Backing FinTech Founders with Casey Williams

Backing FinTech Founders with Casey Williams

Casey Williams is a Partner & COO at Fenway Summer, a VC firm investing in early-stage fintech companies. She focuses on companies building infrastructure for the financial system, with a particular conviction for founders raising their first institutional round in complex, policy-adjacent markets. Casey has walked a non-linear path to venture capital. She began her career as a fourth-grade math teacher through Teach for America, an experience that shaped how she thinks about problem-solving, resilience, and working in under-resourced environments. She then moved into financial inclusion work at Kiva Microfinance and, later, product and R&D at Wells Fargo. Her venture capital career began on the operating side of the business, when she first joined the Fenway Summer team in 2020 as an Operations Associate. She was quickly promoted to COO and has spent years managing every aspect of the business side of the firm, from fund administration to tax and audit processes. Casey has a demonstrated pattern of conviction on non-consensus founders, looking for ideas that sit outside the comfortable consensus of what fintech “should” look like, and a track record of being early. She holds a Master's in Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma and a B.A. in English Literature from Elon University. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband, two kids, and a growing collection of rescue animals. During this episode, we discuss: * Casey's nonlinear career path that led her into investing * Her advice for aspiring VCs * What she does at Fenway Summer * The three things she looks for when evaluating early-stage fintech founders * Why distribution has become the ultimate moat in financial services * How her operator background makes her a genuinely hands-on partner * A common misconception the VC world got wrong * What Fenway Summer is announcing later in 2026 And more. Tune into this episode as we dive into all things fintech investing!

Powering the Future of Space with Andrew Rush

Andrew Rush is the President and CEO of Star Catcher, a pioneering company advancing the development of the world’s first space-based energy grid. A seasoned space industry executive, Andrew is widely recognized for scaling groundbreaking ventures and driving transformational growth across the commercial and defense space sectors. He first gained prominence as President and CEO of Made In Space, where he led the company from its early startup phase into a profitable leader in space manufacturing technology. Under his leadership, Made In Space achieved historic milestones, including the first-ever manufacturing in space and the creation of the first satellite capable of in-orbit manufacturing and assembly. Andrew also guided the company through its successful acquisition by Redwire Corporation in 2020. At Redwire, he served as President and Chief Operating Officer, overseeing strategic execution, investment planning, and expansion across civil, defense, and commercial markets. During his tenure, Redwire enhanced the International Space Station’s power systems, scaled to over 700 employees, and went public on the New York Stock Exchange. Today, Andrew continues to lead at the forefront of space innovation, shaping the future of space infrastructure and sustainable energy through his leadership at Star Catcher. During this episode, we discuss: * Andrew’s expertise building in the space domain * How Star Catcher is building the world's first space-based power grid * The core problem Star Catcher solves * Why customer validation was baked in from day one * How their philosophy is crawl, walk, run * What’s next for Star Catcher this year after closing a $65M Series A * Why the space economy is booming right now * Andrew’s advice for space founders And more. Tune into this episode as we dive into all things space!

Telling a Better Product Story with Jodi Innerfield

Jodi Innerfield is a marketing strategist and consultant helping enterprise companies and high-growth start-ups with product launches, storytelling, and go-to-market strategy. Previously, she spent eight years at Salesforce as a marketing leader spanning content and solutions marketing, GTM, product launches, messaging and positioning, and PLG. Jodi’s marketing and leadership perspectives reach audiences through her Marketing Musings Newsletter and through speaking engagements and interviews including CNN International, Harvard Business School, and the University of Michigan. When she’s not talking marketing, you can find her talking about Taylor Swift’s songwriting on her podcast, AP Taylor Swift, where she does deep reading and literary analysis of Taylor Swift’s lyrics. During this episode, we discuss: * Jodi’s expertise as a product marketing strategist and how she started her consultancy * Where early-stage founders should start with their product marketing * Why features alone are no longer a differentiator * The importance of having solid positioning * How messaging evolves over time * Why your website is no longer the first place buyers go And more. Tune into this episode as we dive into all things product marketing strategy!

Exploring Alternative Investing with Porter Geer

Porter Geer is one of the cofounders of Girl Math Capital, the alternative investing community for women. Founded in 2023, Girl Math Capital exists to support women on their wealth-building journeys by increasing the number of women investing in private markets. To date, Girl Math Capital has deployed over $1M into 60+ companies. Porter has spent her career in the crypto and digital asset space and is currently a member of the Governance team at Uniswap. She is based in Austin, TX. During this episode, we discuss: * What Girl Math Capital is and why Porter and her two co-founders built it * Why Girl Math Capital focuses on alternative investing and what that is * Common misconceptions about alternative investing * Why financial independence is a core value underlying Girl Math Capital's mission * An inside look into their cohort * How they source deal flow * The power law of early-stage investing * Porter's personal investing advice * Girl Math's long-term vision And more. Tune into this episode as we dive into alternative investing!

Building in Space with Dakota Labine

Dakota Labine is the Director of Engineering at ThinkOrbital, where he leads multidisciplinary teams building next-generation space infrastructure and advanced X-ray technologies. Starting in a hands-on Assembly, Integration, and Test leadership role before growing into engineering leadership, Dakota has helped scale the company from rapid hardware execution into broader technical and organizational growth. His work spans autonomous in-space welding, drone-based X-ray imaging, spacecraft systems, and rapid development programs supporting both commercial and government customers. Before joining ThinkOrbital, Dakota spent over four years at Blue Canyon Technologies leading spacecraft systems engineering efforts across major microsatellite constellation programs and new spacecraft product lines. Known for blending hands-on execution with big-picture systems thinking, he’s passionate about building teams, scaling ambitious ideas, and turning complex engineering challenges into real-world capabilities. During this episode, we discuss: * What Dakota does as the Director of Engineering at ThinkOrbital * ThinkOrbital’s core products * Their pivot toward X-ray technology * The hardest part of scaling a deep tech hardware company * How ThinkOrbital serves both commercial and government customers * Why the space economy is booming right now * What makes Boulder, CO a hub for aerospace startups * Dakota's advice for anyone looking to work in deep tech And more. Tune into this episode as we dive into all things space!