Mario Hernandez is Founder and CEO of IMPESA, a FinTech startup based in San Jose, Costa Rica.
IMPESA is an innovator of electronic payment solutions for banks. Its flagship product, Monibyte, allows business customers of corporate banks to manage and control the way their credit cards are used. Transactions over US$2.7 billion have flowed through IMPESA’s solutions. IMPESA has developed partnerships with leaders in the financial industry such as Visa and PayPal. In addition to Costa Rica, the startup is present in five countries across Central America and the Caribbean and it recently opened its Mexican branch as part of its international expansion.
Mario is originally from Monterrey, Mexico. He then moved to Costa Rica, where he has developed most of his professional career. He had an outstanding corporate career as a banker, working at major financial institutions such as Scotiabank and Grupo LAFISE, the latter where he reached the top role of CEO. The complexity for banks to innovate and his fascination for tech led him to later start IMPESA.
Content:
03:00 Mario’s roles as a banker, teacher, and family man
06:00 The multiple places where Mario has lived, including Mexico, Costa Rica, USA, and Canada
10:00 How Mario evolved from a manufacturing engineer to a banker
14:30 Why Mario decided to leave his successful corporate career to become an entrepreneur
18:40 The value of professional experience before becoming a founder
23:00 Mario’s connection to Mexico
26:30 His best advise to aspiring founders
Learn more:
Mario in LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mario-hernandez-5a6b8510/
IMPESA in LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/impesa/
IMPESA website: https://impesa.net/
Episode page: https://www.mexpreneurs.com/podcast-impesa
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