
The Financial Samurai Podcast Mezzi: The AI Investment Advisor That Saved Me Over $20,000
Sep 9, 2026
Manish Jain, a former J.P. Morgan portfolio manager and co-founder of Mezzi, discusses his leap into entrepreneurship and the rise of AI-powered wealth management. They explore hidden portfolio overlaps, fee drag, real estate and collectibles, persistent financial context, tax-aware guidance, and why specialized financial AI may outperform general chatbots. The conversation also looks at trust, privacy, and Mezzi’s roadmap beyond investing.
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Episode notes
Ignore Startup Playbooks When Technology Changes
- Treat startup building as a demanding exercise requiring focus rather than following a supposedly universal playbook.
- Manish Jain learned that AI’s rapid evolution makes many traditional technology-building lessons obsolete.
COVID Turned Travel Into An Entrepreneurial Leap
- Manish Jain left work, traveled with his wife, and endured COVID-related uncertainty while developing entrepreneurial ideas.
- He eventually chose the path he felt most passionate about despite having no easy financial runway.
Why Manish Jain Spent Months Co-Founder Dating
- Manish Jain spent six to eight months finding a compatible co-founder while independently developing his idea.
- He met CTO Hirsch through On Deck after deliberately treating partnership as a serious selection process.

