The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch 20VC: Why The Unbundling of Fintech Will Continue, How VCs Are Propping Up The Neo-Banking Industry & Why We Need A New Framework To Value Businesses Today with Clay Wilkes, Founder & CEO @ Galileo
Jul 31, 2020
Clay Wilkes, Founder and CEO of Galileo, shares his insights on the fintech revolution, detailing his journey in building a leading API provider. He discusses the ongoing unbundling in the industry, pondering whether every company will turn into a payments company. Clay reflects on the advantages of growing a profitable business without early VC funding and critiques the current venture capital discovery mechanisms. He also touches on the strategic implications of Galileo's acquisition by SoFi and the balance of profitability and growth in today’s fintech landscape.
30:10
Clay's Background
- Clay Wilkes's background is in operating systems and communications, including a patent for VoIP.
- He founded and took public a telecom company before retiring and later founding Galileo.
Bootstrapping Benefits
- Bootstrapping enables control and resilience during economic downturns.
- Focus on unit economics and cash flow when bootstrapping.
Positive Fintech Outlook
- Clay Wilkes is positive about the FinTech landscape and the resilience of the economy.
- He believes digital banking has been accelerated by the pandemic and this trend will continue.
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Intro
00:00 • 3min
Navigating the Fintech Frontier
03:18 • 8min
The Implications of VC Influence on Neobanking and the Strategic Merger with SoFi
11:41 • 3min
Navigating Fintech: Profitability and Growth Strategies
14:49 • 10min
Navigating Entrepreneurship: Tenacity vs. Adaptability
25:04 • 2min
Personal Growth and Future Ambitions in Fintech
26:42 • 3min
Creativity, Inc.
Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration
Amy Wallace
Ed Catmull
Ed Catmull and Edwin E. Catmull and Amy Wallace
In this book, Ed Catmull shares insights on how to build and maintain a creative culture within an organization.
Drawing from his experiences at Pixar, Catmull discusses the importance of open communication, risk-taking, and protecting the creative process.
The book includes candid discussions, anecdotes about Pixar's film development, and lessons on managing innovation and creativity.
It emphasizes the need for a nurturing work environment and the importance of storytelling in business.
Why Nations Fail
The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty
James A. Robinson
Daron Acemoglu
Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson argue that the success or failure of nations is determined by their political and economic institutions.
They present a comprehensive theory based on 15 years of research, using historical examples from the Roman Empire, the Mayan city-states, the Soviet Union, and various other regions to demonstrate how inclusive institutions foster economic growth and prosperity, while extractive institutions lead to poverty and stagnation.
The authors discuss critical questions such as China's economic growth, the future of the United States, and the most effective ways to help countries move from poverty to prosperity.
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism
The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power
Shoshana Zuboff
In this book, Shoshana Zuboff provides a comprehensive analysis of surveillance capitalism, a new economic order where corporations accumulate vast wealth and power by predicting and controlling human behavior.
Zuboff details how this form of capitalism, originating in Silicon Valley, has spread into every economic sector, creating 'behavioral futures markets' where predictions about our behavior are bought and sold.
She argues that this system, free from democratic oversight, poses significant threats to democracy, freedom, and human future, and urges readers to take action to protect their autonomy in the digital world.
Thinking, Fast and Slow
Daniel Kahneman
In this book, Daniel Kahneman takes readers on a tour of the mind, explaining how the two systems of thought shape our judgments and decisions.
System 1 is fast, automatic, and emotional, while System 2 is slower, effortful, and logical.
Kahneman discusses the impact of cognitive biases, the difficulties of predicting future happiness, and the effects of overconfidence on corporate strategies.
He offers practical insights into how to guard against mental glitches and how to benefit from slow thinking in both personal and business life.
The book also explores the distinction between the 'experiencing self' and the 'remembering self' and their roles in our perception of happiness.
Stress Test
Ian Robertson
In this book, Ian Robertson explores why some people excel under pressure while others struggle.
Drawing from over four decades of research, Robertson explains how the right level of challenge and stress can help people flourish and achieve more than they thought possible.
He provides insights into how stress affects us physically and mentally, using case studies and research to illustrate how some stress can be beneficial for our health and outlook on life.
The Innovator's Dilemma
When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail
Clayton M. Christensen
In this influential business book, Clayton Christensen shows how even the most outstanding companies can lose market leadership when they fail to adapt to disruptive innovations.
Christensen explains why companies often miss new waves of innovation and provides a set of rules for capitalizing on disruptive technologies.
The book uses examples from various industries, including the disk drive, mechanical excavator, steel, and computer industries, to illustrate trends that lead to success or failure in the face of disruptive technologies.
A Crack in Creation
Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution
Jennifer Doudna
Samuel H. Sternberg
This book is a blend of scientific discovery and personal reflection, where Doudna explores the consequences of her work on CRISPR.
It provides accessible technical descriptions, key events, and ethical and social challenges associated with gene editing.
Doudna delves into the broader implications of CRISPR, including its potential to control evolution and the ethical dilemmas it poses, particularly in the context of human germline editing.
The Singularity Is Near
When Humans Transcend Biology
Ray Kurzweil
In 'The Singularity Is Near', Ray Kurzweil discusses the concept of the technological singularity, where technological change becomes so rapid and profound that it transforms human civilization.
He predicts that by 2045, machine intelligence will exceed human intelligence, leading to a human-machine civilization where experiences shift from real to virtual reality.
Kurzweil envisions significant advancements in fields like nanotechnology, genetics, and robotics, which will solve issues such as human aging, pollution, world hunger, and poverty.
The book also considers the social and philosophical ramifications of these changes, maintaining a radically optimistic view of the future course of human development.
Let my people go surfing
The Education of a Reluctant Businessman
Yvon Chouinard
This book tells the story of Yvon Chouinard, who brought doing good and having grand adventures into the heart of his business life.
It details his journey from his youth as the son of a French Canadian handyman to his ambitious climbing expeditions that inspired his innovative designs for climbing equipment.
The book also explores how Chouinard built Patagonia into one of the most respected and environmentally responsible companies, emphasizing the importance of sustainability, personal growth, and unconventional business practices.
Where Good Ideas Come From
The Natural History of Innovation
Steven Johnson
In 'Where Good Ideas Come From', Steven Johnson delves into the natural history of innovation by identifying seven key patterns: the adjacent possible, liquid networks, the slow hunch, serendipity, error, exaptation, and platforms.
Johnson argues that innovative ideas often result from slow hunches that develop over time through interactions within 'liquid networks' of diverse minds.
He also highlights the importance of environments that facilitate the mixing and mingling of ideas, such as big cities, which are more innovative due to their superlinear scaling of creativity.
The book draws on historical examples and contemporary cases to illustrate how these patterns contribute to groundbreaking innovations.
Our final invention
James Barrat
In 'Our Final Invention', James Barrat delves into the dangers of artificial intelligence, discussing how AI could surpass human intelligence and lead to unpredictable and potentially catastrophic consequences.
The book explores the ethical implications of AI development and advocates for careful planning to mitigate these risks.
Clay Wilkes is the Founder & CEO @ Galileo, the API standard for card issuing and digital banking, powering many of the leading global FinTech companies including Chime, TransferWise and Monzo to name a few. Prior to their reported $1.2Bn acquisition by SoFi, Clay raised just $86M in funding with Galileo from the likes of Accel and Ryan Smith @ Qualtrics, having run the company as a profitable company before that for over 15 years. Clay also has a keen interest in philanthropy having created the Galileo foundation with his wife in 2005.
In Today’s Episode You Will Learn:
1.) How Clay made his way into the world of tech and startups more than 20 years ago and how he came to build the foundations for many fintechs today with Galileo?
2.) When looking at the current financial ecosystem does Clay believe we are in a phase of bundling or unbundling? Does Clay believe we will see the verticalisation of banking? Will every company become a payments company? Does Clay believe we will see consolidation in the space?
3.) What does Clay believe were the benefits of going 15 years withour raising VC money, building a profitable business? What are the trade offs? What could he have done if he had raised? With hindsight, does Clay wish he had raised earlier? Why was then the right time to raise?
4.) Why does Clay believe the discovery mechanism for VCs finding startups is broken? How did Clay select the venture firm he chose to work with, Accel? What advice does Clay give to board members when it comes to being the best board member to their founders?
5.) Why did Clay believe that selling to SoFi was the right decision? What are the benefits of the merger? How does Clay think about the competitive element that many of Galileo's current clients are competitors with SoFi? How do they remedy and solve for that today?
Items Mentioned In Today’s Show:
Clay’s Fave Book: Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty
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