Greg Krasnov is the Founder of Tonik, the first neobank in the Philippines. In a chat with Qorus’ Boris Plantier, he shares his experience as a globetrotter in financial services and offers invaluable advice for those wishing to succeed in this fast-changing industry.
Tell us a little about your background.
Growing up, I saw firsthand how access to credit can drive upward mobility, especially after I moved to the US as a refugee in my youth. That experience shaped my passion for credit inclusion – making financial access accessible to everyone. Since then, I’ve lived and worked in many countries – UK, Poland, Ukraine, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines – building fintech solutions to help individuals thrive and grow.
What does your workplace look like?
My personal office is always minimalistic – PC, family picture, phone charger, whiteboard, and lots of chairs for group meetings. I also like to keep a little buddha figurine on my desk to remind me to chill even in the most stressful moments. Our office has an open space layout with a relaxed atmosphere and plenty of natural light. We have collaborative spaces for quick idea-sharing and quieter nooks for focused work or private calls. Most walls are fit out for whiteboarding. The goal is to keep communication free flowing, so we can innovate at any time.
Could you describe your usual working day?
I usually start my day with a workout, followed by meditation and journaling to clear my mind. Then, I dive into calls, one-to-ones and project meetings, which take up about 80% of my day, with some deep-work time in between. Evenings are typically business social over dinners or drinks. My days usually run late, but it’s rewarding to see all the moving parts come together, especially when we’re tackling such a massive challenge like expanding credit access.
What is your favorite food?
I love Asian foods – especially Thai, Indian and Chinese. These cuisines combine diverse flavors in a way that’s similar to fintech – bringing different ingredients and influences together to create something unique and useful. My time in Central and Eastern Europe hasn’t been kind to my liver, so the last few years I try to stay mostly keto – prioritizing meaty and fatty stir-fry and curry over rice and noodles.
What do you do when you need a break from work?
Music is a big part of my downtime: I love to discover new tracks on Spotify or jam – alone or with my son – or record some of my own tracks. I also practice martial arts to stay active. When I want to fully switch off, I’ll watch The Big Bang Theory or another sitcom with my family or play Civilization, my favorite strategy game.
What is the key to building a successful team?
Find people who really believe in the mission and are aligned on culture and values, then give them room to innovate. When everyone is aligned on a core vision – like driving credit inclusion – and driven by similar culture, it becomes much easier to move forward cohesively. I am also a big believer in hiring ambitious and driven ‘learners’ and ‘doers’ over ‘experts’. In a startup environment, too much preconceived conviction based on past experience can actually be a handicap – because you always need to look for new ways of solving problems, not just applying your past experience. No problem is ever the same.
There is a saying that we learn more from failure than success. Tell me about one of your failures and what you have learned from it.
Startups are always about learning from your mistakes and iterating for success. For example, in Tonik’s life we had to try a dozen different lending products to find the ones that now give us good unit economic traction, especially in terms of credit risk. ‘Failing fast’ is key to the success of a startup. Unfortunately, it’s not so easy to iterate fast when you are a bank and therefore have to build everything, even pilots, to bank-grade resilience. Staying close to customers helps you build solutions that truly address their problems, and avoid at least some of the unnecessary iterations.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to succeed in financial services?
Stay focused on understanding the customers to make sure you are solving the issues they’re actually facing. Understand the regulatory environment to build with proper resilience. Seek out partnerships that add value or open new markets. Embrace data and AI like your life depends on it – because it does. And above all, keep adapting to new data and changing market conditions. If you stay agile and customer-centric, you’ll stand out in the rapidly evolving finance landscape.
