In this episode of Unconventional Wisdom About Conventional Wisdom, Kim Miller-Hershon sits down with Aubrey Amatelli, founder and CEO of Payrio, a fintech company providing payment solutions for cannabis, alternative medicine, and other highly regulated industries. Before founding Payrio, Aubrey spent more than a decade at J.P. Morgan Merchant Services, rising to executive director of commercial banking, specializing in technology and disruptive commerce in Silicon Valley. She also serves as chair of the National Cannabis Industry Association's Banking and Finance Services Committee for the 2025-26 term. A devoted Burner, she opens the episode sharing how Burning Man (which she treats as her new year, a time to reset and pour self-love back into herself) grounds someone who works in finance in a place where, for two weeks, no money changes hands at all.In this conversation, Aubrey challenges a piece of conventional wisdom she carried straight out of J.P. Morgan, the Harvard of payments: that being a founder means being the hardest worker in the room, carrying everything yourself, and wearing the most-hours badge. She's a relentless worker, but she's learned that badge doesn't mean anything anymore. Real leadership is leading with efficiency and the right team, and real success has shifted from "I started this working 20 hours a day" to freedom, time with her three kids and room for others in her organization to step up and feel like leaders themselves.A rich thread is the limits of the founder-as-expert myth. Aubrey knows what she knows (payments, compliance, how funds flow) cold, but she didn't grow up at J.P. Morgan learning marketing, HR, SEO, operations, and reporting, and she doesn't know anyone who's an expert in all of it ("maybe Claude"). Kim reinforces the balance she coaches constantly: you don't need to become a CFO to be a good CEO, but you don't get a free pass on your finances either, you have to know enough to be sure things are kosher. They land together on the strengths-over-weaknesses reframe, if you pour all your energy into your weaknesses you just get stronger weaknesses, so build on your strengths and hire for the rest.Her biggest current challenge is managing rapid growth, especially in the fast-expanding peptide world, as a solo founder with no one above her to run decisions by. She wants to hire efficiently without over-hiring and eroding the margins that keep Payrio profitable, and much of it comes down to trusting her intuition, moving, and course-correcting rather than falling into analysis paralysis. She and Kim dig into mistakes as the source of the biggest learnings (you didn't know it was a mistake at the time, but you tie your shoelaces tighter next time), and into the practice of challenging the story you tell yourself with curiosity rather than just correcting the behavior. Aubrey's version is the muscle she keeps exercising: intuition, that quiet "pause" that she's learned to honor, because nobody knows you better than yourself, right down to the voice that told Kim to finally put on an apron before cooking.This episode explores:Why the most-hours badge of founder honor means nothingRedefining success as freedom, not hustleSlowing down a fast launch, and hiring to make yourself do itWhy no founder is an expert at everythingKnowing enough about finance without becoming the CFOBuilding on strengths and hiring for weaknessesManaging rapid growth without over-hiring or analysis paralysisTurning mistakes into the biggest learningsChallenging the story you tell yourself with curiosityTrusting intuition as a muscle you strengthen over timeLeading with heart and relationships over the bottom lineSurrounding yourself with people who share your valuesReframing imposter syndrome as a complimentJust saying "thank you," and letting a compliment landAubrey's perspective is a powerful reminder that you don't have to be the hardest worker, the expert in everything, or the founder who chases margins to build something that lasts, you have to trust your intuition, lead with your heart, and surround yourself with the right people. Her journey from executive director at J.P. Morgan to the founder of a profitable, award-nominated fintech serving the businesses no one else will shows that doing genuine good for your customers can be the smartest growth strategy of all.If you're a founder, leader, or anyone building something in an industry everyone else overlooks, this conversation offers practical insight, honest talk about intuition and imposter syndrome, and a refreshing case that leading with heart and simply saying thank you will take you further than you think.Connect with me here:Website: https://www.kimmillerhershon.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kmillerhershonNewsletter: https://link.kimmillerhershon.com/widget/form/aEdmdA1W5MhoMCMfy5O8Webinar: https://webinar.kimmillerhershon.com/?utm_source=PodcastGuest Details:Guest: Aubrey Amatelli, Founder & CEO, PayrioFocus: ...
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