Business

Heart Centered Branding Takes Front And Centre In 2022

Published

4 years ago

January 27, 2022

As a new wave of female leadership expands into the world, the landscape of branding in business is deepening. Consumer expectations demand a new level of connection from those in positions of influence where real, raw and relatable is now the currency of long lasting impact.

Passionate entrepreneurs like Sara Blakely, with boundless authenticity and ambition, are taking center stage as heart-driven leaders. SPANX, now a billion dollar brand has become a household name, by way of inspiring hundreds of thousands of women through Blakely’s Instagram account. Connecting with her audience through her now infamous coffee mug images, Blakely shares such action-inspiring quotes as: ‘If your own story is not inspiring to you, it’s time to rewrite that sh*t!’. The realness of her videos, immersing her audience in her home-life, magnifies the sense of belonging to her family. It’s a revealing perspective that has allowed other women to chase their dreams and grow their own brands by simply being themselves.

The Pillars Of A Heart Centered Brand

Building a business that is bigger than you, takes heart and demands a wild ride into defining the values of your company, the mission it serves and a story that people can not only relate to but deeply trust. From purpose to profits, let’s explore the 5 pillars to establishing a heart centered brand…

Purpose: This is the heartbeat of your work. It is the reason people connect with, and rally behind what you do, and why you do it. Articulate this well and your brand will move mountains. Your purpose is shared through potent storytelling and a community culture enriched with powerful values.

People: Brands exist because they serve people. Knowing who you are designing your products and services to support, is essential. Defining your target audience will ensure aligned branding and messaging that speaks authentically to your ideal consumers.

Possibility: Knowing the problem your business solves is crucial. However, in contrast to the pain-based selling and engagement tactics of the past, heart-led businesses are fluent in speaking to the wisdom and potential of their ideal audience.

Products: The place where people invest to reach their goals and meet their needs. Your services or products are the bridge between where they are now and where they will be tomorrow. Your brand is their solution.

Profits: A successful heart-centred brand is profitable. Setting your business up to ensure its ability to sustain impact and service for years to come, is critical in establishing a trustworthy brand.

Establish The Energy For Congruency

High energy and the know-how to helm a Billion Dollar Company, Blakely swears by morning yoga at 6:30am, followed by a healthy smoothie. “It has frozen wild blueberries, a few dark cherries, kale, dates, cinnamon, spinach, cilantro, fresh mint, lemon, water, ice, chia, and walnuts,” Blakely shares. Where most female start-ups believe their brand will be built on the coattails of sleepless nights and another hit of caffeine, it is quite the opposite for those deeply devoted to heart-centered leadership and a sustainable business model.

Similarly, Ondi Laure swears by her morning ritual of practicing gratitude at 5am. According to Ondi, early mornings are the sacred time of day allowing for calm and creativity to be born: “I like to think of an early morning routine as self-care. Because without a healthy me there are no books. No books mean no business.”

Ondi, Founder of Story Launcher Publishing, enriches the lives of her readers through the magnificent power of story-telling, to remind us of the savagery of the past. She writes of the struggles and glories of today and brings stories that inspire hope for a better future. Through her publishing company, Ondi has become a powerful catalyst for other women to bring their stories into the world and give them life.

For Ondi, bringing a legacy piece to life for her clients has become part of her life-giving mission and brand – “A business built on purpose, if you approach it as being bigger than yourself, will allow you to find profound intention in your craft, a passion, and a purpose that you didn’t know you had.”

The Power Of Inclusion

At its essence, a successful heart-centered brand has people as its core. For Kathy Gibson, a passionate leader whose unique gifts and talents reside in work of diversity, equity and inclusion she is trailblazing a path forward where unintentional division no longer exists for those in the business of people.

“It’s been a profound journey of self-discovery, compassion for all people, particularly those who face adversity or ancestral trauma. I aim to acknowledge, and recognize, the things I can control and support positive change in those around me to elevate and give life to the power that inclusion has, both personally and professionally.”

Gibson, is an advocate and expert on pressing economic, social and technology issues. As a working mother of two children, Kathy has had the opportunity to pursue the true passions in her life – motherhood, operating her own successful business, and bridging the gap between incorporating her spiritual path with her professional life to enhance impact at scale.

Her biggest piece of advice for CEO’s managing a team within a heart centered business model: Diversity and inclusion needs to be at the foundation of your operations. Establishing policies and procedures at every level of the employee life cycle will ensure that your unique goals are attainable. Employees will thrive in an inclusive environment, allowing them to express their unique perspectives to initiate strong performance and innovation for your brand.

Final Thoughts

2022 will see heart-centered entrepreneurs cultivate a deeper level of authenticity in their branding, energy and communities. The Hustle and pain-focused selling of the past, has given way to story and messaging that speaks to possibility and potential through the lens of love.

When more women are themselves, anchoring into their values and influence from that place, only good can come of it. That is a world we can all begin to consciously cultivate in 2022.

Business

Inside the $4.3B Quarter: What’s Fueling Black Banx’s Record Revenues

Published

4 days ago

January 16, 2026

Matthew Wiles

Every quarter brings fresh headlines in fintech, but few make the kind of impact achieved by Black Banx in Q2 2025. The Toronto-based global digital banking group, founded by Michael Gastauer, reported an extraordinary USD 4.3 billion in revenue and a record USD 1.6 billion in pre-tax profit, while improving its cost-to-income ratio to 63%.

These results not only highlight the company’s operational efficiency but also mark a pivotal moment in its journey from challenger to global leader. The big question is: what’s fueling such impressive financial performance?

Customer Growth as the Core Driver

One of the clearest engines of revenue growth is Black Banx’s expanding customer base. By Q2 2025, the platform had reached 84 million clients worldwide, up from 69 million at the end of 2024. This 15 million net gain in six months demonstrates both the attractiveness of its services and the scalability of its model.

Unlike traditional banks, which rely heavily on branch expansion, Black Banx leverages digital-first onboarding that allows customers to open accounts within minutes using just a smartphone. This approach is especially effective in regions underserved by legacy institutions, where access to affordable financial tools is in high demand.

More customers don’t just mean higher transaction volumes—they generate a compounding effect where network size, brand trust, and service adoption reinforce one another.

Real-Time Payments and Cross-Border Solutions

A major contributor to Q2 revenues is the platform’s real-time payments infrastructure. Black Banx enables instant cross-border transfers across its 28 supported fiat currencies and multiple cryptocurrencies, helping both individuals and businesses bypass the traditional bottlenecks of international banking.

For freelancers, SMEs, and multinational clients, this means faster liquidity, reduced foreign exchange costs, and simplified global operations. The demand for real-time financial services is growing rapidly—Juniper Research projects global real-time payments turnover to hit USD 58 trillion by 2028—and Black Banx is strategically positioned to capture a significant share of this market.

Crypto Integration as a Revenue Stream

Another key revenue driver is crypto integration. While many traditional institutions remain hesitant, Black Banx embraced digital assets early and has built infrastructure to support Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the Lightning Network. In Q2 2025, 20% of all transactions on the platform were crypto-based, reflecting strong customer appetite for hybrid banking services that bridge fiat and digital assets.

Revenue comes not only from transaction fees but also from value-added services like crypto-to-fiat conversion, staking yields (4–12% APY), and blockchain-enabled payments. For customers in markets with unstable currencies, these services act as a financial lifeline, further expanding the platform’s relevance.

AI-Powered Efficiency and Risk Management

Record revenues would be less impressive if costs ballooned at the same rate. But Black Banx has proven adept at balancing growth with efficiency. Its cost-to-income ratio improved to 63% in Q2, down from 69% a year earlier, thanks to heavy reliance on AI-powered automation.

AI now drives fraud detection, compliance, and customer onboarding—areas where traditional banks often struggle with cost inefficiencies. By automating these processes, Black Banx can process millions of transactions securely while maintaining profitability at scale. This level of efficiency is rare in fintech, where high growth often comes at the expense of margins.

Regional Expansion and Untapped Markets

Geography also plays a role in fueling revenues. Much of the Q2 growth came from Africa, South Asia, and Latin America—regions where demand for mobile-first banking continues to soar. In 2024 alone, Black Banx reported a 32% increase in SME clients from the Middle East and Africa, signaling the strength of its positioning in underserved markets.

By extending services to populations previously excluded from formal banking—migrant workers, rural communities, and small businesses—Black Banx taps into vast pools of latent demand. The strategy proves that financial inclusion and profitability are not mutually exclusive but mutually reinforcing.

Diversified Revenue Streams

Another factor behind Q2’s record revenues is Black Banx’s diversified business model. Income is not tied to a single service but spread across multiple streams, including:

Transaction fees from cross-border transfers and payments.
Crypto trading and exchange services.
Premium account features for high-net-worth clients.
Corporate services for SMEs and international businesses.

This diversification insulates the company against volatility in any single segment, creating stable revenue growth even in shifting market conditions.

Michael Gastauer’s Strategic Blueprint

Behind these results is Michael Gastauer’s long-term strategy: scale aggressively but with efficiency, innovation, and inclusion at the core. His vision has always been to create a borderless financial ecosystem, and Q2 2025’s performance is evidence that this vision is not only achievable but sustainable.

By balancing mass-market accessibility with premium features, and by blending fiat with digital assets, Gastauer has positioned Black Banx as a category-defining player in global finance.

The Road Ahead: Toward 100 Million Clients

Looking forward, the company’s goal of reaching 100 million customers by the end of 2025 will likely be the next catalyst for revenue growth. More customers mean more transactions, more data insights, and more opportunities to refine and expand its service offering.

If current momentum holds, the USD 4.3 billion quarterly revenue milestone could be just the beginning of an even larger growth story. The challenge will be ensuring systems scale securely while maintaining trust in an environment where privacy and compliance are paramount.

A Record That Signals More to Come

Black Banx’s Q2 2025 performance—USD 4.3 billion in revenue, USD 1.6 billion in pre-tax profit, 84 million clients worldwide, and a lean 63% cost-to-income ratio—is more than a financial milestone. It is a signal of how the future of banking is being rewritten by platforms that are borderless, crypto-inclusive, and data-driven.

What fueled this record-breaking quarter is not one innovation but a combination of strategies—scalable onboarding, real-time payments, crypto integration, AI efficiency, and expansion into underserved regions. Together, they form a model that doesn’t just challenge traditional banking but actively builds the foundation for global dominance.

For Black Banx, the road ahead is clear: the $4.3 billion quarter is not an endpoint but a launchpad for even greater scale and profitability.