Wharton FinTech Podcast

Tarang Gupta hosts Rob Petrozzo, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Rally, a digital platform for buying & selling equity shares in collectible assets. In this episode you will hear about - Rob’s journey from a designer to a fintech entrepreneur - Types of collectibles available on Rally - How Rally selects and price collectibles - Why collectibles must be a part of a 21st century portfolio - Rob’s opinion on NFTs vs physical collectibles And much more! About Rob Petrozzo Born and raised in Brooklyn, Rob was the first in his family to graduate from college. He studied Marketing Communication and Graphic Design at Philadelphia University. After college, he launched a boutique consulting firm and began a prolific career in design. Rob was quickly recognized and began designing for Kayne West, John Legend, Young Geezy, and DJ Drama. Rob regretted missed investment opportunities in fine art and collectibles because he didn’t have access to cash. For Rob, Rally’s mission is to provide access to collectibles by offering fractional ownership to the enthusiast-class. About Rally Rally is the pioneer alternative investing platform for blue-chip and digital collectibles, including classic cars, sports memorabilia, Birkin Bags, watches, and NFTs, totaling over 400 assets in 19+ different categories. The platform has over 400,000 users. For more FinTech insights, follow us on WFT Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Instagram: instagram.com/whartonfintech Tarang’s Twitter: twitter.com/tg_tarang Tarang’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/taranggupta100

Tarang Gupta hosts Archie Ravishankar, Founder and CEO of Cogni, a digital platform on a mission to provide easy, transparent and accessible banking and lifestyle services. In this episode you will hear about - What sets Cogni apart from other digital banks - Why Cogni decided to enter the Web3 space - How a non custodial crypto wallet works - Importance of sticking to one’s core values in business - One innovator that Archie admires And much more! About Archie Ravishankar Archie is the Founder and CEO of Cogni. Prior to Cogni, Archie was Investment Director at Manor Estate Family Office, Board Member at GP Pacific Engineering and Construction, and Director of Partnerships and Strategy at Hudooku Solutions. Archie is currently a Forbes Finance Council Member, a Board Member of Howard Brain Sciences Foundation, and a Board Member of Centre for Advanced Defense Studies. About Cogni Founded in 2018 with the idea that anyone, anywhere should be able to access personalized financial and lifestyle services, Cogni is a digital platform that provides easy access to Web2 and Web3 services (traditional finance, crypto, NFT’S, gaming and meta verse). For more FinTech insights, follow us on WFT Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Instagram: instagram.com/whartonfintech Tarang’s Twitter: twitter.com/tg_tarang Tarang’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/taranggupta100

Tarang Gupta and Nidhi Singh host Alex Harris, Founding Partner at Fiat Growth and GP at Fiat Ventures. Fiat Growth is a growth shop focused on data backed decision making, innovation, iteration and execution. In this episode you will hear about - Alex’s experience of working at high-growth fintech startups - Fiat's belief in supporting founders from underrepresented communities - Interesting trends in the fintech industry - Why Alex prioritized happiness over money in his career And much more! About Alex Harris Alex is the Founding Partner of Fiat Growth and is a General Partner at Fiat Ventures. Alex possess deep experience as a growth operator, most recently he led Paid Growth and Partnerships at Chime, leading them from Series A to Unicorn status at Series D. At Fiat, Alex has helped many fintech brands grow including Bestow, Sundae, Root, Trellis, Simplist and Greenwood among others. Alex holds an undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley, as well as a Juris Doctorate and MBA from Seattle University. About Fiat Growth Fiat Growth is the market leading growth shop in the startup space built to optimize growth in a capital efficient way without sacrificing the need for top talent. The diverse team includes leaders from Chime, SoFi, Paypal, Credit Karma, Steady, Unison, Ripple, Amex and other market leaders. With headquarters in SF and NYC, the team offers holistic growth tailored to a company's individual needs and goals. Areas of expertise include: Go-To-Market Strategy, Lifecycle, Referral, Paid Growth, Design, Affiliate and Strategic Partnerships, Influencer Marketing and Investment Advisory. For more FinTech insights, follow us on WFT Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Instagram: instagram.com/whartonfintech Tarang’s Twitter: twitter.com/tg_tarang Tarang’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/taranggupta100

Tarang Gupta and Nidhi Singh host Miguel Fernandez, CEO and Co-founder at Capchase, a growth partner for SaaS companies providing flexible and non-dilutive funding. In this episode you will hear about - Miguel’s entrepreneurial journey from Europe to the US - Challenges that SaaS companies face with upfront costs - Why Miguel enjoyed his time at Harvard Business School but still chose to dropout - How Capchase is enabling capital access for small businesses And much more! About Miguel Fernandez Miguel is Co-founder and CEO of Capchase, he lives and breathes SaaS and is constantly thinking about how to solve founders’ needs around cash and revenue management. Miguel suffered most of the pains that Capchase is trying to solve while scaling sales, customer success and international at Geoblink, before pursuing an MBA at Harvard Business School and dropping out to start Capchase in early 2020. When not at work, Miguel loves helping founders that are just starting out to help them achieve product market fit as fast as possible. About Capchase Founded in 2020, Capchase's mission is to help SaaS companies grow their businesses faster through non-dilutive capital, market insights, and community support. For more FinTech insights, follow us on WFT Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Instagram: instagram.com/whartonfintech Tarang’s Twitter: twitter.com/tg_tarang Tarang’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/taranggupta100

Andrew Janssens hosts Peter Lord, CEO and Founder of Codat. Peter founded Codat, "the universal API for small business data" in 2017. Codat connects small businesses' consented data from banking, accounting and commerce platforms to fintechs and financial institutions. In June 2022, Codat raised a $100M Series C from investors including: JP Morgan, PayPal, Shopify and Plaid. In this episode you will hear about: - Pete's start in Computer Science and SMB lending, and how it led him to found Codat - What being "the Universal API for Small Business" means to Codat - Open Banking and Codat's proposal for Open Finance - Compare and contrast on the fintech scenes in the UK and USA - And much, much more! For more FinTech insights, follow us below: WFT Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Instagram: instagram.com/whartonfintech Andrew’s Twitter: twitter.com/Adhjanssens Andrew’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/andrew-p-janssens/

Tarang Gupta hosts TX Zhuo, General Partner, and Gabriella Brignardello, Vice President at Fika Ventures, a seed-fund investing in fintech, enterprise software, and marketplaces. In this episode you will hear about: - Fika Ventures' manifesto of "whole stories, not headlines" - How to be an effective investor - Interesting startups that Fika has invested in - Segments that TX and Gabriella believe will drive the growth of fintech And much more! About Gabriella Brignardello Gabriella began her career at EY-Parthenon. After three years in consulting, she transitioned to a venture role at WndrCo, a consumer technology holding company, before joining Fika Ventures in 2021. She is also involved in fundraising and operational initiatives for Mi Casa de Angeles, a nonprofit she founded in 2009. Gabriella holds a BS in Symbolic Systems from Stanford University. About TX Zhuo TX has been involved with startups since his college days where he started and sold an online college textbook marketplace. After a stint at McKinsey, he came back to his roots and served as the CFO for an electric vehicle startup. In 2012, he co-founded Karlin Ventures, based in Los Angeles, where he served as the managing partner for 4 years before co-founding Fika Ventures. TX holds an MBA from Stanford GSB. About Fika Ventures Fika Ventures is an LA-based seed fund that invests in founders solving meaningful, systemic problems through the use of data, related AI-enabled technologies, and automation, especially in the fintech, enterprise software, marketplaces, and digital health sectors. For more FinTech insights, follow us on WFT Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Instagram: instagram.com/whartonfintech Tarang’s Twitter: twitter.com/tg_tarang Tarang’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/taranggupta100

Vishal Garg, Founder & CEO at Better, shares his belief in credit as a socio-economic equalizer and the inspiration behind Better. They discuss Better's unique marketplace model and Vishal's desire to change one professional decision. Explore the career journey in FinTech, the automation of mortgage approvals, the mortgage industry's overview and key stakeholders, Better's evolving revenue sources and customer segments, and the potential use of data analysis in decision-making processes.

Nihar Bobba hosts Seema Amble, a partner focused on fintech investments at a16z. She primarily focuses on B2B fintech, such as payments, CFO tools, and vertical software, globally. She serves on the boards of Mvmnt and Stoik. Prior to joining Andreessen Horowitz, Seema had been investing in fintech for over a decade. She was a vice president at Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, a venture growth fund, where she focused on leading investments in fintech and Latin America. Previously, she worked at LeapFrog Investments, an emerging markets fund, and at Altamont Capital Partners. She began her career at Blackstone. Seema also worked at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau while in law school. Seema has a BA in Economics, magna cum laude, and a JD/MBA from Harvard University, where she was a Baker Scholar. In this episode you will hear about: - Seema's path into fintech - Her thoughts on fintech business models in emerging markets - Why she's excited about b2b payments, and a whole lot more

Tarang Gupta hosts Alfred Chuang, Founder and General Partner at Race Capital, a venture capital firm that invests, builds, and partners with exceptional founders building the future. In this episode you will hear about: - What Alfred loves about a venture's journey from zero to one - Web3 and its influence on the future of fintech - Achieving repeated success as an entrepreneur - Economic downturns and its hidden opportunities for VCs And much more! About Alfred Chuang Alfred is the Founder and General Partner at Race Capital. Recognized by Andreessen Horowitz as “Silicon Valley CEO’s CEO”, Alfred is an accomplished entrepreneur, having co-founded and taken BEA Systems public. Prior to BEA, Alfred spent eight years and a half years at Sun Microsystems where he led product development and network infrastructure. Alfred received a B.S. in computer science from the University of San Francisco and a Master’s degree in computer science from the University of California, Davis. About Race Capital Based in San Francisco, Race Capital invests in seed, pre-seed, and few idea stage companies and is generally focused on all things B2B/Enterprise on the infrastructure layers of the tech stack. For more FinTech insights, follow us on WFT Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Instagram: instagram.com/whartonfintech Tarang’s Twitter: twitter.com/tg_tarang Tarang’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/taranggupta100

Tarang Gupta hosts Patrick Gauthier, CEO at Convera, the largest non-bank B2B cross-border payments company in the world. In this episode you will hear about - What makes Convera the dominant player in cross-border payments - Countries that are going to drive the future of fintech - Operational differences in B2B vs B2C financial services organizations - What working with Jeff Bezos is like And much more About Patrick Gauthier Patrick joined as the CEO of Convera in 2021 after having held senior leadership roles at Amazon, PayPal, and Visa. He has deep expertise in developing high-performance teams and building high-growth businesses. Patrick holds several patents related to payment systems and is a recognized thought leader on the future of commerce and payments, with recurring appearances on CNBC and at industry conferences. Patrick holds a master's degree in Computer Science from Telecom SudParis in France. About Convera Convera is the largest non-bank B2B cross-border payments company in the world. Formerly Western Union Business Solutions, Convera leverages decades of industry expertise and technology-led payment solutions to deliver smarter money movements to customers. In 2020, Convera processed over $110 billion in transactions, with a customer base of more than 30,000 small and medium-sized businesses, educational institutions, financial institutions, law firms, and NGOs spanning over 40 countries and territories and 140 currencies. For more FinTech insights, follow us on WFT Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Instagram: instagram.com/whartonfintech Tarang’s Twitter: twitter.com/tg_tarang Tarang’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/taranggupta100