I’m Hashim. I build things for the future.
Hey there, let me take you on a journey. It all began in 2020 with a single tweet from Elon Musk that sparked a curiosity in me for Finance/Tech. I was only 16 when I read Peter Thiel's book "Zero to One" and started trading crypto. It was then that I had a lightbulb moment - if I wanted to make a real impact, I needed to build a financial tool myself. From then on, my mission was clear: I wanted to empower people by developing financial technologies that could genuinely make a difference in their day-to-day lives.
I recall thinking to myself, "I'm young and don't have much experience. Who in their right mind would hire me?" Then it hit me: "Why not reach out to them directly?" I started perusing Crunchbase and sending out direct messages on Twitter. To my surprise, I ended up catching the attention of the CEO of a mid-sized crypto exchange in Europe. What was meant to be a quick twenty-minute chat turned into a two-hour conversation and an unpaid internship offer. This was my big break. I joined MyCointainer.com, and boy, did it open my eyes! This experience was a game changer; it changed the way I saw businesses and gave me the inspiration I needed to start building things myself.
Keeping that momentum going, I continued to send direct messages, connecting with as many folks as I could. I truly believe that every connection can lead to a new opportunity. One day, I sent a random message to Gabe Romualdo on Twitter. I was intrigued by what he was building and asked if I could join him in his mission to solve hyperinflation in impoverished countries using crypto. The experience was nothing short of amazing—I was learning about finance, hiring, legal challenges, and so much more, all while still in high school! While my peers were cramming for exams, I was out there making a difference. And let me tell you, it was worth it!
My interest in the payment industry truly blossomed after joining Tap Payments. I started off in a role similar to business development, but I soon found myself craving more. I wanted to get my hands dirty with the technical aspects of payments, and so I did. I ended up building a fully functional payment gateway, which you can check out at hashpayments.co. I loved every part of the process and shared my learnings through blogging.
This journey of mine caught the attention of Tamara, leading to an offer to join as a Payments Product Manager. I am beyond grateful to Abdulmajeed Alsukhan (Co-founder and CEO of Tamara), and Abdulmohsen Al Babtain (Co-founder and Head of Payments at Tamara). Working with such an exceptional team in a hypergrowth company has been an experience like no other.