What The Heck, Fintech

How Evan Schnidman Went From Professor to AI Founder to Leading Fidelity Labs (Part 1)

🚀 AI, startups, financial innovation, and the future of fintech—all in one conversation. In this two-part episode, we sit down with Evan Schnidman, Head of Fidelity Labs, to explore a career that spans academia, artificial intelligence research, startup founding, and building new fintech businesses inside one of the world’s largest financial institutions. 💡 Evan’s journey perfectly illustrates a core idea of this podcast: Fintech is FinLife. From building early AI and natural language processing systems to analyze central bank language, to founding and selling an AI startup before the recent LLM boom, to now launching new ventures inside Fidelity Labs, Evan has spent his career translating complex financial signals into meaningful innovation. In these episodes, you’ll hear insights on: ⚡ The early days of AI in finance—before today’s generative AI wave 🏦 Why fintech startups and large financial institutions are now collaborating, not competing 🚀 How Fidelity Labs builds and launches entirely new fintech businesses 📊 The role of data, research, and ecosystem partnerships in driving innovation 💡 Why entrepreneurship requires accepting more failures to achieve more breakthroughs Evan also shares fascinating insights into the innovation flywheel at Fidelity Labs, including ventures like: 🔹 Private market infrastructure tools 🔹 AI-driven compliance platforms 🔹 Crypto data visibility solutions 🔹 Customer intelligence platforms for wealth managers This conversation shows how fintech innovation isn’t just about technology—it’s about connecting research, startups, financial institutions, and real human needs. That’s why Fintech is FinLife. If you care about the future of AI in finance, startup innovation, and how big financial institutions reinvent themselves, this is an episode you won’t want to miss. 🔗 To connect and learn even more from Evan Schnidman, please visit his LinkedIn profile:https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-schnidman/

From Engineer, to Founder, to Rich Napolitano: Fintech Innovation Driver (Part 2)

🌐 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 — and Rich Napolitano lives it. In this dynamic two-part conversation, fintech entrepreneur and technology leader Rich Napolitano shares the real stories behind building companies, leading transformation, and reshaping the future of wealth-management technology. From startup survival moments to enterprise-scale innovation, Rich demonstrates how leadership, trust, and long-term thinking power fintech success. 🚀 In these episodes, you’ll discover: ✨ Why enterprise “selling” is really education, listening, and trust-building 🧠 Leadership lessons from scaling companies and navigating critical startup turning points 📊 How Advisor360° helped transform wealth-management technology at massive scale 🤖 Why AI personalization, data sovereignty, and ownership of capital are reshaping finance 🎓 Practical insights for students, founders, and professionals who want to lead in fintech 🌍 Why building meaningful financial solutions proves that Fintech truly is FinLife Rich’s journey shows that fintech is more than technology — it’s about people, ownership, innovation, and impact, and these episodes highlight how leaders can shape the next era of financial services. 🔗 To connect and learn even more from Rich Napolitano, please visit his LinkedIn profile:https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-napolitano-8946446/

From Engineer, to Founder, to Rich Napolitano: Fintech Innovation Driver (Part 1)

🌐 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 — and Rich Napolitano lives it. In this dynamic two-part conversation, fintech entrepreneur and technology leader Rich Napolitano shares the real stories behind building companies, leading transformation, and reshaping the future of wealth-management technology. From startup survival moments to enterprise-scale innovation, Rich demonstrates how leadership, trust, and long-term thinking power fintech success. 🚀 In these episodes, you’ll discover: ✨ Why enterprise “selling” is really education, listening, and trust-building 🧠 Leadership lessons from scaling companies and navigating critical startup turning points 📊 How Advisor360° helped transform wealth-management technology at massive scale 🤖 Why AI personalization, data sovereignty, and ownership of capital are reshaping finance 🎓 Practical insights for students, founders, and professionals who want to lead in fintech 🌍 Why building meaningful financial solutions proves that Fintech truly is FinLife Rich’s journey shows that fintech is more than technology — it’s about people, ownership, innovation, and impact, and these episodes highlight how leaders can shape the next era of financial services. 🔗 To connect and learn even more from Rich Napolitano, please visit his LinkedIn profile:https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-napolitano-8946446/

Gene Yeboah: From Wall Street Quant to Fintech Future Builder (Part 2)

✨ 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 — 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗵’𝘀 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲. In this two-part conversation, Gene Yeboah shares his remarkable path from mathematics and theoretical physics to Wall Street quant leadership, global credit-markets innovation, and now shaping the next generation of fintech innovators through project-based education at WPI. 🚀 Real stories from the front lines of quantitative finance and structured-credit innovation 🌍 Career lessons spanning London, Paris, Tokyo, and Wall Street 📊 Why investing is ultimately about buying and managing risk 🔗 How blockchain, tokenization, and AI are transforming capital markets and investment banking 🧬 The emerging intersection of fintech, biotech, and global funding innovation 🎓 Preparing students to become industry-ready leaders through real-world fintech projects Gene’s experience demonstrates how financial expertise, technology innovation, and global collaboration come together to shape the future of financial services — proving that Fintech isn’t just an industry… it’s FinLife. To connect and learn even more from Gene Yeboah, 🚀 Please visit his LinkedIn profile at https://www.linkedin.com/in/gyeboah/ 🚀 and Gene's WPI Professor page at https://www.wpi.edu/people/faculty/eyeboah

Gene Yeboah: From Wall Street Quant to Fintech Future Builder (Part 1)

✨ 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 — 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗵’𝘀 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲. In this two-part conversation, Gene Yeboah shares his remarkable path from mathematics and theoretical physics to Wall Street quant leadership, global credit-markets innovation, and now shaping the next generation of fintech innovators through project-based education at WPI. 🚀 Real stories from the front lines of quantitative finance and structured-credit innovation 🌍 Career lessons spanning London, Paris, Tokyo, and Wall Street 📊 Why investing is ultimately about buying and managing risk 🔗 How blockchain, tokenization, and AI are transforming capital markets and investment banking 🧬 The emerging intersection of fintech, biotech, and global funding innovation 🎓 Preparing students to become industry-ready leaders through real-world fintech projects Gene’s experience demonstrates how financial expertise, technology innovation, and global collaboration come together to shape the future of financial services — proving that Fintech isn’t just an industry… it’s FinLife. To connect and learn even more from Gene Yeboah, 🚀 Please visit his LinkedIn profile at https://www.linkedin.com/in/gyeboah/ 🚀 and Gene's WPI Professor page at https://www.wpi.edu/people/faculty/eyeboah