Fintech Takes x Pipe presents Vertical SaaS: Fintech Disruption by a Thousand Cuts Episode 1: A Crash Course in vSaaS

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Sep 22, 2025

In this engaging discussion, Luke Voiles, CEO of Pipe and former leader of small-business fintech at Intuit and Square, dives deep into the world of vertical SaaS. He shares his journey through credit investing and outlines how vSaaS platforms are revolutionizing embedded finance by integrating capital seamlessly into workflows. Luke explains the growth dynamics of these platforms, highlighting the massive market opportunity driven by sole proprietors. The conversation also touches on the challenges banks face with micro-merchants and the future of automated underwriting.

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ANECDOTE

From Credit Investing To QuickBooks Capital

Luke moved from distressed credit investing to build QuickBooks Capital after being recruited by Alex Chriss.
He scaled QuickBooks Capital to $2.7B annual volume and learned deep customer-focused product building at Intuit.

INSIGHT

Task-Centered Definition Of Vertical SaaS

Vertical SaaS focuses on the customer's daily tasks and tailors software to those workflows.
That task-centric fit creates deep product-market fit for specific industries like salons and plumbers.

INSIGHT

Payments Were The First Embedded Piece

Payments was the first horizontal service to be absorbed into vertical SaaS, improving UX by integrating acceptance into workflows.
Vertical players beat horizontal incumbents in specific industries because they solve many tasks beyond payments.

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Welcome to our new miniseries, Vertical SaaS: Fintech Disruption by a Thousand Cuts, sponsored by our friends at Pipe.

This six-part miniseries explores how Vertical SaaS (vSaaS) platforms are becoming the operating systems for every industry. They’re experiencing tremendous growth because they solve the challenges unique to SMB owners. Increasingly, those challenges are met by embedding financial products and services directly into the workflows SMBs rely on every day.

In each episode, hosts Alex Johnson and Luke Voiles sit down with a vSaaS executive to unpack their journey — how they defined strategy, chose partners, launched products, and scaled responsibly.

In Episode 1, Alex kicks things off with Luke himself.

From credit investing to building small business lending at Intuit and Square (and to his current role as CEO of Pipe), Luke shares his journey and explains why vertical SaaS is *the* perfect channel for embedded finance: trusted software brands delivering capital at the exact point of need…which makes capital feel like part of the workflow instead of an interruption.

Don’t miss the kickoff, and subscribe now to catch future episodes and insights!

Thanks for listening!

This episode was brought to you by Pipe. Pipe helps vertical SaaS platforms unlock fast, flexible capital, right inside their product. Learn more at https://pipe.com/fintechtakes

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