Rapyd operates across 190 countries, scaling from 30 employees to 1,500 and projecting over $1 billion in ARR. Marc Winitz joined as the first marketing hire seven years ago and built a 40-person global marketing organization. Rather than following the financial services playbook of trust signals and corporate aesthetics, Marc created a brand inspired by '70s and '80s punk rock and surf culture—complete with David Guetta concerts and "no guts, no glory" messaging. The result: a brand so differentiated that competitors can't replicate it, even when they want to. Marc shares how he executed three complete rebrands, created the "Fintech as a Service" category, and turned marketing into Rapyd's competitive advantage.
Topics Discussed

Joining Rapyd at 30 employees as first marketing hire through $1B+ ARR
The Series B launch strategy with Stripe that created category-defining media attention
Creating "Fintech as a Service" as a market category and why it worked
Three complete rebrands: decision frameworks and budget ranges ($25K to multi-six figures)
How the David Guetta concert series solved engineering recruiting in Israel and attracted VC attention
The "sea of sameness" problem in B2B and using emotion to break through
Building the "Build Bold" brand idea through research with hundreds of merchants across dozens of markets
Brand pillars, voice development, and why voice matters more than visual identity
Extending brand across stablecoins, card acquiring, and alternative payment methods
Market-by-market launch strategy across global markets creating compounding brand effects
Working with Known, a top-tier New York brand agency, on the current brand iteration
Managing a 40-person marketing team that's 70% distributed outside the United States

GTM Lessons For B2B Founders

Execute one high-leverage launch that proves marketing's strategic value: Marc's Series B launch with Stripe generated global media attention through a creative PR strategy that positioned CEO Arik Shtilman as the category spokesperson. The breakthrough came from making Arik the public voice of "Fintech as a Service" rather than issuing standard funding announcements. This single campaign permanently shifted how Rapyd's board and CEO viewed marketing investment. Identify the moment—major funding, game-changing partnership, category creation—where creative execution can deliver outsized visibility, then design a campaign that makes leadership believers.
Category creation succeeds when you simplify the complex through familiar frameworks: Marc created "Fintech as a Service" by applying the understood cloud computing model to payments infrastructure. Six years ago, connecting global payment networks through a single API was incomprehensible to buyers. Positioning it as "the AWS of payments" made it instantly clear. Find the adjacent category or proven model your buyers already understand, then position your innovation within that framework. Own the terminology before competitors claim it. The category stuck because it explained a trillion-dollar market opportunity through an existing mental model.
Design brands that competitors can't replicate due to organizational risk tolerance: Rapyd's punk rock aesthetic works in financial services because most companies won't take the creative risk, making the brand itself a competitive moat. Marc's team surveyed hundreds of merchants across dozens of markets, worked with top-tier agency Known for eight months, and invested multi-six figures. But the real moat isn't budget—it's willingness to be radically different in a trust-dependent industry. Most competitors saw what Rapyd did, wanted to copy it, but their risk tolerance prevented execution. Build brands that require organizational courage competitors don't have.
Use market-by-market launches to create compounding enterprise credibility: Rapyd launched methodically in each new geographic market rather than one global announcement. Enterprise buyers in the UK would see Rapyd enter Thailand, then Mexico, building credibility through repeated proof of global expansion. Each launch reinforced the "operating in 190 countries" narrative. For companies serving multinational enterprises, treat geographic expansion as a brand-building drumbeat. Every new market entry becomes evidence of scale and momentum that compounds with previous launches.
Rebrand when market conditions demand differentiation, not on arbitrary timelines: Marc executed three complete rebrands driven by specific triggers: business strategy shifts, competitors copying Rapyd's approach, and the "sea of sameness" problem where financial services marketing became indistinguishable. The third rebrand came when walking into Money 2020 meant seeing identical messaging, colors, and positioning across competitors. Time your rebrands to competitive conditions: when your category gets crowded with copycats, when strategy evolution makes current positioning obsolete, or when market oversaturation eliminates your differentiation.
Establish brand foundations before investing in sophisticated creative execution: Marc's sequencing for early-stage companies: first, explain what you do clearly. Second, develop your unique selling proposition and validate it identifies a burning problem. Third, gather customer testimonials and social proof. Fourth, test messaging through founder social media. Only then invest in professional brand work. His first Rapyd brand cost under $50K and focused on communicating fintech as a service. The latest cost multi-six figures after the company had scale and validated positioning. Match brand investment to your stage.
Prioritize brand voice over visual identity—voice creates emotional connection at every touchpoint: Marc emphasized that Rapyd's brand voice drives more value than visual elements. Voice includes the specific words used, how the company communicates across channels, and messaging style. Phrases like "Build Bold," "No Guts, No Glory," and "Liberate Global Commerce" came from extensive work defining how Rapyd speaks. The voice reflects founder personality and connects with buyers emotionally. Before investing heavily in logo and visual systems, document your brand voice: the language you use, terms you avoid, how you structure messages, and the personality that comes through in every customer interaction.

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