Latest news with #Lamers
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Exclusive: Stablecoin startup Noah raises $22 million, adds Adyen vet as cofounder
The story of a stereotypical startup founder has a familiar arc: Drop out of college, launch a startup, raise billions, go public, and then ride off into the sunset as an angel investor in your 40s. That's not Thijn Lamers. A former executive at the $60 billion fintech giant Adyen, Lamers, who's in his 50s but declined to specify his exact age, announced on Tuesday he is now president and cofounder of stablecoin startup Noah. 'I get so much energy from building,' he said. 'I feel like I have the energy of [when I was] 25.' Lamers's announcement coincided with news that Noah has raised $22 million in a seed funding round led by LocalGlobe, a veteran venture capital outfit in Europe. Other participants include Felix Capital, FJ Labs, as well as angel investors like Palantir cofounder Joe Lonsdale and Alexander Matthey, a former CTO at Adyen. Noah cofounder and CEO Shah Ramezani, a 33-year-old former UBS analyst, declined to disclose the valuation for the startup but did say, in a nod to Lamers' decades of experience, 'there was a Thijn premium.' The pair join a crowded field. Stablecoins, or cryptocurrencies pegged to real-world assets like the U.S. dollar, have become a buzzy technology among VCs. Investors have piled into a suite of startups who promise to use the digital tokens to speed up cross-border transactions and reduce fees from banking transfers. Even large fintechs like Stripe and Big Tech stalwarts like Meta are taking notice. And with a gangbuster IPO from stablecoin issuer Circle, others may be looking to replicate its success. Still, Lamers and Ramezani believe they have an edge. 'I would say the most important thing in payments, and that's why a dropout from MIT [finds it] hard to compete, is the network,' Ramezani said. His comment underscores how fintech giants build competitive moats through relationships with regulators, customers, and banking partners. And Lamers, who was executive vice president of global sales at Adyen, certainly brings a network with him, including relationships with former executives at Big Tech firms like rideshare giant Uber. 'Everything is credibility,' Lamers said. In fact, the most successful tech founders are, on average, 45 years old, according to a 2018 analysis from Harvard Business Review. Lamers, who left Adyen in 2018, originally met Ramezani as an investor, not a cofounder. In 2022, Ramezani began exploring how to use cryptocurrencies for payments. He first toyed around with Bitcoin before he decided to raise money for a startup that sells access to an API, or application programming interface, which lets software developers easily transfer funds with stablecoins. 'We're really building 'Noah's ark' to save everyone from the mass currency inflation,' Ramezani said, explaining the reasoning behind his startup's name. Lamers became so interested in Ramezani's venture that, instead of just investing, he joined as cofounder in June 2024. Now, the pair have grown Noah's product offerings to let users convert between 50 currencies and transfer money between 70 countries in real-time—as opposed to waiting perhaps days for bank wires to clear. So far, the company has processed more than $1 billion in transaction volumes, according to Ramezani. 'This guy has so much energy, I'm, like, actually blown away,' said Ramezani, in reference to his cofounder. 'Thijn is really like a beast.' This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Brillion teen's business thrives after JA Young Entrepreneur competition
The Brief Finalists for this year's Junior Achievement's Young Entrepreneur competition are going to be in the spotlight. FOX6 News touched base with a previous competitor. Kaylee Lamers has proven her success with her business, "Stitches and Sweets." BRILLION, Wis. - Four young business owners are about to battle it out for a $5,000 prize. All this week, FOX6 News is introducing you to the finalists for Junior Achievement's Young Entrepreneur competition. But first, we look back on the success of a teenager who knows what it is like to be in the shoes of the finalists. What we know Give her an idea, a needle and some thread and 17-year-old Kaylee Lamers can create just about anything. We first met the Brillion teen from Calumet County in 2024. FOX6 News touched base to see how the craft teen's business has fared after being on a very big stage. The self-taught sewer first started making things at age 11, first for her cats. Lamers quickly moved on to paying customers. Her creations can now be found in local stores and farmers' markets. FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android Lamers' skills have netted her thousands of dollars and a spot on the 2024 stage as a Junior Achievement Young Entrepreneur finalist. It is a competition that put her in a room with some of Wisconsin's brightest business leaders. What they're saying "Yes, it definitely helped me gain confidence in my business and myself. It was really the 1st time that I did any public speaking," Lamers said. "From the experience. I got a lot of new business connections, and I also got a lot more exposure for my business through there." In the year that has followed, profits from Stitches and Sweets have doubled. Lamers is now sending her product to wholesale buyers out of state. "Mostly Illinois. That's where one of the stores that I wholesale to is located. So I ship stuff to Chicago for her. And then there's also another business in Iowa that I was sending items to," Lamers said. SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News Lamers is now juggling life in AP classes as a high school junior. She offers the following advice to the 2025 JA finalists. "So I would say, just after the competition, just keep growing your business because you gain a lot of exposure from that, and you're able to get a lot of advice from other people through it," Lamers said. What's next Lamers is starting to think about college. She would like to study business or finance. The Source The information in this post was produced by FOX6 News along with information and help from Junior Achievement.
