Is Finance Technology? How Founders Can Avoid the Mistakes That Kill Fintech Companies

Max Levchin - Building Affirm, PayPal, and Why He Only Starts Network Businesses

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1830154/fan_mail/new] I sat down with Max Levchin, Co-Founder and CEO of Affirm and one of the living legends of tech and fintech. He co-founded PayPal with Peter Thiel and Elon Musk, invented anti-fraud technology that's still foundational today, and has spent the last 14 years building Affirm into one of the largest publicly traded fintechs in the world with a mission to replace credit cards with transparent lending. He is one of the most thoughtful and brilliant founders I've spoken with.  Want more podcast episodes? Join me and follow Fintech Leaders today on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app for weekly conversations with today’s global leaders that will dominate the 21st century in fintech, business, and beyond. Do you prefer a written summary? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join ~85,000+ readers and listeners worldwide! Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder and General Partner of Gilgamesh Ventures, a seed-stage investment fund focused on fintech in the Americas. He also hosts and writes the Fintech Leaders podcast and newsletter. Miguel on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nKha4Z [https://bit.ly/3nKha4Z] Miguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBc [https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBc] Fintech Leaders Newsletter: https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp [https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp]

Rob Heyvaert, Motive Partners Founder: Investing Billions to Build the Future of Finance

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1830154/fan_mail/new] I sat down with Rob Heyvaert, Founder and Managing Partner of Motive Partners, a fintech-focused private equity firm with over $6Bn in AUM, 80 portfolio companies representing over $15 trillion of assets in the wealth management space. Rob is a serial entrepreneur who started his first company at 24, sold it to IBM, and later founded Capco and sold to FIS to hundreds of millions of dollars, before launching Motive in 2016. He is a true fintech builder and it was inspiring to learn from him. We recorded this episode live at Motive's NYC office as part of New York Fintech week. Want more podcast episodes? Join me and follow Fintech Leaders today on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app for weekly conversations with today’s global leaders that will dominate the 21st century in fintech, business, and beyond. Do you prefer a written summary? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join ~85,000+ readers and listeners worldwide! Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder and General Partner of Gilgamesh Ventures, a seed-stage investment fund focused on fintech in the Americas. He also hosts and writes the Fintech Leaders podcast and newsletter. Miguel on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nKha4Z [https://bit.ly/3nKha4Z] Miguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBc [https://bit.ly/3nKha4Z] Fintech Leaders Newsletter: https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp [https://bit.ly/3nKha4Z]

Renaud Laplanche on Building Upgrade to a $7.3Bn Giant, Reinventing the Credit Card, and Shipping AI-Native Products

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1830154/fan_mail/new] I sat down with Renaud Laplanche, Co-Founder and CEO of Upgrade, a consumer fintech valued at $7.3 billion. Since 2017, Upgrade has originated over $45 billion in credit to 7.5 million customers, crossed $1 billion in annualized revenue, and has been cash flow positive for years. Renaud also founded Lending Club and took it public in what was the largest US tech IPO of 2014. He is one of the most accomplished entrepreneurs in fintech and someone I personally admire. We discussed building a multi-product platform from day one, how a company acquisition became their best customer generation engine, the first AI-native product Upgrade is shipping soon, and much more. Outside fintech, Renaud is an avid Sailor holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest Newport to Bermuda sailing crossing.  Want more podcast episodes? Join me and follow Fintech Leaders today on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app for weekly conversations with today’s global leaders that will dominate the 21st century in fintech, business, and beyond. Do you prefer a written summary? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join ~85,000+ readers and listeners worldwide! Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder and General Partner of Gilgamesh Ventures, a seed-stage investment fund focused on fintech in the Americas. He also hosts and writes the Fintech Leaders podcast and newsletter. Miguel on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nKha4Z [https://bit.ly/3nKha4Z] Miguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBc [https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBc] Fintech Leaders Newsletter: https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp [https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp]

The Trader Who Builds Billion-Dollar Companies: Tom Sosnoff on Thinkorswim, Tasty, and What Comes Next

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1830154/fan_mail/new] I sat down with Tom Sosnoff, one of the most successful entrepreneurs in financial services. Tom spent 19 years on Chicago’s CBOE trading floor and then left to build Thinkorswim, the first online broker specialized in options, which he sold to TD Ameritrade for $600 million. He then built Tastytrade and sold it nine years later for a billion dollars to IG Group. He is now building Lossdog, a career optimization platform to help fight wealth inequality. What I enjoyed the most of this conversation is how genuine Tom is. He’s kind and cares about fairness and inequality. Prioritizes legacy over money. And he is a builder at heart that loves to take risks. Want more podcast episodes? Join me and follow Fintech Leaders today on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app for weekly conversations with today’s global leaders that will dominate the 21st century in fintech, business, and beyond. Do you prefer a written summary? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join ~85,000+ readers and listeners worldwide! Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder and General Partner of Gilgamesh Ventures, a seed-stage investment fund focused on fintech in the Americas. He also hosts and writes the Fintech Leaders podcast and newsletter. Miguel on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nKha4Z [https://bit.ly/3nKha4Z] Miguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBc [https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBc] Fintech Leaders Newsletter: https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp [https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp]

Is Finance Technology? How Founders Can Avoid the Mistakes That Kill Fintech Companies

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1830154/fan_mail/new] I sat down with Andrew Endicott, fintech entrepreneur and my co-founder at Gilgamesh Ventures. Andrew is also the author of the recent book "Is Finance Technology?", a practical guide for founders, operators, and investors in financial services. The book covers everything. From the common mistakes that kill fintech companies, to how to think about risk, fraud, and regulation across verticals. I highly recommend picking up a copy. Few people have operated across as many roles and verticals as Andrew has. Having been a financial services lawyer, investment banker, entrepreneur, board member, and now investor, this book reflects that breadth. Timestamped Overview: 00:00 Finance origins and early technology 05:56 Necessity driving creativity 07:42 Solving everyday consumer challenges 13:49 Impact of emerging technologies 16:44 Fintech innovation and successful founders 19:30 Challenges of choosing customers and partners 21:39 Dealing with fraud challenges 26:00 First movers in payment industry 31:11 Writing the book and changing views 32:46 Fintech companies becoming banks 37:01 Venture capital trends and shifts 39:32 Writing process and challenges 42:27 Hoping to inspire future entrepreneurs Want more podcast episodes? Join me and follow Fintech Leaders today on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app for weekly conversations with today’s global leaders that will dominate the 21st century in fintech, business, and beyond. Do you prefer a written summary? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join ~85,000+ readers and listeners worldwide! Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder and General Partner of Gilgamesh Ventures, a seed-stage investment fund focused on fintech in the Americas. He also hosts and writes the Fintech Leaders podcast and newsletter. Miguel on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nKha4Z [https://bit.ly/3nKha4Z] Miguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBc [https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBc] Fintech Leaders Newsletter: https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp [https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp]