38x in Ten Months: Inside One of Fintech’s Fastest-Growing Infrastructure Companies (Farooq Malik, CEO of Rain)

Farooq Malik is the co-founder and CEO of Rain, a financial infrastructure company powered by stablecoins. Growing up in an immigrant family, Farooq saw firsthand the friction involved in moving money across borders. Alongside co-founder Charles Yoo-Naut, Farooq spent years building infrastructure before stablecoins became mainstream, betting that tokenized money would eventually become a foundational layer of the global financial system. Today, Rain powers card issuance, payments, and other financial products built on stablecoin rails, helping companies move money faster and operate across markets.In our conversation, we explore:• How stablecoins combine the advantages of cash and electronic money• The barriers that still make moving money across borders expensive and inefficient• The parallels between being an immigrant and being an entrepreneur• How Farooq and Charles met through On Deck and decided to build together• What Rain gained by building before the market was ready• How Rain earned the trust of early partners who later became customers• What The Art of War taught Rain about patience• The misconception that stablecoins are only for emerging markets• Why the payments market is big enough for multiple winners• Why Rain believes its infrastructure is well positioned for a future shaped by AI agents—Thank you to the partners who make this possibleBrex: The intelligent finance platform.—Timestamps(00:00) Intro(02:46) An overview of Rain and global-first financial infrastructure(06:57) The barriers in moving money and how technology can reduce them(15:34) How stablecoins behave like cash(18:46) The economic opportunity of a more efficient monetary system(22:06) How Farooq’s childhood as an immigrant shaped him(26:00) Farooq’s first entrepreneurial venture(29:11) Lessons from Farooq’s career before founding Rain(36:09) Connecting with Charles at On Deck(39:51) From Sign and Wire to Rain(42:18) Why Rain bet on stablecoins(47:25) How a Rain card works(49:15) How Rain thinks about its business(51:12) Lessons from The Art of War(54:30) Rain’s approach to hiring and management(55:47) Why the US is a stablecoin hub(59:10) Why there’s room for more than Stripe(1:03:39) How Farooq and Charles work with limited meetings(1:05:54) Rain’s most critical mantras(1:08:56) Why Rain is ready for agents(1:12:30) Final meditations—Follow Farooq MalikLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fhmalikX: https://x.com/rooqsterWebsite: https://fhmalik.com—Resources and episode mentions: https://www.generalist.com/p/38x-in-ten-months-inside-one-of-fintechs—Production and marketing by penname.co. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected]. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.generalist.com/subscribe