The First Customer - Turning a High-Risk Market into a Scalable Business with Aubrey Amatelli

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/

Want to be a guest on The First Customer? Send Jay Aigner a message on PodMatch here.

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/