From Fintech Founder to Cyber Investor with Chris Zadeh | Cyber Security District

In this episode of Cyber Security District, we speak with Chris Zadeh, serial entrepreneur, fintech pioneer, angel investor, and author. Chris was founder and CEO of Ohpen, one of the first cloud-native core banking platforms in Europe, orchestrating more than €100 billion in financial flows. After building and scaling Ohpen for ten years, he exited and shifted his focus to investing, launching a dedicated cybersecurity fund and his own investment vehicle.

From growing up without financial privilege to becoming one of the early digital banking pioneers at Binck in the Netherlands, Chris shares an unfiltered look at execution, obsession, discipline, and what it truly takes to win in regulated markets. Now Chris is investing in cybersecurity startups, Chris explains what he looks for in founders, why AI is reshaping risk and compliance, and why Europe must rethink digital sovereignty.

In this episode, we cover:

• Chris’ founder journey: from Binck Bank scale-up years to building Ohpen for 10 years
• What “security-first” looks like in fintech, non-negotiables, resilience, and trust with enterprise buyers
• Execution culture, exceeding expectations, hiring for discipline, and why culture beats product
• The shift to investing and why he started a cyber fund and what he looks for in founders
• What’s next in AI-driven risk, compliance + security convergence, and Europe’s digital sovereignty challenge

Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro
00:14 – Meet Chris Zadeh
01:59 – Growing up without financial safety nets
03:14 – Joining BinckBank at 23
06:52 – Scaling to market dominance
08:57 – Wanting to sit at the decision-making table
11:36 – Early infrastructure and security lessons
14:18 – A firewall shutdown incident
17:55 – Leaving to build Open
18:48 – The vision for cloud-native core banking
22:29 – 744 pages of rejection before first contract
27:14 – Migrating €15B live
28:09 – Security as non-negotiable
32:15 – Hiring discipline and execution mindset
35:05 – Culture: exceed expectations or leave
37:35 – The cost of extreme execution
41:21 – Transitioning to investing
44:27 – Why he rejects the “solo entrepreneur” myth
49:35 – Launching the cybersecurity fund
51:16 – AI, compliance, and new cyber opportunities
58:55 – European cloud sovereignty
01:04:03 – Signal message to CSOs: stay curious
01:06:00 – Outro

Connect with the guest:
Chris Zadeh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chriszadeh/
Dark Red (Cyber Fund): https://www.darkred.at/

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Laurens Jagt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurensjagt/
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