Shows
Fintech LeadersHoward Morgan - From Ham Radio to GenAI: A Remarkable Journey in TechSend us a textMiguel Armaza interviews Howard Morgan, Chair at B Capital, and also co-founder of Renaissance Technologies and First Round Capital.Howard and Miguel sat down live on stage at Barclays Rise in NYC for the Gilgamesh Ventures Summit, an annual meeting with over 150 Limited Partners, Founders, and Investors for a series of events and discussions about the future of tech and financial services.In this inspiring conversation, Howard discussed:How B Capital is using AI to improve their operations
2024-11-1241 min
Fintech LeadersBattling Billion-Dollar Scams: 5 Leaders Reveal the Future of Fraud-Fighting & Digital IdentitySend us a textMiguel Armaza brings you a deep dive into one of the most pressing issues facing the financial industry today: consumer fraud prevention and identity verification.Over the last couple of years, Miguel has interviewed some of the top leaders in identity management and fraud-fighting, and in this episode you’ll hear a summary of the most interesting takeaways from five of the most extraordinary industry leaders:1. Blake Hall, CEO of ID.me2. Nick Peddy, CTO of Clear3. Soups Ranjan, CE...
2024-08-1325 min
Fintech LeadersMatt Harris, Partner at Bain Capital Ventures – Lessons From Three Decades of Fintech Investing, What Defines Great Founders, & Embedded Finance’s Massive PotentialSend us a text[Original air date, Nov 8, 2022] Miguel Armaza sits down with Matt Harris, Partner at Bain Capital Ventures and one of the Fintech OG legends who started his investing career back in 1995 and has been working with fintech entrepreneurs throughout several cycles. Some of his investments include GoCardless, Orum, Finix, Acorns, and many more.In this episode, Miguel stops by the Bain Capital Ventures office in New York City, where they discuss:Investing through economic cycles. Matt was a fintech VC during the Dot-com bubble...
2024-02-2043 min
Fintech LeadersHoward Morgan, Tech & VC Pioneer – 50 Years of Shaping the Future, From ARPANET to Building RenTech, First Round, and B CapitalSend us a textToday we bring you a living legend. Miguel Armaza sits down with Howard Morgan, Chair and General Partner at B Capital, a global investment firm with $6.3 billion in AUM and 160+ portfolio companies.Howard is also a true technology pioneer. He was one of the first people in history to experience the web, and had computer #50 on the ARPANET. His research also contributed to the development of the modern internet.Howard is also a trailblazer of tech investing, having co-founded firms like Renaissance technologies...
2023-10-2345 min
Fintech LeadersBen Miller, CEO & Co-Founder of Fundrise – Serving 2 Million Clients, A Tough Business Pivot That Led to $3.3 Billion AUM, Building a Lasting CultureSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Ben Miller, CEO & Co-Founder of Fundrise, the largest direct-to-investor alternative asset manager in the US, that has grown from an idea to a platform with over 2 million active users and $3.3 billion in real estate private equity, private credit, and growth-stage venture capital.We discuss:How a product pivot cost Fundrise half their customers, but set them up for future successWhy he’s not optimistic about many tech companies worth billions and believes they will continue to...
2023-10-1739 min
Fintech LeadersJosh Reeves, CEO & Co-Founder of Gusto – Building a $9.6 Billion Company to Serve Small BusinessesSend us a textIn this 100th Fintech Leaders episode, we bring you someone extra special. Miguel Armaza sits down with Josh Reeves, CEO & Co-Founder of Gusto, one of the largest HR & Payroll companies in the US, focused on serving small and medium-sized businesses. In addition to HR, payroll, and benefits, Gusto is a strong player of embedded fintech solutions and recently announced a very large partnership with JPM Chase.Founded in 2011, Gusto now serves over 300,000 businesses in the US and in 2022 Gusto had revenues of more than $500 million...
2023-10-1048 min
Fintech LeadersTom Callahan, CEO of Nasdaq Private Market – Transparency, Innovations, and Challenges… State of the $3.5 Trillion Private Markets in 2023Send us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Tom Callahan, CEO of Nasdaq Private Market, a secondary marketplace and liquidity provider for private company trading and transactions. NPM recently spun out of Nasdaq is now backed by a consortium of banks and financial institutions, including Nasdaq, Citi, Goldman, Morgan Stanley, and others.We discuss:An update on the state of both primary and secondary activity in private marketsA deep dive on how private markets work and why the system is so archaic
2023-10-0338 min
Fintech LeadersJean-Denis Greze, Plaid CTO – At the Cutting Edge of Privacy and Security, Powerful Network Effects, How LLMs Will Reshape Our Digital ExperienceSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Jean-Denis Greze, CTO at Plaid, a data network and one of the foundational fintech companies that works with thousands of firms, including several Fortune 500s and some of largest banks in the world. Founded in 2013 by Zach Perret and William Hockey, Plaid’s network covers 12,000+ financial institutions across the US, Canada, UK and Europe. They’ve raised over $700 million from Felicis, Homebrew, NEA, Spark Capital, Citi, Goldman, AmEx, Ribbit, and a long list of great investors.We discuss:...
2023-09-2647 min
Fintech LeadersColin Walsh, CEO of Varo Bank - $1B to Create Better Banking, Securing a US Bank Charter, How to Build Trust With CustomersSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Colin Walsh, CEO & Co-Founder of Varo Bank, a neobank and the first consumer fintech to be granted a bank charter in the US. In a past life, Colin held leadership positions at American Express, Lloyds Banking Group, and Visa. Varo has raised close to a billion dollars and is back by Blackrock, David Rubenstein’s Declaration Partners, Warburg Pincus, and a long list of investors.You can also learn more about Colin and Varo in his own podcast, the Va...
2023-09-1942 min
Fintech LeadersRicardo Josua, CEO of Pismo – Visa’s $1B Acquisition, Going Global From Day One, Building Trust With Fintechs & Large BanksSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Ricardo Josua, CEO/Co-Founder of Pismo, a global tech company that builds banking and cards solutions for digital banks and large financial institutions. Headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the company has operations in Latin America, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the US and processes $210 billion dollars in annual transaction volume. Pismo’s investors include Redpoint Brazil, Softbank, Amazon and Accel.Importantly, back in June 2023, Visa announced a definitive agreement to acquire Pismo for $1 billion in ca...
2023-09-1237 min
Fintech LeadersBrex COO, Michael Tannenbaum - Dreaming Big, Building a Global Financial Powerhouse, Seizing Opportunities in a High Interest-Rates EraSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Michael Tannenbaum, COO at Brex, a $12 billion global spend platform for finance teams and founders to manage every aspect of global spend.Launched in 2017 Brex was last valued at $12B in January 2022 and has raised over a billion dollars from YC, Ribbit, Human Capital, GFC, DST, Dragoneer, TCV, and a very long list of fintech investors.In this episode, we discuss:The implications of a high-interest rate environment for tech and fintech
2023-09-0531 min
Fintech LeadersPedro Conrade, CEO/Founder of Neon – From Startup to Titan, Behind Brazil's Fintech Revolution, Mastering Your M&A Strategy and Navigating Major CrisesSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Pedro Conrade, CEO/Founder of Neon, one of the largest digital banks in Brazil and Latin America. We sat down on stage in Sao Paulo at the Gilgamesh Ventures Summit, an annual meeting where we gather Limited Partners, Founders, Co-Investors, and friends for a series of events and discussions about the future of financial services.Serving almost 20 million clients, Neon is one of the largest fintech companies in the Americas and, without a doubt, Pedro is amongst the...
2023-08-2931 min
Fintech LeadersGary Hoberman, CEO/Founder of Unqork - From 300 No's to a $2B Valuation, Pioneering Codeless Software, Erasing Corporate Technical DebtSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Gary Hoberman, CEO & Founder of Unqork, a revolutionary technology company that has pioneered a Codeless as a Service (CaaS) platform to help eliminate legacy code for enterprises.Launched in 2017, Unqork’s clients include some of the world's largest banks and insurance companies. The company was last valued at $2 billion and has raised over $350 million from Google, Goldman Sachs, Aquiline, Fin Capital, Blackrock, and many more.Prior to founding Unqork, Gary was Global CIO for MetLife, where he oversaw te...
2023-08-2249 min
Fintech LeadersStephany Kirkpatrick, CEO/Founder of Orum – Making Fast & Real-Time US Payments Accessible for AllSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Stephany Kirkpatrick, Founder/CEO of Orum, a fintech company that’s built a single API to enable US real-time and fast payments across RTP, FedNow, Same Day ACH, Wires, and more.Launched in 2020, Orum has raised over $80 million from great fintech investors including Inspired Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, Clocktower, Acrew, Primary, and Accel.In this episode, we discuss:The future of real-time payments in the US and how Orum is helping increase adoption for small and mi...
2023-08-1538 min
Fintech LeadersAlexis Pantazis, Co-Founder of Hellas Direct – A Contrarian Play That Led to $150M Annual Revenue, Mastering Product & Market Launches, The Future of InsuranceSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Alexis Pantazis Co-Founder of Hellas Direct, a full-stack InsurTech with operations in Greece, Cyprus and Romania. Launched in Athens a decade ago, Hellas Direct now generates over $150 million in annual revenue.The company has raised $56 million of equity and debt from Portag3, Third Point, the World Bank, Endeavor Catalyst, amongst other great investors.We discuss:A masterclass of what they’ve learned from launching new products and countries over the last decadeTh...
2023-08-0836 min
Fintech LeadersBilly Libby, CEO/Co-Founder at Upper90 – The Future of Debt, Credit, & Venture CapitalSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Billy Libby, CEO/Co-Founder at Upper90 and Conor Witt, Vice President at Upper90. Upper90 is a hybrid fund that invests credit and equity in early-stage businesses.Launched in 2018, Upper90 has over $1.5B in AUM and has backed fintech companies like Thras.io, Octane Lending, Mundi, and many more.In this episode, we discuss:Combining equity and debt underwriting and how Upper90 has built a team with two different skillsets under the same...
2023-08-0140 min
Fintech LeadersChris Pento, Clear Street CEO/Co-Founder – Building a $2B Giant in 5 Years, Upgrading Wall Street's Technology, Strategy & Rapid Product LaunchesSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Chris Pento, CEO/Co-Founder of Clear Street, a $2 billion modern financial infrastructure business focused on providing capital markets services including clearing, custody, execution, and prime brokerage service.Launched just five years ago in 2018, Clear Street was recently valued at $2 billion and has raised close to $600 million in equity and debt from Prysm Capital, NextGen Venture Partners, IMC Investments, and many more.We discuss:A brief history of the US Securities and Capital Markets infrastructure and how...
2023-07-2526 min
Fintech LeadersSalman Syed, CEO of Fidel API – Why CEO is a 24/7/365 Job, The Future of Financial Services, Leveraging Real-Time Transaction DataSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Salman Syed, CEO of Fidel API, a global financial infrastructure platform that helps build programmable experiences at the moment a transaction occurs on any payment card. They are backed by Bain Capital Ventures, Nyca Partners, QED, Citi Ventures, and Commerce Ventures. Prior to Fidel API, Salman spent over a decade in leadership roles at Mastercard and Marqeta.We discuss:How Fidel API is unlocking new products and technologies by accessing and leveraging real-time transaction dataKey...
2023-07-1828 min
Fintech LeadersAdena Hefets, CEO/Co-Founder of Divvy Homes - Rent to Own: Reimagining Homeownership & Unlocking WealthSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Adena Hefets, CEO/Co-Founder of Divvy Homes, one of the most innovative PropTech companies in the US that helps renters transition into homeowners with a rent-to-own model. They are backed by great investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, GGV Capital, GIC, Tiger Global, Caffeinated Capital, and Max Levchin.We discuss:What’s going on in the US commercial and residential real estate markets? Adena gives a deep dive of the tough state of the market.How Div...
2023-07-1143 minFintech LeadersSo You Want to Raise Venture Capital? Learn From 9 Founders Who Have Collectively Raised $1.8 Billion in FundingSend us a textIn this special episode, Miguel Armaza brings you a curated selection of the best lessons, stories, and candid reflections about raising venture capital. You’ll hear directly from some of the strongest fintech entrepreneurs around the world spanning four continents. From the skyscrapers of New York, through the vibrant landscapes of Cape Town, up to the lively streets of Mexico City, over to the cafes of Paris, and all the way to the heart of Bogota.The founders featured in this episode have built and continue building revolutionary companies. Ma...
2023-07-0425 min
Fintech LeadersSoups Ranjan, CEO of Sardine – Navigating a Sea of Financial Fraud, Outsmarting Scammers, & The Need For Real-Time Fraud DetectionSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Soups Ranjan, CEO/Co-Founder of Sardine, a fraud-prevention company that’s on a mission to make payments instant and risk-free. Sardine enables companies to improve risk management through a single API for fraud detection and compliance within financial services. Founded in 2020, Sardine has raised around $75 million from a16z, NYCA, Activant, FJ Labs, Visa, and a long list of impressive folks.We discuss:What he learned about fraud in his role as Head of Risk at Coi...
2023-06-2732 min
Fintech LeadersTommy Nicholas, CEO/Co-Founder of Alloy – From 100 No’s to a $1.55B Valuation, Company Building Struggles, & The Fascinating World of Anti-FraudSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Tommy Nicholas, CEO/Co-Founder at Alloy, a company that gives fintechs and banks a command center to control their fraud-fighting, credit, compliance, risk, and identity-decisioning needs. Founded in 2015, Alloy has raised around $200M from Bessemer, Avenir, Clocktower, Flourish, Lightspeed, Primary, Techstars, and a long list of great fintech investors.We discuss:Early days of Alloy and how they overcame several tough years and finally hit their strideA deep-dive into the complex world of fraud and...
2023-06-2048 min
Fintech LeadersTrisha Kothari, CEO/Co-Founder of Unit21 – Battling Financial Crime, The Impact of AI on Fraud, & How to Land Your First B2B ClientsSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Trisha Kothari, CEO/Co-Founder of Unit21, a company at the forefront of the fight against financial crimes. Founded in 2018, Unit21 has raised close to $100M from Google, ICONIQ Capital, Tiger Global, Core Innovation, and a number of great angel investors.We discuss:Finding Unit21’s initial design partners and how they eventually landed Coinbase and Intuit as their first and second customersFounder-led sales and common mistakes on building an enterprise sales teamWhat sh...
2023-06-1330 min
Fintech LeadersTidjane Deme, Partech Africa General Partner – From Africa to the World. How African Fintechs are Becoming Global ChampionsSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Tidjane Deme, General Partner of Partech Africa, one of the largest Africa-focused venture capital funds with close to $500 million in assets under management. Some of their investments include TradeDepot, Wave, Yoco, Reliance, and Nomba.We discuss:A deep dive into the African Fintech landscape and what he’s learned from the most innovative companies and markets in the continentFundraising lessons from building one of the first and largest dedicated African VC fundsImportant di...
2023-06-0641 min
Fintech LeadersLuvleen Sidhu, CEO/Founder of BM Technologies – The Future of Banking Technology, Going Public on the NYSE, Navigating a Company Strategy PivotSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Luvleen Sidhu, CEO & Founder of BM Technologies (NYSE American: BMTX) a US Banking-as-a-Service platform that provides access to multiple financial services. The company currently serves over two million account-holders and provides disbursement services at approximately 725 colleges and universities.We discuss:How they successfully pivoted BM Technologies from a consumer to a B2B modelBuilding a Banking as a Service company and navigating a highly regulated environmentPros and cons of going public through...
2023-05-3025 min
Fintech LeadersJorge Combe, CEO/Co-Founder of DD360 - Bootstrapping to a 91M Series A, The Intersection of PropTech & AI, Incredible Opportunities in Mexico & LatAmSend us a textMiguel Armaza heads to Mexico City for a conversation with Jorge Combe, CEO & Co-Founder of DD360 and DD3 Capital Partners, one of the leading PropTech and real estate financing groups in Latin America.Prior to launching the firm, Jorge and his Co-Founder, Martin Werner, were co-heads of Goldman Sachs Mexico and Latin America. They left Goldman six years ago and bootstrapped DD360 into a $91 million Series A in 2022.We discuss:Bootstrapping lessons and benefits, and why they...
2023-05-2336 min
Fintech LeadersDaniel Cohen, Banking Leader & Entrepreneur – Fintech is Transforming the Financial Industry, but Banks Can Still ThriveSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Daniel Cohen, Co-Founder of Cohen Circle, an investment firm; Cohen & Company, an asset manager with $2.2+ billion AUM; and The Bancorp, a bank specialized in fintech as a service and payments. Notably, Daniel has had a successful career in banking, along with his co-founder and Mother, Betsy Cohen.We discuss:Turmoil of US regional banks in 2023 and what it means for the industryImpact of some of the biggest changes in...
2023-05-1641 min
Fintech LeadersDavid Haber, a16z General Partner - Building Fintech Giants, Leading With Software, What Makes a Truly Great VCSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with David Haber, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), one of the largest Venture Capital funds in the world, founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz.Based in NYC, David focuses exclusively on investing in global fintech. Before a16z, he founded Bond Street, a NY fintech that aimed to transform small business lending in the US. Bond Street was eventually acquired by Goldman Sachs in 2017.We discuss:Company building lessons from his experience at...
2023-05-0935 min
Fintech LeadersItai Damti, CEO/Co-Founder of Unit – The Future of Software-Driven Fintechs, Solving Atomic-Level Problems, & Founder Mistakes and SuccessesSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Itai Damti, CEO & Co-Founder of Unit, one of the leading banking-as-a-service and embedded finance providers in the US. Launched in 2019, Unit is backed by Accel, Better Tomorrow Ventures, Insight, Flourish Ventures, and many more.Itai is also a serial entrepreneur, having previously co-founded two companies in the financial industry back in Tel Aviv and Hong Kong.We discuss:Learning from successes and failures of building companies around the worldEmbracing "atomic" problem-solving and why...
2023-05-0237 min
Fintech LeadersJane Alexander, Carta CMO – Transforming Private Markets, How to Expand Your Product Suite, Crucial Productivity HacksSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Jane Alexander, Chief Marketing Officer at Carta, a platform that helps people and companies manage equity, build businesses, and invest in private companies.Launched in 2012 by Henry Ward, Carta is used by nearly 30,000 companies and over half a million employees to manage cap tables, compensation, and valuations. Carta also works with over 4,500 funds representing over $92B in assets under administration. They have raised over a billion dollars from a very long list of investors, including Union S...
2023-04-2530 min
Fintech LeadersNilan Peiris, Chief Product Officer at Wise – Building a Multi-Billion Fintech Powerhouse, Global Expansion Strategies, & Customer-Driven InnovationSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Nilan Peiris, Chief Product Officer at Wise (WISE.L), a global fintech that helps clients move money around the world. Founded in 2011 by Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus, Wise went public on the London Stock Exchange in 2021 and has a current market cap of £6 billion, has served 16 million people and businesses, and processes £9 billion in monthly cross-border transactions across 170 countries in 50 currencies.We discuss:Building through a mission-driven approach and why it’s crucial for compan...
2023-04-1837 min
Fintech LeadersLeif Abraham, Co-Founder of Public.com – Building a Loyal User Base of 3 Million Users in 3 Years & The Future of Retail InvestingSend us a textMiguel Armaza stops by Public.com’s TriBeCa headquarters for a conversation with Leif Abraham, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Public.com, an investing platform for equities, fixed income, and alternative assets.Founded in 2019, Public now serves 3+ million customers and has raised hundreds of millions of dollars from Greycroft, Accel, Lake, Star, Tiger Global, and many more.They discuss:How Leif launched his first internet company as a teenager from his room in Hamburg, GermanyImportance of building a customer fan ba...
2023-04-1132 min
Fintech LeadersAlex Prot, Qonto CEO & Co-Founder – €622 Million to Empower European SMEs, Building a Fintech Giant, & The Strategy to Reach One Million ClientsSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Alex Prot, CEO & Co-Founder of Qonto, one of the largest fintechs in Europe that helps SMBs simplify their everyday banking and offers a wide range of digital financial services.Founded in 2017, Qonto serves 350,000 clients across France, Italy, Spain and Germany, and has over 1,000 employees. The company has also raised close to $700 million from Valar, DST, Hedosophia, Insight, KKR, and angels like Taavet Hinrikus, Co-Founder of Wise and Guillaume Pousaz, CEO & Founder of Checkout.com.We discuss:
2023-04-0441 min
Fintech LeadersMercedes Bent, Lightspeed Partner – Unlocking Fintech’s Potential Across the Americas & Balancing Priorities in Venture Capital InvestingSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Mercedes Bent, Partner at Lightspeed, a global venture capital firm founded in the year 2000. Over the last 23 years, they have secured over $18 billion in committed capital and backed over 500 companies, including Snap, Affirm, Faire, Grubhub, Carta, Blend, and a long list of great firms.In this episode, we discuss:Investing in marketplaces or credit-driven businesses and what founders and investors should keep in mind when looking at these verticals.Benefits of having a global investment team how Lightspeed...
2023-03-2830 min
Fintech LeadersAdam Nash, CEO/Co-Founder of Daffy – The Future of Charitable Giving, Lessons for CEOs, & Staying Bullish on Consumer FintechSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with the great Adam Nash, Co-Founder and CEO of Daffy, a not-for-profit fintech community built around a new, modern platform to teach, help, and encourage charitable giving. In fact, visit Fintech Leaders and sign-up today to get an extra $25 for charity when you join Daffy. Thanks Adam.In this episode, I sit down with Adam Nash, Co-Founder and CEO of Daffy, a not-for-profit fintech community built around a new, modern platform to teach, help, and encourage charitable giving. Sign-up...
2023-03-2142 min
Fintech LeadersZach Noorani, Foundation Capital Partner – The Future of Financial Services, Global Fintech Opportunities, & Lessons From Investing MistakesSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Zach Noorani, Partner at Foundation Capital, a 28-year venture capital firm with $3 billion in assets under management, currently investing out of its 10th flagship fund. Foundation has previously backed great companies like Stripe, Solana, Lending Club, Envestnet, Alto, and many more.In this episode, we discuss:What Zach learned after spending almost a decade at Capital One and why there’s such a strong fintech alumni network coming out of the bankDifferences and similarities between US-based founders an...
2023-03-1435 min
Fintech LeadersSuni Lobo, Marqeta Chief HR/People Officer – Building a Culture of Innovation and Purpose, & Key Lessons For Leaders in Fast-Growing CompaniesSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Suni Lobo, Chief HR/People Officer at Marqeta (NASDAQ: MQ), a publicly-traded fintech that helps companies issue cards with flexibility, control, and scale with an open API platform.Founded in 2010, Marqeta has now issued hundreds of millions of cards across 36 countries and works with customers like Square, Klarna, Uber, Coinbase, and JP Morgan.We discuss:Company Culture in a remote world. Has remote work made it easier or harder to build community, increase productivity, and level the playing...
2023-03-0729 min
Fintech LeadersBruno Balduccini, Pinheiro Neto Partner – How Brazil Became a Global Fintech Leader & What Other Countries Can Learn From Their SuccessSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with the legendary Bruno Balduccini, Partner at Pinheiro Neto, the leading law firm in Brazil where he spearheads the Financial Institutions group and advises domestic and international clients.If you’ve ever worked in the Brazilian financial and fintech ecosystem, you’ve probably crossed paths with Bruno, since he has worked on the majority of major transactions involving financial incumbents, startups and payment institutions. He’s also actively participated in the drafting and improvement of the rules for the Brazilian financial industry.We...
2023-02-2842 min
Fintech LeadersDenise Thomas, CEO of ApplePie Capital – Building a Franchise Loan Marketplace & The Surprising Impact of Tech Layoffs On FranchisingSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Denise Thomas, CEO & Co-Founder of ApplePie Capital, a company that offers franchise financing, enabling franchisees to efficiently obtain financing to start or expand their franchise business, while also enabling investors to earn fixed-income returns.Launched in 2015, ApplePie partners with 60 franchise brands and has facilitated the funding of billions in franchise loans. They’ve also raised capital from QED, Fifth Third Capital, Story Ventures, and more.In this episode, we discuss:History of franchising and the main differences between ru...
2023-02-2128 min
Fintech LeadersPrajit Nanu, CEO/Co-Founder of Nium – Building a Billion Dollar Business, Startup Recruiting Mistakes, & The Power to Staying Lean and ScrappySend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Prajit Nanu, CEO & Co-Founder of Nium, a billion-dollar fintech building global payments infrastructure supporting 100 currencies across 190+ countries.Founded almost seven years ago in Singapore, Nium has raised ~$300 million from top fintech investors including Riverwood, GFC, Temasek, and Visa amongst others.We discuss:Advantages of outsiders. Prior to Nium, Prajit was not a payments guy, so how did his non-payments background actually become a source of strength?Lessons from hiring 100s of people. What have they learned...
2023-02-1438 min
Fintech LeadersPeter Hazlehurst, CEO & Co-Founder of Synctera - The Future of Banking as a Service & Lessons From 30 Years of Building Fintech & Tech CompaniesSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Peter Hazlehurst, CEO & Co-Founder of Synctera, a Banking as a Service platform powering accounts, cards, payments, lending, and more.Launched back in 2020, Synctera has raised ~$50 million from FinVC, Lightspeed, Portage, Mastercard, Max Levchin, Alexa von Tobel, and a long list of great fintech minds.Peter has also built and sold several fintech companies over the past 30 years and also held leadership roles at Uber, Google, and Yodlee.We discuss:Banking as a Service: past, present, and...
2023-02-0739 min
Fintech LeadersBar Geron, CEO & Co-Founder of Balance – Future of B2B Payments, Risks of Landing Big Clients as a Small Startup, & Why Learning is Your Best CurrencySend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Bar Geron, CEO & Co-Founder of Balance, a B2B eCommerce payments company offering an online checkout experience built for businesses.Launched just two years ago in February 2021, Balance now supports hundreds of B2B merchants and marketplaces, and has partnered with large platforms like Shopify, Salesforce, Magento, and BigCommerce. They raised almost $90 million from Forerunner, Ribbit, Lightspeed, Salesforce, and many more.We discuss:Learnings from his days at PayPal and why some of the best payments companies and...
2023-01-3132 min
Fintech LeadersRob Petrozzo, Co-Founder of Rally – The Fascinating World of Collectibles, Investing in Dinosaurs Fossils, & The Power of an Engaged CommunitySend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with the very genuine Rob Petrozzo, Co-Founder and CPO of Rally, an alternative investing platform for blue-chip and digital collectibles, including classic cars, sports memorabilia, watches, and NFTs, totaling over 400 assets in 19+ different categories.Founded back in 2016, Rally has grown to half a million users, actively finds, manages, and fractionalizes some of the most important collectibles and museum-grade items in the world, including vintage wine and dinosaur fossils. Although I recorded the interview from Rally’s offices, unfortunately, I could NOT taste some of...
2023-01-2442 min
Fintech LeadersAron Schwarzkopf, CEO of Kushki - Ecuador's First Unicorn, Hidden Benefits of a Digital Economy, & Why We Should Get Rid of CashSend us a textMiguel Armaza heads down to sunny Miami for the Fintech Nexus LatAm Conference, to sit down with Aron Schwarzkopf, CEO & Co-Founder of Kushki, one of the largest digital payments companies in Latin America that’s helping businesses across the region digitize their payments under a single integration.Founded in 2017, Kushki now operates across most of Spanish-speaking Latin America, was last valued at $1.5 billion, and has raised almost $200 million in equity capital from Kaszek, Softbank, Clocktower, DILA, and more.We discuss:Societal benefits of a...
2023-01-1729 min
Fintech LeadersLatif Peracha, General Partner at M13 - The Future of Money, Investing Frameworks, & Lessons From Working With Richard BransonSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Latif Peracha, General Partner at M13, a venture capital firm with over $900M of Assets Under Management, focused on enabling technologies that power the future of consumer behavior. Latif is in charge of the investing strategy for M13 and leads the Web3 and fintech verticals, with investments in companies like Rho, Lightning Labs, Solana, Nori, Delphia and many more.He was previously a Managing Director at Virgin Group where he led investing in the Americas and worked directly with Richard Branson.We d...
2023-01-1038 minFintech LeadersSecrets to Managing Your Board of Directors - From Board Members of Nubank, Acorns, dLocal, Justworks, Upgrade, XP, Alibaba, & More Global TitansSend us a textIn this episode, Miguel Armaza brings you a curated selection from the best lessons, reflections, and secrets on how to build and manage an amazing board of directors. Whether you’re a CEO managing a board, an investor who sits on several, an independent board director, or you just want to learn, we hope you find it helpful.Over the last of last 12 months, one of the common themes across many episodes, has been to learn about the best practices of corporate board management. Several of our guests have sat or cur...
2023-01-0319 min
Fintech LeadersSteve McLaughlin, Founder of FT Partners – 2023 Predictions, Making Sense of the Global Fintech Market, & Valuable Founder AdviceSend us a textIn this episode, Miguel Armaza heads to sunny Miami for a conversation with Steve McLaughlin, Founder of FT Partners, an investment bank focused exclusively on the financial technology sector, launched from Steve’s San Francisco apartment back in 2001.If you’re in fintech, you definitely know FT Partners and, chances are, you’ve worked with them or have been to one of their amazing Money2020 events over the years.We discuss:Making sense of the current fintech market – what was it that led us here...
2022-12-2030 min
Fintech LeadersGinger Baker from Plaid & Amit Parikh from Green Dot – Tech That Will Shape Fintech’s Future & The Evolution of Consumer Data SecuritySend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down live at Money2020 Las Vegas, with Amit Parikh, EVP of BaaS at Green Dot, and Ginger Baker, Head of Financial Access at Plaid.They discuss:The evolution of consumer data tech in fintechImportance of providing transparency to customers around privacy and data-sharing practicesKey technologies that will be absolutely critical to support the growth of fintech into 2023 and beyondHow fintech companies can actually help consumers navigate challenging economic times...
2022-12-0629 min
Fintech LeadersBen Gleason, Kamino Co-Founder – Raising Capital in a Frozen Market, Tough Founder Lessons, & The Incredible Impact of Fintech in BrazilSend us a textMiguel Armaza interviews Ben Gleason, Co-Founder of Kamino, a financial hub that powers the operations and growth of Brazilian startups and scale-ups with integrated finance products, services and software. Kamino is backed by Inspired Capital, GFC, Picus, Flourish, QED, and Gilgamesh Ventures among others. We discuss:The remarkable positive impact that FinTech in Brazil has had in terms of financial inclusion and customer service, and why there's still a massive opportunity in the regionBen started building his first startup, GuiaBolso, back in 2012. T...
2022-11-2926 min
Fintech LeadersKatlego Maphai, Yoco CEO/Co-Founder – Building a South African Digital Giant, Empowering Small Businesses, & Founder Lessons to Overcome AdversitySend us a textMiguel Armaza interviews Katlego Maphai, CEO & Co-Founder of Yoco, a South African payments company that processes billions of dollars annually, and serves hundreds of thousands of small businesses every day. Founded in 2013, the company has raised $100+ million from great investors, including Quona, Dragoneer, Partech, HOF Capital, and many more.In this episode, we discuss:The evolution of fintech in South Africa Overcoming massive challenges since 2013Drawing inspiration from companies like Square, but adapting your product to the local marketYoco’s unique relationship wit...
2022-11-2240 min
Fintech LeadersPatricia Kemp, Oak HC/FT Co-Founder & Managing Partner – The Future of Fintech, Crypto Regulation, & Why 2023 Could Bring a Wave of Fintech M&ASend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Patricia Kemp, Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Oak HC/FT, a VC firm investing in companies driving transformation in healthcare and fintech around the world. Founded in 2014, the firm has over $5 billion in AUM and has back fintech companies like Blend, Ocrolus, ClearCo, Rapyd, Pagaya, Aplazo and many more.In this episode, we discuss:Spotting and identifying fintech trendsHow to think about the future of the industryState of crypto and why Tricia believes...
2022-11-1527 min
Fintech LeadersMatt Harris, Partner at Bain Capital Ventures – Lessons From Three Decades of Fintech Investing, What Defines Great Founders, & Embedded Finance’s Massive PotentialSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Matt Harris, Partner at Bain Capital Ventures and one of the Fintech OG legends who started his investing career back in 1995 and has been working with fintech entrepreneurs throughout several cycles. Some of his investments include GoCardless, Orum, Finix, Acorns, and many more.In this episode, Miguel stops by the Bain Capital Ventures office in New York City, where they discuss:Investing through economic cycles. Matt was a fintech VC during the Dot-com bubble - what did he l...
2022-11-0843 min
Fintech LeadersMatan Bar, CEO/Co-Founder of Melio – Always Remember to Keep The Main Thing, The Main ThingSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Matan Bar, CEO & Co-Founder of Melio, a B2B payments platform for small businesses. The company has raised over $500 million from a who’s who of fintech investors, including Accel, Coatue, Bessemer, General Catalyst, Thrive, Tiger Global, and more.In this episode, we discuss:Understanding your customer. Prior to writing a single line of code, the Melio team setup an old-school bookkeeping business in Manhattan to truly understand the challenges of their future clients. What did they learn?Im...
2022-11-0140 min
Fintech LeadersHristo Borisov, CEO/Co-Founder of Payhawk – Building Bulgaria’s First Unicorn, Over-investing in Talent, & How to Keep Your Team FocusedSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Hristo Borisov, CEO and Co-Founder of Payhawk, the first-ever Bulgarian unicorn where they’ve built an all-in-one finance platform serving businesses across 32+ countries in Europe and the US.Founded just four years ago, Payhawk now enjoys unicorn status and has raised equity from Greenoaks, QED, Lightspeed, Endevor, Hubstpot, and many more.In this episode, we discuss:Scaling to unicorn status – Hristo shares hacks and techniques that helped them scale from zero to oneThe growing Bulgarian star...
2022-10-2540 min
Fintech LeadersStephanie Choo, Partner at Portage Ventures – Counter-Cyclical Fintech Opportunities, The Great Canadian Fintech Market, & The Future of CryptoSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Stephanie Choo, Partner at Portage Ventures, a global fintech-focused VC that traces its roots back to Canada. The firm focuses on fintech companies and currently manages over $3 billion in AUM.We discuss:The fintech opportunity in Canada and why most fintech verticals in the country are winner-take-allIn light of a looming recession, what are some of the counter-cyclical fintech themes Steph is investing in these days?Portage’s take on crypto and why they remain ve...
2022-10-1833 min
Fintech LeadersSergio Fogel, dLocal Co-Founder & Sergio Furio, Creditas Founder/CEO - The Fintech Revolution in Brazil, LatAm, and BeyondSend us a textToday we have a special episode, as we bring you the recording from the Vamos Latam Summit organized by Latitud in Sao Paolo, Brazil, where Miguel Armaza sat down in front of a packed audience of 1,000+ people for a conversation with Sergio Fogel, Co-Founder of dLocal and Sergio Furio, Founder/CEO of Creditas – two of Latin America’s largest companies. They discussed:Providing new and innovative products and services to consumers vs corporate clientsWartime or a peacetime CEO – is there such a thing a...
2022-10-1147 min
Fintech LeadersImmad Akhund, CEO/Founder of Mercury – Focus on Your Clients and Forget About Competitors, Planning for Startup Winter, & The Power of NetworkingSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Immad Akhund, CEO and Founder of Mercury, a US-based neobank built for the next generation of startups. Founded almost five years ago, Mercury now enjoys unicorn status and has raised equity from great investors including CRV, Coatue, a16z, and Clocktower.In this episode, we discuss:Why he’s short term pessimistic and how startups should prepare for winter and some tough timesFounders: focus on your customers and stop wasting time thinking about your competitorsTh...
2022-10-0437 min
Fintech LeadersMary Ann Azevedo, Senior Reporter at TechCrunch – The Good and Ugly Sides of Fintech, What Great Journalism Really Means, & Why Startups Represent HopeSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with the talented Mary Ann Azevedo, Senior Reporter at TechCrunch, where she’s responsible for covering all things Fintech, co-hosts the Friday episode of the Equity Podcast, and recently launched the newsletter The Interchange.In this episode, we discuss:Why she loves covering the startup world and some tips on how to pitch your story to tech reportersThe summer slowdown and fall bounce back. Deal activity during the summer was definitely slower, but according to Mary Ann she’s now as busy as e...
2022-09-2729 min
Fintech LeadersJulio Vasconcellos, Atlantico Managing Partner – Rollercoaster Startup Stories, Making Hard Decisions, & Why Brazil is a World-Class Fintech HubSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Julio Vasconcellos, Managing Partner and Founder of Atlantico, one of the largest Venture Capital firms in Latin America that looks to invest in a better future for the region and beyond. Julio is also a seasoned tech entrepreneur and investor, having been Facebook’s first country lead for Brazil, co-founded Peixe Urbano which scaled to 1,200 people and raised hundreds of millions of dollars, and then joining Benchmark as an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR).In this episode, we discuss:Scaling his company, Peixe Urb...
2022-09-2047 min
Fintech LeadersAlfonso De los Rios, CEO of Nowports - The College Dropout That Built a Global Unicorn by Age 23Send us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Alfonso (Poncho) De los Rios, CEO/Co-Founder of Nowports, the biggest digital freight forwarder in LatAm, that combines logistics with financial and technological tools to ship cargo around the world. Founded in 2018, Nowports is not only a Latin American company but is quickly becoming a global powerhouse. Nowports has also raised almost $250 million in equity from SoftBank, Tiger Global, Foundation Capital, Monashees, Soma Capital, Broadhaven Ventures, Mouro Capital, Tencent, YC, and more.In this episode, we discuss:Poncho’s...
2022-09-1330 min
Fintech LeadersNelson Chu, CEO of Percent – Disrupting a Multi-Trillion-Dollar Market, Building a Culture of Accountability and Transparency, & Why NYC is the Global Fintech CapitalSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Nelson Chu, CEO/Co-Founder of Percent, a global leader in financial infrastructure solutions that brings transparency and efficiency to lenders and credit transactions. Founded in 2018, Percent has powered almost $1 billion in transaction volume and has raised equity capital from B Capital, Coinbase, 10x Capital, and many more.In this episode, we discuss:How Percent aims to transform private credit markets and we explore their strategy to gain market share by expanding through adjacencies.The strength of private credit in the face of...
2022-09-0636 min
Fintech LeadersLaura Merling, Chief Transformation Officer at Arvest Bank – Driving Change in Large Organizations and Building Bank-Fintech PartnershipsSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Laura Merling, Chief Transformation and Operations Officer at Arvest Bank, a community-based bank with $26 billion in assets, headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas. Arvest traces its roots back to 1961, when its predecessor bank was acquired by Sam Walton, also the founder of Walmart.In this episode, we discuss:The digitization of small and medium-sized banks. There are almost 5,000 banks in the US – how are they modernizing and riding the fintech wave?Bank-Fintech Partnerships. What should fintech companies partnering with community banks keep in mind? La...
2022-08-3024 min
Fintech LeadersMike Cagney, Founder of Figure & SoFi – Building Massive Transformational Companies, Key Founder Lessons, & How Blockchain is Revolutionizing Financial ServicesSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with fintech legend, Mike Cagney, Founder & CEO of Figure, one of the fastest growing fintech companies in the US, where they are on a mission to transform financial services through blockchain, bringing speed, efficiency and savings to both consumers and institutions.Founded in 2018, Figure has raised almost $500M in equity from top investors, including DST Global, Ribbit, Fin Capital, RPM Ventures, Thomvest, JP Morgan, Apollo, and many more.Prior to Figure, Mike also co-founded SoFi and built the company into a multi-billion-dollar business under his...
2022-08-2331 min
Fintech LeadersAmanda Abrams, CEO of Fintech Masala – The Future of SPACs and Public Markets, Analyzing the SPAC Boom of 2020/2021, & What Great CEOs Have in CommonSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Amanda Abrams, CEO of Fintech Masala, a fintech-focused investment platform and one of the pioneers and most active firms behind several fintech SPACs since 2015. Some of their SPAC transactions, include CardConnect, Payoneer, Paya, and Perella Weinberg Partners.If filing 12 SPACs gets you the title of SPAC King, then Amanda and Fintech Masala Co-Founder, Betsy Cohen, are definitely the SPAC Queens with a total of 11 SPACs filed. The SPAC process and why Amanda suggests CEOs should still consider this r...
2022-08-1630 min
Fintech LeadersAnthony Scaramucci, Founder of SkyBridge & SALT – Riding his 9th Bear Market, Investing Strategies, & The Bright Future of CryptoSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Anthony Scaramucci, Founder & Managing Partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment fund with several billion dollars in assets under management. Anthony also founded SALT, one of the premier thought leadership conferences in the world of finance, technology and geopolitics.In this episode, we discuss:Navigating a market downturn. This is Anthony’s ninth bear market – what is different this time and how should fund managers approach their relationship with investors?Inflation, inflation, inflation. How to deal with it and...
2022-08-0934 min
Fintech LeadersOded Zehavi, Co-Founder/CEO at Mesh – $60M to Build a Corporate Self-Driving Wallet, Lessons from PayPal, & the Fascinating Israeli Fintech WorldSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Oded Zehavi, Co-founder & CEO at Mesh Payments, a corporate spend platform that aims to empower finance teams at every company. Founded in 2018 out of New York City and Tel Aviv, Mesh now serves almost 1,000 corporations and has raised more than $60 million dollars in venture funding.In this episode, we discuss:His time at PayPal and what he learned working with great people and many other future global fintech entrepreneursWalking the fine balance of fintech innovation...
2022-08-0239 min
Fintech LeadersSergio Fogel & Gonzalo Strauss – Building dLocal, Datanomik, and AstroPay. What’s the Secret to Scaling a Multibillion-dollar Company with Minimal Funding?Send us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with two great Uruguayan entrepreneurs, Sergio Fogel and Gonzalo Strauss. Sergio is a fintech legend, having co-founded and bootstrapped multiple fintechs, including dLocal (NASDAQ: DLO), a company that IPOd on the Nasdaq in 2021 and is currently valued at ~$8 Billion and showing great results. Most recently, Sergio and Gonzalo teamed up to build Datanomik, a B2B open finance enabler that aims to simplify financial data processes for companies and fintechs around the world. They are backed by a16z, Canary, Nazca, Latitud, and m...
2022-07-2639 min
Fintech LeadersAnkur Sinha, CTO of Remitly – Focusing on Customer Delight, The Wild World of Remittances, & How to Maximize Impact at a New CompanySend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Ankur Sinha, Chief Technology Officer at Remitly, a financial services provider for immigrants and their families in 135 countries and one of the leading fintech companies in the remittance space, with offices in Seattle, London, Krakow, Manila, and Managua. Founded in 2011, Remitly went public on the Nasdaq in 2021.We discuss:The long and complex history of remittances and his take on whether crypto will revolutionize and transform the international payments industryJoining Remitly after a long career at Google and Microsoft. What did...
2022-07-1934 min
Fintech LeadersPeter Lord, CEO/Co-Founder of Codat – Raising $160M to Unlock Small Business Data, How to Plan Your International Expansion, & The Future of Open BankingSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Peter Lord, CEO & Co-Founder of Codat, where they are building a universal API for small business data. Founded in 2017, Codat now has more than 200 corporate clients and has raised over $160 million from JP Morgan, Canapi Ventures, Shopify, Plaid, Tiger Global, PayPal Ventures, Index Ventures, AmEx Ventures, and more.In this episode, we discuss:Leaving his past employer to build Codat and solve some of the technical challenges he was encountering at his old job.His ambitious vision for Codat to become the...
2022-07-1238 min
Fintech LeadersDan Westgarth, COO of Deel – From $1 to $100 Million ARR in 20 months, Powering the Global Hiring Revolution, & What it Means to be COOSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Dan Westgarth, COO of Deel, a global payroll platform that helps businesses hire anyone, anywhere. Founded less than four years ago, Deel now serves 8,000 corporate customers in 150+ countries and has raised almost $700 million from a16z, Altimeter Capital, Y Combinator, Coatue, and a long list of great investors.In this episode, we discuss:Joining Revolut in London back when the company had only 10 employees and what Dan learned over the following five years.Leaving the Revolut rocketship to join Deel, yet another 10...
2022-07-0532 min
Fintech LeadersSophia Goldberg, The Field Guide to Global Payments – Unlocking Opportunities and Understanding the Complex and Fast-Changing World of PaymentsSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Sophia Goldberg, entrepreneur and author of the recently published The Field Guide to Global Payments, a great book about the complex and multifaceted payments industry where Sophia gives a great overview of the different payments systems around the world, the players who make this space go round, as well as some of the exciting innovations driving the future of payments.I highly recommend you pick up a copy, especially if you’re a fintech and finance operator, investor, or have aspirations of joining the in...
2022-06-2826 min
Fintech LeadersArjun Sethi, Tribe Capital Co-Founder – The State of Crypto and How We Got Here, Pursuing N-of-1 Fintechs, & How Tribe Uses Data to Deploy CapitalSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Arjun Sethi, Co-Founder and Partner of Tribe Capital, a firm with over $1.6B in assets under management, focused on using product and data science to engineer N-of-1 companies and investments. They’ve backed some incredible and interesting fintech companies, including Kraken, FTX, Bolt, Carta, Nium, Pipe, and the list goes on.In this episode, we discuss:Tribe Capital’s quantitative diligence process for investing in great companies and the rationale behind their Magic 8-Ball framework.What are N-of-1 startups and why Tribe look...
2022-06-2249 min
Fintech LeadersJeff Tijssen, Bain Global Head of Fintech – Reimagining Financial Services for Incumbents and Fintechs & How Embedded Finance Will Transform the IndustrySend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Jeff Tijssen, Partner and Head of the Global Fintech Practice at Bain & Company, where he advises incumbent players, large fintechs, and some of the top venture capital funds in the world on helping them build products, strategy, and figuring out what’s next in fintech.In this episode, we discuss:Opportunites and challenges of neobanks and how some of the largest players are adapting to a world where capital is a lot more expensive, profitability is imperative to build a sustainable business, but their op...
2022-06-1431 min
Fintech LeadersAbby Levy, Co-Founder of Primetime Partners – Harnessing Fintech Innovation to Invest for Retirement & Improving the Quality of Life for Older AdultsSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Abby Levy, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Primetime Partners, an early-stage venture capital fund with $50+ million in AUM that backs companies and entrepreneurs transforming the quality of living for older adults. Abby co-founded Primetime in 2020 along with legendary investor, Alan Patricof.Prior to Primetime, Abby was the Founding President of Thrive Global, alongside Arianna Huffington, and spent time at McKinsey, Tech for America, and Soulcycle.In this episode, we discuss:The incredible opportunity to build and invest in businesses focused on people’s se...
2022-06-0734 min
Fintech LeadersJimmy Soni: The Inside Story of PayPal – Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Max Levchin, and the Company that Shaped the Modern InternetSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Jimmy Soni, writer and best-selling author of The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley.If you’ve talked to me over the last month, chances are I’ve recommended you read Jimmy’s book. In fact, I think every early-stage fintech founder, operator, and investor should pick up a copy of The Founders, where Jimmy does a brilliant job at detailing some of the most interesting years of PayPal. From day zero in 1998, down to the 2002 eBay acquisition.This b...
2022-05-2452 min
Fintech LeadersDavid Nangle, Managing Partner at VEF – Navigating a Bear Market, Running a Publicly Traded VC, & How to Invest in Emerging MarketsSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with David Nangle, Managing Partner at VEF (STO: VEFAB), one of the few publicly listed venture capital firms that exclusively invests in fintech across emerging markets, with a portfolio of $750 million of Net Asset Value covering Brazil, Mexico, India, Pakistan, Zambia, and many more interesting countries. Some of the companies they’ve backed include Creditas, Konfio, Tinkoff, Jumo, and Minu.In this episode, we discuss:Benefits and challenges of a permanent capital structure and why being a publicly listed firm, better prepares VEF to invest in eme...
2022-05-1730 min
Fintech LeadersShmulik Fishman, CEO/Co-Founder at Argyle - What it Really Means to be CEO, The Future of Your Data, & Why You Should Lead with LaughterSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Shmulik Fishman, Co-Founder and CEO at Argyle, a company building a user-consent-based platform for employment data, helping people avoid situations where their personal information is sold or used without their consent or knowledge.Founded in 2018 as a remote-first company, Argyle’s product now covers over half a million US employers, almost 100% of gig workers, and 170+ million US workers. They’ve also raised a total of $80 million from SignalFire, Bain Capital Ventures, Bedrock, Checkr, amongst others.In this episode, we discuss:What does it mean...
2022-05-1037 min
Fintech LeadersAlexa von Tobel, Co-Founder at Inspired Capital – The Future of your Wallet, Global Fintech Trends, & How to Look for Exceptional FoundersSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Alexa von Tobel, Co-Founder / Managing Partner at Inspired Capital, an early-stage VC based in New York City, with over $500M in Assets Under Management. The firm was founded by Alexa and Penny Pritzker, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce, and has backed some outstanding fintech companies, including Finix, Rho, Habi, Orum, Public, and Kamino.In this episode, we discuss:Alexa’s background & entrepreneurial adventures and why she dropped out of Harvard Business School to build LearnVest, which she then sold for $375 mi...
2022-05-0326 min
Fintech LeadersBuilding Responsible Alternative Lending Products - Paulo Passoni (SoftBank), Alejandro Correa (Rappi), David Green (Earnest), & Alex Kostecki (Clair)Send us a textWe bring you a recording of Miguel Armaza's live panel discussion at the MIT Fintech Conference, a Sloan student-run event, where Miguel sat down with an eclectic group of fintech leaders, including:Paulo Passoni, Managing Partner SoftBank Latin America FundDavid Green, CEO, EarnestAlex Kostecki, Founder and COO, ClairAlejandro Correa, Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer at Rappi We discuss:The promise of fintech. How is the industry doing on democratizing credit access for the underbanked?Avoiding biases. Challenges of b...
2022-04-1338 min
Fintech LeadersKurt Lin, Co-Founder/CEO of Pinwheel – Pushing the Frontiers of Fintech Innovation, How to Build an A+ Remote Team, & the Future of Credit ScoringSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Kurt Lin, Co-Founder & CEO of Pinwheel, a cutting-edge payroll data connectivity platform helping fintechs and financial institutions access data from 1,400+ payroll providers in the US.Founded just a few years ago, Pinwheel now executes 4.6M+ processes per month and has raised $80 million from GGV, First Round, Coatue, Primary, AmEx, Jackie Reses, and many more top industry investors.We discuss:Kurt’s serial entrepreneurship and why he considers himself constitutionally unemployableThe power of consumer payroll data and why Kurt is co...
2022-04-0540 min
Fintech LeadersJackie Reses & Lauren Weinberg, Self-Made Bosses - Tools And Advice For Helping Small Businesses Start, Run, And GrowSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with two iconic fintech leaders: Jackie Reses and Lauren Weinberg. Jackie is a fintech entrepreneur, former Head of Square Capital, and serves on the boards of Nubank, Endeavor, NYDIG, and Affirm. Lauren is the Chief Marketing Officer of Square, where she leads global Marketing and Communications, and has earned several distinctions and accolades for her work. In short, they are some of the most impressive executives in the industry.Lauren and Jackie are also the Co-Authors of SELF-MADE BOSS: Advice, Hacks, And...
2022-03-2935 min
Fintech LeadersRenaud Laplanche, Co-Founder/CEO of Upgrade – Building Two Fintech Unicorns, The Evolution of the CEO Role, & Why your Company’s First Hires are Incredibly ImportantSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Renaud Laplanche, Co-Founder & CEO of Upgrade, one of the leading neobanks in the US that was ranked by the Financial Times as the fastest-growing US company in 2021.Founded in 2016, Upgrade has issued over $10 billion in credit to consumers and has raised more than $600 million in equity from DST, Union Square Ventures, Ribbit, Coatue, and many more.In this episode, we discuss:Leadership lessons – Renaud is a serial entrepreneur and fintech OG, who previously founded Lending Club, one of the first fintech companies th...
2022-03-2234 min
Fintech LeadersSoraya Darabi, Co-Founder/General Partner at TMV – Backing Purpose-Driven Unicorns, Changing the Face of VC, & Why Investors Ignoring Diverse Founders are Missing out on Huge ReturnsSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Soraya Darabi, Co-Founder & General Partner at TMV, a Venture Capital fund with over $100 million in Assets Under Management that aims to back early-stage founders building businesses beyond the bottom line.In this episode, we discuss:Breaking into Tech – How Soraya found herself at the very center of the digital media and startup land almost two decades ago and how it led her down the path of entrepreneurship and investing.Purpose-driven investing – TMV’s mission to find extraordinary returns in businesses that deeply care about the triple...
2022-03-1534 min
Fintech LeadersPaulo Passoni, SoftBank Latin America Managing Partner – Investing $8 Billion in 3 years, Navigating a Bear Market, & What SoftBank Looks for in Founding TeamsSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with the outstanding Paulo Passoni, Managing Partner at SoftBank Latin America, the largest venture capital fund in LatAm that’s invested almost eight billion dollars in 80 companies like Nubank, Kavak, Creditas, Bitso, Rappi, Uala, Clip, Addi, and many many more.In this masterclass episode, we discuss:Navigating a bear market – Paulo shares lessons for entrepreneurs in a tough equity raising environment, where unit economics and execution are now more important than ever and why venture backed companies can’t afford not to tackle big problems.Shared traits...
2022-03-0837 min
Fintech LeadersAlto CEO/Founder, Eric Satz – Strengthening Your Portfolio with Crypto & Alternative Assets, Balancing Hyper-Growth Amidst a Pandemic, and Building a Distributed World Class TeamSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Eric Satz, Founder/CEO of Alto Solutions, a Nashville-based company offering a self-directed IRA platform that gives people in the US access to invest in alternative assets using their retirement funds in assets like crypto, private funds, and collectibles.Founded in 2015, Alto now administers over $1B and has raised over $60M from Advance Venture Partners, Unusual Ventures, Acrew Capital, Foundation Capital, Coinbase Ventures, and many more.In this episode, we discuss:The importance of diversifying your retirement portfolio with alternative assets and...
2022-02-2237 min
Fintech LeadersDave Co-Founder/CEO, Jason Wilk – Going Public on Nasdaq via SPAC, Lessons for Overlooked Startups, & Why you Should Always Listen to Customer FeedbackSend us a textIn this Fintech Leaders edition, Miguel Armaza sits down with Jason Wilk, serial entrepreneur and Co-Founder/CEO of Dave, a US challenger bank that was able to reach 10 million clients in just four years.Founded in 2017, Dave went public in January 2022 via SPAC and currently has a market cap of close to $4 billion. As a private company, Dave raised almost $200 million and attracted top investors like Mark Cuban, Norwest Venture Partners, Financial Solutions Lab, and even Diplo.In this episode, we discuss:How losing a round of...
2022-02-0125 min
Fintech LeadersBalderton Capital General Partner, Rana Yared – Europe’s Massive Fintech Opportunity, Balderton’s Sustainable Future Goals, & Portfolio Reflections for VCsSend us a textIn this Fintech Leaders edition, Miguel Armaza sits down with the amazing Rana Yared, General Partner at Balderton Capital, one of Europe's leading venture capital funds that has raised ~$4.5B across ten funds over the past 21 years, and has backed companies like Revolut, GoCardless, ComplyAdvantage and many more global fintech leaders.In this episode, we discuss:The State of Fintech and entrepreneurship in Europe and why the continent’s startup scene is booming like never beforeDifferences between European and US founders and investors and some of th...
2022-01-2531 min
Fintech LeadersGaston Irigoyen, Co-Founder/CEO of Pomelo – Fundraising Frameworks, Lessons for Emerging Markets Entrepreneurs, & How Pomelo is Building Modern Fintech InfrastructureSend us a textIn this Fintech Leaders edition, Miguel Armaza sits down with Gaston Irigoyen, CEO & Co-Founder of Pomelo, a company building and modernizing the fintech infrastructure of Latin America.Since inception, Pomelo has raised over $45 million from an impressive roster of backers including Tiger Global, Monashees, Sequoia, Insight Partners, Index Ventures, QED, and Gilgamesh Ventures. As well Jackie Reses, Max Levchin, Biz Stone, Angela Strange, Eric Glyman, and other impressive angels.We discuss:Modernizing LatAm’s financial infrastructure and how Pomelo is refreshing legacy tech that wa...
2022-01-1833 min
Fintech LeadersBrad Levy, CEO of Symphony – Mastering your M&A Growth Strategy, Scaling a Global Powerhouse, & Why Generalists Thrive in a World of SpecialistsSend us a textIn this Fintech Leaders edition, Miguel Armaza chats with Brad Levy, CEO of Symphony, a global communications platform that securely connects markets, organizations and individuals in the financial sector. Founded in 2014 by David Gurle, the company now powers over 170 million monthly messages and has raised over half a billion dollars from top industry investors, including Goldman, Google, Blackrock, Citi, and most of the major global banks in the world.We discuss:Symphony’s ambitious roadmap for the coming year and how Brad plans to...
2022-01-1127 min
Fintech LeadersEric Glyman, Ramp Co-Founder/CEO – From Zero to $4 Billion in 30 Months, The Future of Business Banking, & Why you need to Double Down on your Strengths and Hire for Your WeaknessesSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with the very genuine Eric Glyman, Co-Founder & CEO of Ramp, a finance automation platform providing an all-in-one banking solution for businesses.Founded less than three years ago, Ramp has scaled incredibly fast and is now the fastest growing corporate card in the US, having raised almost half a billion dollars from investors like Founders Fund, Coatue, Stripe, Goldman, and more.Eric is a second-time fintech entrepreneur, which made this conversation especially interesting. We discussed:Ramp’s internal process and secret sauce that has al...
2021-12-2134 min
Fintech LeadersGeneral Atlantic’s Martin Escobari – Three Traits of the Best Entrepreneurs, 42 years of Global Investment Lessons & How the Regret Minimization Framework Changed his LifeSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with an absolute legend from the investing world - Martin Escobari, General Atlantic’s Co-President, Chairman of the firm’s Investment Committee, and Head of Latin America.Founded back in 1980, General Atlantic has become one of the premier global growth equity funds and grown to ~$80 billion AUM, with a team of almost 400 employees and 169 active portfolio companies.Over the past 41 years, the GA team has seen it all and, fortunately for all of us, Martin shared an incredible amount of knowledge and lessons, including:Ma...
2021-12-1433 min
Fintech LeadersBrian Barnes, Founder/CEO of M1 Finance – Scaling a Unicorn, How to Buy a Bank, and The Incredible Power of CompoundingSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Brian Barnes, Founder & CEO of M1 Finance, one of the fastest growing financial super-apps offering automated investing, borrowing, and banking products in the US.Founded in Chicago just five years ago, M1 currently manages over $6 billion for its clients and has raised over $300 million from top names including Softbank, Coatue, Clocktower, and Left Lane. We cover: M1’s meteoric rise over the past couple of years and why these are the early days for the company.The power of comp...
2021-12-0718 min
Fintech LeadersMoney20/20 Special: Kristy Kim, Co-Founder/CEO of Tomo Credit and Justin Howell, Co-Founder/CEO of RizeSend us a textToday, we bring you a special episode featuring Miguel Armaza's live conversation at Money2020 with Kristy Kim, Co-Founder & CEO of Tomo Credit, and Justin Howell, Co-Founder & CEO of Rize.To get us started, Miguel sits down with Kristy Kim, where they explore:Building a FICO-free underwriting model and how the challenges of her US immigrant journey drove Kristy to launch Tomo Credit, a next-generation credit card catered to young adults, students, and immigrants.Bridging the gap between crypto lovers and the traditional credit card industry...
2021-11-3027 min
Fintech LeadersMoney20/20 Special: Dan Henry, CEO of Green Dot (NYSE: GDOT), and Jeanniey Walden, DailyPay Chief Innovation & Marketing OfficerSend us a textWe bring you the second special episode featuring Miguel Armaza's live conversations at Money2020 Las Vegas with Dan Henry, Green Dot CEO, and Jeanniey Walden, DailyPay Chief Innovation and Marketing Officer.First up, Dan Henry and Miguel explore:Going remote-first and what this has meant for a publicly-traded company like Green DotLaunching Go2Bank to serve 100+ million Americans living paycheck to paycheckThree pieces of advice for aspiring leaders and entrepreneursMake sure you’re solving a real problem...
2021-11-2329 min
Fintech LeadersBrynne McNulty Rojas, Co-Founder/CEO of Habi – Transforming a Trillion Dollar Real Estate Market & Harnessing Data to Power the Latin America PropTech RevolutionSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Brynne McNulty Rojas, Co-Founder and CEO of Habi, a PropTech company that is streamlining the traditionally opaque home buying process in Latin America revolutionizing the real estate market in the region.Founded in 2019, Habi has raised over $100 million from investors, including SoftBank, Inspired Capital, Tiger Global, Homebrew, Clocktower, 8VC, and many more.Brynne and Miguel explore:- Building Habi and a deep dive of the exciting PropTech revolution taking place in Latin America.- Their recruiting...
2021-11-0929 min
Fintech LeadersTaxBit CEO/Co-Founder, Austin Woodward – Scaling a Crypto Unicorn, Future of Digital Assets, and Why Humility is the Most Important Trait for FoundersSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Austin Woodward, CEO & Co-Founder of TaxBit, the leading US tax software provider for crypto and digital assets.Founded in 2017, TaxBit has now issued tens of millions of tax forms and recently became a unicorn with over $230 million in equity from top investors like IVP, Insight Partners, Tiger Global, Paradigm, and Anthony Pompliano.In this conversation, Austin and Miguel discuss:How his passion for crypto and digital assets led him to launch a billion-dollar businessChallenges and opportunities of working with...
2021-11-0229 min
Fintech LeadersOliver Hughes, CEO of Russia’s Tinkoff Bank – Scaling to 17 Million Clients, The Future of Banking, and Building a Culture that Encourages Risk-TakingSend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Oliver Hughes, CEO of Russia’s Tinkoff Bank (LSE: TCS), one of the best fintech companies around the world. Tinkoff went public in the London Stock Exchange in 2013 and has since grown to a $22B market cap with close to 20 million clients. It has also inspired a generation of fintech founders, including David Velez from Nubank.In this episode, we explore:Story behind Tinkoff, challenges that led them to pivot, and how they’ve managed to thrive despite three financial crises since ince...
2021-10-2635 min
Fintech LeadersAndreessen Horowitz General Partner, Angela Strange and Jeeves Co-Founder/CEO, Dileep Thazhmon – The Incredible Fintech Opportunity in Latin AmericaSend us a textToday’s episode comes from FINNOSUMMIT Connect, a conference organized by Finnovista on the future of Fintech in Latin America.In this special edition, we bring you a recording from Miguel Armaza's conversation with Angela Strange, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz and Dileep Thazhmon, Co-Founder & CEO at Jeeves, where they discuss: Angela’s take on the fantastic evolution of fintech in Latin America and why these are still the early daysJeeves history and why although they are building a global company, they actually decided to launch their...
2021-10-1924 min
Fintech LeadersLaura Spiekerman, Alloy Co-Founder & CRO – Building a Unicorn, Re-inventing Your Job Every 3-6 Months, and Finding Optimism in the Face of AdversitySend us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Laura Spiekerman, COO & Co-Founder of Alloy, an identity decisioning platform that has built the command center for identity that covers the compliance and fraud fighting needs for banks and fintechs.Founded in 2015, Alloy now serves over 200 clients, has raised over $150M in equity, and recently became a unicorn valued at $1.35B. Top investors include Lightspeed, Bessemer, Felicis, Flourish, Clocktower, Eniac, Primary.In this episode, we discuss: Challenges and opportunities of working with sensitive client data and why their approach h...
2021-10-1229 min
Fintech LeadersAssaf Wand, Hippo Insurance Co-Founder & CEO – Going Public on the NYSE, Reimagining Home Insurance, and Always Doing Right by the CustomerSend us a textIn this very first episode of the 21 Leaders podcast, Miguel Armaza sits down with Assaf Wand, Co-Founder and CEO of Hippo Insurance (NYSE: HIPO), a revolutionary home insurance company focused on making homes safer and better protected, harnessing the power of data and technology. Founded in 2015, Hippo recently went public on the New York Stock Exchange and has a current market cap ~$3B.In this great conversation, Assaf and Miguel discuss:Why he’s “the worst employee ever” and entrepreneurship was the only career path that made sense...
2021-10-0535 min