Scale Now, Not Later — FundPark's Hay Yip on Working Capital for SMEs

In this episode of One Vision, Theodora Lau sits down with Hay Yip, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief of Staff at FundPark in Hong Kong, for a conversation that spans heritage, working capital, and what it really takes for SMEs to scale in an uncertain world.Hay shares his journey from a commercial banking career at HSBC — spanning both London and Hong Kong — to the electric pace of a fintech startup, and why he now goes to bed "with one eye open." Born in Hong Kong and grew up in the UK, his story comes full circle as he returns home to help the small businesses he's always been drawn to.At the heart of the conversation is the often-overlooked engine of commerce: working capital. Hay makes the case that cash flow is the "bloodline" of any growing business, and explains how FundPark uses data and analytics to serve e-commerce merchants who are not just underserved by traditional banks, but in many cases entirely unserved. Theo and Hay explore the founders' origin story, why entrepreneurs deserve more credit for their courage, and how global supply chain fragility shows up in the everyday lives of merchants and the customers who depend on them.Tune in for a candid look at the unglamorous but essential side of fintech, and FundPark's vision of "scale up as a service" — helping ordinary people behind real businesses thrive.📍Hot take: "The only certainty is uncertainty."Keywords: Fintech, Financial Services, Startup, VC, Hong Kong, SME00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro01:06 The Backstory05:15 From HSBC to Startup 11:02 Expectations versus Reality 18:41 Working Capital Matters36:24 Hong Kong’s Strategic Role40:11 Closing and Takeaways**More about our guest 🌐Hay Yip on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayyip/ More about our host and One Vision Podcast 🌐Theodora Lau on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theodoralau/ 🌐Banking on (Artificial) Intelligence (book): https://www.bankingonaibook.com/ 🌐Unconventional Ventures (company): https://www.unconventionalventures.com/ 🌐Listen to all One Vision Podcast episodes by visiting: https://shows.acast.com/one-vision **One Vision Podcast is a fintech, banking, and AI podcast hosted by Theodora Lau (Founder, Unconventional Ventures; author of Banking on (Artificial) Intelligence). One Vision goes beyond the headlines on AI, agentic commerce, digital banking, financial inclusion, and the future of money — with founders, analysts, venture capitalists, technologists, and operators building the next chapter of financial services. New episodes weekly. Featured guests include leaders from Ant, bunq, J.D. Power, Forrester, IBM, Microsoft, Salesforce, SAS, SAP, and Wall Street Journal. Recognized in American Banker's Top 20 Most Influential Women in Fintech. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.