Colin Luce, CEO & Co-Founder of Basis Theory: $20 Million Raised to Build the Future of Payments Tokenization

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Colin Luce, CEO & Co-Founder at Basis Theory, a payments tokenization platform that has raised over $20 Million in funding.

Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:

• Understanding Tokenization: Colin explains how Basis Theory is redefining tokenization for data security, focusing on developer-friendly tools that simplify complex compliance and security challenges.
• The Klarna Experience: Colin shares insights from his time at Klarna, highlighting lessons learned from scaling a European fintech giant in the U.S. market and the challenges of adapting to a different ecosystem.
• Founding Basis Theory: The "aha" moment for Basis Theory stemmed from the frustration Colin observed in merchants dealing with high payment processing costs and the lack of flexibility in existing systems.
• Vertical vs. Horizontal Focus: Colin discusses the strategic decision to initially focus on payments as a vertical before considering broader applications of their technology in other sectors like healthcare.
• Go-To-Market Strategy Evolution: Basis Theory shifted from a broad, horizontal approach to a more focused, vertical strategy, emphasizing the importance of a top-down sales motion in achieving early traction.
• Outbound Sales Success: Despite the rise of PLG (Product-Led Growth), Colin highlights the continued relevance and success of outbound sales for deep infrastructure products like Basis Theory.

 

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