The Tightrope Walker. Building At Speed, Without Losing Balance

“The financial services environment has changed a lot. It’s fast-paced, and it’s technology-driven.”

Growth in financial services is rarely about choosing one priority over another. It’s about holding multiple tensions at the same time: speed and stability, innovation and compliance, ambition and discipline.

In this continuation of our Behind The Scenes series, we sat down again with Marco Mercieca to explore what happens after go-live. Not the excitement of launching, but the quieter, more complex phase that follows: scaling responsibly.

Rather than revisiting Alunafi’s origins, this conversation focused on something more nuanced: how a young financial institution learns to stay upright while walking an increasingly narrow line.

A faster industry, a clearer direction

“Technology will drive your business. That’s no longer optional.”

Looking back on his first year, Marco points to one dominant reality: the pace of financial services has fundamentally changed. Today’s environment is faster, more interconnected, and less forgiving of hesitation. But what stood out most wasn’t only the speed itself. It was the clarity behind it.

“We already know where we want to be,
not just this year, but in the years ahead.”

From the beginning, Alunafi’s shareholders, founders, and management team shared a common direction. That shared vision acts as a stabilizer when everything else is moving quickly.

Letting go of “perfect” to build something real

“I come from the mindset that everything
needs to be perfect before you launch.”

One of Marco’s most personal reflections came from an internal shift. In traditional environments, perfection often comes before action. In a startup, waiting too long can mean never starting at all.

“At some point, you need to start generating revenue.
Otherwise, you’re out of business before you begin.”

The challenge wasn’t abandoning rigor. It was learning how to balance professional caution with commercial reality: launching responsibly, improving continuously, and accepting that progress rarely looks perfect at first.

The many balances no one talks about

“There will always be a struggle between
sales, onboarding, and compliance.”

As the conversation deepened, one theme kept resurfacing: balance isn’t singular. It exists in layers.

Sales pushes forward.
Compliance acts as the gatekeeper.
Onboarding lives in the middle, translating ambition into sustainable action.

“You need to find that base where everything balances out.”

The goal isn’t to eliminate tension. It’s to create healthy conflict that leads to better decisions – commercially sound, operationally realistic, and regulatory aligned.

From go-live to consolidation

“This year was about going live.
Next year is about consolidating.”

With customers onboard, payments flowing, and cards live, Alunafi has moved beyond its first visible milestone.

Now comes the less visible work: formalising processes, strengthening monitoring frameworks, and turning dynamic experimentation into scalable foundations.

“Our systems can scale. Now our processes need to do the same.”

This phase is about making sure growth doesn’t outpace structure.

Scaling people alongside the platform

“The more we grow, the more resources we’ll need.”

Sustainable growth isn’t only measured in volumes or features. It also depends on people.

As Alunafi looks ahead, scaling responsibly means strengthening teams across operations, compliance, and product, ensuring that culture, clarity, and alignment grow alongside headcount.

“Everything is connected: technology, regulation, people, and revenue.”

What this phase really represents

“It’s always about finding the balance.”

This stage of Alunafi’s journey isn’t about dramatic announcements. It’s about maturity. Building a financial institution that moves fast without cutting corners, grows without losing control, and innovates without sacrificing trust.

“Growth, compliance, and risk aren’t opposites.
They define success together.”

Mastering that balance is the real work and it’s what will define Alunafi’s next chapter.