
The Hustle Behind Tonik Bank with Greg Krasnov | Hustleshare Ep 395
Behind every fast-scaling startup is often a founder who's already been through a few reinventions. In this episode, Greg Krasnov, Founder and CEO of Tonik Bank, shares how his early hustles in finance and tech carried him through private equity and into founding a bank in Ukraine, shaping his approach to risk-taking, leadership, and building financial institutions from the ground up. Dive into how Greg’s journey through fintech and emerging markets shaped his approach to building Tonik—from earning customer trust to taking a bold bet on digital banking in the Philippines, which quickly reached 1 billion pesos in retail deposits and raised $17 million in Pre-Series B funding. 00:00:38 - The sacrifices and long hours of Greg’s early career 00:05:37 - How coding and technology helped Greg pay his way through college 00:10:26 - Investment banking and private equity as career path 00:14:59 - Transition into private equity in Central Europe 00:18:09 - Why scaling consumer lending required a banking license 00:21:29 - Finding purpose and a new direction after a major business exit 00:27:16 - Identifying opportunities by combining existing technologies to solve major problems 00:31:34 - What Greg saw in the Philippines that led him to build a digital bank 00:36:23 - Building an international team to launch Tonic in the Philippines 00:40:09 - How Tonik integrates its values into hiring and employee development 00:45:24 - Greg’s six P’s framework for building a winning product 00:49:38 - Creating a more approachable and customer-friendly banking brand 00:55:12 - The importance of resilience and reliability in digital banking 00:58:36 - Why passion and commitment are essential to building a successful business 01:00:05 - What’s next for Tonik and where listeners can connect with him HustleShare is powered by PayMongo, the financial operating system for growing businesses. Learn more about PayMongo's product suite: https://pay.mg/pna-learnmore Sign up for free in as fast as 5 minutes: https://pay.mg/pna-signup PayMongo is regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Build your empire—subscribe and hit the bell for a new masterclass every Monday! 🚀 Watch more episodes of HUSTLESHARE: // Subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@hustlesharepodcast and follow Founders Only on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@foundersonlypodcast // Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/76aB39CuQ2nEKXgaS2O3rY // Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/founders-only/id1651692553 Connect with HUSTLESHARE: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hustleshare/ | Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hustlesharepodcast | TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hustlesharepodcast | LinkedIn: https://ph.linkedin.com/showcase/founders-only/ | Squarespace: https://wolf-triceratops-l4zp.squarespace.com/config/pages/5c6e992371c10b1f023d7b53 Follow ONE CFO: | Website: https://www.onecfoph.co | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onecfoph/ | LinkedIn: https://ph.linkedin.com/company/onecfo Follow PAYMONGO: | Website: https://www.paymongo.com/ | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paymongo/ | Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paymongo/ | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/paymongo #Podcast #Hustleshare #OneCFO #PayMongo #RonBaetiong #GregKrasnov Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.















