What does it take to build a business that not only survives but thrives in today’s competitive marketplace? In this interview series by
Website Planet, executives from successful technology companies reveal how they identified and solved the most urgent problems in their fields, the secrets that help them stand out even in the most competitive markets, and how they’re positioning themselves for the future.
Madhu G Nadig, Co-founder and CTO of Flagright, has established himself as a leading innovator in financial technology and compliance solutions. With an impressive track record at tech giants like AWS and Palantir, combined with his experience scaling startups from early stages to unicorn status, Nadig brings a unique perspective to the challenges of modern financial compliance. We sat down with him to discuss his journey and insights into building cutting-edge compliance software.
Your career spans some impressive organizations – from Palantir to AWS. How did these experiences shape your approach to building Flagright?
My journey has been focused on solving complex data challenges at scale, and each role has contributed uniquely to my perspective on building transformative technology. At Palantir, as one of the first hires in India, I worked directly with enterprise customers to unlock value from their data through advanced ontology, data integration, data versioning, and analytics. This experience was invaluable in understanding how large organizations handle sensitive data and the complexities of enterprise-scale deployments.
At AWS, I delved deep into building no-code, real-time, multi-region automated deployment products, which taught me the intricacies of cloud architecture and the importance of building systems that can scale globally while maintaining performance and reliability.
These experiences weren’t just about technical skills – they were about understanding how to build products that solve real-world problems at scale. When we started Flagright, this combination of experiences proved crucial in designing a system that could handle the complex requirements of modern financial compliance while remaining flexible and user-friendly.
You were also instrumental in scaling Forto from a startup to a unicorn. What lessons did you take from that experience?
The journey at Forto was transformative in shaping my understanding of what it takes to build a successful technology company. Joining as engineer #20 and witnessing the growth to 700 people provided invaluable insights into every aspect of scaling a technology organization. When you’re growing at that pace, you need to think several steps ahead in terms of architecture, team structure, and processes.
We had to make critical decisions about technical infrastructure that would impact the company’s ability to scale months or even years down the line. This experience taught me the importance of building systems that are not just technically sound but also adaptable to changing business needs.
One of the key lessons was understanding how to maintain technical excellence while scaling rapidly – something that’s particularly challenging in a high-growth environment. We had to develop processes that could accommodate rapid growth while ensuring our systems remained reliable and performant. This experience was instrumental in designing Flagright’s architecture to be inherently scalable from day one, and in building our team structure to support rapid growth while maintaining our high standards for quality and innovation.
What drives you personally in your work?
I’ve always been fascinated by the challenge of solving complex problems that have real-world impact. There’s something incredibly motivating about building systems that can prevent financial crime and make the financial system safer and more efficient. Every time we stop a fraudulent transaction or help a financial institution better serve their legitimate customers, it reinforces why we do what we do.
What motivated you to focus on AML compliance software?
I saw a clear gap in the market. Traditional compliance solutions weren’t built for the cloud era – they were slow, rigid, and couldn’t provide real-time feedback. They also did not employ modern machine learning methodologies or AI.
With my background in AI and large-scale data processing, I knew we could build something fundamentally better. Financial crime is becoming increasingly sophisticated, and financial institutions need tools that can keep up.
What makes Flagright’s approach to compliance unique?
We’re the only truly cloud-native, AI-first compliance solution that operates in real-time, and this uniqueness stems from our fundamental architectural decisions. Most legacy systems take 2-4 months to integrate; we can get customers up and running in a week. This isn’t just about speed – it’s about rethinking how compliance software should work in the modern era.
- Our API-first architecture allows financial institutions to seamlessly embed compliance into their existing workflows.
- The system processes transactions in milliseconds, providing instant feedback to prevent suspicious transactions before they are completed.
- Our all-in-one solution handles transaction monitoring, customer risk scoring, merchant monitoring, case management, and sanctions screening.
- The no-code platform empowers compliance teams to adapt rules and workflows without engineering support.
How has your expertise in AI and large-scale data processing influenced Flagright’s development?
My background in AI and large-scale data processing has been fundamental in shaping Flagright’s architecture and capabilities. We didn’t just build AI into our platform – I architected the entire system around the principles of modern machine learning and distributed computing.
- Our systems process massive amounts of data in milliseconds and learn from patterns across billions of transactions.
- We use sophisticated anomaly detection systems to identify suspicious patterns across multiple dimensions simultaneously.
- Our AI provides clear, audit-ready explanations for flagged transactions, crucial for regulatory compliance.
- We ensure data privacy through innovative techniques that allow learning across our customer base while maintaining strict data segregation.
What’s your approach to building and leading high-performing technical teams?
I’m a strong believer in maintaining the highest talent density possible. At Flagright, we’ve built our culture around what we call
“extreme teamwork”.
This means that everyone on the team is committed to supporting each other in getting things done. It’s not just about individual brilliance – it’s about how we can amplify each other’s strengths through collaboration. This approach has been crucial in enabling us to build and deploy sophisticated solutions rapidly.
How do you maintain this culture of extreme teamwork as you scale?
It starts with hiring. We look for people who are not only technically excellent but also naturally collaborative. In a fast-moving field like financial compliance, where we’re constantly pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with AI and real-time processing, no one person can have all the answers. Our success comes from our team’s ability to work together, share knowledge, and support each other in solving complex challenges.
What’s your vision for the future of compliance technology?
I believe we’re just scratching the surface. As financial services become more digital and interconnected, compliance needs to evolve from a reactive checkbox exercise to a proactive, intelligent system. We’re working on pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with AI in this space while ensuring our solutions remain accessible through our no-code platform. The future of compliance will be real-time, intelligent, and seamlessly integrated into financial operations.
How can our readers connect with you?
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/flagright
X: https://twitter.com/FlagrightHQ
