I'm Melissa McCoy, a product builder focused on emerging markets

I'm passionate about building products that improve livelihoods in emerging markets, with particular love for Latin America & Africa. Currently, I'm building Nova, a payments startup, in São Paulo, Brazil.

Past work

Some of my past projects in payments, healthcare, and more

Explore some of my past projects in fintech, healthcare, & transportation

Explore some of my past projects in payments, healthcare & transportation

ConnectMed

An African digital health startup that offered telehealth apps, kiosks, & chronic disease therapeutics - started in my MSc CompSci & ended in Merck KGaA asset sale

See the project

ConnectMed

An African digital health startup that offered telehealth apps, kiosks, & chronic disease therapeutics - started in my MSc CompSci & ended in Merck KGaA asset sale

See the project

ConnectMed

An African digital health startup that offered telehealth apps, kiosks, & chronic disease therapeutics - started in my MSc CompSci & ended in Merck KGaA asset sale

See the project

Google Pay API

Making online checkouts better, by me growing usage of Google Pay API & adding new forms of payment like BNPL & e-wallets

See the project

Google Pay API

Making online checkouts better, by me growing usage of Google Pay API & adding new forms of payment like BNPL & e-wallets

See the project

Google Pay API

Making online checkouts better, by me growing usage of Google Pay API & adding new forms of payment like BNPL & e-wallets

See the project

Google Pay Africa

A new Google consumer payments app, bringing trust to Sub-Saharan African commerce & relevance for Google, that I got 35 headcount & $10M to build

See the project

Google Pay Africa

A new Google consumer payments app, bringing trust to Sub-Saharan African commerce & relevance for Google, that I got 35 headcount & $10M to build

See the project

Google Pay Africa

A new Google consumer payments app, bringing trust to Sub-Saharan African commerce & relevance for Google, that I got 35 headcount & $10M to build

See the project

Nova

Building a new, more efficient credit card payments network, leveraging open finance

See the project

Nova

Building a new, more efficient credit card payments network, leveraging open finance

See the project

Nova

Building a new, more efficient credit card payments network, leveraging open finance

See the project

Feedback

Read insights and feedback from mentors and peers

Arnold Goldberg
VP / GM Payments @ Google
"Melissa is such a passionate, multi-faceted Product Leader. She was a catalyst for so many of the core strategic payment areas on GPay. We will miss her at Google, but wish her the best of luck at her new endeavor in Brazil"
Chris Harding
Ex-CTO @ ConnectMed, Ex-Palantir
"Melissa is a relentlessly hard-working leader with a fierce intellect and a big heart. Nobody else I know more perfectly embodies Paul Graham's "formidable yet earnest" definition of a truly unstoppable founder."
Joyce Liu
Head of Design @ Zip, Ex-Design @ Google Maps
"Melissa is the best PM I worked with throughout my time at Google. She has great intuition and a unique blend of technical prowess, empathy for users, and unparalleled skill to drive clarity. She is a visionary leader who gets things done and isn't afraid to get her hands dirty. "
Andre Wegner
CEO @ Authentise
"Melissa is a born leader through sheer tenacity and intelligence. One of those people that you meet and you know: That one has every potential to achieve something huge."
Zweli Gwebityala
Engagement Manager @ McKinsey
"I worked with Melissa as part of a team that was trying to launch ConnectMed in South Africa. In the year I spent working with her, I found her to be an exceptional leader and a gifted tech engineer. She was able to inspire a team of doctors & business consultants to deliver results, while taking care of all the engineering required."
Yen Ping Teh
Partnerships @ Google Pay
"There are a few gifted individuals that most who work with will recall with admiration for years afterward. Melissa is one of those people. She combines both 1) exceptional IQ and functional knowledge in her space (product) with 2) organization-leading EQ (and that’s saying something at Google)."