In this episode, I was lucky enough to interview Keilian Knudsen and Prags Mugunthan, co-founders of Pangea.ai.

Keilian and Prags explored their journey from university roommates in Scotland to building a global tech talent platform. Keilian described how growing up in Switzerland with an American mother and Norwegian father gave him a multicultural view of the world and a drive to create something of his own. Prags shared how moving from Sri Lanka to Norway at a young age gave him access to education and opportunity, which shaped his path toward entrepreneurship. Their first ventures included a sandblasting startup and a digital memory bank, both of which failed but pushed them to solve the problem they encountered firsthand—how hard it was to find and hire reliable software developers.

That problem led to the birth of Digital Knights, a service-based business that eventually became Pangea. Keilian and Prags candidly shared about the tough early days, including running out of money, borrowing from friends and family, and nearly walking away from it all. What kept them going was their shared vision and complementary strengths. They also emphasized the importance of building repeatable systems and processes, especially after realizing that excessive hustle without structure could limit their growth.

Discover how missed hires, borrowed savings, and unwavering conviction led Keilian and Prags to build Pangea in this episode of The First Customer!

Guest Info:
Pangea.ai
https://www.pangea.ai

Keilian Knudsen's LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/keilian/

Prags Mugunthan's LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/pragsm/

Connect with Jay on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayaigner/
The First Customer Youtube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/@thefirstcustomerpodcast
The First Customer podcast website
https://www.firstcustomerpodcast.com
Follow The First Customer on LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-first-customer-podcast/

In this episode, I was lucky enough to interview Aubrey Amatelli, Founder and CEO of PayRio—the first payment provider focused exclusively on alternative medicine.

Aubrey shared how her roots in Silicon Valley and a traditional finance career at JP Morgan eventually led her to launch PayRio, combining her passion for cannabis and her expertise in payments. She walked me through the complicated regulatory landscape that makes payment processing for cannabis so challenging and explained how PayRio uses creative, compliant workarounds like ATM rails and wallet tech to support dispensaries and e-commerce businesses.

Aubrey also opened up about the emotional transition from corporate life to cannabis entrepreneurship, including the fear and eventual empowerment that came with “coming out” on LinkedIn. Aubrey discussed how her startup journey began with cold calls and a scrappy three-person team, and how PayRio has grown to serve both mom-and-pop dispensaries and multi-state operators alike.

Let’s drive all the way to San Francisco and dive into Aubrey Amatelli’s bold leap from Wall Street to CBD tech in this episode of The First Customer!

Guest Info:
PayRio
https://payrio.co/

Aubrey Amatelli's LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/aubreyamatelli/

Connect with Jay on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayaigner/
The First Customer Youtube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/@thefirstcustomerpodcast
The First Customer podcast website
https://www.firstcustomerpodcast.com
Follow The First Customer on LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-first-customer-podcast/