What does balance look like when you’re co-CEO of a fintech processing billions of dollars in payments each year? For Sam Plowman, it starts with the small things: bringing his wife a cup of tea in the morning, carving out time for a run, and ending the day with family dinners (and the occasional Scandinavian thriller).
In our chat, Sam reflects on what it takes to lead Payment Logic through rapid growth without losing sight of wellbeing. He talks about the importance of trusting his team, why running is his best stress-buster, and how short, focused bursts of work keep him sharp.
Running a fast-growing fintech sounds all-consuming. What does a typical workday look like for you? How do you make sure you set the tone for both focus and balance?
Every morning, I bring my wife a cup of tea in bed. I then either go for a run or to the gym, though some days I head straight into the office. At Payment Logic, we have a hybrid work-from-home policy. But most Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, the office is buzzing with energy, people, and lots of questions.
I aim to limit my time in meetings and maximise my time prioritising important tasks. I strongly believe in working smart and focusing on high-impact initiatives rather than getting bogged down in details. It’s amazing what you can achieve when you’re not consumed by back-to-back meetings, especially if you are close to a whiteboard and markers that actually work!
After work, I enjoy helping with family dinner, which has become even more entertaining with our four grown children and their partners. If we’re not too tired from passionate debates, my wife and I often end the day watching a Scandinavian thriller.
Payment Logic has scaled rapidly over the past few years. How have you adjusted your own routines or boundaries to keep pace without burning out?
It’s true that Payment Logic has scaled significantly, growing from a bootstrapped startup in 2015 to a business now processing over $7 billion annually in B2B payments for more than 20,000 customers. As the business has grown and I’ve matured, one of the biggest adjustments I’ve made is learning to place greater trust in others to help get the job done.
Bringing in talented people and delegating responsibilities to a wider group is critical for enabling growth. Learning to step up or step aside to ensure others have sufficient space and ability to thrive, is an important approach I’m always trying to improve. It has been phenomenal seeing team members grow and mature from within the business, get promotions, become leaders, and help drive a larger business as we look ahead to expand globally.
Creating a business culture that incorporates a bit of fun, lightheartedness, and the ability to keep the CEOs grounded has also helped. Ultimately, we try not to get too caught up in it all.
When you’re juggling strategy, leadership, and growth, how do you protect time for your health, wellbeing, and family life?
I’m lucky to have a wife who keeps me grounded and continually reminds me of the importance and value of getting these things in balance; It’s like I have my own in-house coach. I place importance on time prioritisation and really focus on working on or experiencing the high value initiatives or activities.
I’m also a goal orientated person, and usually I’ll set longer term goals on both personal and business fronts. This helps me better schedule the things that are required to try and achieve these goals.
For instance, I love running and have recently organised a 108 km rail trail run, which I was able to complete after 6 months of training, but most importantly, after months of convincing my family and friends to join me to do part or all of it. Setting a personal goal like this and achieving it is very satisfying, but sharing the experience with those you love and respect, takes it to the next level.
What habits or rituals help you reset when the stress of leading a company inevitably builds up?
Like most leaders, I’m not immune to stress and have had to work hard to manage it over the years.
For me, exercise is critical and my go-to for immediate relief, and I find running melts anxiety better than anything else I’ve tried. Relaxed running, concentrating on breathing and being in touch with nature has an amazing effect on me, especially if I’m not worrying about times, distances or sharing the details on Strava.
Having a partner I can openly talk to is also a wonderful cure for a build up of anxiety and stress. Whilst this doesn’t always solve the issue, the chance to share the issue and hear someone else’s perspective without feeling judged is really comforting.
As a CEO and leader, how do you encourage work-life balance within your team, especially in a high-growth, high-pressure environment?
At Payment Logic, we understand each employee may have different needs or demands, so we do our best to keep our policies as flexible and accommodating as possible. It will never be perfect, but in a small company it is easier to feel the cultural pulse and understand whether you are close to achieving this or not.
Personally, I openly encourage work-life balance within the team and, while some staff have the maturity and ability to find the mix themselves with little guidance, others may need some more help. I don’t believe there is a perfect formula, but I always try to lead by example on this front, because I know that when I was an employee in other companies, I was very influenced by how my past leaders acted.
Looking back, what’s one change you’ve made to your daily routine or mindset that’s had the biggest impact on your long-term energy and performance?
Over the years, I’ve found that concentrated bursts of work are most effective for me. For instance, I often utilise a “power hour” concept specifically for business strategy. I’ve noticed that anything longer than an hour tends to yield diminishing returns in terms of focus and output for this type of deep work.
Throughout the day at Payment Logic, I tackle a variety of topics – whether they are opportunities, challenges, or tasks – as we are a small but growing team, and I find that moving from topic to topic in short bursts helps to reinvigorate my focus. This approach keeps my mind stimulated and more alert to the specific challenge or opportunity at hand.
