#313 Sergei Kukharev: Building Fintech That Solves Real Problems for SMEs

In this episode, Hilmarie sits down with Sergei Kukharev to explore how technology can reduce stress instead of creating it. Drawing on more than 15 years of experience in fintech and payments, Sergei explains why the future of AI isn't about replacing people, but helping business owners make better decisions with greater confidence. The conversation explores the shift that transformed his career, moving from building payment infrastructure to understanding the people behind every transaction. After spending time with small business owners, Sergei realized that merchants don't care about complex technology. They care about saving time, reducing operational stress, and running their businesses more effectively. That insight reshaped how he approaches product development, leading him to prioritize simplicity, empathy, and practical outcomes over flashy features. A defining moment in the episode is Sergei's Green Pill realization that successful products are built by solving human problems, not technical ones. He shares valuable lessons from products that failed, why emotional friction often prevents adoption more than technical limitations, and how involving engineers directly with customers creates better solutions. He also discusses AI's growing role as a trusted assistant that helps small businesses gain clarity without replacing human judgment. At its core, this episode is about empathy, thoughtful innovation, and building technology that genuinely improves people's lives. Sergei's journey is a reminder that the best products aren't the ones with the most features, but the ones that quietly remove complexity so people can focus on what matters most. **About The Guest** Sergei Kukharev is the Chief Product Officer at Fortis, where he leads the development of AI-powered payment and commerce solutions that help small and medium-sized businesses simplify operations and make smarter decisions. With over 15 years of experience in fintech, digital payments, and product leadership, he has built solutions focused on improving merchant experiences across the GCC. Throughout his career, Sergei has championed a human-centered approach to product development, believing that the most successful technology is measured not by its complexity but by the confidence and clarity it gives its users. By combining data, artificial intelligence, and customer empathy, he continues to create practical solutions that help businesses reduce operational stress, improve efficiency, and grow with confidence **Quotes** 4:17 - Designing for stress reduction means designing for clarity, simplicity, and confidence in daily operations. 10:24 - Spend more time absorbing real user behavior and less time building based on someone’s assumptions.  12:42 - The most interesting future is not AI creating some noise, but helping small business owners and business owners actually feel more in control. 13:26 - AI cannot replace judgment, for example. Yeah, its the human thing, and only we can judge the decisions, what AI, for example, suggesting to us. 22:22 - We decided to stay focused on the merchants we could serve better. And I think it was an important to us an important reminder that long-term trust matters more than chasing scale too early. 24:25 - Empathy is vital to actually thrive and be successful. **Useful Links** Website:https://www.wefortis.com Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/fortis.uae/ Linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ser-kukharev/ The Matrix Green Pill Podcast: https://thematrixgreenpill.com/ Please review us: https://g.page/r/CS8IW35GvlraEAI/review