In this special Toronto Tech Week edition of Founder Journey — powered by StartWell — Alex Norman and Alexandra Reilly of TechTO, sit down with Wayne Pommen, Chief Revenue Officer at Affirm (NASDAQ: AFRM) and former President & CEO of PayBright, to unpack the real story behind building and scaling Canada’s first Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) company.Wayne takes us inside PayBright’s evolution from a five-person startup to nearly $1B in annual transaction volume, sharing the unfiltered realities of hyper-growth in fintech. From raising debt to fund a lending business, navigating operational and regulatory complexity, and building teams under pressure, to ultimately selling PayBright to Affirm — this conversation goes far beyond the headlines.We also dive into Wayne’s transition from investor to operator, lessons learned from private equity, and why **team, product, and capital strategy** become existential decisions as companies scale.In this episode, we cover:* How PayBright scaled BNPL in Canada* Building and leading high-performing fintech teams* Managing risk, capital, and operations in lending businesses* Founder lessons from acquisition and hypergrowth* Why Affirm’s consumer-first credit model stands apart**Founder Journey brings you raw, behind-the-scenes conversations with builders who’ve actually been there — no pitches, no polish, just honest insights from founders and operators who’ve scaled.🎧 Built for founders, fintech operators, and startup leaders📍 Recorded during Toronto Tech Week | Powered by StartWell learn more at www.startwell.co
