Business

Overcoming challenges is part of the success

Published

3 years ago

November 14, 2022

Theresa Forster, a social media influencer and model from Germany, is living out her dream, but she is the first to acknowledge that challenges must be overcome in order to succeed.

Accepting that certain people are too judgmental of those in her profession was one of the obstacles she claimed she had to learn to overcome: “People should stop criticizing every single thing we do and learn to let us live life the way we want,” she said. “We are simply human beings with feelings.” According to Forster, it is often difficult to be constantly examined by the public and to not feel like a target all the time. “Having to constantly defend ourselves is very exhausting.”, she said.

She noticed that she had learnt to move past her regrets regarding her career: “I should have started earlier. I always followed the advice of those around me when I first started out, and they made fun of me. Even my parents did.”, she affirmed. “They just didn’t take me seriously, so it took me a lot of time to get things moving. But from the day I started, I became successful very fast.” Attempting to change people’s perceptions about those in her industry, has been another issue for her. Some people behave this way because they think her work field is easy.
“It is not all about snapping pictures, receiving gifts, and looking pretty. If you want to succeed in this profession, there is much more to do.”, she remarked.

“Generally, clients pay us based on the number of views and reach we generate, so we need to get those figures every day. That is difficult and can put a lot of pressure on you.”, she said that in addition to the daily competition influencers face, it is a constant challenge to add value to the lives of her followers. Otherwise, she warned: “People would get tired of you and soon forget about you. This work therefore comes with a lot of psychological pressure.” Like everyone else, influencers experience periods of excitement and interest in daily life that eventually fade. In other words, great stuff doesn’t necessarily come along every day but however, Forster points out that it is her job to sometimes create something out of nothing.

“It is completely normal to move through life phases and their ups and downs. Sometimes you need some time to rest, and you just feel like lying in bed or sometimes you just don’t feel well, but there cannot be any days off if Instagram is your primary source of income and you take it seriously. You push yourself in order to move forward.”

In her opinion these are the reasons many influencers turn to fake drama and telling lies to produce engaging content. However, she discovered more truthful and creative ways to get her content out there: “For some in this industry, fake publicity is better than no publicity. But not for me. If you want to remain successful in this game, you have to think in the long term. And that doesn ́t mean to cause drama every day but creating content which adds true value to people’s lives” she said.

Business

High Volume, High Value: The Business Logic Behind Black Banx’s Growth

Published

2 weeks ago

June 16, 2025

Matthew Wiles

In fintech, success no longer hinges on legacy prestige or brick-and-mortar branches—it’s about speed, scale, and precision. Black Banx, under the leadership of founder and CEO Michael Gastauer, has exemplified this model, turning its high-volume approach into high-value results.

The company’s Q1 2025 performance tells the story: $1.6 billion in pre-tax profit, $4.3 billion in revenue, and 9 million new customers added, bringing its total customer base to 78 million across 180+ countries.

But behind the numbers lies a carefully calibrated business model built for exponential growth. Here’s how Black Banx’s strategy of scale is redefining what profitable banking looks like in the digital age.

Scaling at Speed: Why Volume Matters

Unlike traditional banks, which often focus on deepening relationships with a limited set of customers, Black Banx thrives on breadth and transactional frequency. Its digital infrastructure supports onboarding millions of users instantly, with zero physical presence required. Customers can open accounts within minutes and transact across 28 fiat currencies and 2 cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin and Ethereum) from anywhere in the world.

Each customer interaction—whether it’s a cross-border transfer, crypto exchange, or FX transaction—feeds directly into Black Banx’s revenue engine. At scale, these micro-interactions yield macro results.

Real-Time, Global Payments at the Core

One of Black Banx’s most powerful value propositions is real-time cross-border payments. By enabling instant fund transfers across currencies and countries, the platform removes the frictions associated with SWIFT-based systems and legacy banking networks.

This service, used by individuals and businesses alike, generates:

Volume-based revenue from transaction fees
Exchange spreads on currency conversion
Premium service income from business clients managing international payroll or vendor payments

With operations in underserved regions like Africa, South Asia, and Latin America, Black Banx is not only increasing volume—it’s tapping into fast-growing financial ecosystems overlooked by legacy banks.

The Flywheel Effect of Crypto Integration

Crypto capabilities have added another dimension to the company’s high-volume model. As of Q1 2025, 20% of all Black Banx transactions involved cryptocurrency, including:

Crypto-to-fiat and fiat-to-crypto exchanges
Crypto deposits and withdrawals
Payments using Bitcoin or Ethereum

The crypto integration attracts both retail users and blockchain-native businesses, enabling them to:

Access traditional banking rails
Convert assets seamlessly
Operate with lower transaction fees than those found in standard financial systems

By being one of the few regulated platforms offering full banking and crypto support, Black Banx is monetizing the convergence of two financial worlds.

Optimized for Operational Efficiency

High volume is only profitable when costs are contained—and Black Banx has engineered its operations to be lean from day one. With a cost-to-income ratio of just 63% in Q1 2025, it operates significantly more efficiently than most global banks.

Key enablers of this cost efficiency include:

AI-driven compliance and customer support
Cloud-native architecture
Automated onboarding and KYC processes
Digital-only servicing without expensive physical infrastructure

The outcome is a platform that not only scales, but does so without sacrificing margin—each new customer contributes to profit rather than diluting it.

Business Clients: The Value Multiplier

While Black Banx’s massive customer base is largely consumer-driven, its business clients are high-value accelerators. From SMEs and startups to crypto firms and global freelancers, businesses use Black Banx for:

International transactions
Multi-currency payroll
Crypto-fiat settlements
Supplier payments and invoicing

These clients tend to:

Transact more frequently
Use a broader range of services
Generate significantly higher revenue per user

Moreover, Black Banx’s API integrations and tailored enterprise solutions lock in these clients for the long term, reinforcing predictable and scalable growth.

Monetizing the Ecosystem, Not Just the Account

The genius of Black Banx’s model is that it monetizes not just accounts, but entire customer journeys. A user might:

Onboard in minutes
Deposit funds from a crypto wallet
Exchange currencies
Pay an overseas vendor
Withdraw to a local bank account

Each of these actions touches a different monetization lever—FX spread, transaction fee, crypto conversion, or premium service charge. With 78 million customers doing variations of this at global scale, the cumulative financial impact becomes immense.

Strategic Expansion, Not Blind Growth

Unlike many fintechs that chase customer acquisition without a clear monetization path, Black Banx aligns its growth with strategic market opportunities. Its expansion into underbanked and high-demand markets ensures that:

Customer acquisition costs stay low
Services meet genuine needs (e.g., cross-border income, crypto access)
Revenue per user grows over time

It’s not just about acquiring more customers—it’s about acquiring the right customers, in the right markets, with the right needs.

The Future Belongs to Scalable Banking

Black Banx’s ability to transform high-volume engagement into high-value profitability is more than just a fintech success—it’s a signal of what the future of banking looks like. In a world where agility, efficiency, and inclusion define competitive advantage, Black Banx has created a blueprint for digital banking dominance.

With $1.6 billion in quarterly profit, nearly 80 million users, and services that span the globe and the blockchain, the company is no longer just scaling—it’s compounding. Each new user, each transaction, and each feature builds upon the last.

This is not the story of a bank growing.

This is the story of a bank accelerating.