Interview with Manoj Verma, Staircase Ventures Advisor and Co-Founder of Tabapay, on Staying Ahead of Markets

The Advisor Series – Featuring Manoj Verma

At Staircase Ventures, we believe one of the best ways to support founders is by connecting them with advisors who have walked the entrepreneurial path and understand firsthand the challenges of building high-growth companies. One of those advisors is Manoj Verma, co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer at TabaPay, one of the fastest-growing companies in the payments space, processing over $80 billion annually.

Before Tabapay, Manoj held senior roles at Mastercard, Amazon, and Yahoo!, where he consistently drove growth through industry shifts and digital transformations.

We sat down with Manoj to talk about his journey, his lessons from scaling TabaPay, and the advice he shares with founders today.

Manoj reflected on his time at Amazon, Yahoo, and Mastercard.

Q: You’ve been part of both startups and global enterprises. How have those experiences shaped your approach as a founder?

Manoj: “Amazon, Yahoo and Mastercard were already public companies when I joined, but they were still changing rapidly, and in many ways they operated like startups. At Mastercard, it was about rethinking payments as everything shifted toward digital. In each case, the industry was evolving quickly, and the challenge was to look beyond how things had been done and think about where things were going.”

Manoj has served on the board of CoachArt for over 20 years, an organization that provides art lessons and activities to chronically ill children and their families. We asked how this role impacts his view on leadership and culture. 

Q: Can you share more about CoachArt and your involvement?

Manoj: “CoachArt provides art lessons and activities to chronically ill children and their families. It’s been amazing to be part of the organization and see the impact it makes. My parents always believed in giving back, even though we didn’t come from a lot, and that’s something I’ve carried with me. Now my daughter is involved on the junior board, which I’m proud of. It’s influenced how I approach leadership—reminding me to be more empathetic, and to always look for win-win outcomes.”

We then shifted gears to talk about TabaPay’s growth, the strategies behind its rapid scale, and Manoj’s advice for his former self and founders today.

Q: TabaPay now processes over $80 billion annually. What strategic decisions helped get you here?

Manoj: “One of the key decisions was unifying products. Historically, if you wanted multiple payment capabilities, you had to integrate multiple times with different providers. We took a different approach: connect once to our APIs, and you can do many things. That simplified everything for our partners, made their businesses more efficient, and created a foundation for scaling.”

Q: How do you think about staying ahead in such a competitive market?

Manoj: “Constant innovation. You can’t just stand still and assume that what worked last year will work next year. For us, it comes back to relentlessly improving the customer experience, making things faster, cheaper, and easier for them. If you can do that consistently, you’ll retain and grow your partners, even in a crowded market.”

Q: What trends are you watching in payments and fintech over the next five years?

Manoj: “Real-time money movement is going to transform everything. People now expect the Uber experience for everything; when you want something, it should happen instantly. That’s moving into payments. Whether it’s payroll, remittances, or accounts payable, the expectation is shifting to ‘I want to send or receive money immediately.’ The infrastructure hasn’t fully caught up yet, but it’s happening, and it’s going to reshape how we all operate.”

Q: What advice would you give yourself in the early days of TabaPay?

Manoj: “Things take longer than you think. You can’t expect to close a deal in three months or launch a product in six months. It almost always takes more time. But at the same time, macro events can shift faster than you anticipate. COVID accelerated the move to digital payments by years, and you can’t always plan for that. The lesson is to be patient, think ahead, and be ready to adapt when the world changes around you.”

Q: What challenges do you see most often when advising early-stage founders?

Manoj: “Hiring is always at the top of the list. Getting the right early hires in place, whether technical, product, or sales, is critical. Then, as you scale, it’s about knowing when to deploy capital, when to make those key product bets, and when to double down on go-to-market. Every stage has its challenges, and it’s rarely straightforward. What I try to do is share my experiences so founders have more data points as they make their own decisions.”

Q: And finally, what advice would you give to founders starting a company today?

Manoj: “Be patient. Don’t chase every shiny new thing—stay focused on your vision, and keep making the right bets for your company. Things will take longer than you expect, but if you stay true to what you’re building and keep learning along the way, you’ll put yourself in a much stronger position.”

“For me, it’s about being a lifelong student. Whatever you do, you should always be learning and constantly trying to get better.” but also support you. The journey is brutal, but if you do it right, it’s so incredibly rewarding.”