Sam Waldo

Head of Startups, Asia, Airwallex | Singapore 🇸🇬

[Sam Waldo @sam_waldo]

@airwallex might not technically be a day-zero startup any more, but you wouldn't know that from the inside. We're not a small company, and we've got real compliance infra, serious-as-a-heart-attack FCC, proper grown-up stuff 🤓 But moving this fast means we're constantly opening up white space faster than we can fill it with clearly defined roles.

New geographies with no playbook yet. Product areas where internal teams need to plant the flag & build credibility. Verticals we haven't really looked at (yet). The list of expertise we need to hire in or develop internally keeps getting longer, not shorter.

Nobody's going to hand you a roadmap here. The growth happens when you spot what needs doing and go do it. I lead our Startups team across Asia out of Singapore. The team didn't exist in this form 12 months ago, and it won't look like it does today 12 months from now. Three roles open on my team right now - links in the comments.

#LifeAtAirwallex #airwallex #airwallexforstartups

[Sam Waldo @sam_waldo]

@airwallex might not technically be a day-zero startup any more, but you wouldn't know that from the inside. We're not a small company, and we've got real compliance infra, serious-as-a-heart-attack FCC, proper grown-up stuff 🤓 But moving this fast means we're constantly opening up white space faster than we can fill it with clearly defined roles.

New geographies with no playbook yet. Product areas where internal teams need to plant the flag & build credibility. Verticals we haven't really looked at (yet). The list of expertise we need to hire in or develop internally keeps getting longer, not shorter.

Nobody's going to hand you a roadmap here. The growth happens when you spot what needs doing and go do it. I lead our Startups team across Asia out of Singapore. The team didn't exist in this form 12 months ago, and it won't look like it does today 12 months from now. Three roles open on my team right now - links in the comments.

#LifeAtAirwallex #airwallex #airwallexforstartup

[Sam Waldo @sam_waldo]

Small gathering w/@StevenBartlett earlier this week, courtesy of @StanChart and @coolmumdianna. Three things I haven't been able to shake. I've heard versions these before, some many times, but Steven presented them so well that they felt fresh.

1 - 🤔 Reimagining behavioural interview questions
He reframes their whole purpose. Not "tell me about a time when..." but "here's the scenario -> what would you do." Dead simple, and I'm going to do a version of this in every interview going forward.

2 - 🥲 "It really doesn't matter"
Most of what we stress about shouldn't affect us. The list of things that genuinely matter in life is short. Very short. Steven didn't sell this as some enlightened mindset hack, just a fact not to stray from. Remember which list something's on before you let it consume you - whether that's for a year, a week, or a minute.

3 - 🚀 Analogy vs. first principles
This one I keep coming back to. In an AI moment where everyone is building "a version of X but with AI", reasoning from what's already been done gets you somewhere crowded - especially now that we can all build apps, websites, etc., in minutes rather than months. The people we'll be talking about in 5-10 years are making counter-intuitive bets right now and getting them right, not the trend runners.

[Sam Waldo @sam_waldo]

Thrilled to have hosted the closing night of #endeavor MatchCap 2026 at the #airwallex office this week. Over 800 hours of founder-investor convos, and we got to wrap it all up with drinks, conversations, and a packed room at our HQ. Huge thanks to the team!

[Sam Waldo @sam_waldo]

@aisolopreneur 🤖

[Sam Waldo @sam_waldo]

@Samirkaji @threadreaderapp unroll

[Eric Geller @ericgeller]

New @BelferCenter National Cyber Power Index is out. The U.S. once again claims the top spot, followed by China and Russia, but there are new players in the bottom half of the top 10 compared with the previous report. https://t.co/10PhAGlr8g

[Julia @JuliaVoo]

Some of my thoughts on Sir Fleming’s China speech last week.

[Sam Waldo @sam_waldo]

Very excited to be contributing to such a meaningful cause and working with such great people!

[UK National Committee on China @UkCommittee]

Delighted to welcome @sam_waldo to @UkCommittee team. With 10+ years entrepreneur/scale-up experience in China + UK Sam’s focus is strengthening the volunteer experience. BA Economics/EastAsian Language Columbia Uni NYC + @CambridgeMBA / @Forbes 30 under 30 Social Entrepreneur.

[MadelineCarr (@[email protected]) @MadelineCarr]

Fantastic panel on cyber power @ #cyberuk2022. @JuliaVoo

[Sam Waldo @sam_waldo]

@UberUKsupport I am not a Driver-partner // Delivery Partner. I am just a rider.

[Sam Waldo @sam_waldo]

@FitbitSupport Just got two fitbits in the mail, but impossible to create accounts or do anything at all! Should I just return them or is this issue going to be fixed?

[Sam Waldo @sam_waldo]

@niubi 那倒是

[Sam Waldo @sam_waldo]

@stanfordio @shelbygrossman @alexstamos @noUpside @Riana_Crypto @JuliaVoo

[Sam Waldo @sam_waldo]

@MayaNandakumar Is it all Fry’s??

[Julia @JuliaVoo]

TO UNDERSTAND OUR FRAMEWORK FOR THINKING ABOUT CYBER POWER IN 6 MINUTES LISTEN TO THIS 👇[it took us two takes... ☺️ + kicking one hungry cat out the room]

[Julia @JuliaVoo]

I had so much fun chatting w/ Jonathan that I’m already planning our next chat where I i/v HIM! Follow his blog & podcast for humorous and eloquent takes on 🔥 cyber issues + insight into the 🧠 of a former DoD speechwriter who had a ✋🏼 in creating the DoD’s cyber strategy! 🙌🏼

[Julia @JuliaVoo]

👏@mariabarsallol and @jonathanreiber for this cool @attackiq podcast episode exploring how Belfer Center's @D3P is working to ensure the integrity of the upcoming 🇺🇸 Presidential Election through combatting mis and disinformation https://t.co/tGhgCvhOhi

[Sam Waldo @sam_waldo]

Incredibly proud of my SO @JuliaVoo for this latest publication, the culmination of a year’s work by a crack team. A thoroughly researched, thoughtful, and useful tool for developing deeper understanding of a key aspect in geo-political tech competition.👏👏👏

[Julia @JuliaVoo]

Announcing @BelferCenter's National Cyber Power Index 2020! https://t.co/PXI4tIqGlS Thrilled to share our brainchild with you - shout out to the rest of the #cyberpower team @a_schwarzenbach, @irfanhemani, @__winn, @dancass580, and Simon Jones!