Wilfried Eyi
Deeply passionate; fast learner; intensely curious.
Work: founder @ Payflow / Toolbox, Warburg Pincus, Goldman Sachs.
YC founder, Harvard Business School, BYU alum.
I like to think of myself as a builder.
I finished my international baccalaureate at 15, initially fixated on medicine and scientific research as paths to impact. That changed when I realized that 20 years in a lab — only to run out of funding — wouldn't move the needle, and that people still need economic access to afford proper care.
So I moved to investing: helping companies grow, creating jobs, building economies. I spent time in impact investing, investment banking, and private/growth equity. I genuinely loved it.
But I wanted to try building from scratch. My mother was a software engineer who digitized government payroll systems and prepped infrastructure for Y2K. I'd also met founders building companies like Andela, Flutterwave, UBA, and various YC startups — and saw the leverage a platform could create.
So I jumped in.
In my first 6+ years as a founder, I navigated a white swan event (COVID-19) while building a physical labor marketplace in NYC (U.S. epicenter); a grey swan event (fastest rate hikes in 40 years) while running a credit-focused fintech in construction; and an AI platform for corporate finance during the largest capex cycle in software history. It's been a wild ride!
I enjoy exploring new ideas, having deep conversations about innovation, impact and technology. Don't hesitate to reach out if you'd like to connect.