Wharton FinTech Podcast ICONIQ General Partner, Yoonkee Sull - Finding Edge in Fintech and Building Enduring Companies
Jun 27, 2025
Yoonkee Sull, General Partner at ICONIQ Growth, is a fintech veteran who has invested in major firms like Adyen and Chime. He discusses how startups can navigate and exploit legacy banks' weaknesses through innovative distribution and embedded finance. Yoonkee emphasizes the importance of understanding your customer and the evolving role of AI and blockchain in the industry. He shares insights on building lasting founder partnerships and distinguishes between sound unit economics and market hype, making this conversation a treasure trove for investors and founders alike.
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Early Roots Led To Venture
- Yoonkee Sull traced his VC interest to growing up with an engineer father and the 1990s internet wave.
- He moved from investment banking to join ICONIQ Growth as one of its first associates to pursue venture investing.
Scale With Network And Operations
- ICONIQ scaled from a small team to ~100 people across cities while preserving network-driven partnership culture.
- They built ops teams (analytics, technical, go-to-market) and later hired longtime operator partners to deepen support.
Treat Relationships As Long-Term
- Build relationships by giving more than you take and showing up consistently for community.
- Treat investor-founder ties as long-term partnerships, not transactions.
