# Aron Schwarzkopf

> Aron Schwarzkopf is an Ecuadorian-American fintech founder and the co-founder and CEO of Kushki, a payment-infrastructure company built to connect Latin America's fragmented payment systems. Raised in Quito and educated in the United States and China, he first co-founded the point-of-sale company Leaf while at college, saw it acquired by Heartland Payment Systems, and later reunited with co-founder Sebastián Castro to build Kushki. The company became Ecuador's first private technology unicorn in 2022 and has expanded across Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Ecuador.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Kushki
- **Organizations:** Kushki, Leaf, Techstars, New York Angels
- **Nationality:** Ecuadorian-American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science, Babson College, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Executive Program, Singularity University
- **Known for:** Co-founded two payments companies, Leaf and Kushki, with Sebastián Castro., Built Leaf from a college-era concept into a merchant payments platform acquired by Heartland Payment Systems in 2014., Led Kushki through an $86 million Series B in 2021 and a $100 million extension in 2022.

## Career timeline

- **2010-2011** — Co-founded Leaf with Sebastián Castro while finishing college, creating a purpose-built point-of-sale platform for small businesses.
- **2013** — Leaf received a $20 million strategic investment from Heartland Payment Systems after building its merchant platform and distribution relationship.
- **2014** — Heartland Payment Systems acquired the remaining interest in Leaf; Schwarzkopf subsequently became a Techstars mentor.
- **2015** — Joined New York Angels and attended Singularity University's Executive Program.
- **2017** — Co-founded and launched Kushki with Castro, beginning operations in Ecuador and building payment infrastructure for Latin America.
- **2020** — Kushki was operating in Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Ecuador.
- **2021** — Kushki raised an $86 million Series B at a reported $600 million valuation.
- **2022** — A $100 million Series B extension made Kushki Ecuador's first private technology unicorn; the company also acquired Mexican payments company Billpocket.
- **2023** — Kushki reported operating as a non-bank acquirer in Mexico, Chile, Peru and Colombia.
- **2024** — Spoke at eMerge Americas about his entrepreneurial path from Babson to fintech.
- **2026** — Remained Kushki's co-founder and CEO and publicly described the company delivering a client-requested feature in days using AI-assisted development.

## Achievements

- Co-founded two payments companies, Leaf and Kushki, with Sebastián Castro.
- Built Leaf from a college-era concept into a merchant payments platform acquired by Heartland Payment Systems in 2014.
- Led Kushki through an $86 million Series B in 2021 and a $100 million extension in 2022.
- Helped make Kushki Ecuador's first privately held technology company valued above $1 billion.
- Expanded Kushki's infrastructure across Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Ecuador.
- Named on several US patents and patent applications related to transaction systems and computerized bill-presenter technology.
- Served as a Techstars mentor, New York Angels member and angel investor/advisor.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Appeared in a New York Stock Exchange video segment identified as Kushki co-founder and CEO.
- **2026-06** — Featured in Forbes Centroamérica's coverage of companies addressing structural gaps in the region's economy.
- **2026-06** — Shared that Kushki delivered a client-requested software feature from request to production in days with AI-assisted development.
- **2026-05** — Public executive data continued to list him as co-founder and CEO of Kushki.

## Links

- Website: https://www.kushki.com/en/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aronschwarzkopf

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/aron-schwarzkopf
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-28