Wise co-founder: I live a pretty normal life in London
Wise co-founder Kristo Käärmann said despite everything the company has achieved he lives a fairly ordinary life.
Talking to "Ringvaade" in a rare interview, Käärman, 45, who lives in London with his wife and two small children, said that he even now looks out for discount prices in stores.
"When we had children, we stopped making English breakfasts and instead eat oatmeal porridge in the mornings," he added.
"I have a six-year-old and a three-year-old son. In the mornings, they need to be taken to kindergarten, which is a very nice activity. London has very good transport connections; you can hop on a train and head out of the city. We go hiking with the children, swimming, and cycling," he continued.
"I try to spend my free time at home and do something fun with the kids. The good thing is that when we have 8,000 employees, the work gets done even without me. When needed, I can take a vacation and spend time with my family," he added.
Despite being last year worth US$2.3 billion according to Forbes, Käärmann said he does not have any particular attachment to owning physical items, either. "Then you also have to start using them, and that requires time, yet I don't have too much time on my hands," he explained.
Käärmann co-founded the company with Taavi Hinrikus a decade and a half ago now.
The nicest thing about his job is that it matters to so many people, given how much the company has grown in that time. "In the previous quarter, we gained as many new customers as there are people in Estonia," he noted.
"Today we move €170 billion of our clients' money each year. We measure ourselves by how much money we save our clients, and by now that is already two to three billion euros a year that they would otherwise pay to banks," he went on.
"Ringvaade" presenter Marko Reikop visited the new Wise Tallinn offices in the Krulli quarter, Põhja Tallinn. That facility alone employs around 2,500 staff, who have plenty to keep them attracted there, including a well-stocked kitchen, snacks, a gym, pool and table tennis tables, and more.
The staff are international too, and Wise is an often-mentioned name on expat social media groups when queries about potential employers are posted. "The language you hear most in the office is English. In addition to workspaces and cool meeting rooms, the office also has a band room, a karaoke room, and saunas with hot tubs."
Founded as Transferwise in 2011 and later renamed Wise, the company floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2021.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Annika Remmel
Source: 'Ringvaade,' presenter Marko Reikop
