AI, Student Debt & the 99%: Inside Candidly with Laurel Taylor

Profits Over Hype: How Biller Genie Turns “Unsexy” Invoicing Into a Power Business

Welcome to a special live episode of Fintech Mavericks 🎙️ recorded at Money20/20 Las Vegas. Hosts Nicole Casperson and Drew Glover sit down with Garima Shah, Co-Founder & President of Biller Genie, to unpack one of the least glamorous but most critical problems in finance: getting small businesses paid on time. Garima shares how Biller Genie cuts payment cycles from 47 to 50 days down to about a week, why 64 percent of SMEs dealing with delayed payments is a real threat to survival, and how one tribal utility collected $400K of tiny overdue invoices in 24 hours once the product went live. Garima breaks down Biller Genie’s partnership-driven growth with major banks and processors, their sub-5 percent attrition, and why they have effectively no customer acquisition cost. She also goes deep on bootstrapping vs fundraising, saying no to bad deals, building a culture where people openly own their mistakes, and using personal SWOTs and a clear “zone of genius” to avoid burnout. If you care about profitable, hype free fintech, this one is a blueprint. 💡 Subscribe for weekly interviews with fintech founders, investors, and operators who move differently. 🔥 New episodes every WEDNESDAY 📲 Follow @fintechisfemme for behind-the-scenes clips + hot takes Follow the hosts: 🔹 Nicole Casperson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-casperson-0820a5133 🔹 Drew Glover: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewbailerglover/

AI, Student Debt & the 99%: Inside Candidly with Laurel Taylor

Welcome back to Fintech Mavericks 🎙️ This live episode goes inside one of the most urgent problems in America: student debt, and what it really takes to build infrastructure that can unlock wealth instead of killing it. Hosted by Nicole Casperson and Drew Glover, this conversation features Laurel Taylor, Founder & CEO of Candidly. Laurel is not just talking about student debt reform. She is building the pipes that could help tackle $1.8T in student loans, after raising $60M+ and partnering with giants like Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Empower, Lincoln Financial Group, PNC, Schwab, and Vanguard. Fresh off the World Economic Forum’s roundtable at the London Stock Exchange, Laurel breaks down what it means to embed AI into some of the most risk-averse incumbents on earth, why Candidly built a deterministic AI engine for regulators and boards, and how their new Candidly Intelligence Center aims to serve the 99 percent in a profitable, scalable way. She also shares how her own student debt and her mom’s experience shaped the mission, why “margin drives the mission” for truly venture-backable impact, and why employers that partner with Candidly are seeing turnover drop by up to 76 percent. If you care about financial wellness as a core employee benefit, building AI your compliance team will actually trust, or proving that purpose-built fintech can scale with venture returns, this episode is packed with playbook-level insights. 💡 Subscribe for weekly interviews with fintech founders, investors, and operators who move differently. 🔥 New episodes every WEDNESDAY 📲 Follow @fintechisfemme for behind-the-scenes clips + hot takes Follow the hosts: 🔹 Nicole Casperson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-casperson-0820a5133 🔹 Drew Glover: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewbailerglover/

Fintech’s Frontier: How Tala Turns Access into Impact

Welcome to a new episode of Fintech Mavericks! 🎙️ This time, we’re diving into what it really takes to build financial infrastructure for billions at venture scale. Hosted by Nicole Casperson and Drew Glover, this episode features Shivani Siroya, Founder & CEO of Tala. Shivani has raised nearly $500M to build a financial system that serves the global majority, and Tala has now disbursed $6B+ in credit to 11M customers across Kenya, the Philippines, Mexico, and India. She shares how 3,500 on-the-ground interviews informed Tala’s underwriting, why listening first beats “move fast” dogma, and how AI plus proprietary, real-time data can reduce bias and expand access. We also get into distribution at scale (think 750,000+ cash-in/cash-out points), tailoring credit down to the individual (choose-your-own due dates and terms), and what founders get wrong about building for emerging markets. If you care about financial inclusion, durable unit economics, or building category-defining infrastructure, this episode is packed with insights you won’t find anywhere else. Sponsored by Brex. ► Brex has been redefining how financial services and software work together since 2017—built by founders, for founders. With no minimums, no transaction fees, and 20x the standard FDIC protection, Brex gives startups the flexibility they need.  Learn more at https://www.brex.com/solutions/startups?partnerId=espm_fintechmavericks Brex has teamed up with Fintech Mavericks to bring you a special offer that makes scaling your startup easier, faster, and smarter.  👉 https://www.brex.com/solutions/startups?partnerId=espm_fintechmavericks [https://www.brex.com/solutions/startups?partnerId=espm_fintechmavericks]  Whether you’re managing runway, hiring fast, or fundraising for your next round — Brex built this just for you. Get access to: ✅ Founder-friendly corporate cards ✅ Expense & spend management in one place ✅ Special perks only available to Mavericks listeners 💡 Subscribe for weekly interviews with fintech founders, investors, and operators who move differently. 🔥 New episodes every WEDNESDAY 📲 Follow @fintechisfemme for behind-the-scenes clips + hot takes Follow the hosts: 🔹 Nicole Casperson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-casperson-0820a5133 [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-casperson-0820a5133]   🔹 Drew Glover: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewbailerglover/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewbailerglover/]

Fintech’s Next Chapter with Flourish Ventures’ Emmalyn Shaw

Welcome to a new episode of Fintech Mavericks! 🎙️ This time, we’re diving into the future of mission-driven fintech, the lessons from one of the biggest success stories in the space, and what’s next for founders navigating today’s market. Hosted by Nicole Casperson and Drew Glover, this episode features Emmalyn Shaw, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Flourish Ventures, an $850M early-stage fund backing 100+ fintechs globally. Emmalyn was one of Chime’s earliest believers, writing a check at Series B in 2017—and having a front-row seat as the company scaled from scrappy disruptor to IPO-ready giant. With a career spanning investment banking and VC, she’s been in fintech before fintech was even a “thing” and today she’s shaping the next wave of innovation. She shares what she saw in Chime before the market did, the biggest opportunities she sees now in housing, credit, climate, and insurance, and why AI will redefine not just fintech tools but entire financial systems. Plus, Emmalyn opens up about the career risks that changed everything, what purpose-driven investing really means when profits are on the line, and how being a mother of six taught her more about leadership than any boardroom ever could. If you’re a founder trying to build resilience, an investor betting on the next breakout, or just curious about where fintech goes from here, this one is packed with sharp insights and hard-won lessons. Sponsored by Brex. ► Brex has been redefining how financial services and software work together since 2017—built by founders, for founders. With no minimums, no transaction fees, and 20x the standard FDIC protection, Brex gives startups the flexibility they need.  Learn more at https://www.brex.com/solutions/startups?partnerId=espm_fintechmavericks Brex has teamed up with Fintech Mavericks to bring you a special offer that makes scaling your startup easier, faster, and smarter.  👉 https://www.brex.com/solutions/startups?partnerId=espm_fintechmavericks [https://www.brex.com/solutions/startups?partnerId=espm_fintechmavericks]  Whether you’re managing runway, hiring fast, or fundraising for your next round — Brex built this just for you. Get access to: ✅ Founder-friendly corporate cards ✅ Expense & spend management in one place ✅ Special perks only available to Mavericks listeners 💡 Subscribe for weekly interviews with fintech founders, investors, and operators who move differently. 🔥 New episodes every WEDNESDAY 📲 Follow @fintechisfemme for behind-the-scenes clips + hot takes Follow the hosts: 🔹 Nicole Casperson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-casperson-0820a5133 [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-casperson-0820a5133]   🔹 Drew Glover: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewbailerglover/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewbailerglover/]

Mastercard’s Stefany Bello: Building Bridges Between Startups & Giants

Welcome to a new episode of Fintech Mavericks! 🎙️ This time, we’re diving into the partnerships powering fintech’s future and why collaboration between startups and giants has never mattered more. Hosted by Nicole Casperson and Drew Glover, this episode features Stefany Bello, Senior Vice President of Digital Partnerships, Fintechs & Enablers at Mastercard. Since joining Mastercard in 2009, Stefany has held leadership roles across multiple regions, helping scale digital innovation while building bridges between fintechs, neobanks, and one of the world’s biggest financial institutions. She also holds a patent for a global aid distribution network, sits on multiple boards, and was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. She shares what it means for Mastercard to be a true “partner of choice” for fintechs, how she tailors support for startups at different stages, and why inclusion in Web3 is just as critical as advances in payments. Plus, Stefany breaks down the biggest opportunities she sees in cross-border payments, stablecoins, and fintech–corporate co-creation. If you’re a founder looking to scale, a corporate exec exploring fintech collaboration, or simply curious about where payments are headed, this episode is packed with insights you won’t find anywhere else. Sponsored by Brex. ► Brex has been redefining how financial services and software work together since 2017—built by founders, for founders. With no minimums, no transaction fees, and 20x the standard FDIC protection, Brex gives startups the flexibility they need. Learn more at https://www.brex.com/solutions/startups?partnerId=espm_fintechmavericks Brex has teamed up with Fintech Mavericks to bring you a special offer that makes scaling your startup easier, faster, and smarter. 👉 https://www.brex.com/solutions/startups?partnerId=espm_fintechmavericks Whether you’re managing runway, hiring fast, or fundraising for your next round — Brex built this just for you. Get access to: ✅ Founder-friendly corporate cards ✅ Expense & spend management in one place ✅ Special perks only available to Mavericks listeners 💡 Subscribe for weekly interviews with fintech founders, investors, and operators who move differently. 🔥 New episodes every WEDNESDAY 📲 Follow @fintechisfemme for behind-the-scenes clips + hot takes Follow the hosts: 🔹 Nicole Casperson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-casperson-0820a5133 🔹 Drew Glover: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewbailerglover/