Shows
Venture EverywhereTangible Secondaries: Nathan Sutton with Federico BaradelloIn episode 62 of Venture Everywhere is hosted by Federico Baradello, co-founder and CEO of Finalis, a business that's building the AI operating system for the private capital markets. He chats with Nathan Sutton, co-founder and Managing Partner of Tangible, a company transforming the way secondary markets work for LPs, GPs and Wealth Managers. Nathan shares how Tangible is enhancing liquidity in private markets by expanding access to previously underserved wealth channels. Nathan and Federico also discuss broader shifts in investor sentiment and the growing opportunities driven by increased wealth allocation into private assets.
2025-03-0429 min
Pencils DownThe Founder’s Gladiator: Kirk Michie on Values-Driven DealsThe episode of Pencil’s Down features Kirk Michie, founder of Candor Advisors, a boutique investment bank and transaction advisory firm. Host Fed Baradello’s conversation with Michie uncovered Kirk’s unique approach at Candor, focusing on founder-centric advisory and transaction services, all undergirded by uncompromising values.
Their broad-ranging and engaging conversation touched on many topics, including Kirk’s path from a financial advisor to leading his own firm; taking a holistic, purpose-driven approach focused on founders’ goals and not just maximizing fees; his emphasis on integrity and persistence as core values, standing up for founders against predatory b...
2023-09-2044 min
Pencils DownLeveraging a Law Background Towards Success in M&A AdvisoryAs fellow “recovering lawyers,” Pencils Down host Fed Baradello and True North’s Ed Gehres engage in a fascinating conversation about how their deep experiences in the field of law prepared them for great productivity and success in investment banking. Sound legal training leads to clarity in execution of business strategy.
Join Fed and Ed in this episode as they delve into a wide array of issues, including the blurring line between professional services and technology, and how this development has served their respective firms—a particularly timely discussion given how crypto and AI have recently swept the econ...
2023-07-1239 min
Pencils DownBrokering Transactions—in Podcasting, Investment Banking, and Life ItselfInvestment banker and The Silicon Valley Podcast host Shawn Flynn’s turn as a podcast guest with Pencils Down host Fed Baradello is a beautifully rendered story of how human life is relationship-based, in all its fantastic and motley diversity. We all go through the twists and turns of fate and circumstance, and Shawn’s is a story of finding opportunities in the most unlikely of places. Join him and Fed in this episode of Pencils Down, be delightfully lost in their converging stories… and then find the amazing inspiration and life lessons in both of theirs. This will surely...
2023-06-2835 min
Pencils DownFrom Big Bank to Boutique: A Career Transformation StoryHaving spent several decades at the world’s largest bulge bracket banks, including UBS, the ING consortium in Europe, Goldman Sachs, Martin Teevan provides an incredible, behind-the-scenes story in his transition to becoming an independent boutique investment banker with Sheehan Finance, in this latest episode of Pencils Down. Join host Federico Baradello as Marty details what it’s been like, leveraging the experience of being at a bulge bracket bank, and exercising his own brand equity in the investment banking markets. Of particular interest to Finalis’ audience is how Marty’s experience demonstrates and manifests the notion of virtual organiza...
2023-06-1427 min
Pencils DownA Journey Through Investment Banking, to a Life Meaningfully LivedIt’s almost a cliché that dealmaking in the investment-banking space is a relationship-driven dynamic. Independent investment bankers like to claim this as a fundamental aspect of their work in the business. But it’s the stories behind this dynamic that make it truly come alive as something real and practical—where genuine practitioners of it become worthy of being emulated, and which indeed are inspiring.
Graeme Woods’ story is one such inspiring narrative. Join Graeme and Pencils Down host Fed Baradello as they talk about Graeme’s journey through investment banking, and the noble goals his career...
2023-05-3134 min
Pencils DownHow to Build an Investment Bank from ScratchIt’s almost a cliché in the cultural narrative of the U.S.—attaining the so-called “American Dream” and how people here live that out. Sam Kelly’s story reflects a singular aspect of that: how Americans outside of the mainstream—specifically those from migrant or immigrant backgrounds, communities of color, those from the socioeconomic margins, etc.—reach for that dream, and define it for themselves. In this episode of Pencils Down, Sam reflects back on his public school and undergraduate days, where he had little direction and knew only that he didn’t want to go into government work, a...
2023-05-1730 min
How I Turned The CornerBuilding International Remote Teams That Thrive - An Interview with Federico BaradelloFederico Baradello is the Founder and CEO of Finalis, a venture-backed New York- and San Francisco-based company building the world’s largest private securities brokerage platform.Federico is a limited partner of Alaya Capital Partners, among the most prominent early-stage venture funds in South America. He is also a Professor of Law & Business at Hult International Business School, where he teaches courses on U.S. corporate law, regulations, and disruptive technology trends. Federico holds a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics and Political Science, a J.D. from the University of California, Be...
2023-05-1627 min
Pencils DownThe Interplay of Investment Banking, Aesthetics, and HistoryAs befits a modern, 21st century industry, investment banking is comprised of people with all sorts of backgrounds and from all walks of life. There are outliers, of course, and this episode of Pencils Down has one such individual as its guest.
Before founding Ithron Advisors, Michael Grotell was involved in high net worth marketing in jewelry and fine art, was an award-winning writer, a change management guru, had dual degrees in Economic History and History of Art, among a multitude of other things.
A self-styled “CEO whisperer,” Mike shares with host Fed Baradello and h...
2023-05-0335 min
Pencils DownOne Size Doesn’t Fit All—An Investment Banker’s JourneyIn this episode of Pencils Down, Matt Epstein, founder and Managing Partner at Newbold Partners LLC, joins host Federico Baradello in a wide-ranging and often deep discussion about his journey into independent investment banking. There was an element of sheer luck, particularly in the way the Covid-19 pandemic intersected with the founding of Epstein’s firm; but also elements of sharp and very profitable insight with respect to what he calls a hybrid merchant banking model. Hear all about that intriguing story in this episode.
2023-04-1933 min
Pencils DownProgress Partners: From Digital Disruption to Investment InnovationNick McShane, founder of Progress Partners, shares his experience of working with pioneering internet companies and his journey to founding a boutique investment bank that now helps startups with M&A, go-to-market strategy, and accessing new markets.
Nick McShane makes for a fascinating guest on this latest episode of Finalis’ Pencils Down podcast, having experienced first-hand the meteoric rise of the internet during the late ‘90s to early 2000s and working with some of the worldwide web’s pioneering companies. He went on to found Progress Partners, a boutique investment bank, and has since been helping startups with st...
2023-04-1437 min
Pencils DownFinalis’ Expansion Opens Up Dealmaking Opportunities AbroadEarlier this year, Finalis took a major step forward, expanding overseas with the launch of its 15a-6 chaperoning line of business, introducing the UK investment banking sector to Finalis’ tech-enabled regulatory compliance solution.
Join Finalis CEO Fed Baradello and his Pencils Down guest, Mathew McConnell, the company’s new International Business Manager, as they discuss how non-U.S. boutique investment bankers can gain efficient and expedited access to US capital markets via Finalis’ platform. And, conversely, how bankers on the Finalis platform can potentially access deals and funders in the UK and, eventually, across the EU.
2022-11-2925 min
Pencils DownBanking With a Heart—Chad Harding and the PEAK Technology ExperienceInvestment bankers arrive at their eventual careers in a variety of ways, some more orthodox than others. Chad Harding’s was fairly unconventional, in that he started out in chemistry, mathematics, and engineering, from which he took an abrupt 180-degree turn to banking.
In his wide-ranging conversation with Pencils Down’s host, Finalis CEO Federico Baradello, Chad talks about that journey and the various paths and byways that led him to a career in investment banking and venturing on his own firm, after a couple of false—but nevertheless illuminating—starts. There is much hard-won wisdom to be glean...
2022-11-0234 min
The Thread PodcastThe future of investment banking and financial services with Federico Baradello, CEO and Co founder of FinalisFederico Baradello, CEO and Co founder of Finalis, joins the show to talk about - The evolution of the investment banking space and the opportunities to innovate in the back office of the financial services space.- Finalis' 'five year overnight success story' and finding product go-to-market fit through 200 failed sales calls.- Key insights and recommendations for first time founders building products in FinTech.
2022-10-1421 min
Tech On Reg PodcastDisruption in the Brokerage IndustryWe welcome Federico Baradello, CEO and Founder of Finalis, to discuss disruption in the brokerage industry. Finalis is a platform that helps private securities brokerages to operate legally and compliantly. As technology grabs hold of the finance industry, how can companies be proactive and solve functional problems?
2022-10-1130 min
Pencils DownLife after Goldman SachsLeaving Goldman Sachs—where Centerfin CEO Kyrill Asatur's career was ascendant—was definitely not a move for the faint-hearted.
In the years since founding his own boutique investment firm, Asatur's firm has been involved—much like Finalis is doing—in the democratization of the investment banking space, which is nothing less than a progressive transformation of the industry, with deep and abiding consequences for the future of finance.
Join Asatur as he shares this story, and much more, with Pencils Down's host, Finalis CEO Fed Baradello, in Episode 19 of the podcast. Among the topics:
• The...
2022-10-0534 min
Pencils DownThe Ultimate Guide to a Revolutionary StartupThe past two and a half years have been an unparalleled time in world history for so many reasons, starting with the exogenous shock of the Covid-19 pandemic. A "black swan" event, as Finalis' Community Manager characterizes it in his wide-ranging interview of Finalis' CEO Federico Baradello, the global pandemic in early 2020 coincided with the launch of this regtech startup with an unapologetically audacious goal—nothing less than creating the world's largest securities brokerage platform.
Tune in to this special episode of Pencils Down, in which its usual host becomes its guest and interviewee instead—as Fed talk...
2022-09-0747 min
Pencils DownResponsible Investing in an Evolving WorldAre the two worlds of investment banking and impactful change on planet Earth mutually exclusive?
We don’t think so.
Even though the concept has been around for a long time, the term “impact investing” didn’t hit our nomenclature until 2007. Historically, that tells you all you need to know about the type of priority something like climate change has had on investing. That’s all changing Logan Yonavjak, Director Of Sustainability at International Farming & Venture Partner & Advisor at SeaAhead, and Founder at Fuego Capital, is upending everything the financial industry has to say about the legitima...
2022-08-1027 min
Pencils DownConsequences of the Covid Era: Moving from Virtual to Hybrid WorkA rare positive story from the pandemic is the journey investment banking has taken navigating the shock of COVID-19, moving from adjusting to virtual technologies to embracing the hybrid between in-person and remote work.
Gaurav Bhasin, Managing Director at Allied Advisers, has engaged i n cross-border investment banking throughout his entrepreneurial career and sees the challenges of the last three years as an opportunity to push the industry forward, adapting to the needs of clients.
Join us as we discuss:
Challenges pre- and post-COVID-19 in investment banking
How adapting to a virtual world created a new...
2022-07-2734 min
Pencils DownDropping Out, Rocketing Up: One Company’s Startup StoryMost people do not leave Stanford University before receiving their degree, but that is not the case for forward thinking problem solver Shubham Goel and his partner, as they took a leave from Stanford University to build Affinity.
Shubham Goel is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Affinity. Affinity is an intelligence platform that allows dealmakers to find, manage, and close the best deals.
Affinity is focusing on building relationships.
Join us as we discuss:
Affinity creating a new business relationship paradigm with everyone from individual consumers and enterprises.
Sharing concerns of customers to t...
2022-07-1338 min
Pencils DownStarting a Boutique Investment Bank During a PandemicJustin Hand has spent his entire career as an investment banker, in established firms. During the pandemic, he took the extraordinary step of starting his own investment banking firm.
Many would think of this as hugely risky, starting a business at the onset of a pandemic—but this has proven to be a largely positive step for Justin and Westcove Partners.
Join us as we discuss:
The cliff’s-edge thrill and risk of launching a startup in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The key differentiators in a successful boutique investment bank startup in the lowe...
2022-06-2935 min
Pencils DownPath to Success: Unlocking Collaboration and RelationshipsThe pandemic has changed much about how our world operates. It has fueled the Great Resignation, ignited conversations about the workplace, and inherently changed the business world.
For some, this has presented an unexpected opportunity to leverage years of experience and relationships to embark on a new path of entrepreneurship.
In this episode, Daniela Messina, Founder and Managing Member at Portside Capital Solutions, shares her story of founding her own company, building a future on your past experience, and challenging the status quo.
Join us as we discuss:
Where to find opportunities durin...
2022-06-1528 min
Pencils DownFinTech and the Future of Asset ManagementHistorically, startups and small businesses haven’t had the time or resources to take full advantage of cutting-edge technological advances that will allow them to grow their business.
With the emergence of FinTech and product-based, customer-focused financial services, new opportunities for startups and small businesses are being created.
In this episode, Zach Emig, Capital Markets Leader at MainStreet , talks about his journey from MIT to Wall Street, and how FinTech is changing the capital markets landscape.
Join us as we discuss:
Building FinTech products based on your customer’s needs
How a capital ma...
2022-06-0130 min
Pencils DownHow to Thrive in Chaos: Adapting to Exogenous Factors in Investment BankingWithin the military, you’re faced with an onslaught of unpredictable moments that need to be handled decisively and with great situational awareness.
Armed with that experience, our guest brings these qualities to the world of investment banking.
Hear our conversation with Billy Birdzell, Managing Director at Horatius Group:
The types of opportunities & relationships Horatius Group seeks
COVID-19’s impact on investment banking
Dealing with the talent crunch & starting a boutique advisory
The relationship between Finalis & Horatius Group
More information about Billy Birdzell and today’s topics:
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in...
2022-05-1837 min
Around the CoinFederico Baradello, Founder and CEO of FinalisFederico Baradello is Founder and CEO of Finalis, a venture-backed NY- and San Francisco-based company building the world’s largest private securities brokerage platform. Federico has an extensive background in M&A. As an attorney at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Federico managed M&A deals for blue-chip private equity firms and strategics from term sheet negotiations and auction bids to closings. Previously, as an associate at a London-based private equity firm, Federico supported cross-border deals in Europe and Australia.Federico is an L.P. of Alaya Capital Partners, among the most prominent early-stage venture funds in South America. He is also a...
2022-03-221h 13Around The CoinFederico Baradello, Founder and CEO of FinalisFederico Baradello is Founder and CEO of Finalis, a venture-backed NY- and San Francisco-based company building the world’s largest private securities brokerage platform. Federico has an extensive background in M&A. As an attorney at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Federico managed M&A deals for blue-chip private equity firms and strategics from term sheet negotiations and auction bids to closings. Previously, as an associate at a London-based private equity firm, Federico supported cross-border deals in Europe and Australia.Federico is an L.P. of Alaya Capital Partners, among the most prominent early-stage venture funds in South America. He is also a...
2022-03-221h 13
IBS Intelligence PodcastsEp413: How labour shortages in financial services sparked new industrywide trendsFederico Baradello, Founder and CEO, FinalisThe labour shortage issue in the financial services industry caused by the pandemic and widespread dissatisfaction with work-life balance has opened a unique opportunity for technology and service providers to step in and create a new era of FinTech banking services. Federico Baradello, Founder and CEO of Finalis, an investment-banking-as-a-service platform for dealmakers, commented on the new sectorial trends sparked by recruitment difficulties with Gaia Lamperti, IBSi’s Reporter.
2022-02-1615 min
Pencils DownMy Journey Into EntrepreneurshipIn this special episode, our guest host and Finalis’ CTO, Guido Barosio turns the table and interviews me, Federico Baradello, founder and CEO of Finalis. We discuss my journey into entrepreneurship, a personal look into my background, and lessons I have learned along the way.
Website: https://finalis.com/ (https://finalis.com/)
2020-07-2223 min
Pencils DownPublic Policy, Technology, and the Investment Banking SpaceEmanuel Pleitez is co-founder of East Los capital, a Los Angeles based tech enabled lower middle-market private equity fund.
Emanuel started his career in finance as a banker at Goldman Sachs. He parlayed that into a career in politics, in public policy at the highest levels before diving back into investing.
We discuss his journey to private equity, how he differentiates East Los Capital from the competition and how he sees technology impacting the investing space. Websites: https://eastloscap.com/ (https://eastloscap.com/), https://www.finalis.com/ (https://www.finalis.com/)
2020-07-0825 min
Pencils DownInvestment Banking as a Catalyst for Social ImpactSilvio Pupo is managing director and CEO at Logos Capital, a global investment bank based in Miami. Silvio started his career in banking at Citigroup and spent the better part of the last decade working on project finance and economic development initiatives in the US and across the world. We sat down to discuss his journey into banking, how he differentiates Logos Capital from the competition, and how he sees the role of a global investment bank catalyzing social impact. Websites: https://www.logoscapital.io/, https://www.finalis.com
2020-06-2526 min
Pencils DownThe Silicon Valley Dealmaking EcosystemVitaly Golomb is Managing Partner at GS Capital, a global investment bank based in Silicon Valley. Prior to launching the firm in 2018, Vitaly was Founding Partner & Global Evangelist at HP Tech Ventures and served as a C-Suite executive and Founder for multiple Bay Area technology businesses. We sat down to discuss his journey into M&A, how he differentiates GS Capital from the competition, industries that he’s excited about and tracking this year, and what he thinks distinguishes Silicon Valley as a dealmaking ecosystem.
About GS Capital: Founded in 2018 in San Mateo, California, GS Capital is a boutique advisory focu...
2020-06-1724 min
Distilling Venture CapitalEpisode 002 - FOCUS ON FINTECH Series: Federico Baradello, Founder & CEO, Finalis (1st modern broker-dealer & priv. M&A platform with customizable deal technology)Introduction Welcome to Distilling Venture Capital. I am your host, Bill Griesinger Distilling VC is a visionary podcast that provides an insightful and informed view of the key trends affecting the VC and tech startup world, including Fintech. My mission is to cut through and go beyond the hype that tends to dominate the tech and VC landscape. And provide you with information you can use. Episode Introduction: Today's Episode is part of my Focus-on-Fintech Series As background, When we talk about Fintech, Financial Technology, many in the sector think of technologies being deployed by startups...
2020-06-1636 min
Pencils DownOpportunities for Enabling Technology in Investment BankingMichael Lamm is Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Corporate Advisory Solutions, a merchant bank with offices in Philadelphia and Chevy Chase, Maryland. Prior to launching the firm seven years ago, Michael was a Director at the Kaulkin Ginsberg Company and also co-Founded the U.S.-Israel Business Exchange. We sat down to discuss his journey into M&A, important lessons he’s learned along the way, opportunities to tech-enable more of the ibanking business, and trends he’s tracking this year.
About Corporate Advisory Solutions: Founded in 2013 by Michael Lamm and Mark Russell with offices in Philadelphia and Chevy Chase, Maryla...
2020-06-1021 min
Pencils DownOn a Better Alignment of M&A IncentivesLowell Ricklefs is the Managing Partner of Traction Advising, a Seattle-based boutique sales and marketing and M&A advising firm that's focused on SaaS businesses. We sat down to discuss his career journey, how he thinks we can better align incentives in an M&A process, advice he’d give a start-up CEO considering an exit, and how he differentiates Traction Advising in a competitive landscape.
About Traction Advising: A premier Seattle-based boutique M&A firm focused on B2B SaaS companies with $5-$20M ARR. The firm provides high touch advising and limits itself to 2-3 transactions per year with...
2020-06-0324 min
Pencils DownDeal Flow in the Asia-Pacific and China, and the “Phase One” NegotiationsDavid Willard is the founder and managing partner of 52 Capital Partners, headquartered in Silicon Valley. He sat down with me to share his career path, his journey into launching his own boutique advisory, how he differentiates 52 Capital Partners from the competition, Asia-Pacific/China deal flow, and advice he’d give to investment bankers looking to launch their own boutique advisory.
About 52 Capital Partners: An independent strategic advisory firm exclusively focused on providing strategic and business advice in connection with private mergers and acquisitions and other strategic transactions.
Websites: https://www.52capitalpartners.com/, https://www.finalis.com
2020-05-2723 min
Pencils DownThe Miami and LatAm Private Markets Deal EcosystemsAurelio "Al" Salas is Founder and Managing Principal of Cypress Capital Advisors, a boutique M&A advisory based in Miami, Florida. We sat down to discuss his career journey from bulge bracket banks in NYC to launching Cypress in his hometown of Miami in 2002, his perspectives on the evolving Miami and LatAm private market deal ecosystems, and advice he wishes he had heard when launching Cypress.
About Cypress: A trusted advisor to entrepreneurs, business-owning families and the successful founder-led enterprises they own and operate. Expertise in corporate strategy, M&A, equity and debt financings, capital markets, and the management and as...
2020-05-2022 min
Pencils DownEvolving Trends in Investment Banking and FintechAlex Koles is CEO, Founder and Managing Director of Evolve Capital Partners, a specialized investment bank based in NYC focused on businesses that operate at the intersection of financial services and technology (FinTech). We sat down to discuss his journey into investment banking, his perspective on evolving trends within banking and fintech spaces, and how he sees technology improving investment banking.
Websites: Evolve Capital Partners (https://www.evolve-capital.com/), Finalis (https://www.finalis.com)
2020-05-1323 min
Pencils DownPencils Down TrailerHost Federico Baradello (Founder & CEO, Finalis) announces a new podcast covering the private markets deal landscape.
Visit us on our Medium Page (https://www.medium.com/finalis) or webpage (https://www.finalis.com) for more details.
2020-05-1200 min