Wharton FinTech Podcast
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Zoey Tang sat down with serial Investor, VC, Former Techstars Exec Jon Zanoff. Previously featured on the Wharton Fintech Podcast before, Jon is the founder of Empire Startups, one of the the largest FinTech communities of entrepreneurs, investors, bank innovators, and operators. As a fintech legend in New York, Jon is back on the show to share latest updates about Empire Startup and the New York Fintech Week on Apr. 8th - Apr. 12th. For more FinTech insights, follow us on: WFT Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Instagram: instagram.com/whartonfintech Zoey's LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/zoeytang1007/ Previous episode with Jon: https://bit.ly/3VBahpY
In today's episode, Wesley Aster and Djavaneh Bierwirth host Graham Weaver, the founder and managing partner of Alpine Investors, a people-driven private equity firm that invests in software and services businesses. Tune in to hear about: - Graham's journey from starting Alpine in his Stanford dorm room to growing the firm to $16B in AUM - Graham's personal growth and investment philosophies, as well as how he thinks about driving long-term impact - Alpine's latest $4.5B fund 9, and Graham's experience fundraising in a challenging market
Trevor Prince sits down with John Beccia, the Co-Founder and CEO of FS Vector, and Edin Trto, a Managing Director at Canaccord Genuity. FS Vector is a strategic consulting firm in the FinTech industry, focused on regulatory issues and other critical functions. In this episode, John and Edin discuss how their teams prepared FS Vector for its first institutional capital raise, how they navigated market volatility during their process, their outlook on the FinTech regulatory landscape, and much more.
In today's episode, Wesley Aster hosts Justo Benetti, SVP Head of Americas at dLocal. Justo formerly served as VP of Strategic Solutions at Worldpay. In this episode you will hear about: - Justo's background and new role at dLocal - Payment processing in emerging economies - Managing regulatory complexity across emerging markets - dLocal's $100M investment in Argentina, and how Argentina's new presidential administration will impact the fintech sector - Global fintech trends
In today’s episode, Joshua Benadiva hosts Irana Wasti, Chief Product Officer at BILL. Irana was previously the Chief Product Officer at Typeform and President of GoDaddy EMEA. In this episode you will hear about: - How to be a successful product manager in fintech - How Irana measures and implements successful strategies for building for small businesses - Best practices for managing product organizations in fintech - BILL's strategy to provide value as a full-stack financial operations platform - How BILL leverages machine learning and AI throughout its product - How to lead a product-led growth team and how to measure success, activation rates, and customer value For more FinTech insights, follow us on WFT Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Instagram: instagram.com/whartonfintech Josh's Twitter: @josh_benadiva Josh’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jbenadiva/
Rhea Advani Bobba hosts Tess Bloch, co-founder and Head of Operations of Spade, a fintech startup reshaping the card ecosystem with real-time merchant intelligence. They delve into how Spade is revolutionizing transaction data clarity, enabling FIs to enhance fraud detection, authorize more transactions, and foster innovation in financial products and services. They discuss the journey of Spade from its inception and path to product-market fit. The conversation also covers the challenges and successes faced in expanding globally, the importance of a clear ROI for financial institutions, and Spade's ambitious plans for the future. About Tess Tess Bloch is the co-founder and Head of Operations of Spade. In her current role as Head of Operations, Tess leads Spade’s operations, finance, sales, and people teams, and grew the employee headcount 5x. Before co-founding Spade, Tess spent two years at the leading income and employment connectivity API, Pinwheel, where she started as the Chief of Staff before becoming its Head of Operations. In these roles, she helped scale the Pinwheel team 14 to 100 employees and supported growth that helped the company raise a $50M Series B. Previously, Tess also worked for McKinsey & Company in London, where she focused on payments, private equity, and public and social sector work, but her passion for fintech didn’t start there. Already, before graduating from Stanford, she realized her interest in the financial services ecosystem early on in her career, starting an internship at Venmo in her freshman year and taking time off during her junior year to work there full time. About Spade Spade provides real-time merchant intelligence for the card ecosystem. Spade leverages its ground truth database to link any card transaction to a real merchant identity – providing granular merchant, category, and geolocation information. Spade leads the market in terms of merchant coverage, geolocation matching accuracy, and speed of transaction enrichment. Customers such as Mercury, Sardine, Ramp, and Unit trust Spade's data to authorize more transactions, prevent fraud, and build more innovative features. — As always, for more Fintech insights and opportunities to collaborate, please find us below: WFT LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/wharton-fintech-club/ WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Blog: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Home: www.whartonfintech.org Rhea’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rheaa/
Kailee Costello hosts Ed McLaughlin, the President & Chief Technology Officer of Mastercard Tune in to hear about: - Evolution of payment systems: Mastercard's journey into the digital era - Adapting to the digital payment landscape: Mastercard's evolution and innovations - Navigating quantum computing: securing payment systems and anticipating future challenges - Quantum computing's potential in fraud detection and loyalty enhancement - Mastercard's AI-powered fraud detection and prevention strategy - The frontier of Generative AI technology - Mastercard's role in global economies: ensuring resilience, security, and innovation - Fostering fintech innovation: Mastercard's collaborative approach - Shaping the future of payments: Mastercard's vision and innovations - Consumer-facing interface of blockchain and stablecoin - Harnessing technology for financial inclusion For more FinTech insights from Wharton Fintech, follow us on: WFT Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Instagram: instagram.com/whartonfintech Kailee’s Twitter: @KaileeCostello_ Kailee’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaileecostello/
Trevor Prince sits down with John Mitchell, the Co-Founder and CEO of Episode Six. Episode Six is a provider of payments infrastructure to firms across the financial services industry seeking to build customized products for their customers. In this episode, John discusses his background in the payments industry, Episode Six’s business model and growth story, his view of the payments industry, and much more. About John Mitchell: John has served as the CEO of Episode Six since its founding in 2015. Prior to E6, John was the Chief Executive Officer of Rêv Worldwide which provides innovative, end-to-end payment solutions to global partners. John also spent seven years at NetSpend Corporation where he was responsible for shifting the firm’s strategy to serving underbanked Americans. John holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Texas.
Zoey Tang and Rocky Gowni sat down with Rex Salisbury and Nik Milanovic. In today’s episode, we discussed -Latest updates from This Week in Fintech and Cambrian -Nik and Rex’s experiences as solo GP -Their perspectives of the latest fintech ecosystem and what to look forward to in 2024 About Nik Milanovic & This Week in Fintech Nik is the founder of This Week in Fintech. He has been a key organizer in building the fintech community, bringing together fintech enthusiasts all over the world. Last year, he also started the Fintech Fund as the solo GP. About Rex Salisbury and Cambrian Rex is the Founder & Solo GP @ Cambrian VC. He started Cambrian previously in 2016 to cultivate a community focused on founders and builders in fintech. His community building had accidentally led him into the world of venture, as he ultimately became a founding member of a16z’s fintech practice, investing in companies such as Tally, Deel, and Oyster Technology. For more FinTech insights, follow us on: WFT Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Instagram: instagram.com/whartonfintech Zoey's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoeytang1007/ Previous episodes with Nik & Rex: -https://medium.com/wharton-fintech/nik-milanovi%C4%87-founder-of-this-week-in-fintech-and-general-partner-of-the-fintech-fund-on-9023790f242c -https://medium.com/wharton-fintech/podcast-with-rex-salisbury-founder-of-fintech-devs-and-pms-e40869eb4de1
Nate Gee hosts Gal Krubiner, Co-founder and CEO of Pagaya, whose AI-driven network of investors, lenders, and borrowers aims to reshape the credit underwriting process and extend financial opportunity to more consumers. In this episode, they cover: - Gal’s motivation for founding Pagaya - How qualified loan applicants can be left behind in traditional credit underwriting - Pagaya’s AI-driven lender network and how it works - The future of AI in financial services - Pagaya’s IPO in 2021 - And much more! About Pagaya Technologies Pagaya was founded in 2016 with a goal to promote financial inclusion through improved credit underwriting and evaluation. It aims to build the leading AI network to enable better outcomes and create new credit opportunities for financial services providers and their customers. The company became publicly listed in 2021 (NASDAQ: PGY). About Gal Krubiner Gal Krubiner has served as Pagaya’s Chief Executive Officer since he co-founded the company in 2016. Prior to co-founding Pagaya, Gal focused on structuring and distributing sophisticated credit and asset-backed securities products at UBS AG. He’s also held other roles in investments, entrepreneurship, and financial markets. Gal graduated from Tel Aviv University in 2012. For more FinTech insights, follow us on: WFT Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Instagram: instagram.com/whartonfintech Nate’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-c-gee/
In today’s episode, Joshua Benadiva hosts Dan Kimerling, founder and Managing Partner of Deciens, a leading early-stage fintech venture capital firm. Dan shares insights into the fintech industry, emphasizing the importance of timing in entrepreneurship and the need for businesses to have increasing returns and moats as they scale. In this episode you will hear about: - Dan's journey in the fintech industry and the founding and selling of Standard Treasury - The challenges and opportunities within the fintech space - The role of coaching in venture capital and the importance of customer satisfaction in the banking industry About Dan Kimerling: Dan Kimerling is deeply committed to investing in transformative companies at their inception, holding board positions in several Deciens portfolio companies like Chipper, Therma, and Treasury Prime. Before Deciens, he co-founded and led Standard Treasury to its acquisition by Silicon Valley Bank, establishing leading API solutions for the financial services industry. Standard Treasury garnered recognition from American Banker and SWIFT for its innovation. Post-acquisition, Dan headed API Banking and Open Platform at SVB. His early career included a stint at TechCrunch and an educational journey at the University of Chicago, where he achieved honors and won prestigious awards. Dan is recognized by Forbes’ "30 under 30," is a Kauffman Fellow, and actively contributes to the University of Chicago's Polsky Council and the Young Presidents’ Organization. He enjoys a personal life filled with reading, cooking, biking, and skiing in Chicago and Albuquerque. About Deciens: Founded in 2017 by Dan Kimerling, Deciens Capital is a venture capital firm dedicated to ushering in the next generation of financial services. By focusing exclusively on early-stage investments, Deciens aims to support foundational companies reshaping industries and regions, including significant collaborations with Chipper Cash, Treasury Prime, and Therma. The firm prides itself on being the initial significant investment for companies poised for substantial growth, deep market impact, and the establishment of strong competitive moats in sizable markets. Deciens' portfolio showcases a commitment to groundbreaking fintech ventures such as Treasury Prime, Chipper Cash, and several others, emphasizing its role in the digital transformation of traditional financial institutions. For more FinTech insights, follow us on WFT Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Instagram: instagram.com/whartonfintech Josh's Twitter: @josh_benadiva Josh’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jbenadiva/
Zoey Tang sits down with Sarah Hinkfuss and Saanya Ojha from Bain Capital Ventures. At BCV, Sarah and Saanya partner with growth-stage founders building the next generation of software products, with a particular focus in Fintech. Before joining Bain Capital, Sarah started her investing career on the growth team at KKR. She previously worked at Applied Predictive Technologies, an enterprise SaaS company in the predictive analytics space that was acquired by Mastercard in 2015. Saanya is a proud Wharton alum. After starting her career at Goldman Sachs, she joined Coatue in 2019 and then Bain Capital Ventures. In today's episode, we got to know about Sarah and Saanya’s stories and their views on the impact of Generative AI on Financial Services. -- As always, for more Fintech insights and opportunities to collaborate, please find us below: WFT LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/wharton-fintech-club/ WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Blog: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Home: www.whartonfintech.org Zoey's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoeytang1007/ About Bain Capital Ventures Bain Capital Ventures is the venture arm of Bain Capital, one of the world’s renowned private investment groups with $165B AUM. BCV is currently investing out of fund ten ($1.9BN) with a wide mandate, writing checks starting from $1M and up to $100M.
In today’s episode, Joshua Benadiva hosts Asaf Horesh, Managing Partner at Vintage Investment Partners. Asaf recently co-led a $200m raise for Vintage's new growth fund. In this episode, he discusses the importance of building meaningful relationships in venture and the unique structure of Vintage's investment strategies. He explains the structure and metrics of Vintage's data platform and shares insights on trends in early-stage fintech investments. Asaf also discusses the challenges faced by companies with valuation issues and the targeting of specific verticals in the secondary market. He offers advice for those looking to grow their careers in venture and fintech. For more FinTech insights, follow us on WFT Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Instagram: instagram.com/whartonfintech Josh's Twitter: @josh_benadiva Josh’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jbenadiva/
Russell Matambo hosts Wemimo Abbey and Samir Goel, co-CEOs and co-founders of Esusu, a leading Fintech platform that reports on-time rental payments to credit bureaus so renters can build credit while building owners and property managers maximise their portfolio health. They discuss how Esusu is expanding financial access in the US, Esusu’s growing pains and lessons learnt along the way, Samir and Wemimo’s principled and purposeful leadership as Co-CEOs, and much more! About Wemimo and Samir: Wemimo Abbey and Samir Goel are co-CEOs and co-founders of Esusu. Esusu is the leading Fintech platform providing rent reporting, property management analytics, and rental assistance to unlock financial access and stability for renters and property owners in the US. In 2023 alone, Esusu unlocked $21.9 Billion in new credit activity for Esusu renters, by enabling 107,000 renters establish credit score for the first time while helping many more with existing credit scores increase theirs by at least 36 points. Most recently, Esusu was valued at $1 billion in their $130 million Series B round. Prior to Esusu, both Samir and Wemimo founded social enterprises and had successful corporate careers. Samir Co-Founded Transfernation, a nationally recognized non-profit that used technology to direct over 5 million pounds of excess food to nearly 2.5 million people in underserved communities across New York City. Wemimo on the other hand founded Clean Water for Everyone, a global social venture providing affordable access to clean water for 250,000+ people in six countries. He also founded a data analytics company gathering data on NGOs operating in Africa, which was acquired in 2014. Collectively Wemimo and Samir have been featured in over a dozen major business publications including but not limited to the 2020 Forbes 30 Under 30, the 2022 Fortune 40 Under 40 and the 2023 TIME 100 lists. -- As always, for more Fintech insights and opportunities to collaborate, please find us below: WFT LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/wharton-fintech-club/ WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Blog: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Home: www.whartonfintech.org Russell's LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/russell-matambo-cfa-a5900039/
Kailee Costello hosts Jack Zhang, the CEO and co-founder of Airwallex. Airwallex is revolutionizing the way that businesses operate globally; their financial infrastructure provides a modern tech stack for businesses of all sizes to operate internationally without the challenges of the current global financial system. They discuss: - Airwallex’s growth story - How Airwallex built their global money movement infrastructure - AI opportunities Airwallex is pursuing, including using LLMs to improve KYC and onboarding processes - Why Jack does not expect crypto to play a significant role in cross-border payments For more FinTech insights from Wharton Fintech, follow us on: WFT Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Instagram: instagram.com/whartonfintech Kailee’s Twitter: @KaileeCostello_ Kailee’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaileecostello/
In today’s episode, Joshua Benadiva hosts Bobby Morrison, Chief Revenue Officer at Shopify. Bobby was previously the Chief Revenue Officer at Intuit and a Senior Vice President at Verizon. In this episode you will hear about: - What makes Shopify unique and so fast-paced - Bobby's vision for the future of enterprise e-commerce - Shopify's product-led growth motion with enterprise e-commerce - Using Shop Pay, highest converting checkout experience, to illustrate the value of Shopify with little integration costs - How Shopify thinks about partnerships vs. building features themselves, what they call "main quests" vs "side-quests" - Building out omni-channel features and working alongside ERPs - Why massive brands are moving over to Shopify For more FinTech insights, follow us on WFT Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Instagram: instagram.com/whartonfintech Josh's Twitter: @josh_benadiva Josh’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jbenadiva/
Matt Watson, Origin Co-Founder and CEO - Financial Advice for Everyone by Wharton Fintech Podcast
In our final episode of 2023, Trevor Prince sits down with Tommy Nicholas, the Co-Founder and CEO of Alloy. Alloy is a platform that provides banks and FinTechs with a unified operating system for risk, fraud, and credit evaluation and monitoring in retail financial services. In this episode, Tommy discusses his background, Alloy’s business model and what it took to scale the company, Tommy’s outlook on Alloy and FinTech heading into 2024, and much more. About Tommy Nicholas: Tommy has served as the CEO of Alloy since co-founding the company in 2015. Prior to Alloy, was the Head of Product at Knox Payments, and spent time as a software developer. He was born and raised in Richmond, VA, and graduated from the University of Virginia, where he received a Bachelor’s in History and African American Studies.
In previous episodes we’ve touched on emerging fintech payments products that are attempting to take a piece of the payments pie. Today, we’re going to talk about Fiserv with Sunil Sachdev on the fintech giants’ approach to Embedded Finance and the changing paradigm in payments. About Sunil Sachdev: Sunil is a global fintech executive with a significant breadth of experience in banking, acquiring, DeFi and payments at companies such as American Express, Meed, Pershing and Fiserv. He has worked at Fiserv for nearly a decade in various roles and geographies, including leading the Fiserv payments business in international markets when Fiserv partnered with SWIFT to launch real-time payments in Australia. In recent years, he headed up the U.S. Community Bank segment for Fiserv before taking on a new role leading the Fintech and Growth segment to build out Fiserv’s self-service, low-code services and extend the dual-core and banking-as-a-service capabilities from Fiserv. These diverse experiences have helped deepen his appreciation for the power of collaboration between financial institutions, fintechs, brands and other businesses looking to extend banking and payment capabilities to their customers around the world. In 2023, Sunil was tapped to stand up the Embedded Finance business with true horizontal accountability across banking, merchant acquiring and issuing businesses at Fiserv. Sunil and his team leverage the full power of Fiserv for the benefit of its clients, including financial institutions, brands, ISVs, merchants and fintechs. About Fiserv: Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE: FI), a Fortune 500 company, aspires to move money and information in a way that moves the world. As a global leader in payments and financial technology, the company helps clients achieve best-in-class results through a commitment to innovation and excellence in areas including account processing and digital banking solutions; card issuer processing and network services; payments; e-commerce; merchant acquiring and processing; and the Clover® cloud-based point-of-sale and business management platform. For more FinTech insights, follow us on WFT Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Instagram: instagram.com/whartonfintech Rhea’s Twitter: @rheaadvani Rhea’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rheaa/
In today’s episode, Kailee Costello hosts David Brear, the CEO and co-founder of 11:FS and one of the hosts of the Fintech Insider podcast. In today’s episode, David shares his insights on 3 topics: 1. How digital technologies and fintechs have unleashed innovation in commercial banking. We talk about the unmet needs of SMEs and why David expects to see a transition to more service-based models in the future. 2. The banking battlefield. The competitive landscape is shifting from being about the “number of customers you can acquire” to a landscape where digital is increasingly important. We discussed strategies that incumbent banks can take to stay competitive. 3. How fintech and financial ecosystems differ across different global markets. We spoke about the impact of generational and cultural differences, and why David expects there to be different winners in different regions. Check out the 11:FS podcast ‘Fintech Insider’: https://content.11fs.com/podcasts/fintech-insider For more FinTech insights from Wharton Fintech, follow us on: WFT Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Instagram: instagram.com/whartonfintech Kailee’s Twitter: @KaileeCostello_ Kailee’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaileecostello/
Russell Matambo hosts Henry Ward, CEO and co-founder of Carta, a global equity management platform on a mission to unlock the power of equity ownership for more people in more places. They discuss Henry’s entrepreneurial journey, the challenges of simultaneously innovating and scaling a company, Carta’s mission to democratise ownership, and much more! About Henry: Henry is the CEO and co-founder of Carta. Carta manages over three trillion dollars in equity for over two million people globally. The company is trusted by more than 40,000 companies, and over 7,000 funds and SPVs to manage cap tables, compensation, valuations, liquidity, and more. Prior to Carta, Henry was founder and CEO of Secondsight, a portfolio optimization platform for retail investors. He also held leadership positions at software companies including Reddwerks Inc. and BetweenMarkets. Henry graduated from the University of Michigan with a BGS in Mathematics and Computer Science and holds an MSC in Market Finance from EDHEC Business School. -- As always, for more Fintech insights and opportunities to collaborate, please find us below: WFT LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/wharton-fintech-club/ WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Blog: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Home: www.whartonfintech.org Russell's LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/russell-matambo-cfa-a5900039/
Russell Matambo hosts Serigne Dioum, Group CEO of MTN Fintech, an African mobile financial services platform and subsidiary of MTN, Africa’s largest mobile network operator. With a footprint of 16 countries, over 69 million customers, and an annual transaction value of over US$220 billion, MTN Fintech is among the largest mobile financial services platforms in Africa. They discuss MTN’s ambition to scale Africa’s largest fintech platform, the strategic importance of carving out MTN Fintech and its partnership with Mastercard, and much more! About Serigne: Serigne Dioum is the Group CEO of MTN Fintech. Prior to this, Serigne was the MTN Group Executive for Mobile Financial Services. Serigne joined the MTN Group in September 2013, and has since then been responsible for driving MTN Mobile Money (MoMo) and related mobile financial services products and services across the MTN footprint. Serigne is passionate about financial inclusion and is spearheading MTN’s ambition to build Africa’s largest fintech platform, accelerating economic and social development through digital innovations for the benefit of citizens across the continent and beyond. Prior to joining MTN, Serigne headed Orange Money Skill Centre from 2008 to 2010 where he coordinated the launch of Orange Money in several Orange affiliates. Serigne holds a qualification in Telecommunications Engineering from the French institution ENST Bretagne. -- As always, for more Fintech insights and opportunities to collaborate, please find us below: WFT LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/wharton-fintech-club/ WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Blog: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Home: www.whartonfintech.org Russell's LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/russell-matambo-cfa-a5900039/
Zoey Tang sits down with Vinay Nair, founder and CEO of TIFIN, a fintech platform that drives personalization for wealth using AI and investment intelligence. TIFIN operates a collection of fully-owned subsidiaries in wealth and investments that are shaping the future of investor experience. Vinay was also the Founder and Chairman of 55ip, which was successfully sold to J.P. Morgan. As a serial entrepreneur and investor, Vinay was also a former finance faculty member of Wharton. His teaching focuses on venture capital, private equity, and entrepreneurship. He is also recognized as an expert in the areas of sustainable and responsible investing and has written “Investing for Change”, a book published in 2008 by Oxford University Press. In the episode, Vinay covers his journey from academics to entrepreneurship, how TIFIN is helping transform Wealth Management for consumers and financial advisors, and how TIFIN is pioneering in the space using Gen AI through partnership with incumbents.
Nate Gee hosts Anthony Scaramucci, Founder and Managing Partner of SkyBridge Capital, an alternative investment firm with a significant focus on digital assets. In this episode, they cover: - Anthony’s partnership with FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried - What led to FTX’s 30% stake in SkyBridge, and takeaways from FTX’s collapse - Risk-taking, facing criticism, and moving on from mistakes - Insights from Anthony’s time as White House Communications Director - Recent performance and the road ahead for SkyBridge - Bitcoin, other digital assets, and the future of money - Anthony’s macroeconomic and geopolitical concerns - SkyBridge’s SALT Conferences - And much more! About SkyBridge SkyBridge Capital is an alternative asset manager and investment advisor whose holdings include digital assets, public and private equity, and hedge funds. It was founded in 2005 by Anthony Scaramucci, also the founder and chairman of SALT, SkyBridge’s venture studio and networking forum covering public policy, finance, and technology. About Anthony Scaramucci Anthony Scaramucci is an investor and entrepreneur whose focus in recent years has included digital assets and related technology at SkyBridge Capital. Scaramucci has also worked in politics, most notably in a brief stint as the White House Communications Director for President Donald Trump in 2017. He was ranked among Cointelegraph’s most influential people in crypto and blockchain in 2022, and in 2016, he was listed among Worth Magazine's 100 most powerful people in global finance. Scaramucci has authored multiple books and speaks on CNBC, Bloomberg, and other media. Before founding SkyBridge, Scaramucci sold his prior investment business, Oscar Capital Management, to Neuberger Berman in 2001. He began his career at Goldman Sachs and holds a JD from Harvard Law School and a BA from Tufts University. For more FinTech insights, follow us on: WFT Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Instagram: instagram.com/whartonfintech Nate’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-c-gee/
In today’s episode, Kailee Costello hosts David Haber, General Partner at a16z. David focuses on technology investments in financial services.David was previously a senior executive in Firmwide Strategy at Goldman Sachs where he helped lead partnerships, new ventures and M&A. Before joining the firm, David was the Founder and CEO of Bond Street, which aimed to transform small business lending through technology, data, and design. Bond Street was acquired by Goldman Sachs in 2017. In this episode you will hear about: - The outlook for fintech: challenges and opportunities - How seeing the world from the perspective of an operator, an entrepreneur, and an investor has shaped David’s investing today - David’s current investing theses - David’s learnings from Bond Street about the importance of “leading with software” - How David’s lessons from Bond Street and his time at Goldman Sachs have influenced what he looks for in an investment and a founding team - David’s rationale for leaving his VC role at Spark Capital to found a startup - What David liked and disliked about his roles in VC compared to his role as founder and CEO at Bond Street For more FinTech insights, follow us on WFT Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Instagram: instagram.com/whartonfintech Kailee’s Twitter: @KaileeCostello_ Kailee’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaileecostello/
Zoey Tang sits down with Mark Fiorentino, partner at Index Ventures. Founded in 1996, Index Ventures is a global Venture Capital firm with offices in San Francisco, New York City, and London. Index Ventures has previously invested in prominent fintech companies such as Adyen, Plaid, Robinhood As part of the early members of the San Francisco team, Mark is focused largely on fintech and application SaaS. He is especially interested in fintech infrastructure, verticalized payment workflows, and SaaS tools disrupting legacy incumbents. He’s currently invested in RevenueCat, Loop, Catch, Pomelo, and Mercantile. Prior to Index, Mark helped build and lead business strategy and finance at Stripe from 2015 to 2019, driving key initiatives for sales operations, global growth, and fundraising. He helped the company assess international product market fit, grow from a couple hundred to nearly 2,000 people, and move upmarket into late-stage and enterprise. Before that, Mark was an investor at GI Partners, focusing on vertical SaaS and insurance marketplaces, including the acquisition of MRI Software. He was also an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, and served as a board member of the Stonestown YMCA for three years. In today’s episode we discuss Mark’s journey into Fintech and venture investing, his investment philosophy for companies in different stages, and his advice for founders in a period of volatility. For more FinTech insights, follow us on WFT Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Instagram: instagram.com/whartonfintech Zoey's Twitter: @zoeytang1007 Zoey's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoeytang1007/
In this episode, Blythe Masters reflects on her career that spans three decades within financial services. She discusses pivotal moments, from navigating through major mergers and market upheavals to becoming a mother at an early age. Addressing the evolving landscape of financial services, she delves into the transformative impact of AI and technology on Motive’s investment thesis, portfolio companies and day-to-day operations. Her experiences and observations provide a unique perspective on the industry's past, present, and future, making this podcast a must-listen for finance professionals and enthusiasts alike. About Blythe Masters Blythe Masters joined Motive Partners in 2019 and is a Founding Partner. At Motive, Blythe sources and executes investment opportunities with a focus on strategy and growth for Motive portfolio companies, through her extensive experience as a financial services and technology executive. Blythe is Chair of Motive Ventures, the early-stage investment capability at Motive Partners. Prior to joining Motive, Blythe was the CEO of Digital Asset Holdings, the leading enterprise blockchain fintech company responsible for the Australian Securities Exchange’s ground-breaking post-trade infrastructure replacement project. Previously, Blythe was a member of the Corporate and Investment Bank Operating Committee and firmwide Executive Committee at J.P. Morgan. Her J.P. Morgan career spanned 27 years, fulfilling several roles including head of global commodities, head of corporate and investment bank regulatory affairs, CFO of the investment bank, head of global credit portfolio and credit policy and strategy, and head of structured credit. Blythe is a graduate and Senior Scholar of Trinity College, Cambridge where she received a B.A. in Economics. About Motive Partners Motive Partners is a specialist private equity firm with offices in New York City, London and Berlin, focusing on growth equity and buyout investments in software and information services companies based in North America and Europe and serving five primary subsectors: Banking & Payments, Capital Markets, Data & Analytics, Investment Management and Insurance. Motive Partners brings differentiated expertise, connectivity and capabilities to create long-term value in financial technology companies. For more information, please visit www.motivepartners.com For more FinTech insights, follow us on WFT Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Instagram: instagram.com/whartonfintech Rhea’s Twitter: @rheaadvani Rhea’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rheaa/
In today’s episode, Kailee Costello hosts Nikhil Lakhanpal, Co-Founder at Narmi. Narmi’s mission is to offer financial institutions the best digital banking platform in the industry. Narmi does this through an API-driven platform that layers on top of existing banking infrastructure to give these financial institutions access to Narmi’s products, including digital account opening, consumer and business digital banking, and an admin platform. In this episode you will hear about: - Nikhil’s journey from running a financial institution during his undergraduate years at Georgetown to founding a fintech. - How Narmi integrates with the tech stack for financial institutions to provide a superior customer experience - How Narmi thinks about segmenting and targeting potential customers - How Narmi approaches selling to financial institutions (which have typically been risk-averse and slow to adopt new technologies) - Who Narmi’s main competitors are, and how Narmi distinguishes its value proposition from theirs - Outlook for the banking sector, including the impact of FedNow and how banks have recently started focusing more on digital and tech spend - What’s top of mind for Nikhil given that 2023 has been a tumultuous year for the banking sector - How Narmi approached developing their suite of products, and whether what Narmi looks like today is what Nikhil envisioned when he started working on the company - Narmi’s short-term goals, and where Nikhil sees Narmi 5 years from now About Narmi Narmi offers state of the art digital banking and digital account opening platforms to financial institutions. The platform – built for the enterprise – allows financial institutions to open accounts in less than 2.5 minutes, and then grow that relationship over a lifetime through intuitive mobile and online channels. Every single product at Narmi integrates with leading core banking systems. About Nikhil Lakhanpal Nikhil Lakhanpal is the Co-Founder of Narmi. Prior to Narmi, Nikhil ran a financial institution as CEO and also held roles in Investment Banking at Citi. For more FinTech insights, follow us on WFT Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Instagram: instagram.com/whartonfintech Kailee’s Twitter: @KaileeCostello_ Kailee’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaileecostello/
In today’s episode, Rhea Advani hosts John MacIlwaine, Co-Founder & CEO at Highnote. They delve into the evolving payments processing space, emphasizing the rise of innovative embedded finance platforms like Highnote. The conversation also unveils insights into Highnote's latest Credit Issuing product. In this episode, you will hear about: The complexities of payments processing and regulatory challenges faced by fintech companies. Highnote's innovative approach as an embedded platform, emphasizing differentiation and flexibility. Insights into Highnote's latest product, the Credit Issuing platform, and its implications for the market. The future of issuer processing, where legacy platforms coexist with cutting-edge solutions like Highnote. Highnote's strategies for navigating the competitive fintech industry and their vision for the evolving market landscape. About John MacIlwaine John MacIlwaine is the the CEO and co-founder of Highnote, an embedded finance company setting the new standard for modern card platform management through differentiated payment experiences. John has over two decades of experience leading in technical and management roles at global financial companies. Prior to founding Highnote, he served as General Manager of Braintree, a leading global payments platform that powers some of the world's most innovative and fast-growing companies, including Uber, Airbnb, and Dropbox. During his tenure at Braintree, John was instrumental in driving the company's global growth and expansion. Before joining Braintree, MacIlwaine served as the Chief Technology Officer of Lending Club, a pioneering online lending platform that connects borrowers with investors. In his role, John laid the groundwork to establish the company’s technical foundation while driving innovation across the organization. Throughout his career, John has been committed to helping businesses move faster and innovate more through differentiated payment experiences. He believes that payments are a critical touchpoint in the customer journey and that businesses must deliver seamless, personalized experiences to stand out in today's competitive landscape. About Highnote Highnote is an embedded finance company setting the new standard in modern card platform management. Purpose-built to realize customer loyalty and engagement through embedded card experiences, Highnote’s fully integrated tech stack provides every service needed for innovative companies to launch new ways to use card payments. Utilizing the developer-friendly Highnote platform, product and engineering teams at digital enterprises of all sizes can easily and efficiently embed virtual and physical payment cards (commercial and consumer prepaid, debit, credit, and charge), ledger, and wallet capabilities into their existing products, creating compelling value for users while growing revenue and building a unique and differentiated brand. The company has raised more than $100 million from leading investors and strategic partners and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. For additional information, please visit www.highnote.com. For more FinTech insights, follow us on WFT Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Instagram: instagram.com/whartonfintech Rhea’s Twitter: @rheaadvani Rhea’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rheaa/
Nate Gee hosts Jeremy Tsui, co-founder and CEO of Finley, which simplifies and streamlines companies’ debt capital raise and management. In this episode, they discuss: -Finley’s inspiration from innovations in consumer credit and equity capital management -Trends in private credit and Jeremy's original idea for Finley -Jeremy’s views on AI in fintech and beyond -The ways Finley helps companies manage their debt -Jeremy’s experience with Y Combinator and recent venture capital fundraising -And much more! About Finley Finley creates software that provides companies with a range of tools to better manage their debt capital, from automating operations and digitizing credit agreements to providing analytics and performance tracking. About Jeremy Tsui Prior to co-founding Finley in 2020, Jeremy worked in Goldman Sach’s Special Situations Group where he invested across a range of industries. Beforehand, he worked as a strategy consultant for financial institutions at Oliver Wyman. Jeremy grew up in Texas and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin. For more fintech insights, follow us on WFT Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Instagram: instagram.com/whartonfintech Nate’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-c-gee/
