The future of payments is stablecoin.
In today’s episode I sat down with Eric Barbier, Founder & CEO of Triple-A. The stablecoin infrastructure behind Grab, Farfetch, and 1,000+ enterprises across 120 countries. He’s a founder with a solid track record: Two exits. Three companies. Twenty years building global payments.
We talked about the year his father lost his job, and what that did to him long before he ever became a founder. About what stablecoins actually solve, and where the hype ends and the real work begins. About the pain of letting go after an exit, and why his sweet spot has always been zero to one.
📌 What you'll discover in this episode:
* From corporate engineer to serial founder
* How Triple-A started with engineers mining crypto
* The mission: Access to dollars and other main currencies for anyone, anywhere in the world
* Compliance, trust and the balance sheet problem
* How Asia bets on risk fundamentally differently than Europe
* The hardest moment as an entrepreneur and what kept him going
* Financial inclusion as a personal driver
* How Triple-A is becoming the trusted stablecoin network for cross-border enterprise payments
The human side of entrepreneurship, the way you rarely hear it.
Chapters - jump straight to what helps you:
0. Intro
(00:00) Intro - Eric Barbier
1. The Origin
(03:05) From corporate engineer to serial founder
(09:05) How Triple-A began: engineers mining crypto
(14:30) The mission: a US-dollar account for anyone
(19:40) Three services and the chicken-and-egg problem
2. The Person Behind It
(22:05) The year his father lost his job
(25:05) Building, selling and the pain of letting go
(29:40) His sweet spot: zero to one and proving doubters wrong
3. The Reality of Entrepreneurship
(32:10) Stablecoins: revolution or just rhetoric?
(36:25) Compliance, trust and the balance-sheet problem
(40:20) Beyond the dollar, and spotting the hype
(43:40) Surviving doubt and why Asia bets on risk
(47:50) The hardest moment and what drives growth
(54:30) Being early, banks and the IPO dream
4. Reflection & Meaning
(01:03:30) His “why”: financial inclusion and global impact
5. Insights & Closing
(01:06:40) Think, Build, Live: books, coding and walking
(01:10:55) LinkedIn, personal brand and goodbye
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About Purpose Driven:
My name is Michel Breeuwer, founder and host of the Purpose Driven Podcast.
In this podcast we explore what lies beneath the surface of entrepreneurship. The stories, choices, strategies and inner processes that usually remain invisible.
Become Guest or Sponsor? email: info@purposedrivenmedia.nl
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michel-breeuwer-21b52944/
Links from Eric Barbier & Triple-A:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericbarbier/