple morning routine
- Partner-dancing for stress relief
[1:00:23] MAIJID’S TRAVEL EXPERIENCES
- Moving to Sao Paulo to Dance Brazilian Zouk
- Why Maijid Travels and what it means to him.
- Connecting with locals through partner dancing
- The value of living in places for at least a month
[1:09:40] THE LIGHTNING ROUND
- The #1 book Maijid recommends
- The #1 productivity tool Maijid recommends
- The #1 podcast Maijid recommends
- The #1 person with whom Maijid would most like to have dinner
- Maijid’s top 3 favorite travel destinations
- Maijid’s top 3 bucket list destinations
[1:13:54] CONTACT MAIJID
