Inside Alunafi: Growing Fast, Building Together

An interview with Jacob Lia, Operations & Growth Support

Startups are often described as fast-paced, chaotic, and demanding.
They rarely mention the other side of the story: how deeply human they are.

A few months into his journey at Alunafi, Jacob Lia sat down with us for a short internal interview. The goal was simple: take a step back, reflect on the road so far, and look ahead to what’s coming next. What came out was an honest look at growth, teamwork, challenges, and the reality of building a fintech company from the inside.

From operations to events (and everything in between)

Jacob joined Alunafi as part of the Operations team. Like many roles in a startup, that definition quickly evolved.

Today, his day-to-day reality sits at the crossroads of:

• Client onboarding and operational coordination
• Reviewing files and validating documentation
• Client communication and follow-ups
• Supporting payments and back-office processes
• Helping shape internal events, office life, and team culture

“It’s hectic,” he admits. “But in a good way.
You never get bored. You don’t really have time to get bored!”

At Alunafi, busy doesn’t mean burned out. It means engaged. It means there’s no time to get bored, because every day brings something new to solve, improve, or build.

Why a startup? Why Alunafi?

What attracted Jacob wasn’t a fixed role or a predefined process. It was the opposite.

Alunafi is still young enough that many systems, workflows, and habits are being built in real time. For someone who enjoys creating structure instead of inheriting it, that was a key motivation.

“You can start from scratch. Build processes. Share knowledge.
We’re a small team, so we can coordinate and really build on top of each other.”

That sense of shared ownership matters. When teams are small, progress doesn’t happen in silos. It happens through collaboration, constant feedback, and mutual support.

What has made the biggest impact so far

When asked what marked him most since joining, Jacob didn’t point to a single task or metric. He pointed to people. Over the past months, Alunafi’s office life and internal rhythm have evolved:

• More flexibility in how teams work together
• More space for internal events and team moments
• Small but meaningful initiatives like team-building activities and onboarding sessions

These moments might seem secondary from the outside. Inside a fast-growing fintech, they’re foundational.

“Since I joined, we’ve had more flexibility and more options
to create events and bring people together.”

They create trust, alignment, and the energy needed to handle intense operational workloads.

Accomplishments in progress

Not every achievement is finished and framed. Some are still being built.

Jacob is currently working on improving procedures and operational workflows, especially around onboarding. Drawing from prior experience, his focus is on creating clearer, more efficient processes that help the team scale.

“I’m in the middle of the accomplishment…
When I finalise these procedures, that’s when
I’ll have a feeling of accomplishment.”

That mindset captures startup life perfectly. Progress isn’t always a milestone. Sometimes it’s simply being deep in the work, knowing the impact will come.

Looking ahead to 2026

As 2025 came to a close, the conversation naturally turned toward the year ahead. For Jacob, 2026 means:

• A growing client base
• New products and features for customers
• Increasing responsibility as the company scales

With growth comes challenge. Juggling operations, onboarding, events, and marketing requires constant prioritization. Add scaling systems and increasing volume, and the pressure rises.

“The most challenging part will be juggling everything at once
and making sure systems keep up, especially as the workload increases.”

It’s an honest reflection of a team operating in growth mode.

The Bigger Picture

This conversation wasn’t about perfection. It was about momentum.

About building something together, knowing that challenges are part of the journey, not a sign of failure, but of progress.

As Alunafi heads into 2026, stories like Jacob’s reflect what’s happening behind the scenes: a team growing fast, learning constantly, and staying grounded in the human side of fintech.

Because at the end of the day, systems can be upgraded. People are what truly move companies forward.

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Want to learn more about the people building Alunafi? More team stories are coming soon.