Introduction

Mercury’s founders built a startup bank by tackling the hardest problems first - and that bold move made it a $3.5B success.

The problem it solves

Traditional banking was slow, outdated, and painful for startups. Mercury aimed to fix that by creating a digital-first bank that worked like modern software, not like an old branch system.

Quick Summary

Immad Akhund, a serial founder, created Mercury after years of frustration with how banks treated entrepreneurs. He didn’t start with an easy idea - he chose a complex, regulated space and learned it from scratch by talking to founders, lawyers, and investors. The key was to do the “hard part” first: compliance, partnerships, and design.

Instead of rushing to launch, the Mercury team spent over a year building a full-featured product that could truly replace a company’s bank. When they finally launched in 2019, the response was instant and powerful. Without any sales team, users signed up and even trusted Mercury with million-dollar deposits. Growth didn’t slow down, even during the pandemic, proving the company had real product-market fit.

As Mercury scaled to a $3.5B valuation, Akhund learned that copying startup advice doesn’t work. Each company needs to build its own playbook, culture, and hiring style. At Mercury, culture reflected the founders’ personalities - humble, curious, and product-minded. During crises like the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, Akhund led calmly, acting as the “leveling function” to keep the team focused and confident.

Key Takeaways

• Great ideas matter more than people think - strong founders can hide weak ideas.
• Do the hardest, least familiar work first - that’s where breakthroughs come from.
• Don’t rush to launch. A strong, complete product beats a half-done MVP.
• Real product-market fit feels effortless - customers find you, not the other way around.
• Company culture mirrors the founders. Hire for traits that match it.
• During crises, founders must be the calm center that steadies everyone else.

What to do

• Choose an idea that truly excites you and stick with it.
• Talk to experts outside your comfort zone before building.
• Don’t copy startup “rules” blindly - build your own way.
• Spend more time on design and usability before launch.
• Hire people whose values and curiosity align with yours.
• When things go wrong, make a plan fast, stay calm, and keep your team united.

‍