Acquired Acquired Season 3 Episode 7: Venmo (live with Andrew Kortina)
Oct 29, 2018
Andrew Kortina, a co-founder of Venmo, reminisces about transforming a college project into a fintech phenomenon that processed $17B last quarter. He shares tales from their dorm room beginnings and the challenges of user engagement and fundraising. The conversation dives into the innovative advertising strategies that fueled Venmo's growth and the impact of humor in marketing. Additionally, they discuss Venmo’s role within PayPal and Kortina's exciting new venture, FIN, aimed at revolutionizing digital assistance.
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Early Startup Hustles at Penn
- Andrew Kortina and his freshman roommate Iggram bonded through a shared love of Craigslist and early startup attempts.
- They hustled with web projects before pivoting to consumer products, laying the foundation for Venmo.
Social Feed Born from BlackBerry Use
- The Venmo social newsfeed originated from blackBerry users transacting and messaging via Venmo.
- This real-world social activity inspired the embedding of payment updates into the app.
From Concert Payments to General Use
- Venmo initially aimed to enable musicians to receive text-based payments at concerts.
- This evolved into a broader app allowing anyone to accept payments anytime.