Executive Summary
Joined Payphone as Chief Growth Officer on March 17, 2026, succeeding Jordan Butler. In approximately 10 weeks, led a cross-functional transformation spanning US market entry, Ecuador competitive defense, marketing restructuring, CRM/product infrastructure, M&A advisory, team development, and new business vertical structuring.
| Metric | Value |
|---|
| Workstreams owned or co-led | 15+ |
| External counterparties built | 30+ |
| Documents & deliverables produced | 140+ |
| Weekly Intelligence Reports published | 12 (Mar 23 – May 25) |
| Competitive opportunities scored & tracked | 46 |
| Competitors actively monitored | 23 (with threat-level scoring) |
| Sponsor banks / card sponsors in pipeline (from zero) | 7 |
| iGaming/Betting partners sourced | 6 |
| Card program routes evaluated | 4 |
| Team members given 90-day plans | 3+ |
| OKR frameworks created | 3 (US, LATAM, Unified) |
| Competitive models built | 2 (Ecuador + US) |
| New business verticals structured | 1 (Bettings/iGaming) |
| AI agent systems built for operations | 8 specialized bots |
| LATAM revenue models built | 3 (Colombia, Mexico, Combined) |
| Projected US Y5 revenue | $76.8M |
| Projected US Y5 volume | $1.43B |
1
US Market Entry — "From Zero to Four Sponsor Banks in 30 Days"
What I inherited: Zero US infrastructure. No sponsor bank relationships. No processor agreements. No card program. No KYC vendor for non-SSN users. No licensing roadmap. A general "direction" toward the US with no executed thesis.
A. Strategy & Decision Framework
- Authored Payphone Strategy Deep Dive 2026 (373 lines) — the foundational document defining Provider Decision Gate, LATAM expansion matrix (Panama/Mexico/Colombia Tier 1), Phase 1 product requirements (no-SSN wallet), and 90-day action plan
- Defined 3 Decision Gates: Gate 1 (Apr 15), Gate 2 (Jun 30), Gate 3 (Sep 15)
- Published LATAM Prioritization Matrix ranking 8 countries by regulatory readiness, market size, and strategic fit
B. Processor, Acquirer & Sponsor Bank Pipeline
- Stripe: Completed Due Diligence Questionnaire (DDQ); registered for Stripe Sessions 2026
- Fiserv/Cybersource PFAC: Cold outreach to Fatou Diop (Director, PayFac) produced response in <24 hours; structured meet & greet with Christa Serra and Steve DeVlieger confirmed; authored Payphone Fiserv Bank Use Case document sent to 4 Fiserv executives (Fatou Diop, Chris Bjork, Bill Holloran, Steve DeVlieger) expanding relationship beyond PayFac into broader bank partnership
- Visa Acquiring Team: Built relationships with 5 executives; attended onsite meeting in Boca Raton (Apr 9); Visa became active intro broker to sponsor banks
- Truist: Intro via Visa (Apr 14) — sponsor bank candidate
- FinPay: Intro via Visa (Apr 10) — call scheduled Apr 22-23
- Plutos Payments (Mitch Jessop): Call completed Apr 9, DDQ response delivered
- CBW Bank (Brady TenEyck, Suchitra Padmanabhan): Intro via Episode Six (Apr 9) — alternative sponsor route independent of Visa
- Column Bank (Jack Crowe): New sponsor bank relationship opened; authored and delivered US Money Movement Architecture document; multiple strategy calls completed
- Bank of Missouri (TBOM) (Kenny Fox): Completed Card Sponsorship Program Overview response document; MNDA signed; 60-month volume projections delivered
- Coastal Bank (Nick Stephenson): Intro via Kathryn for card sponsorship program; relationship opened for alternative card issuing route
- Produced us-acquirer-sponsor-analysis.md: Ranked 7 sponsor candidates (#1 Elavon 9.2/10, #2 Worldpay/GPN 9.0, #3 Fiserv 8.5)
Impact: From zero to seven active sponsor-bank/card-sponsor conversations in 10 weeks. Complete US infrastructure stack defined: Stripe (processing), Stripe Issuing (cards), Incode (KYC), Transnetwork (remittances), with Inyo Global as critical pending MTL/remittance partner. Column Bank and TBOM represent the most advanced sponsor relationships with documents exchanged and MNDAs signed.
C. Card Program — Issuing Strategy
- Highnote: Defended 50K cards Y1 target with funnel math based on 700K LATAM users and $309M TPV
- Episode Six: Technical architecture reviewed; CBW Bank introduced as sponsor
- Stripe Issuing: Evaluated as Day 1 option ($0.10 virtual / $3.50 physical)
- PayCaddy Finance: Formal proposal received; projecting 86K cards M12, 352K cards M24
- Bamboo Payment Solutions: NDA executed; forecast sent
- Published Volume Projections (Y1-Y5): Y1 52K users / $32M; Y5 519K users / $1.43B domestic / $365M cross-border / $76.8M revenue / 17.6% net margin
D. Remittances & Cross-Border
- Opened door with Transnetwork for remittance rail partnership — 4 workstreams identified
- Monitored Stripe Tempo (blockchain mainnet live Mar 18) with design partners including OpenAI, Anthropic, Deutsche Bank, Shopify
- Identified Bridge (Stripe) as stablecoin rail alternative to Felix Pago ($3B volume)
- Tracked FedNow Cross-Border Proposal (Apr 8 Federal Reserve Regulation J amendment)
- Created Anti-Remittance-Tax campaign brief: US 1% tax applies only to cash/checks — Payphone digital transfers exempt
E. KYC — Incode Reactivation
- Reactivated legacy relationship with Jordan Patterson (Incode) on Mar 31
- MNDA sent, reviewed by Legal (Martin Burbano), pending signature
- POC Agreement for no-SSN/ITIN and Matricula Consular onboarding
Impact: KYC stack for non-SSN/ITIN users resolved before Gate 1 — critical given ITIN filing crisis (-1M returns reported Apr 2026).
F. Network Relationships (Visa & Mastercard)
- Visa: 5-person relationship built; onsite Boca Raton; active broker for sponsor bank intros
- Mastercard LATAM: Delivered Ecuador + US projection templates; Digital Incentive letter signed
G. Weekly Intelligence Reports
- Published 12 editions (Mar 23 – May 25, 2026) — continuous weekly cadence for 10+ weeks
- Scored and tracked 46 opportunities using 20-point framework (Impact + Feasibility + Urgency + Fit)
- Top scorers: Stripe Sessions 20/20, Stripe Tempo 19/20, Anti-Remittance-Tax 19/20, Bloom Credit 18/20, Remitly SNPL Response 18/20, Inyo Global 18/20
Live competitive intelligence database — 23 competitors tracked:
| Competitor | Threat Level | Key Intel |
|---|
| Felix Pago | MAXIMUM | $99M funded, 366 employees, $3B+ volume, NOW ON TEMPO + Ecuador corridor opening |
| Remitly | HIGH-CRITICAL | SNPL live, B2B bulk payments launched, 9.6M active customers, Q1 revenue $452.8M |
| Comun | HIGH | $2.99 flat remittance, 88K+ cash deposit locations |
| X Money | PUBLIC ROLLOUT | Live in 40+ states, 6% APY, Visa debit, no NY license |
| Nubank US | MEDIUM-HIGH | OCC conditional approval, must open by Jul 2027 |
| WU/Intermex | MEDIUM-HIGH | USDPT stablecoin live on Solana |
| Kiwi | ESCALATED | $100M credit facility, profitable, scaling nationally |
| DNERO | MEDIUM | Raising $5M, US/MX/CO/SV corridors live |
| MoneyGram | MEDIUM | Stellar partnership, LATAM stablecoin expansion |
| Bodega AI/Payroc | PARTNER | Payroc-backed POS for Latino merchants |
H. LATAM Expansion Revenue Models
- Built Colombia Revenue Model, Mexico Revenue Model, and Combined LATAM Revenue Models
- Created LATAM Execution Roadmap and LATAM Expansion Strategy
- Authored LATAM Betting Competitors Analysis
I. US Strategy Documentation Suite
- Built comprehensive US Strategy Repo containing 24+ HTML documents: master strategy, Stripe architecture, licensing roadmap, merchant acquirer roadmap, US/LATAM execution roadmaps, board-ready presentation, B2B/B2C strategy, vendor evaluation, Inyo partnership proposal, and more
J. M&A / Capital Advisory — Project Ring
- Coordinated with Origin Merchant Partners (Dipal Doshi, Horacio Facca, Tedi Gjoleka, Aaron Kadey)
- Established weekly Tuesday touchpoints (3 sessions completed by Apr 15)
- Reviewed outreach materials, party summaries, differentiator 1-pagers, cohort analyses
- Sign-off on CGO narrative for investor materials
- Authored Project Ring Outreach Analysis (Apr 8)
- Reviewed Project Ring Outreach Summary (Apr 8)
- Created Investor Deck Review — detailed review and feedback on the capital raise presentation
- Built Pitch Deck v2 — revised investor pitch deck for the fundraise
- Authored Investor Targeting Strategy: Sent prioritized investor list to Origin Merchant Partners, ranking targets by strategic fit — identified Bicycle Capital as #1 priority based on LATAM fintech thesis alignment
2
Ecuador Competitive Defense — "$1.19M Plan to Double Users"
Authored the Plan de Accion Competitivo Payphone Ecuador 2026 — a 1,084-line strategic document incorporating COO input with corrected competitive scores.
| Dimension | Payphone Score | Position |
|---|
| B2C | 47/60 | 2nd (behind Deuna at 51/60) |
| B2B | 49/60 | Market Leader |
| Combined | 96/120 (80%) | Leadership driven by B2B strength |
Identified 4 critical threats: Yape (CRITICAL), Apple/Google Pay (HIGH), Deuna (HIGH, revised up), AgoraPay (MEDIUM, new).
12 Action Plans Across 3 Horizons
| Horizon | Key Actions | Investment |
|---|
| Immediate (0-3 mo) | "Cancela Tu POS" vs Datafast, Payphone Ofertas pilot, P2P interbancario gratis, Security branding | $105K |
| Short-term (3-6 mo) | Campus Payphone (200K users), "Del Efectivo al TAP" (25K merchants), WhatsApp Commerce (15K sellers), Cooperative alliances | $670K |
| Medium-term (6-12 mo) | Tech MOAT (SRI integration), Ofertas self-service (100+ merchants), International card campaign, Anti-Yape defense | $410K |
3
Marketing Restructuring
Led a complete reorganization of the marketing function — strategy, segmentation, team structure, and tooling.
- 6-Segment Marketing Strategy — broke Ecuador market into 6 actionable segments with dedicated tactics
- Marketing Team Restructure — new org design + CEO showcase deck
- HR Restructure Proposal
- Marketing Restructure Execution: Coordinated with People team (Juan Jose Gutierrez) to execute the approved 9-person marketing structure — defined roles, reporting lines, and transition timeline
- Growth Launch Team: Created Microsoft Teams team with 15 cross-functional members to coordinate go-to-market execution across marketing, sales, product, and tech
- Marketing Leads Team: Created dedicated Microsoft Teams workspace for marketing leadership coordination
- Quarterly Performance Review: Led comprehensive marketing performance analysis — reviewed channel metrics, campaign ROI, and budget allocation with actionable optimization recommendations
- Individual 90-Day Plans for Ana Julia Ayala (Brand), Efrain Lopez (Growth/Lifecycle), Isaac (Performance)
- Talking Points for managers: Ana Julia, Efrain, Gerardo, Pablo
- Brand Book with US and LATAM variants
- Adjust vs Singular comparison & MMP Alternatives analysis
- FacePhi vs Market analysis
4
CRM & Product Infrastructure
Owned the CRM decision and integration — from vendor evaluation to technical specification.
- CRM Decision: Evaluated Pipedrive vs Freshworks for Insider ONE integration (v1 and v2 analysis)
- Pipedrive Migration: Tracker + Field Mapping
- CRM Decision Memo for CSO + CSO feedback response
- Insider SDK Integration: Spec v1, Assessment, Technical Design Document
- 3x TDD Documents: Pipedrive-Insider, Pipedrive Migration v2, WPFusion-Pipedrive
- Azure DevOps to Jira Sync: Recommendations + Installation Guide
- Product Roadmap, AVP Solutions Evaluation, SDK vs App Flow Comparison
- CGO Master Tracker — central task/decision tracking system
5
Product & Commercial Strategy
- Click-to-Pay Digital Sales Strategy
- Click-to-Pay Technical/Commercial Alignment: Led cross-functional alignment between tech, product, and commercial teams to finalize implementation approach
- Distribution Channels Strategy
- PayPhone Business V1 Product Spec
- Inyo Global Strategic Analysis + Partnership Proposal
- Shopify Integration Business Case: Authored business case and sent to CEO/CFO/CTO for launch approval; defined revenue projections, integration requirements, and go-to-market timeline
- Shopify ROI Analysis
- Commercial MCC Segmentation: Approved MCC segmentation framework with 31 GREEN (auto-approved) + 15 AMBER (review-required) niches for structured risk-based merchant onboarding
- Sales Commission Plan: Designed and approved new model shifting primary metric from TPV to revenue — aligning sales incentives with profitability
- Chargeback Insurance (Seguros Unidos): Reviewed partnership presentation for merchant risk mitigation product
- Conexa AI: Evaluated and forwarded AI commercial proposal to leadership
- Commercial Needs Matrix + Executive Summary
- Revenue-Driven Product Roadmap
- Top 5 Bets Executive Plan
- Banred Pago Directo + BIESS Digital Credit Use Cases
6
Bettings / iGaming Vertical
Structured the betting vertical from initial analysis through compliance review, partner evaluation, and onboarding process design.
- Risk-Compliance Analysis + Executive Risk Summary
- Uruguay Analysis: Asar777, Coastal, Risk Loopholes (3 documents)
- BD Interview Framework + Gabriel Sotillo interview
- Onboarding Process V3.0: Upgraded from V2.0 with 4 automation improvements — MCC pre-fill, country capture, compliance auto-routing, rolling reserve calculation
- Expansion Proposals: Tomerly expansion + internal talking points
- Contract Templates: Peru (BetAndes) + Colombia
- LATAM Alternative Markets Analysis: Post-Uruguay rejection, identified 5 viable markets with $1.8-2.8M/month combined TPV potential
- Conference Strategy: Approval + Attack strategy documents
- WhatsApp Payments Bot: Business case, business plan, and prototype built
- Regulatory Analysis for WhatsApp bot flows
- Crypto Wallet / International Betting Policy: Enforced rolling reserve policy for crypto wallet operators processing international betting transactions
iGaming Partner Pipeline (Built from Zero)
Sourced and opened relationships with 6 payment/processing partners for the betting vertical:
| Partner | Contact | Focus |
|---|
| Nuvei | Via Paola Murillo | Betting payment processing |
| PayRetailers | Andy Diaz, Jorge Ruvalcaba | iGaming LATAM processing |
| dLocal | Sixtine Sulaski | High-risk processing partnership |
| Worldline | Direct outreach | iGaming processing in Panama |
| Pagsmile | Marilia Jesus | Betting payment partnership |
| Payroc | Via Bodega AI | Latino merchant POS + betting |
7
OKRs & Organizational Design
- OKRs 2026: Unified Proposal, LATAM, US, and Presentation (4 documents)
- CGO Org Chart + CRO Org Chart
- COO Responsibilities LATAM
- Variable Compensation Policy Response
- Tech Blocker Report + Product-Tech Action Plan
- Tech/Product Communication Process: Defined new structured communication process between tech and product/commercial teams to reduce friction and improve delivery cadence
- Job Evaluation Response (Valoracion de Cargos): Responded to HR (Isabella Pena) with CGO input on company-wide job evaluation and compensation banding
8
Finance & Fundraising Support
- CFO FacePhi Analysis: vs Alternatives, Migration path, Full Report (3 documents)
- Plan de Deducciones 2026 + Tax Strategy Analysis
- Project Ring Financial Model review (v21)
- Investor Deck Review + Pitch Deck v2
- Payphone Overview for Family Office
- Volume Projections: Episode Six, Highnote, and Stripe (Y1-Y5 models)
9
Compliance & Governance
- Document Audit
- Compliance Escalation Package
- Personal Advisory Memo
- Audit Reports Translation: 2023 + 2024 EcuaPayphone to English
- Coverage Analysis V4/V5
- Betting Compliance Analysis: Full risk assessment for iGaming vertical
10
Stakeholder Management & Onboarding
- Completed 5 handoff sessions with outgoing CGO Jordan Butler
- Conducted 1-on-1s with every key stakeholder: Founders (JJ Espinoza, JD Vazquez), Sales (David Munoz, Estefania Palacios, Pablo Jimenez), Marketing (Ana Julia Ayala, Efrain Lopez, Pablo Suarez), Product/UX (Nayla Solano, Flora Huerta, Nathaly Nolasco), Bettings (Paola Murillo)
- Created structured question documents for each stakeholder
- Built CGO Master Tracker for centralized decision and action tracking
- Johana Mora Delegation: Systematically handed off vendor relationship threads (Incode, Plutos, Truist, Transnetwork, FinPay) with structured context and next steps
- Edison Espinosa Recruitment: Identified, evaluated, and forwarded AI/Tech lead candidate to leadership for potential hire
11
Presentations & Executive Reports
- Centralized deck directory with Cloudflare hosting
- INFORME EJECUTIVO DE GESTION Y TRANSICION (24 pages)
- CGO Action Plan (10 pages)
- CGO Transition Summary (5 pages)
- Multiple PDF exports for offline distribution
12
AI Agent Infrastructure — Operational Intelligence System
Designed, configured, and deployed 8 specialized AI agents that operate as a persistent operational intelligence layer for Payphone. Each agent maintains institutional memory across sessions, tracks live data, and produces actionable outputs on demand.
| Agent | Function | Key Outputs |
|---|
| Payphone CMO | Marketing strategy, content production, campaign execution, investor marketing | LinkedIn content, campaign briefs, brand voice, competitive positioning |
| Payphone CFO | Financial analysis, investor metrics, fundraising narrative, margin optimization | Financial model review, red flag tracking, scenario modeling, due diligence prep |
| US Strategy | US market expansion intelligence, competitive tracking, regulatory monitoring | 12 weekly reports, 46 opportunities scored, 23 competitors tracked |
| Betting Ops | iGaming pipeline, TPV analysis, partner tiers, compliance tracking | Pipeline reports, Peru expansion forecasts, onboarding automation |
| EcuaFin | Ecuador payments ecosystem, regulatory intel, competitive defense | Threat assessments, regulatory moat analysis, defense playbooks |
| Lifecycle | CRM architecture, lifecycle flows, retention, segmentation | Insider ONE/Pipedrive flow design, behavioral scoring, churn models |
| Growth Signal | Growth architecture, campaign planning, creative direction | US Hispanic acquisition strategy, channel optimization |
| Intel Advisor | US regulatory, stablecoin infrastructure, sponsor bank vetting | MTL sequencing, stablecoin rail decisions, competitor analysis |
Impact: Created a scalable intelligence system that maintains continuous awareness of 23 competitors, 46 strategic opportunities, regulatory changes across 9+ jurisdictions, and financial model health — all accessible on demand. This infrastructure multiplies the CGO's capacity by providing instant access to deep domain expertise across every Payphone workstream.
Summary of Impact
Revenue & Growth Impact
- US market entry strategy projecting $76.8M revenue by Y5 with 17.6% net margin
- Ecuador competitive defense plan projecting +$4.2M incremental revenue and 125% user growth
Infrastructure Built
- CRM stack decision and integration spec (Pipedrive + Insider ONE)
- KYC vendor reactivated (Incode) for no-SSN/ITIN US market
- 7 sponsor bank/card sponsor relationships opened from zero
- Card program evaluated across 4 providers
- MCC segmentation framework (31 GREEN + 15 AMBER niches)
- Sales commission model redesigned (TPV to revenue)
- CGO Master Tracker for cross-functional visibility
Strategic Intelligence
- 12 Weekly Intelligence Reports with 46 scored opportunities
- Live competitive database tracking 23 competitors
- Regulatory tracking across US + Ecuador
- 3 LATAM revenue models (Colombia, Mexico, Combined)
- 2 comprehensive competitive models (Ecuador + US)
AI-Powered Operations
- 8 specialized AI agents as persistent intelligence layer
- 43+ files of institutional memory across agent systems
- Automated competitive monitoring, regulatory tracking, and opportunity scoring
- Scalable infrastructure multiplying CGO capacity across all workstreams
Team Development
- Individual 90-day plans for 3+ team members
- Marketing org restructured with new segmentation and roles
- Coaching docs for each marketing manager
- OKR frameworks for LATAM and US operations
Relationships Built
- 30+ external counterparties across Visa, Mastercard, Fiserv, Stripe, Episode Six, Highnote, PayCaddy, CBW Bank, Column Bank, Bank of Missouri, Coastal Bank, Truist, FinPay, Plutos, Incode, Transnetwork, Origin Merchant Partners, Nuvei, PayRetailers, dLocal, Worldline, Pagsmile, Seguros Unidos, Conexa AI
- Built iGaming partner pipeline with 6 payment processing partners from zero
- Reactivated legacy vendor relationships for Payphone's benefit