Xendit: Hiring for Growth

In 2019, Xendit, a growth-stage Southeast Asia (SEA) fintech venture based in Jakarta, was looking to hire a Head of Sales and Head of Product to lead its next phase of growth. Founded by Moses Lo and Tessa Wijaya, Xendit provided payment infrastructure, modeling itself as the Stripe of SEA. It was the first Indonesian company to be accepted into Y Combinator, and it had raised over $18 million in its Series A round in 2018. By 2019 it was processing $6.5 billion worth of transactions per year, growing at 10% month over month, and had recently announced plans to raise a $65-million Series B round. The company attributed much of its success to hiring smart and tenacious generalists who could adapt to new situations, learn quickly, and bring an execution mindset. But the organization was maturing, and specialists were increasingly required. Sourcing executives with the right skillset and cultural fit for Xendit was a challenge. Fintech was in its infancy in SEA, resulting in a shallow pool of industry talent. Bringing in talent from outside SEA was tricky due to the importance of regional knowledge and language proficiency. As the founders looked to hire new leaders to drive core growth while also expanding into the Philippines, they also sought talent that could help professionalize the organization. Promoting from within had the advantage of rewarding loyalty and ensuring cultural fit, while bringing in seasoned talent from outside offered deep skillsets and new approaches, provided they could fit with Xendit's culture. The founders had narrowed down their choices to two candidates for the Head of Product and Head of Sales positions. Now they needed to make a decision.