$441M Exit, No Salary for 5 Years: The SafetyPay Story
Seven near-collapses, five years without a salary, and a $441M exit. Barbara Bibas-Montero's journey to building SafetyPay is one of the most honest founder stories you'll hear.
In this episode, Barbara, co-founder and COO of SafetyPay (acquired by PaySafe for $441M) and Managing Partner at Seedfunders, shares the unfiltered story of what it actually takes to build and survive a decade-long startup journey.
We cover:
- How SafetyPay nearly died seven times and what kept the team going
- Building a company with your spouse: what works, what doesn't, and why complementary skills matter
- Why drip funding kept them on the edge and how they finally broke through
- The PR and go-to-market tactics that built credibility with no budget
- What Barbara now looks for in early-stage founders as an investor
- Why skin in the game matters more than the size of your salary
This is a raw and honest conversation about endurance, commitment, and what never giving up actually looks like in practice.
