Wharton FinTech Podcast

Gabriela Ariana Campoverde sits with Michael Bourque, CEO of LendingHome. Since 2013, LendingHome has offered thousands of real estate investors fix-and-flip bridge loans and rental loans. Today, it is the only company focused on serving real estate investors across the entire lifecycle of a transaction. LendingHome leverages a purpose-built software platform that creates structured data that it uses to help its customers be successful. The company has aggregated over 900 million data points across more than 25,000 completed transactions to date. In this episode we discuss: - LendingHome’s award-winning loan origination platform - Products real estate investors are seeking - How LendingHome meets the needs of its users - LendingHome’s culture - Michael’s career and transition into fintech and proptech - And much more! Michael Bourque Michael Bourque is the CEO of LendingHome. Before his position as CEO, Michael was COO and CFO of LendingHome. He was also CFO of Ocwen Financial Corporation and GE Distributed Power. He is a graduate of The Wharton School, where he earned his MBA and the College of Holy Cross, where he studied Mathematics. About LendingHome LendingHome allows you to close more deals and open more doors with its bridge loans and rental loan products as well as its property marketplace. LendingHome is becoming Kiavi. For additional information on LendingHome, please visit lendinghome.com | Twitter: twitter.com/lendinghome For more FinTech insights, follow us below: Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech Gabriela’s Twitter: twitter.com/byGabyC Gabriela’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/gcampoverde

Anirudh Singh sits down with Brett Crosby, CCO of PeerStreet. In this episode they discuss: - Brett's entrepreneurial past - Joining PeerStreet after a decade at Google - The challenges in building a two-sided marketplace - The future for PeerStreet And much more! Brett Crosby > Co-founder and CCO of PeerStreet.com, an Andreessen Horowitz-backed platform for investing in real estate debt with the goal of transforming mortgage finance. > Formerly Director of Product Marketing at Google for Chrome, Gmail, Docs and Drive. Founder and head of strategic growth on Google Analytics. Launched and ran product marketing for Google+, Mobile Ads, Local Ads and more. > Founder, Board member and Vice President of Urchin Software Corporation, acquired by Google in 2005. > Specialties: Business strategy, company culture, product market fit, user growth, product marketing, product development, public speaking, press/media, social, mobile, web analytics, surfing and mountain biking. For more FinTech insights, follow us below: Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/wharton-fintech-club/ WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech Anirudh's Twitter: twitter.com/avsingh_24

Anirudh Singh sits down with Prashant Fuloria, CEO of Fundbox. In this episode they discuss: - Prashant's early career with big tech companies - Navigating SMB lending during the covid-19 pandemic - The SMB recovery by sector - Fundbox's new products, including Flex Pay And much more! Prashant Fuloria: Prashant Fuloria is Chief Executive Officer of Fundbox. With decades of experience in payments and monetization, he has served in a wide variety of leadership, operational, and product roles at prominent technology companies. Prashant's previous leadership roles at Fundbox include Chief Operations Officer and Chief Product Officer, where he led various parts of the business, including core tech functions, product marketing, collections, support, and HR. Prior to joining Fundbox, Prashant served as SVP of Advertising Products at Yahoo, having joined through the acquisition of Flurry, where he was the Chief Product Officer. He also served as Senior Director of Product Management at Facebook, where he led the company's advertising and payment product efforts. Prashant also held the role of Product Director at Google, where he built their global payment platform and managed all of Google’s products for the APAC region. Prashant received a B.Tech. in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi. He also holds an MA in Business research; an MS in Statistics; a Ph.D. minor in Engineering-Economic Systems & Operations Research; and a Ph.D. in Business, all from Stanford University. For more FinTech insights, follow us below: Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/wharton-fintech-club/ WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech Anirudh's Twitter: twitter.com/avsingh_24

Anirudh Singh sits down with Sarah Hammer and Sameer Gupta to discuss launching the Cypher Accelerator. Topics include: - Sameer's work at Point72 - Why Sarah is well-positioned to lead Cypher - Cypher's incredible board of advisors - What excites the two most about Crypto / Blockchain And much more! Sarah Hammer:  Sarah Hammer is Managing Director of the Stevens Center for Innovation in Finance and Senior Director of the Harris Alternative Investments Program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. In these roles, she focuses her efforts on private capital investments and financial technology. Sarah is also Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, teaching an upper-level juris doctor course on financial regulation. Previously, Sarah was Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions and Director of the Office of Financial Institutions Policy at the United States Department of the Treasury. In this role, she led and directed the Department's policy responsibilities involving financial institutions, as well as oversaw the Federal Insurance Office and the Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection and Compliance Policy (cybersecurity). Sarah earned a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a Master of Studies from Oxford University. She is a Harry S. Truman Scholar and a Member of the American Law Institute. Sameer Gupta:  Sameer Gupta is the Head of Data Solutions at Point72 and for the New York Mets. He is responsible for creating end-to-end solutions in data and analytics for all Point72 businesses as well as the Mets. Before joining Point72, Gupta was the chief operating officer at iSentium, an artificial intelligence startup where he led key business functions including sales, business development, fundraising, engineering, and operations. Before iSentium, he was the COO for the Global Electronic Trading and Americas Cash Equities business at JPMorgan. Gupta also served in business development and product management roles at New York Stock Exchange Technologies, and in software development and technology strategy positions at Goldman Sachs. He is also actively involved in the New York City startup community through TechStars and New York University's Endless Frontier Labs. Sameer earned his MBA from Harvard Business School, M.S. in Information Systems Management from Carnegie Mellon, and B.S. in Computer Science from the National Institute of Technology in India.

Gabriela Ariana Campoverde sits down with James Garvey, the CEO and Founder of Self Financial. Since 2015, Self has helped hundreds of thousands of people build a strong financial future. It provides tools necessary for building on-time payment history and responsible use of credit, in collaboration with issuing bank services for those who are new to credit or who might not have access to traditional financial products. Self understands that building a financial foundation is a daunting task for most people, so they’re dedicated to building a product that will help their customers move two steps in the right direction. Last month, Self raised $50MM in a Series E round which included investors like Altos Ventures, Conductive Ventures, and Meritech Capital Partners. In 2020, Self raised a Series C and a Series D round. In this episode we discuss: - Self’s Credit Builder Account - Why a credit history matters - James’s career as a serial entrepreneur - Self’s work culture - And much more! About James Garvey James Garvey is the CEO and Founder of Self Financial. Self is the third start-up company which James launched. He started Self after his own experience building his credit score. He is a graduate of the University of California, Davis where he studied Mathematics. James currently resides in Austin, Texas. To follow him on Twitter visit twitter.com/jkgarvey. About Self Financial Self Financial is a venture-backed fintech startup that helps customers build credit and save money. For additional information on Self Financial, please visit self.inc | Twitter: twitter.com/SelfCreditApp For more FinTech insights, follow us below: Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech Gabriela’s Twitter: twitter.com/byGabyC Gabriela’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/gcampoverde

Anirudh Singh sits down with Meka Asonye, Partner at First Round Capital. In this episode they discuss: - Meka’s early career, including spending time with the Cleveland Indians - Heading Stripe’s Startup/SMB business - How Meka became an angel investor and later decided to join First Round Capital - Being fluent in Pig Latin And much more! Meka Asonye is a Partner at First Round Capital based in San Francisco. Before moving into venture, Meka was an active angel investor backing companies such as Coda, Common Room, Rimeto (acq. by Slack), Snackpass and Stytch. Previously, he served as the VP of Sales & Services at Mixpanel, where he ran the more than 100-person global revenue team and owned the customer lifecycle from first website visit to renewal. Before Mixpanel, Meka spent four years at Stripe as it scaled from 250 to 2000 people and matured its sales org. When he first joined in 2016, Meka served as one of the payments company’s early account executives, leading their first attempts to go upmarket and land enterprise logos. For the next three years, he headed up Stripe’s Startup/SMB business, which involved launching outbound sales, optimizing self-serve, building a customer success function, opening new offices, and finding creative ways to holistically support startup customers. Prior to joining Stripe, Meka served as Case Team Leader at Bain in San Francisco, partnering with the C-Suites of Fortune 50 companies across different verticals. Meka started his career working in Player Development & Baseball Operations for the Cleveland Indians, where managed operations of the Minor League system and advised the General Manager on Major League roster and payroll allocation through advanced statistical analysis. Meka earned a Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude in Economics and Finance from Princeton and his MBA from Harvard Business School. He's an instrument rated private pilot and diehard Chicago Bears fan. For more FinTech insights, follow us below: Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/wharton-fintech-club/ WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech Anirudh's Twitter: twitter.com/avsingh_24

Anirudh Singh sits down with Renaud Laplanche, CEO and Co-founder of Upgrade. In this episode they discuss: - Launching Upgrade after the success of Lending Club - Upgrade's unique product offering, including bitcoin rewards and debit card rewards - What Renaud looks for when partnering with Venture Capital firms - Milestones to reach before taking a company public And much more! Renaud Laplanche Renaud is the co-founder and CEO of Upgrade, Inc. a neobank that offers affordable and responsible credit to mainstream consumers. Under his leadership, Upgrade has reached profitability and a $3Bn+ valuation within 4 years of launch. Prior to Upgrade, Renaud founded and ran Lending Club for 10 years. He took the company public, reaching a market capitalization of $10 billion in December 2014. At Lending Club, Renaud pioneered consumer fintech and grew the company to become the largest provider of personal loans in America. Renaud was ranked #23 in Bloomberg Markets’ 2015 Most Influential List, an annual ranking of the World’s top 50 most influential leaders across technology, finance, and politics. He was also recognized at the Clinton Global Initiative by President Clinton for expanding access to affordable and responsible credit. In 2014, he won the Economist Innovation Award in the consumer products category and was named the "best start-up CEO to work for" by Business Insider. Renaud was named “Fintech Executive of the Year” by Finovate in 2020. He also holds the Newport-Bermuda world speed sailing record. About Upgrade Upgrade is a neobank that offers affordable and responsible credit to mainstream consumers through personal loans and cards, together with credit monitoring and education tools that help consumers better understand and manage their money. Over $7 billion in loans and cards have been originated by the Upgrade platform since its inception in 2017. Upgrade is headquartered in San Francisco, California. More information is available at: www.upgrade.com. For more FinTech insights, follow us below: Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/wharton-fintech-club/ WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech Anirudh's Twitter: twitter.com/avsingh_24

Gabriela Ariana Campoverde sits down with Michelle Tran and Sasha Pilch, co-founders of NYC Fintech Women, an organization which promotes gender equality through diversity in the fintech community. Founded in 2017, NYC Fintech Women connects, promotes and empowers women in their professional advancement in the fintech industry. Today, they have over 7,000 members across startups, traditional finance and VCs. They host monthly events in collaboration with fintechs such as Adyen, Stash, and Plaid as well as institutional enterprises such as Deutsche Bank, Google, Shearman & Sterling, and Silicon Valley Bank. Over the past year, NYC Fintech Women expanded its reach by building an online platform to reach out to members nationwide with educational and networking opportunities. Most recently, they also launched Talk of Her Town, a podcast which features inspiring women in fintech. In this episode we discuss: - What motivated Michelle and Sasha to grow this network - NYC Fintech Women’s humble beginnings - Michelle and Sasha’s careers in fintech - Opinions on what’s hot and exciting in fintech today - What’s next for NYC Fintech Women - And much more! Michelle Tran Michelle Tran is a Co-Founder of NYC Fintech Women. When she is not managing NYC Fintech Women, Michelle is an advisor for Harness Wealth, a wealth tech platform for individuals with complex financial situations to gain access to a curated network of industry-leading financial advisors, CPA, and trust & estate attorneys. She is also a founding member of Dreamers // Doers, a highly curated, female-focused collaboration and co-mentorship community, consisting of an ever-growing powerful network of entrepreneurs, investors, and advisors. She is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz where she studied Politics and Economics. She also holds a Certificate of International Business from the University of Cambridge. Michelle currently resides in San Francisco. To follow her on Twitter visit twitter.com/fintechmichelle. Sasha Pilch Sasha Pilch is a Co-Founder of NYC Fintech Women. Aside from managing NYC Fintech Women, Sasha is the Sales Lead at Pinwheel, a NYC VC-backed startup company, building the infrastructure that will power the future of finance. She has worked in Sales in multiple start-up companies, including Ramp, Plaid, and Quovo. Sasha also has international work experience, having worked in the United Kingdom and Australia in banks including Citi, Commonwealth Bank, and the Royal Bank of Scotland. She is a graduate of the University of Technology, Sydney where she studied Management and Marketing. Sasha currently resides in New York. To follow her on Twitter visit twitter.com/sashafintech. About NYC Fintech Women NYC Fintech Women connects, promotes and empowers women in their professional advancement in the fintech industry. For additional information on NYC Fintech Women, please visit nycfintechwomen.com | Twitter: twitter.com/nycfintechwomen For more FinTech insights, follow us below: Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech Gabriela’s Twitter: twitter.com/byGabyC Gabriela’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/gcampoverde

Anirudh Singh sits down with Phillip Klein, CEO and co-founder of FinLync. In this episode they discuss: - Phillips background in consulting and financial services - The transition towards becoming a founder - The corporate treasury renaissance - Fostering a strong culture and strong values in an international company - The flight of talent towards fintech companies And much more! Phillip Ashley Klein: Phillip Ashley Klein is the co-founder and CEO driving FinLync’s mission of bringing the ease, modernity, and elegance of consumer banking to corporate treasuries with ERP-native Apps and bank APIs that create a data-rich, real-time global infrastructure that empowers finance and treasury professionals. As the architect of the business, Phillip takes great care in ensuring that the talent and diversity within the company, extensive expertise in technology and finance, a laser focus on customer satisfaction, and a constant drive for innovation are the cornerstones of FinLync’s vision of creating solutions that empower today’s corporate treasurer. Prior to co-founding FinLync, Phillip led the digital banking practice at Deloitte Consulting where he was one of youngest practice leaders in recent history. He has deep expertise in advising Fortune 500 CEOs and C-Suite in aspects of digital and growth strategy, innovation and complex transformation For more FinTech insights, follow us below: Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/wharton-fintech-club/ WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech Anirudh's Twitter: twitter.com/avsingh_24

Gabriela Ariana Campoverde sits down with Sameer Gulati, Chief Operating Officer of Plastiq, a fintech company that makes it easier for cardholders to earn credit card rewards, tap early-payment discounts, and use cash in the ways that make the most sense for their lives. For small businesses, Plastiq solves day-to-day payments problems for them and helps them get better access to cash flow. Today this fintech is advancing innovative payment solutions to more than 150 countries around the world. Founded in 2012, Plastiq has processed billions of dollars. It is backed by Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, and Alumni Ventures Group, among others. Sameer has an impressive career working with fintech companies through his time as COO at Plastiq and formerly at Lending Club and McKinsey & Company. In this episode we discuss: - How Plastiq addresses the working capital gap businesses often face - The importance of credit for Plastiq users - Insights which led to the company’s focus on small businesses - Sameer’s career from software engineering to consultant to COO - The company’s culture and GOAT values - And much more! Sameer Gulati Sameer Gulati is the Chief Operating Officer of Plastiq. Prior to joining Plastiq, Sameer served as Chief Operating Officer of Lending Club, a fintech company that provides a range of financial products and services through a technology-driven platform in the United States. It was the first peer-to-peer lender to register its offerings as securities with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the first to offer loan trading on a secondary market. Before joining the fintech world, Sameer was a partner at McKinsey & Company, where he became a leader in banking, payments and lending. Sameer started his career as a software engineer. He is a graduate of the Booth School of Business at The University of Chicago, where he earned his Masters in Business Administration and Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, where he studied Chemical Engineering and Computer Science. Sameer has global experience in fintech companies. To follow him on Twitter visit twitter.com/thesameergulati. About Plastiq Plastiq allows business owners and savvy consumers to use their credit cards to pay for virtually anything, even their rent which would normally require a check. For additional information on Plastiq, please visit plastiq.com | Twitter: twitter.com/payplastiq For more FinTech insights, follow us below: Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech Gabriela’s Twitter: twitter.com/byGabyC Gabriela’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/gcampoverde