Aldrich Tan is the co-founder and CXO of NextPay, which brings big banking into the hands of small businesses by building and offering financial solutions for MSMEs.

👋🏼 How would you explain your job to someone outside tech?

With my design background, I help NextPay build and maintain an amazing end-to-end experience for our customers and internal team members.

Externally, this means ensuring our company has a great and consistent experience from every touch point, from platform design to communications, operations, customer service and operations.

Internally, it's about maintaining a great employee experience in terms of culture, onboarding and offboarding, growth opportunities and internal operations processes.

🧐 What's something about you or your job that would surprise us?

I think a role like this (with the additional founder responsibility) requires wearing a lot of "hats" and learning and understanding different contexts to be able to help seamlessly connect departments and products.

While it can be quite mentally demanding, it is also very rewarding, especially when we hear so much praise from our customers and employees on how much they love our service and teams.

🏆 What has been the biggest highlight of your career so far?

I'm extremely proud of everything our team has achieved so far, from launching first-of-its-kind products in the fintech space in the Philippines to maintaining a great level of customer and product service from day 1. Seeing how much our team members care about the company and our customers is always a highlight of my days.

Going through the Y Combinator program with NextPay has definitely been a big highlight, but being able to give back to fellow founders and the design and startup community in the Philippines has also been a great experience. There are a lot of great things coming for the Philippines, and we're excited to be a part of it

🔍 What's a startup trend or space you're watching this year?‍

Definitely keeping an eye out on our local and international industry and economic and fintech landscape. Being in a startup, you can't get too immersed in your own bubble, and you always have to be ready to make a move and adapt to the shifting tides.

💼 What advice would you give someone starting out in your industry?

This is for any industry: Get involved with the community, connect and learn from others as much as possible. Learning from the experiences of others and finding a strong support system is a great investment of time and effort and will keep you going through the toughest of times.

Do not ever be shy or afraid to ask questions if it results in more learning opportunities. In fact, get GREAT at asking questions and drawing insights from anyone through simple conversation!

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🗣 What's one thing you can keep talking about for hours?

Food and puns. I'm always ready to eat and try new food. Aside from traveling, it's one of the best ways to learn about cultures. Sharing stories and bonding over a meal will always be one of my favorite experiences and ways of connecting with others. I also really enjoy cooking and learning how to make tasty recipes in the comfort of my own home.

🎥 What's your favorite movie/TV show?

I enjoy being a couch potato and enjoy a lot of fantasy, action, true crime, cartoons, and horror.

To name a few… The Raid, Jurassic Park, The Office, Marvel movies, Parks and Rec, Brooklyn 99, LOTR, Adventure Time, One Piece, The Expanse, Haunting of Hill House, Iron Chef… the list goes on.

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🍨 What's your go-to ice cream flavor?‍

I love ice cream flavors that are creamy but have texture and crunch.

I really enjoy Haagen Dazs' Coffee and Strawberry, as well as FIC and Baskin and Robbins Pistachio. Mad Marks' Madagascar and Espresso, Selecta's Quezo Real, and Dirty Ice cream (aka, sorbetes) all hold very special places in my stomach as well.