Taking chances on unique opportunities to scale faster

We caught up with Michael Lisovetsky recently, and his journey of co-founding and scaling Zurp, a financial solution provider offering users credit card-like rewards without debt risks by combining a secured card with a bank account. Read on to find out how it all started, what his daily life as an entrepreneur looks like, and the unique opportunities he's taking advantage of to help him scale Zurp.

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What is your company doing and what was the pivotal moment that led to the creation of your business?

Zurp helps people earn credit card like rewards without the risks of getting into debt. My co-founders and I realized that nearly half the country uses debit cards, but debit cards aren’t very useful for compared to generous rewards credit cards. We figure out a way to create a dynamic credit limit by combining a secured card card with a bank account, which is a complicated way to say we made a credit card that feels more like a debit card. With this, we’re helping thousands of people earn rewards every day but do so responsibly.

How do you identify and prioritize new growth channels?

We like to open up new growth channels by launching small experiments and then measuring results. For example, we started running ads on Google and we did so by running a series of experiments that focused on high intent keywords, paired with very tailored landing pages. Once we see signs of success, we begin scaling up.

Which tech tools, software, apps, etc. do you use religiously in your business?

We use a remote company tool called Roam. It’s a very cool virtual office that helps us feel better connected. We also use Slack a ton and I personally use Metabase a lot, which is our BI tool that tracks our users, usage, etc.

What is that one opportunity that had a significant impact on your company's growth or direction?

We’re working on that opportunity now. We’ve been presented a unique opportunity to co-brand our card with a very large organization with over 3 million members. By co-branding, we can scale significantly faster with almost no CAC, so we’re incredibly excited about it.

What are some of the challenges you’ve come face to face with on your entrepreneurial journey? How did you overcome them?

Entrepreneurship is all about choosing the problems and challenges you want to take on. I’ve had many challenges along the journey, and while every single one was different, I overcame them mostly through sheer persistence. I always held a deep belief that things would work out, so I kept that in mind and pushed forward.

How many hours per week do you work on average?

I typically wake up at 745am, end up at the gym at 8am, and I work from 9:30am to 9:30pm-10pm. I’m working on what I love, so it ends up taking most of my days, but weekends tend to be light. Typically 60-70hr weeks.

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Rapid fire questions

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Favorite morning ritual  ☕

‍Making my morning coffee

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‍Favorite book/s 📕

‍The Alchemist, How to Win Friends & Influence People

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‍Your leadership style in one word 💼

‍Democratic

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‍Cats or dogs?

‍Dogs! I have two Frenchies.

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Mountains or beach?

‍Beach for sure

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Fiction or non-fiction?

99% non-fiction

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