"It really is execution. Ramp out-executed everyone and out-executed Brex. They were an execution machine. Execution is everything, especially in this part of the world. Your moat is execution. This is not rocket science. Execution is both underrated and overrated at the same time. If you can grow at a faster rate than anyone else, you can be weaker or at the same level and still win. You do not need any special sauce." - JX Lye, Founder and CEO of ACME
"If I am going to work 12-hour days, five or six days a week, and put my heart into it, and at the end build only a $1 or $2 million revenue run rate business, what is the point? We might as well take a high-paying job at a corporate or a bank and have a good life. The reason we do this is because we want an outsized return. You define your own outsized return. For me, my ambition is to build at least a $100 million revenue run rate company." - JX Lye, Founder and CEO of ACME
"As a fintech founder, how do you define execution? How do you know you are executing well? Execution starts with focus. In a startup, you are always tempted to try many different things, but executing well means focusing well. It means improving your core value proposition instead of getting distracted. Raising $10 or $15 million can change that. After a year, everything can fall into disarray because money starts solving problems, and you take on a different persona. You know this will happen, but the allure of using money to fix things is hard to resist. It always comes back to focus." - JX Lye, Founder and CEO of ACME
JX Lye, Founder and CEO of Acme, joins Jeremy Au to unpack how execution compounds advantage in Southeast Asia fintech. They explore Acme’s journey from solving delayed bank reconciliation to becoming a core bank connectivity layer serving fintech platforms, direct debit infrastructure, and ERP systems across Singapore and the region. The conversation covers the hard realities of going from zero to one customer, the discipline required from one to five, and how scaling to 80 customers shifts growth toward retention and upsell. Joshua reflects on fintech’s COVID boom and 2023 reset, the Brex versus Ramp execution debate, and why Singapore rewards niche depth in financial services. He also shares how AI is shifting from model hype to vertical application, and why founder endurance, health, and signal reading matter more than chasing a visible summit.
03:12 Instant payments exposed a broken backend: FAST and PayNow moved money instantly, but apps waited days because reconciliation relied on end-of-day bank statements.
09:18 From one to five customers demands discipline: Founders must resist custom builds, stay product focused, and lead sales personally to avoid fragmentation.
13:08 Scaling to 80 customers shifts growth drivers: Upsells and retention begin compounding faster than new logo acquisition in Southeast Asia’s shallow markets.
17:24 Fintech’s COVID boom distorted reality: Easy capital and soaring markets fueled inflated valuations that later reset in 2023.
22:38 Execution beats first mover advantage: Ramp outcompounded Brex through speed, alignment, and focus rather than positioning alone.
25:42 Focus and alignment define execution quality: If teams describe different priorities, compounding slows and distraction spreads.
38:32 Founder stress never disappears, it evolves: Milestones do not remove pressure; resilience, health, and signal reading sustain long-term ambition.
