A Founder's Reflection After an Exit: The Journey of Aung Kyaw Moe, Founder of 2C2P

Aung Kyaw Moe, 50, Founder of 2C2P, grew up in Yangon, Myanmar, in a modest family of civil servants working in accounting. With their background in the civil service, his parents tended to see “business” in a negative light, believing that many cared mainly about making money. Given the choice between Accounting and Computer Studies, Aung chose to study computer programming and set his sights on pursuing his university education abroad. In 1999, Aung arrived in Thailand intending only to pass through for a visa interview to study in the United Kingdom. However, political events in Myanmar (then Burma) had a major impact on Aung’s plans.

“The visa was denied,” he recalled. “I was too shy to go back home, looked for a job in Bangkok, met a beautiful Thai girl, and the rest is history.”

 

Building 2C2P: From Code to Company

Finding employment as a foreign worker proved challenging, but his programming skills came in handy. In 2003, a Thai bank approached Aung to develop a payment authentication system that would protect online credit card purchases, a system now known as 3D Secure.

“I built that software without any knowledge of credit card payment because I was optimistic about everything—I thought I could build anything,” he explained.

After witnessing the growth of e-commerce when deploying his software at the banks, Aung decided to launch his own payment solutions company. This venture would evolve into 2C2P, one of Southeast Asia’s most successful fintech companies. He secured funding, then recruited talented professionals from the banks that were once his customers.  

Learning to Lead at Sasin

When Aung’s first child was born in 2003, he wanted to ensure a better life for his family—something he believed was only possible by succeeding in business, the very path his parents had warned him against. In April 2003, he founded 2C2P and became its CEO at age 28. However, he quickly realized that while he excelled at writing code, he knew little about running a company.

“I realized that in order to understand soft skills in management—managing people, motivating teams, reading accounts, understanding balance sheets, and grasping what EBITDA means—I needed to attend business school,” Aung explained.

That realization brought him to Sasin School of Management, where he joined the Executive MBA program in 2006 while continuing to run 2C2P full-time. Aung credits Sasin’s Visiting Professor Douglas Abrams, who taught Venture Capital, for helping him expand to Singapore and think strategically about growth. Professor Ian Fenwick, Director of Sasin, was also his professor and later commented on Aung’s entrepreneurial evolution from coder to industry pioneer and mentor:

“In the first year, he never said a word, until one day, when I was talking about adverts, he pointed out that he could write a script that would drive my competitor’s ad off the page,” Professor Fenwick recalled. “Since his time as a student, he’s mentored our startup competition teams and offered all kinds of practical wisdom and advice. His journey from student to industry pioneer to mentor to research scholar illustrates the dynamic ecosystem at Sasin.”

 

The Exit: When Letting Go Becomes Leadership

Aung shared his decision to exit 2C2P in 2022, which at the time operated in 11 countries and processed approximately $8 billion in transactions value annually. Today, the company has nearly doubled in size.

“When you raise money from investors, most have a seven-year time horizon. Within seven years, they need to return their investment to their Limited Partners,” Aung explained. “On paper, my company had already given them a good return, but we needed to find liquidity for earlier investors so they could liquidate their investment.”

Simultaneously, Aung recognized that 2C2P had matured into a large, stable organization. With many senior leadership team members nearing retirement, he felt it was important to offer them the opportunity to cash out as well, making the timing for this exit plan a natural transition.  

The Emotional Reality of Success

Aung candidly admitted that after the acquisition, he experienced a profound sense of loss. While the fintech industry viewed it as a successful exit, to Aung it felt like a failure—he hadn’t fulfilled his dream of taking a Southeast Asian company public in New York. Selling the company meant relinquishing an integral part of what he had built. After careful consideration, Aung chose an acquisition partner that aligned with his values and provided him the opportunity to stay with the company for three more years. During that period, he recalled a pivotal meeting in 2023-2024 in London with a major global tech company to discuss potential collaboration in Asia. Despite his determination to present the company and build partnerships, the new owners dominated the conversation, leaving Aung with minimal opportunity to contribute.

“That day I came out of that headquarters building, it was as if the engine stopped… that was the realization that this is it,” Aung reflected. “It happened in a place I really wanted to be, at one of the companies I truly admired and respected, and I was devastated. That was incredibly painful.”

 

Finding Peace in a New Perspective

Over time, exiting the company brought Aung unexpected peace. His perspective on success has fundamentally shifted.

“I once believed that I had made my staff attained financial freedom,” he said. “I now realize they gave me that freedom. They built this company with me.”

Today, Aung dedicates more time to his family, travels extensively, and continues his research as a DBA candidate at Sasin. He’s also pursuing a Creative Writing and Literature Masters’ Degree program at Harvard Extension School, working on a memoir about his life and leadership journey that he hopes to publish by 2027.