Jordan Olivas

co-founder and CEO of Kisspay

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Jordan Olivas is the co-founder and CEO of Kisspay, a Pakistan-first company that lets consumers pay in four monthly installments. He previously worked in fintech, including at Klarna and ChargeAfter. Olivas grew up in a small town in New Mexico and attended the University of New Mexico.

Early life and background

Jordan Olivas grew up in a small town of 3,000 to 4,000 people in New Mexico, and moved to Albuquerque at about age 12 or 13. He has said his household was poor and lived paycheck to paycheck. He has said he did not get an allowance because his parents could not afford it, so he bought gum and candy from a store and resold it at school. He has said his father taught him that people are products of their environment. [1]

Olivas has said he did not come from a lot of money and did not attend Harvard or Stanford. He has also said he did not have any connections. [1]

Education

Olivas attended the University of New Mexico. He worked at an automotive shop while at university. [1]

Career

Olivas has said he decided to stay in New Mexico. He moved to Texas around 2013. He has said he started at a low position and changed jobs a couple of times, and that he was always the youngest person in any position he held. He has said he worked in fintech the entire time. [1]

Olivas worked for ARI Fleet, a fleet management company. At ARI Fleet, he became interested in WEX and Voyager fuel cards. After ARI Fleet, he sold bill payment systems to government entities and utility companies. The bill payment system he sold was called Kubra, a company based in Canada. He then worked at RS Software, a software house that built payment systems. He has said he was promoted from sales engineer to director of sales within nine months, and possibly in under seven months. [1]

Olivas worked for Klarna, which he has described as the largest buy now pay later company. He has said Klarna's Pay in 4 solution let consumers pay over four bi-weekly installments. He has said his time at Klarna was a learning experience and that Klarna set him on a path toward buy now pay later services. [1]

Olivas worked at ChargeAfter, a buy now pay later aggregator. There he was brought on as vice president of sales and built out the sales team. He has said ChargeAfter described itself as a technology company that any buy now pay later provider could plug into. [1]

Kisspay

Olivas has said he eventually decided to try starting something on his own. He has said he invested in a software house, where he found his co-founder at Kisspay. He has said he messaged a random person on Fiverr. He has said he and others built a software house of 15 to 20 people, and that he acted as the investment arm of the software house. [1]

Olivas has said he has worked in several other markets for multiple companies over several years. He has also said he has done work for the Indian economy without going to India. [1]

Olivas has said the company raised a million dollars, and that it has a pre-money valuation of 4.5 million. He has said the company has signed over 100 retailers and three celebrity brands. He has said the company has over 30 employees and plans to hire 20 to 30 more. He has said the company is signing hundreds, if not thousands, of consumers every day, with the highest number of consumer sign-ups in one hour at around 300. He has said the company is well-funded and has plenty of runway. [1]

Olivas has said the Kisspay app has a 4.3 out of five rating from over 70 reviews, and that the app had thousands of downloads soon after its launch. He has said Kisspay lets consumers pay in four monthly installments with no interest and no fees, and that consumers can pay with any debit or credit card on Kisspay. He has said Kisspay is piloting its first in-store payments with Philips, and that Philips and Unilever are among the first brands for in-store installments. [1]

Olivas has said Kisspay holds and settles only each installment, not the full amount. He has said Kisspay earns its revenue by charging retailers, and that its main value proposition to retailers is helping them optimize checkout. He has said Kisspay will refund a consumer in full if a retailer does not follow its refund policy, and that it is adding wallets as a repayment method. [1]

Olivas has said Kisspay is becoming a trust authority for consumers and is a Pakistan-first company that wants to take care of the Pakistani consumer. He has said Kisspay relies on its banking partners, that it moves much faster than banks, and that people from the SECP and from banks have been more than welcoming. He has said Kisspay uses a proprietary underwriting algorithm developed in-house, that its underwriting models come from the experience of its team, and that it does not treat CNIC as a valid way to underwrite consumers. [1]

Olivas has said one of his best employees is Gen Z, and that the company plans to hire 20 new people, all fresh out of university. He has said the company runs an annual female empowerment scholarship that pays 50% of tuition for one female employee, and that three of the company's directors are female. He has said speed is the first of the four pillars that drive the company, and that his approach to product is iteration loops. [1]

Views

Olivas has said Pakistan has a massive young population, and that Pakistan is the best market to be in right now. He has said more money was invested in Pakistan in the past six months than in the three years before, and has predicted that Pakistan will see ten times the amount of investment next year. He has said the Pakistani government is offering startup grants and passing legislation to ease business. [1]

Olivas has said his company could build one of Pakistan's first startup unicorns, and that he wants the company to be made in Pakistan by Pakistanis for Pakistanis. He has said the problem with offshore work is unclear requirements from outsiders, not Pakistani talent. He has said Pakistani Gen Z is more impressive than US Gen Z. [1]

Olivas has said most major Pakistani cities could end up like Dubai. He has said he expects Pakistan to keep more of its culture as it grows, and to be a pretty wealthy country in 25 to 30 years. [1]

Olivas has said he has never once experienced the terrorism and fraud often associated with Pakistan, and that more Americans need to come to Pakistan. He has said he came to Pakistan on purpose and that it was not by chance. He has said problems in Pakistan excite him because he can solve them and make money, and that he expects to keep doing something in Pakistan after the company grows. He has said he focuses on taking care of the consumer. [1]

Personal life

Olivas has said he is a Latinx minority. He has said he has no talents other than building businesses. He has said his travel has mostly been for work rather than vacations, and that he has been to Pakistan, the US, Mexico, Canada, Sweden, the UK and Qatar. He has said he recently attended his first Pakistani wedding. [1]

Timeline

2013
Moved to Texas[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2021-07-26 The American who moved to Pakistan to build a unicorn Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Jordan Olivas?

Jordan Olivas is the co-founder and CEO of Kisspay, a Pakistan-first company. He previously worked in fintech, including at Klarna and ChargeAfter. He grew up in a small town in New Mexico.[1]

What does Jordan Olivas do?

Jordan Olivas is co-founder and CEO of Kisspay. He has said Kisspay lets consumers pay in four monthly installments with no interest and no fees. He has also said Kisspay earns its revenue by charging retailers.[1]

Where did Jordan Olivas study?

Jordan Olivas attended the University of New Mexico. He has said he worked at an automotive shop while at university.[1]

Where is Jordan Olivas from?

Jordan Olivas grew up in a small town of 3,000 to 4,000 people in New Mexico. He moved to Albuquerque at about age 12 or 13.[1]

What company did Jordan Olivas found?

Jordan Olivas is co-founder and CEO of Kisspay. He has said he found his co-founder at a software house in which he had invested.[1]

What did Jordan Olivas do before Kisspay?

Jordan Olivas worked for ARI Fleet, then sold bill payment systems to government entities and utility companies. He later worked at RS Software, Klarna and ChargeAfter. At ChargeAfter he was brought on as vice president of sales.[1]

References

  1. The American who moved to Pakistan to build a unicorn . Thought Behind Things , 2021-07-26.
Show the source passages (96 statements)
  1. Jordan Olivas grew up in a small town of 3,000 to 4,000 people in New Mexico. I grew up, uh, small town, 3,000-4,000 people in the middle of nowhere, New Mexico
  2. Jordan Olivas moved from that town to Albuquerque at about age 12 or 13. till I was about 12-13, and then moved to the, you know, I guess the big city of Albuquerque
  3. Jordan Olivas has said his household was poor and lived paycheck to paycheck. My, you know, poor household, you know, paycheck to paycheck sort of thing.
  4. Jordan Olivas has said he did not come from a lot of money and did not attend Harvard or Stanford. I don't come from, uh, a lot of money, and I don't come from, I never went to Harvard or Stanford
  5. Jordan Olivas has said he did not have any connections. I didn't have any connections
  6. Jordan Olivas has said he did not get an allowance because his parents could not afford it, so he bought gum and candy from a store and resold it at school. I didn't get an allowance, my parents couldn't afford it, so I would go to the store, buy gum and candy, and I would resell it at school
  7. Jordan Olivas has said his father taught him that people are products of their environment. Product of your environment, as my dad always used to say
  8. Jordan Olivas attended the University of New Mexico. I went to the University of New Mexico
  9. Jordan Olivas has said he decided to stay in New Mexico. decided that, uh, I was going to stay in New Mexico
  10. Jordan Olivas worked at an automotive shop while at university. I worked at an automotive shop in in college, or in university
  11. Jordan Olivas moved to Texas around 2013. I basically moved out to Texas, um, back in 2013 or so
  12. Jordan Olivas has said he was always the youngest person in any position he held. I was always the youngest person in any position that I ever held
  13. Jordan Olivas has said he started at a low position and changed jobs a couple of times. I made start at really low position, I switched a couple of jobs
  14. Jordan Olivas has said he worked in fintech the entire time. I basically did fintech the entire time
  15. Jordan Olivas worked for ARI Fleet, a fleet management company. I worked for a company called ARI Fleet, and it was a fleet management company
  16. At ARI Fleet, Jordan Olivas became interested in WEX and Voyager fuel cards. really found a lot of interest on the WEX and Voyager fuel cards
  17. After ARI Fleet, Jordan Olivas sold bill payment systems to government entities and utility companies. I went and sold bill payment systems to, uh, government entities, uh, utility companies
  18. The bill payment system Jordan Olivas sold was called Kubra, a company based in Canada. It was called Kubra. It was a company based out of Canada
  19. Jordan Olivas then worked at RS Software, a software house that built payment systems. went to work for a company called, uh, RS Software, which was a, uh, software house that built payment systems
  20. Jordan Olivas has said he was promoted from sales engineer to director of sales within nine months, and possibly in under seven months. within nine months, or maybe less than like seven months, I was promoted to director of sales from a sales engineer
  21. Jordan Olivas worked for Klarna. I went to work for a company called Klarna
  22. Jordan Olivas has described Klarna as the largest buy now pay later company. which is a, uh, the largest buy now pay later company
  23. Jordan Olivas has said Klarna's Pay in 4 solution let consumers pay over four bi-weekly installments. they launched their Pay in 4 solution, um, which allows consumers to pay over time over four, uh, bi-weekly installments
  24. Jordan Olivas has said his time at Klarna was a learning experience. it was a phenomenal learning experience
  25. Jordan Olivas has said Klarna set him on a path toward buy now pay later services. it would kind of set me on my path to truly start down the buy now pay later services
  26. Jordan Olivas worked at ChargeAfter, a buy now pay later aggregator. I started working at a company called, uh, ChargeAfter, which was a buy now pay later aggregator
  27. At ChargeAfter, Jordan Olivas was brought on as vice president of sales and built out the sales team. I was brought on as Vice President of Sales, I built out the sales team
  28. Jordan Olivas has said ChargeAfter described itself as a technology company that any buy now pay later provider could plug into. we're a technology company, plug in whoever you want
  29. Jordan Olivas has said he eventually decided to try starting something on his own. I eventually got to the point where, you know, I kind of said, 'Hey, why don't I do this on my own?'
  30. Jordan Olivas has said he invested in a software house, where he found his co-founder at Kisspay. I had invested in a software house. Um, that is where I found my co-founder, Saad, who is my co-founder at Kisspay
  31. Jordan Olivas has said he messaged a random person on Fiverr. I literally messaged a random person on Fiverr three years ago
  32. Jordan Olivas has said he and others built a software house of 15 to 20 people. we built a software house, you know, 15-20 people
  33. Jordan Olivas has said he acted as the investment arm of the software house. I basically was kind of like the investment arm
  34. Jordan Olivas has said he came to Pakistan the year before this episode was recorded. I came to Pakistan, um, last year
  35. Jordan Olivas has said that when he asked about Klarna-style payments in Pakistan, he found nothing similar. Do you have anything like Klarna?' Sure enough, nothing
  36. Jordan Olivas has said Pakistan has a massive young population. You have this massive young population, you have this bubble starting to burst
  37. Jordan Olivas has said low GDP per capita and low card penetration may explain why no one had built this in Pakistan. the reason being is because, you know, low GDP per capita, um, low card penetration
  38. Jordan Olivas has said he and others decided to do this full-time and sold off their contracts. we decided to go off, you know, do this full-time. We sold off the contracts
  39. Jordan Olivas has said the company raised a million dollars. We raised a million dollars in like, I mean, our first conversation from the time we closed was about six weeks
  40. Jordan Olivas has said the company has a pre-money valuation of 4.5 million. we're on a very high valuation for Pakistan, 4.5 million pre-money on on Pakistan
  41. Jordan Olivas has said the company has signed over 100 retailers. we've signed over 100 retailers, including Uniworth
  42. Jordan Olivas has said the company has signed three celebrity brands. We've signed three celebrity brands.
  43. Jordan Olivas has said the company has over 30 employees and plans to hire 20 to 30 more. now we have over 30 employees, we're going to hire another 20 or 30
  44. Jordan Olivas has said the company is signing hundreds, if not thousands, of consumers every day. we're signing hundreds if not thousands of consumers every single day
  45. Jordan Olivas has said the highest number of consumer sign-ups in one hour was around 300. the highest was like 300 and some odd consumers signed up in one hour
  46. Jordan Olivas has said the company is well-funded and has plenty of runway. we're well-funded, we've got plenty of runway
  47. Jordan Olivas has said the Kisspay app has a 4.3 out of five rating from over 70 reviews. we have like a 4.3 out of five-star rating, and we've got over 70 reviews now
  48. Jordan Olivas has said the app had thousands of downloads soon after its launch. we just launched this app like a week or two ago. And we've got thousands of downloads
  49. Jordan Olivas has said Kisspay lets consumers pay in four monthly installments with no interest and no fees. we allow a consumer to pay in four monthly installments, interest-free, fee-free
  50. Jordan Olivas has said consumers can pay with any debit or credit card on Kisspay. They can pay on any debit card, credit card
  51. Jordan Olivas has said Kisspay is piloting its first in-store payments with Philips. We are piloting our first in-store with Philips
  52. Jordan Olivas has said Philips and Unilever are among the first brands for in-store installments. Khaas is going to be one of our first brands to do this, as well as Philips and Unilever
  53. Jordan Olivas has said Kisspay holds and settles only each installment, not the full amount. we don't hold the full amount. We only authorize and settle the installment amount
  54. Jordan Olivas has said Kisspay earns its revenue by charging retailers. We charge the retailers.
  55. Jordan Olivas has said Kisspay will refund a consumer in full if a retailer does not follow its refund policy. if they don't follow their own refund policies, we will refund you 100% of the item, no questions asked
  56. Jordan Olivas has said Kisspay's main value proposition to retailers is helping them optimize checkout. we help you optimize your checkout
  57. Jordan Olivas has said Kisspay is becoming a trust authority for consumers. But for consumers, what we're turning into is becoming a trust authority
  58. Jordan Olivas has said Kisspay is adding wallets as a repayment method. we're adding wallets as a repayment method
  59. Jordan Olivas has said Kisspay relies on its banking partners to succeed. we rely on our banking partners to help us make us successful
  60. Jordan Olivas has said Kisspay moves much faster than banks. I think the difference between us and a bank is that we move much faster
  61. Jordan Olivas has said people from the SECP and from banks have been more than welcoming to Kisspay. people from the SECP, people from the banks have been more than welcoming
  62. Jordan Olivas has said he has never once experienced the terrorism and fraud often associated with Pakistan. there's terrorism and fraud and all this all this negative stuff that I've never once experienced
  63. Jordan Olivas has said Kisspay uses a proprietary underwriting algorithm developed in-house. we have a proprietary algorithm that we've developed in-house
  64. Jordan Olivas has said Kisspay does not treat CNIC as a valid way to underwrite consumers. CNIC is not a valid way to underwrite consumers
  65. Jordan Olivas has said Kisspay's underwriting models come from the experience of its team. are things that are thought of organically from our team, from ex- from my experience
  66. Jordan Olivas has said he has worked in several other markets for multiple companies over several years. I've done this in like, I don't know how many other markets, and for multiple companies over several years
  67. Jordan Olivas has said he focuses on taking care of the consumer. And if I focus on just taking care of the consumer
  68. Jordan Olivas has said Kisspay is a Pakistan-first company that wants to take care of the Pakistani consumer. We're a Pakistan-first company. We are a, you know, Pakistan employer first, and we want to take care of the Pakistani consumer
  69. Jordan Olivas has said Pakistan is the best market to be in right now. Pakistan is the best market to be in right now
  70. Jordan Olivas has said more money was invested in Pakistan in the past six months than in the three years before. in the past six months, there's been more money invested in Pakistan than the past three years combined
  71. Jordan Olivas has predicted Pakistan will see ten times the amount of investment next year. We're going to see 10x the amount of investment next year. I can almost guarantee it
  72. Jordan Olivas has said his company could build one of Pakistan's first startup unicorns. we could build Pakistan one of Pakistan's first startup, you know, uh uh unicorn
  73. Jordan Olivas has said he wants the company to be made in Pakistan by Pakistanis for Pakistanis. made in Pakistan by Pakistanis for Pakistanis
  74. Jordan Olivas has said the problem with offshore work is unclear requirements from outsiders, not Pakistani talent. it's not that the talent in Pakistan is bad. It's that the requirements given from outsiders aren't correct
  75. Jordan Olivas has said he expects to keep doing something in Pakistan after the company grows. I think I'm going to stay doing something in Pakistan
  76. Jordan Olivas has said more Americans need to come to Pakistan. more Americans need to come to Pakistan
  77. Jordan Olivas has said he came to Pakistan on purpose and that it was not by chance. I came here on purpose. This wasn't by chance
  78. Jordan Olivas has said he has no talents other than building businesses. I have no other talents except for building businesses
  79. Jordan Olivas has said his travel has mostly been for work rather than vacations. It's all been for work, you know
  80. Jordan Olivas has said he has been to Pakistan, the US, Mexico, Canada, Sweden, the UK and Qatar. Pakistan, US, uh Mexico, Canada, uh I've spent time, I mean, Sweden, uh uh UK, uh Qatar
  81. Jordan Olivas has said he has done work for the Indian economy without going to India. not been in India, but I've uh done work, you know, for the Indian economy
  82. Jordan Olivas has said he is a Latinx minority. I'm a minority, I'm a I'm a Latinx
  83. Jordan Olivas has said he recently attended his first Pakistani wedding. I was at my first Pakistani wedding this weekend
  84. Jordan Olivas has said Pakistani Gen Z is more impressive than US Gen Z. is way more impressive than the US Gen Z
  85. Jordan Olivas has said one of his best employees is Gen Z. one of my best employees is a Gen Z
  86. Jordan Olivas has said the company plans to hire 20 new people, all fresh out of university. we're about to hire 20 new people, all of them are going to be fresh out of university
  87. Jordan Olivas has said the company runs an annual female empowerment scholarship that pays 50% of tuition for one female employee. we do a annual um, you know, female empowerment uh scholarship where we pay 50% of the tuition for one of our female employees
  88. Jordan Olivas has said three of the company's directors are female. I've got three of our directors are female
  89. Jordan Olivas has said speed is the first of the four pillars that drive the company. we have four pillars that drive our company, that's in every one of our decks, and the first one is speed
  90. Jordan Olivas has said his approach to product is iteration loops. But for me, it's about iteration loops
  91. Jordan Olivas has said most major Pakistani cities could end up like Dubai. I think most of the major cities could end up like Dubai
  92. Jordan Olivas has said he expects Pakistan to keep more of its culture as it grows. I think Pakistan will keep more of its culture
  93. Jordan Olivas has said he expects Pakistan to be a pretty wealthy country in 25 to 30 years. Pakistan's going to be a pretty wealthy country in 25, 30 years
  94. Jordan Olivas has said the Pakistani government is offering startup grants and passing legislation to ease business. They're offering grants to startups. They are passing legislation to make it easier for people to operate
  95. Jordan Olivas has said problems in Pakistan excite him because he can solve them and make money. the fact that there are problems is what excites me that I can solve them and make make money out of it
  96. Jordan Olivas is co-founder and CEO of Kisspay. he is the co-founder and CEO of Kisspay