Scaling A Financial Services Business To $1 Billion TPV And Beyond

Bo Jiang, co-founder and CEO of Lithic.

For financial service businesses, scaling requires more than a great product; it demands careful navigation of challenges, partnerships and priorities. As someone who has co-founded and led a leading card issuing technology company from startup to $1 billion in total payment volume in just a decade, take it from me.

Reaching significant business milestones represents the culmination of years of learning, adaptability and strategic evolution. Reflecting on lessons from a decade of scaling in this dynamic industry, here are eight key insights for businesses in financial services on their growth journeys.

Lesson 1: Growth happens through steady, intentional progress.

Scaling to a billion-dollar milestone is rarely about exponential growth overnight; it’s about building momentum and learning from each stage of development. Over the past two years alone, my company saw TPV double twice—from $250 million in July 2022 to $500 million in July 2023, and again to $1 billion by November 2024.

This wasn’t just the result of hitting product-market fit but also fine-tuning systems, adapting operations and responding to customer needs. Sustainable growth is about setting ambitious yet achievable goals, making each milestone part of a larger trajectory, rather than an endpoint.

Lesson 2: Build solutions to solve real problems.

The foundation of any successful financial services business lies in solving specific, real-world problems. Early missteps often involve creating products or services that don’t address urgent customer needs. In the early days of my company, we relied on legacy systems to run our program, only to find them unreliable, poorly documented and misaligned with modern demands.

This pain point became the catalyst for building a card-issuing platform from scratch—one that prioritized reliability and flexibility. What we learned is that the most enduring solutions often stem from firsthand frustration. If you’re experiencing a problem, chances are your customers are too.

Lesson 3: Adapt to new roles as your business evolves.

Shifting from serving consumers directly to powering businesses was one of the most transformative moments in our journey. The leap from supporting individual users to becoming an infrastructure provider required a change in mindset. Moving fast and breaking things was no longer an option when our platform became mission-critical for clients supporting thousands of cardholders.

This shift taught us the importance of stability. As one of our team members put it, “We went from easy to hard mode.” The challenges of building enterprise-grade solutions meant investing heavily in reliability—even when it slowed visible product progress. This lesson is universal for any business transitioning to serve larger, more complex customers.

Lesson 4: Invest in partnerships early and strategically.

In financial services, success is often tied to the strength of your partnerships. Early on, we underestimated this dynamic. For example, we hesitated to engage with card networks, only to realize later that these relationships were pivotal to driving growth.

One team member likened the experience to navigating Byzantine rules: “If you’re doing anything new or interesting, you’re likely breaking at least one network rule. Partnering early with business-minded individuals at these organizations can turn those challenges into opportunities.” The takeaway: Strategic partnerships aren’t just a resource; they’re a competitive advantage.

Lesson 5: Balance speed with stability.

Startups often operate with a “move fast and break things” mentality, but as a business scales, stability becomes paramount. I still recall the late nights spent combating fraud, often just before a holiday weekend. It was exhausting but taught us invaluable lessons about the ingenuity of bad actors—and the need for robust systems to combat them.

Over time, we developed what we now consider best-in-class fraud detection, not through flashy AI but by focusing on simple yet effective machine-learning classifiers. The key? Prioritizing stability over speed, ensuring our solutions were reliable for clients and their end users.

Lesson 6: Foster a transparent and empowered team culture.

As our team grew, so did the complexity of decision-making. When there were just 10 of us, everyone had context and agency. But as we scaled, we had to create systems that allowed for fast, clear decision-making across a larger organization.

One approach that proved invaluable was adopting a documentation-centric culture. Writing things down forces clarity of thought and provides visibility to teams that aren’t in the room. We also focused on sharing not just data but context. It’s one thing to share metrics; it’s another to explain why certain goals matter. Transparency paired with context empowers teams to make better decisions independently.

Lesson 7: Stay close to customers.

Maintaining empathy for customers is critical, especially for fintech businesses that operate several layers removed from the end user. Running our own consumer-facing program for years gave us invaluable insight into the needs of cardholders and the challenges of managing a program.

That experience influenced how we built our infrastructure. As one colleague noted, “It’s easy for infrastructure providers to lose sight of the end consumer, but that empathy helps us enable success for our clients.” Staying close to the customer—whether directly or through your clients—ensures that your product remains relevant and impactful.

Lesson 8: Evolve with the market.

The fintech landscape is constantly changing. Over the years, we’ve seen the barriers to launching card programs fluctuate—from easier access to capital to increasingly complex compliance requirements. Today, it’s about more than launching a product; it’s about creating differentiated experiences that drive adoption.

The next wave of winners will be those who can tailor their offerings to specific customer needs, combining distribution with innovative, user-centric experiences. The lesson? Businesses must remain agile and responsive to market shifts.

A Framework For Growth

Scaling a financial or fintech business is no small feat, but it’s achievable with the right approach. The journey requires clear focus, strong partnerships, a commitment to customer success and a culture of thoughtful decision-making.

Use each business milestone not as an endpoint, but rather as steppingstones that reflect the success of a well-executed strategy. For businesses looking to scale, the key is staying adaptable, continuously learning, and always putting customers and innovation at the center of your efforts.

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