Founder Of The Week: Ryta Zasiekina

• Ryta Zasiekina is the founder of CONCRYT, a global fintech company providing payment infrastructure and solutions to help merchants manage online payments and expand into international markets.
• A qualified engineer with around a decade of experience in payments and banking, she brings expertise in e-commerce, payment processing, fraud prevention and risk management.
• She founded CONCRYT to simplify cross-border payments, connecting merchants to multiple global and alternative payment methods through a single platform. Under her leadership, the company has grown rapidly, completing more than 50 integrations and enabling 24 global payment methods in just over two years.
• Ryta is focused on combining payment technology with AI, recently reimagining CONCRYT’s payment gateway with large language model (LLM) technology to give merchants real-time insights into payment performance, fraud risks and costs.

Tell Me About Yourself and CONCRYT

I’m a qualified engineer and have spent around a decade working in payments and banking as an entrepreneur, angel investor and business adviser. My specialism is in general ecommerce and fintech business consulting, payment processing, alternative payment methods, risk management and fraud prevention.

After university, I explored several industries before discovering ecommerce and payments – a sector that immediately appealed to the engineer in me because of its complexity and constant evolution. I founded CONCRYT to help businesses manage online payments more effectively. We combine payment technology with deep industry expertise, giving merchants the infrastructure and support they need to operate efficiently, manage risk and expand into new markets.

What Inspired You To Start CONCRYT, and What Problem Were You Trying To Solve?

I wanted to change the way businesses handle digital payments through infrastructure that lets merchants operate and scale across borders through a single platform. Now, we’re a leading fintech company that provides pioneering payment solutions for businesses across global markets.

With merchants increasingly navigating complex cross-border environments, I saw a need for a business that connects merchants to a broad range of payment methods, including cards and alternative payment options, backed by a global network of banking and financial partners. The result is a faster, more transparent way to move and manage operations with confidence.

What Has Been Your Biggest Challenge So Far, and How Did You Overcome It?

The recent shift towards digital wallets, mobile-led commerce, and account-to-account payment rails has meant that merchants have much different expectations from their payment providers. With a new age of customers scrutinising transparency and security more closely than ever, merchants wanting to add a new payment option is not as simple as just adding on a new tool to their payment stack.

This changed the way we approach how we serve our merchants. For smaller businesses, we ensure that we offer tools that would have been out of reach a few years ago, such as faster onboarding, simpler integration, stronger fraud protection, and omnichannel capabilities without the overhead of running separate systems for each channel. For larger merchants, we ensure that payments sit alongside bigger inventory, logistics, analytics, and customer engagement systems rather than running as a separate workflow to make sure that every transaction is a data point.

Can You Describe a Pivotal Moment That Significantly Shaped the Direction of CONCRYT?

I couldn’t choose just one moment – every chapter of my career has impacted the way that I lead CONCRYT today. As an engineer, I learned the value of precision, problem-solving, and building systems that scale qualities that still guide how I evaluate technology. As a founder, I discovered the human side of leadership. And as an angel investor, I look at team behind a product or a market to establish their ability to collaborate, adapt, and stay true to their purpose.

Being a woman in a traditionally male-dominated industry also meant that I had to defy the odds to set up my businesses. Throughout my career I have had to learn a lot about the industry very quickly, to ensure that I have the confidence and experience to lead passionately. Over time I have developed the skills and experience to hold my own and command respect as a business owner – not a female business owner.

How Do You Define Success?

For your business: I’m already very proud of the progress we have made as a company. In just over two years, CONCRYT has grown rapidly into a global payments business, developing infrastructure that is both practical and built to scale.

We have opened a new European headquarters in Barcelona, completed over 50 integrations, enabled 24 global payment methods and advanced our compliance framework in line with evolving global standards, including preparations for MiCA, registration applications for two Canadian Money Services Businesses (MSBs), successfully completing an external anti-money laundering (AML) audit, and developing more than 35 AML-related policies.

That growth reflects a genuine market need – businesses expanding internationally require simpler, more connected payment solutions, and CONCRYT was built to provide exactly that.

As a founder: My legacy, I hope, is that of a leader who has built organisations that are innovative yet deeply people-centric. I want to be remembered for helping shape an ecosystem where technology amplifies human creativity, inclusion is designed into every solution, and entrepreneurship becomes a force for shared prosperity.

As a woman in tech, I also see success as helping to normalise diversity at the decision-making table, so that the next generation of talent don’t see it as an exception but as the standard. The founders of the future should combine ambition with responsibility, creating companies that don’t just deliver returns but also redefine what progress looks like.

What Advice Would You Give To Someone Thinking About Launching Their Own Startup?

The most important tip is to never lose your passion for the industry. Entering the payments space purely for financial gain or because it’s the latest trend is not sustainable. Passion for payments is essential for long-term success and satisfaction. This genuine interest will drive your motivation and keep you engaged, even during challenging times. Passion is key to doing a good job.

Build a strong professional network within your industry’s community. Engaging with peers, attending industry events and participating in forums can provide support, inspiration and new perspectives. Collaboration with others who share your passion can reignite your enthusiasm and offer valuable insights.

Finally, set realistic goals for yourself and your team. Unrealistic expectations can lead to unnecessary stress and burnout. Break down larger objectives into smaller, manageable tasks and celebrate your progress along the way. This approach helps maintain motivation and a sense of accomplishment.

What’s Next for CONCRYT? Any Exciting Developments We Should Watch Out For?

We’ve always prided ourselves on our ability to help our merchant partners through times of change with our unparalleled expertise and personalised support. Most recently, we have reimagined our payment gateway – a piece of infrastructure that is traditionally regarded as a reliable but unglamorous – to integrate Large Language Model (LLM) technology.

This technology enables our merchants to access real-time insights in seconds that allows them to better manage payments performance, monitor fraud risk and optimise costs. The reality is that merchants are seeking greater visibility, control and efficiency across fragmented payment ecosystems, and we are proud to be leading the next era of payment gateway technology that goes well beyond simply routing a transaction and returning an authorisation code.

Want to be featured as TechRound’s Founder of the Week? Find out more about this weekly feature and how to get involved here.

Founder’s 5 with Ryta Zasiekina

We wanted to know a bit more about the man behind CONCRYT, so we’ve put together the exclusive Founders’ 5 with Ryta Zasiekina.

Favourite business tool

Data. I’ve learned to trust data over assumptions. Whether I’m making an operational, investment or strategic decision, having the right data — and knowing which questions to ask of it — is probably the most valuable tool I have.

One lesson you learned the hard way?

You can’t build a scalable business by being the person who solves every problem. Earlier on, I often stepped in to make decisions, fix issues and keep things moving because it felt faster and safer. Over time, I learned that this creates dependency rather than strength. The real lesson was to build systems and teams that can make good decisions without me — and to accept that giving people ownership also means giving them room to do things differently.

One future trend you’re watching?

AI moving from assistance to autonomy. I’m particularly interested in the point where AI stops being simply a productivity tool and starts independently executing meaningful parts of business processes. I think this will fundamentally change how companies are built, how small teams scale, and even what we consider a company to be.

One quote you live by

“Trust, but verify.” It applies surprisingly well to almost everything — people, business, investments and decisions. I believe in giving people trust and freedom, but also in having enough clarity and information to make your own judgment.

One book/podcast you recommend

“Principles” by Ray Dalio. I like the idea of turning experience — including mistakes — into principles that make future decisions clearer. As a founder, you constantly make decisions with incomplete information, and having your own framework becomes increasingly important as the business grows.

Want to be featured as TechRound’s Founder of the Week? Know someone who deserves to be recognised as a founder making waves in the startup landscape? Find out more about this weekly feature and how to get involved here.