Wharton FinTech Podcast

Anirudh Singh sits down with Ben Miller, CEO and co-founder of Fundrise. In this episode they discuss: - His career in real estate investing - Growing Fundrise into the 20th largest real estate investor in the world - Democratizing real estate investing and the overall growth of fractional investing - His outlook on the real estate market - The impact of cryptocurrency on the fintech industry And much more! Ben Miller: Ben Miller is CEO and co-founder of Fundrise, America's largest real estate investment platform. Now with over 150,000 active individual investors and more than $1.5 billion worth of equity under management, Fundrise has made high-tech, low-cost real estate investing available to everyone. Founded in 2012, Fundrise is on a mission to use technology to build a better financial system for the individual. With over 20 years of experience in real estate investment and development, Ben Miller’s responsibilities cover day-to-day management, real estate investment oversight, and corporate finance, as well as setting the long-term strategy and goals for the company. Prior to Fundrise, Ben was managing partner of WestMill Capital Partners and President of Western Development Corp., one of the largest mixed-use real estate development companies in the Washington, DC metro area. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, he sits on the board of National Center for Children and Families. 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 Carey O’Connor Kolaja, CEO of AU10TIX. In this episode they discuss: - Her background at PayPal and Citi - Key leadership lessons she has picked up over the past 20 years - Working towards identity literacy - Transitioning into CEO of AU10TIX And much more! Carey O’Connor Kolaja: Carey O'Connor Kolaja is an entrepreneur, investor and global leader focused on redefining how “trusted access" is granted to individuals and entities. Throughout her career, Carey has been known as an innovator, disrupter and operator who can drive from start-up to scale-up. A thought leader in the financial services and payments industry, Carey has been exploring the intersection of payments, identity and adaptive technologies for more than 25 years and is on a mission to create a more inclusive and secure world. Carey is chief executive officer of AU10TIX, the global leader in automated identity intelligence and cyber fraud prevention. In this capacity, Carey is responsible for establishing and driving the overall business strategy and day-to-day operations, leading a team charged with enabling companies to onboard faster, prevent fraud, meet compliance mandates, and establish trust with their customers. Prior to AU10TIX, Carey was the global chief product officer at Citi Fintech and vice president of global consumer products at PayPal. In these roles she was responsible for the global product vision in service to hundreds of millions of consumers around the world. She led international teams charged with designing, deploying and operating global product and commercial strategies for consumer products to effectively serve the local needs and interests of customers in the 200+ markets they serve. Carey has a B.S. from the University of Indiana Business School and is an executive program graduate 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

Miguel Armaza sits down with Alex Taussig, Partner at Lightspeed Ventures, a global multi-stage VC with over $10B in AUM, focused on accelerating disruptive innovations and trends in the Enterprise and Consumer sectors. They’ve backed some amazing companies, including Snap, Affirm, and GrubHub. Alex focuses on online marketplaces and co-leads Lightspeed’s investment efforts in Latin America. He is also the author of the popular weekly newsletter, DRINKING FROM THE FIREHOSE, in which he writes about recent trends in commerce, media, tech, climate, science, and popular culture. In this episode, we discuss - Alex’s story and why he decided to stop pursuing a Phd and left academia to join the tech investing world - The intersection of marketplaces and fintech and why the payment technology is the motor oil that makes transactions flow smoothly for marketplaces - Why in Venture Capital it’s very important to ask the best possible questions and pay close attention to the answers that reveal an underlying truth - Early investing mistakes and the importance of focus - Lessons from several years of writing a successful newsletter… and a lot more! Alex Taussig Alex joined Lightspeed in 2016 as a partner on the consumer investment team and has spent 12+ years in venture capital. He is passionate about partnering with founders who are reimagining major categories of commerce using technology. At Lightspeed, Alex has led investments in startups disrupting massive industries like food (Daily Harvest, Frubana), retail (Faire), education (Outschool), and weddings (Zola). He also co-leads Lightspeed’s investment efforts in Latin America. Prior to joining Lightspeed, Alex was a partner at Highland Capital Partners, where he led investments in and supported over a dozen companies, including thredUP (IPO TDUP, 2021), Carbon Black (IPO CBLK, 2018), 2U (IPO 2014, TWOU), and RentJuice (acquired by Zillow, 2012). Alex is a trained research scientist and breaks down business problems with deductive logic and analytical rigor. He originally studied physics at Harvard College, where he graduated summa cum laude, and then went on to receive a Master’s degree in materials engineering from MIT, where he was part of a research group building the first fully optical computer chip. Alex also received an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he was a Baker Scholar, an honor given to the top 5% of the graduating class. Alex publishes a popular weekly(ish) newsletter called DRINKING FROM THE FIREHOSE, in which he writes about recent trends in commerce, media, tech, climate, science, and popular culture. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and two children and enjoys baking, anime, and heavy metal music. About Lightspeed Venture Partners Lightspeed Venture Partners is a multi-stage venture capital firm focused on accelerating disruptive innovations and trends in the Enterprise and Consumer sectors. Over the past two decades, the Lightspeed team has backed hundreds of entrepreneurs and helped build more than 400 companies globally, including Snap, Nest, Nutanix, AppDynamics, MuleSoft, OYO, Guardant, Affirm, and GrubHub. Lightspeed and its affiliates currently manage $10.5B across the global Lightspeed platform, with investment professionals and advisors in Silicon Valley, Israel, India, China, Southeast Asia, and Europe. For more FinTech insights, follow us below: Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech Miguel's Twitter: twitter.com/MiguelArmaza Miguel's Newsletter: https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp

Miguel Armaza sits down with Sean Salas, Co-Founder and CEO of Camino Financial, a Fintech company pioneering access to affordable credit to underbanked Latino businesses. Since inception, the company has raised over $125 in debt and equity from top industry investors. Sean grew up in between Mexico and the US and holds and got his MBA at Harvard Business School. In this episode, we discuss: - Sean’s journey between the US and Mexico - Launching Camino Financial while at Harvard Business School and the incredible benefits of using your MBA time to start a company - The importance of serving SMBs and how the company is leveraging technology to provide a more inclusive solution and improve underwriting decisions - How Camino Financial continues to innovative and why cultural nuances are important for clients - Lessons and reflections for aspiring entrepreneurs… and a lot more! Sean Salas Sean Salas is the CEO and Co-Founder of Camino Financial, a fintech platform pioneering access to affordable credit to underbanked Latinx businesses. He is often featured as a commentator discussing FinTech and Latino entrepreneurship, including appearances on Univision, CNN, and Discovery Channel. Sean also sits on the board of two non-profit organizations, the US-Mexico Foundation and the Harvard Business School Latino Alumni Association (HBSLAA). Sean co-founded Camino Financial with his twin brother, Kenny Salas. The twin brothers were raised by an entrepreneurial mother, who built and lost her business. While completing their MBAs at Harvard Business School, the Twins co-founded Camino Financial under the notion of never leaving a small business owner behind. As CEO of Camino Financial, Sean has built a team of over 50 employees distributed globally and raised over $125 million in debt and equity. Previously, Sean worked in private equity and investment banking. Throughout his experience, Sean oversaw four portfolio companies with combined revenue of over $250 million, invested close to $50 million in direct equity investments, and structured $1.2 billion in debt financings. Sean has a BA from UC Berkeley and an MBA from Harvard Business School. About Camino Financial Camino Financial is the first AI-powered Community Development Financial Institution (“neo-CDFI”) expanding access to credit for underserved Latinx entrepreneurs in the U.S. Camino is uniquely positioned to offer affordable loans as it combines its proprietary AI technology with access to CDFI designated low-cost capital and resources. Camino Financial has also produced the largest bilingual content hub to empower Latinx entrepreneurs to thrive and graduate into lower-cost, longer-term credit products. For more FinTech insights, follow us below: Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech Miguel's Twitter: twitter.com/MiguelArmaza Miguel's Newsletter: https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp

I sit down with Patrick Burns, CEO and Co-founder of Spruce, a proptech powering online real estate transactions that’s on a mission to build a one-click checkout experience for real estate transactions. Spruce has raised more than $50M from investors including Bessemer Venture Partners, Scale Venture Partners, and Third Prime. Mr. Burns is based in NYC and holds an MA in Statistics from Yale and a BA in Physics from Oxford. We discuss - Patrick’s journey from Scotland to the heart of fintech in NYC - Digitization of the real estate market and why shifting consumer expectations are driving innovation and a better customer experience - Importance of thinking of company culture from day one and how they’ve built a culture of decentralized and autonomy - Reflections and lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs… And just a lot more including the ideal itinerary for your next visit to Scotland! Patrick Burns Patrick is the CEO and co-founder of Spruce, the proptech company powering online real estate transactions. Spruce has raised more than $50M from investors including Bessemer Venture Partners, Scale Venture Partners, and Third Prime. Prior to founding Spruce in 2016, Patrick was a product manager at Betterment, the largest automated investment service with $20B under management. He holds an MA in Statistics from Yale, and a BA in Physics from Oxford. About Spruce Spruce is the proptech company on a mission to build the one-click checkout experience for real estate transactions. The company is digitizing real estate transactions for forward-thinking real estate companies and mortgage lenders. By leveraging proprietary technology and best-in-class operations, Spruce provides a seamless, affordable solution. Spruce was founded by Andrew Weisgall and Patrick Burns in 2016, and is headquartered in New York with hubs across the U.S. For more FinTech insights, follow us below: Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech Miguel's Twitter: twitter.com/MiguelArmaza Miguel's Newsletter: https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp

Anirudh Singh sits down with Peter Sanborn, Head of Corporate Development at PayPal and Managing Partner of PayPal Ventures. In this episode they discuss: - Peter’s early career at HSBC - Transitioning to PayPal and launching PayPal Ventures - Developing a thematic investing approach - Leveraging PayPal’s broader network to invest globally And much more! Peter Sanborn: Peter Sanborn serves as Vice President, Head of Corporate Development at PayPal and Managing Partner of PayPal Ventures, responsible for identifying, evaluating and executing global M&A and corporate venture capital investments. At PayPal since 2014, Peter is focused on the intersection of financial services, commerce and technology and on providing strategic thought leadership and business insights within PayPal and to PayPal's venture portfolio companies as an investor & board observer. He has led or helped manage the acquisitions of Honey, Xoom, Hyperwallet, Swift Capital, Happy Returns and Paydiant as well as investments in Acorns, Toss, Pine Labs, Tala, Paidy, Paxos, Neon, Divvy, Flutterwave and MercadoLibre. Prior to PayPal, Peter worked in financial services at HSBC for over nine years in Asia (Hong Kong) and Latin America (Mexico City) in M&A/investment, strategy, finance and investor relations roles. Peter enjoys working with passionate entrepreneurs and serves as an advisory board member for Village Capital’s US Fintech program and as a mentor in the Endeavor network. 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

Miguel Armaza sits down with the amazing Sebastian Kreis, Co-Founder/Co-CEO of Xepelin, a Latin American fintech company that aims to be the leading SME digital bank in the region. Founded in 2019 by Sebastian and Nicolas de Camino, they are one of the fastest growing fintechs in the history of Latam, having loaned more than $400 million in the last couple of years, onboarded over 4,000 clients, and have been doubling in size every three months throughout the last year. They are also backed by some of the best fintech investors, including Kaszek, DST Global, Picus Capital, FJ Labs, Gilgamesh Ventures, Jackie Reses, and many more. In this episode, we discuss - Sebastian’s journey and what inspired him to pursue an entrepreneurial career in fintech - The importance of a strong co-founder relationship and how Sebastian and Nico work together - Company culture and why honesty and transparency are at the very center of Xepelin - The dramatic reality that almost 95% of Latin American companies are unbanked or underbanked and how Xepelin is fixing this - Lessons for entrepreneurs, fundraising reflections… And just a lot more! Sebastian Kreis Sebastian is Co-Founder & Co-CEO at Xepelin, a Latin American fintech company that aims to be the leading SME digital bank in Latam. Prior to Xepelin, he was a Consultant at BCG where he led a multidisciplinary team to develop and execute several successful fintech products serving Fintech and Financial Services firms with a focus on digitization and technology. He has dedicated his efforts in leading teams and helping organizations to bring new digital experiences. Sebastian's experience goes across digital functions: digital strategy, at scale digital transformations, product development, omnichannel user experience strategy and advanced analytics. Prior to BCG, Sebastian co-founded and scaled Safecard from an idea to $2.0M in recurring revenue. Before Safecard, he was an Investment Banking VP at IM Trust (acquired by Credicorp) where he led over 30 M&A, capital market and private transactions totaling +$10Bn and the company’s international expansion into Peru. Sebastian holds a Master in Business Administration from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business where he was co-president of the Latin American and Hispanic Business Association and co-founded the Haas Fintech Club. He is an Industrial Civil Engineer from Catholic University. He is certified Scrum Master for software development. Sebastian has also been involved in academia, serving in 2010-2013 as part time professor of Managerial Accounting & Corporate Finance in the school of engineering in Catholic University. About Xepelin “We’re reimagining financial services in Latam so every company can focus on operating their business and realize their potential.” Xepelin is a Latin American fintech company that aims to be the leading SME digital bank in Latam. The company was founded in 2019 by Nicolas de Camino and Sebastian Kreis. Thousands of businesses use Xepelin to manage their finances. We’re proud to serve SMBs from all regions and industries in Mexico and Chile, helping founders, managers and their teams stay focused on what they care about most: operating their business. Xepelin is backed by Kaszek, DST Global, Picus Capital, Kayyak Ventures, FJ Labs, Kavak founder Carlos Garcia and ex-head of Square Capital Jackie Reses. Xepelin has raised over $36 million in equity and $250 million in asset-backed facilities to date. For more information, visit https://www.xepelin.com For more FinTech insights, follow us below: Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech Miguel's Twitter: twitter.com/MiguelArmaza Miguel's Newsletter: https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp

Franz Rassman sits down with fintech venture capitalist Howard Mergelkamp. In 2011, Howard Mergelkamp and Miles Kilburn co-founded Mosaik Partners, an expansion-stage venture capital firm investing in commerce-enabling technology companies. Since its founding, Mosaik has invested roughly $150 million in early-stage enterprise fintech companies solving major pain points in large, B2B markets, such as payments, banking, and insurance. We discuss: - Howard’s path to becoming a venture capitalist, which included stops in law, banking, private equity, and operations - Mosaik Partners’ origin story and its investment process - How fintech has changed over the past decade and the changes the next decade will bring - Automatic deal breakers in the due diligence process - And a whole lot more! Howard Mergelkamp Howard Mergelkamp III has over two decades of investment banking, private equity, operating and corporate law experience in financial technology, transaction processing/electronic payments and financial services. Howard has been principal or advisor on over $157 billion of strategic transactions across over 100 completed deals of all types and structures, working with executive management teams and boards at companies with market capitalizations from $1 million to $43 billion. As a founding member of Corporate Ventures and Advisory Services at BlackRock, Inc., Howard managed proprietary investments and third-party mergers and acquisitions in financial technology. As a senior vice president at Regulus Group LLC, he led strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate restructuring. Howard’s advisory experience includes investment banking at Merrill Lynch & Co. – focusing on mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance in electronic payments and financial technology. He practiced corporate law at both Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Cravath, Swaine & Moore — focusing on mergers and acquisitions in banking, asset management, insurance and consumer finance. Howard has a BA, cum laude, in political science and economics from Columbia University, and a JD, magna cum laude, from University of Pennsylvania Law School. About Mosaik Partners Mosaik Partners is an expansion-stage venture capital firm investing in commerce-enabling technology companies. Founded in 2011 by industry veterans Howard Mergelkamp and Miles Kilburn, Mosaik has since deployed $145+ million across roughly 30 investments. To learn more, check out Mosaik Partners. For more FinTech insights, follow us below: Medium: https://medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: https://twitter.com/whartonfintech

Miguel Armaza sits down with the very genuine Raul Vazquez, CEO of Oportun, a Nasdaq-listed company that provides responsible consumer credit. Founded 15 years ago, Oportun has extended more than 4 million loans and over $10 billion in affordable credit. Raul has been Oportun’s CEO since 2012 and previously served as CEO of Walmart.com. Currently, he also serves on the board of Intuit and the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders. He is also a proud MBA graduate of our very own Wharton School. In this episode, we discuss - Raul’s fascinating story and how the oldest son of Mexican immigrants became the CEO of a publicly traded company - Oportun’s digital and retail hybrid approach and the importance of being a mission-driven company - The reasons why about 100 million people are not fully served by the US mainstream financial system and what Oportun is doing about it - Reflections of taking Oportun public and a deep dive into their IPO process - The power of compassionate leadership, management lessons, and the hardest business decisions he’s had to make. - And a lot more! Raul Vazquez Raul has served as Oportun’s chief executive officer and board member since 2012. His past experience includes leadership roles at Walmart, including three years as CEO of Walmart.com, and at high-growth startups. Raul currently serves on the boards of Intuit and the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders, and he formerly sat on the board at Staples. He has been a member of the Community Advisory Board at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and chaired the Federal Reserve’s Community Advisory Council. He holds a BS and MS in industrial engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from the Wharton School. In 2018, he was named EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year in financial services. Raul celebrates the good and bad, the small and big, with ice cream from Dairy Queen. About Oportun Oportun (Nasdaq: OPRT) is a financial services company that leverages its digital platform to provide responsible consumer credit to hardworking people. Using A.I.-driven models that are built on 15 years of proprietary customer insights and billions of unique data points, Oportun has extended more than 4 million loans and over $10 billion in affordable credit, providing its customers with alternatives to payday and auto title loans. In recognition of its responsibly designed products which help consumers build their credit history, Oportun has been certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) since 2009. For more FinTech insights, follow us below: Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech Miguel's Twitter: twitter.com/MiguelArmaza Miguel's Newsletter: https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp

Miguel Armaza sits down with the fascinating David Nangle is CEO of Vostok Emerging Finance, an investment company listed on Nasdaq First North Growth Market in Sweden that invests in growth stage private fintech companies across the emerging world. Born and raised in Ireland, Dave has spent his career focused on emerging markets having worked in places like Moscow and London, and has backed some of the top fintech names across Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, India, Kenya, and beyond. Some of VEF’s current and past portfolio companies include Creditas, Konfio, JUMO, and Tinkoff. In this fun episode, we discuss: - David’s story and why he quit his London job and moved to Moscow in the early 2000s without speaking a word of Russian - Advantages of being a publicly listed firm with a permanent capital structure - The incredible investment opportunities within fintech in emerging markets - Why VEF actually invests harder and doubles down during volatile periods and how he even closed a deal in Turkey in the middle of an attempted coup with tanks on the streets - Investment lessons and why you should always invest along with local VCs - The exciting future of fintech in frontier markets like Pakistan, Egypt, and Nigeria… and a lot more! David Nangle David Nangle has spent his career focusing on emerging markets and within that the financial services sector. He was part of ING Baring’s Emerging Markets Research team between 2000 and 2006, after which he spent nearly 10 years with Renaissance Capital in both Moscow and London, as head of financials and research overall. He helped the firm develop and grow their financials and broader research footprint from a strong Russia base to a leading EM and frontiers franchise. Having had a front row seat in the evolution of the financial sector across emerging markets since the late 90’s, in 2015, he left the world of investment banking and co-founded VEF to back founders building the next generation of financial services firms across the emerging world. About VEF VEF is an investment company listed on Nasdaq First North Growth Market in Sweden under the ticker VEFAB. We invest in growth stage private fintech companies across the emerging world. We take minority stakes and are active investors with board representation in each of our portfolio holdings. We respect the macro, but are firm believers that the secular growth trend of EM fintech, outweighs all the macro uncertainty and volatility that we and our portfolio companies will invariably live through. A digital financial world is the end game and the best companies always come out of pockets of macro and market turbulence in a stronger relative position. For more FinTech insights, follow us below: Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech Miguel's Twitter: twitter.com/MiguelArmaza Miguel's Newsletter: https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp