The Unexpected Teacher. How a 15-year-old’s rebellion became a blueprint for leadership

Julian is Alunafi’s CEO, a leader shaped not by traditional paths, but by real-life lessons, bold decisions, and an instinct for learning through experience.
Adélie, who began as his right-hand project manager and now serves as our HR specialist, often captures these stories as they happen. Their conversations reveal the human side of leadership, the insights, the missteps, the resilience, all that ultimately shape Alunafi’s culture.

This article comes from one of those moments: some lessons arrive neatly packaged in books, courses, or certifications; others show up as a teenager who refuses to do his homework – and accidentally teaches himself more than the curriculum ever planned.

This is Julian’s story. And it says a lot about how we learn, how we grow, and why discipline matters just as much as talent.

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A top student who refused to play by the rules

In his conversation with Adélie, Julian recalls being the strongest student in maths: confident, capable, and completely uninterested in doing the assigned work. Not because he couldn’t, but because he didn’t see the value in repeating what he already understood.

His teacher warned him: Do the work, or be moved to a lower class.

Julian didn’t move. And the teacher followed through. It frustrated him (and it frustrated his parents even more). But that moment sparked something unexpected. Instead of giving in, Julian decided to prove a point: t 15, he enrolled himself in evening classes to continue studying on his own terms.

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When confidence meets consequence, growth happens

What happened next shaped the way he learns even today. In night school, Julian quickly realised he already grasped the material being taught. So he pushed himself further, exploring more advanced concepts simply because he could, and because doing so felt like reclaiming ownership of his learning.

Later in life, Julian understood what his teacher had actually been trying to teach him: it wasn’t about the maths. It was about discipline. Talent gets you ahead once, but discipline keeps you moving forward.

That realisation stayed with him as he stepped into the working world, took on early jobs, found new paths, and eventually grew into leadership roles. Even now, he still reflects on the learning moments that continue to shape him, including recent conversations about impostor syndrome.

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Why this matters at Alunafi

Innovation isn’t born from perfection but from curiosity, self-awareness, and the courage to keep learning. Julian’s early story mirrors something we value deeply across our team:

• Curiosity beats perfection
• Discipline amplifies talent
• Growth begins where comfort ends
• The best lessons come from unexpected paths

Fintech evolves quickly; humans evolve intentionally, when they choose to. That is why we nurture a culture that values humility as much as skill, experimentation as much as structure, and reflection as much as progress.

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The quiet truth of leadership

As a matter of fact, leadership rarely arrives through the front door. It is rather built through accumulated moments: boldness, stubbornness, reflection, surprise, and the courage to keep trying.

And Julian didn’t just challenge a system. He learned something far more enduring: your ability may open the door, but your discipline determines what you build once you walk through it.

And that mindset continues to guide us at Alunafi.