Mondido has launched – interview with CEO Robert Pohl

Mondido has launched – interview with CEO Robert Pohl

If you’ve ever implemented a payment solution for your startup, you might agree when I say that it can be a bit messy (and/or time-consuming, dull, boring, hard, annoying, etc.). That’s why I was so excited the first time I heard about Mondido. Here comes a nimble Swedish startup with the promise of a developer friendly and engaging payment service – i.e. quite the opposite of Behemoths such as Paypal.

The company was founded by Robert Pohl and Annika Manns and participated in the STING FastForward accelerator program earlier this year. As Mondido was officially launched last Wednesday, I reached out to CEO Robert for a quick interview.

So Robert – a few days after the launch, how do you feel right now?
We actually registered the domain Mondido in February 2012, and started working on the product 1,5 years ago, so it feels really great to finally have a product out there that we are truly proud of.

Let’s rewind for a moment, why did you began working with Mondido? What customer need do you fill?
I and my co-founder have worked on the customer side of payments for many years, with implementation of many different payment solutions, but have also been involved in selling products and services. We felt that there was not enough being done in improving the experience of Accepting Payments. It should be fun to get paid. We want to offer a dashboard where you can watch your pile of money grow, see who your real paying customers are and take learnings from what you are doing right to convert better and sell more. We call it Data-Driven Payments.

We want to offer a dashboard where you can watch your pile of money grow, see who your real paying customers are and take learnings from what you are doing right to convert better and sell more

And why was this the right time to launch? What have you achieved so far and what is ahead of you?
We have been handling live transactions for a year and started to take in live customers half a year ago. We are ready to make some noise now and start talking to the masses. But the real reason we decided to launch with a bang was because we wanted to show all our amazing supporters a good time.

We have been handling live transactions for a year and started to take in live customers half a year ago

I know for a fact that your payment service is very appealing for many startups. What has it meant for you to being located together with early adopters at SUP46?
When we moved into SUP46 it felt like coming home. To see so many really inspired and inspiring people in the same place is wonderful. It feels like we are building something together although we are all working on our own dreams. Or in some sense we are working together on making the future a better place, as most of us are solving a problem that needs to be fixed. Kudos to the SUP46 team for making such an inspiring environment, it is really a place where magic happens.

Kudos to the SUP46 team for making such an inspiring environment, it is really a place where magic happens.

And now, what is your strategy for extending beyond the startup community? How will you become a major player in this space?
We have big plans which are happening sooner than I think we, or at least I am, mentally ready for, things are happening extremely fast. We have huge things happening when it comes to partnerships and marketing, which I will be happy to tell you more about soon.

Finally – do you have any advice you want share?
Well, when a start-up asks me about my best advice, I always say that they should join an accelerator. It will help to push you in the right direction, and much faster than if you are out there on your own.

Thank you!