Wharton FinTech Podcast

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

Miguel Armaza sits down with Tosin Osibodu, Co-Founder and CEO of Chaka, a Nigerian digital investment platform that is bringing access to trade over 4000 Nigerian and US stocks. Tosin is a fintech veteran, serial entrepreneur and also a proud alum of our very own Wharton School. In this episode, we discuss: - Chaka’s journey and what it means to be the first Nigerian Fintech to receive a license by the Securities & Exchange Commission of Nigeria (SEC). - Challenges and opportunities of building startups in emerging markets - The amazing state of fintech in Africa and why these are the early days of a tech revolution - Entrepreneurial lessons … and a lot more! Chaka Chaka is a technology solutions company on a mission to enable every business and person in Africa to access borderless digital investment and wealth management opportunities. The Chaka team combines investment expertise and best-in-class technology to provide reliable digital Investing, trading and wealth management solutions that are easy-to-use and easy-to-integrate. 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 legendary tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist, Fabrice Grinda, Founding Partner at FJ Labs, a stage-agnostic Venture Capital fund that focuses on marketplaces and consumer-facing startups. Born and raised in France, Fabrice is amongst the world’s leading tech leaders. As an investor, he has over 250 exits on almost 700 investments. With impressive investments such as Alibaba, Lending Club, Delivery Hero, Betterment, Klarna, Stripe, Palantir and Rappi. As an entrepreneur, Fabrice co-founded OLX, one of the largest websites in the world with over 300 million unique visitors per month. Having previously founded Zingy and Aucland, two highly successful sites. In this fun episode, we discuss: - Fabrice’s fascinating background - Investing during COVID - why FJ labs never stopped writing checks during the pandemic and why early-stage investing is actually better during crises - FJ Labs’ investing strategy and the kind of team and company they look for - Why he loves building and backing marketplaces - Fintech trends and verticals Fabrice is excited about and some of the common traits he’s observed in successful fintech founders - Investing mistakes and why he knew he was gonna regret passing on Uber… but did it anyway - The exciting democratization and explosion of tech Latin America - And a lot more! Fabrice Grinda Fabrice Grinda is among the world’s leading Internet entrepreneurs and investors. He has over 250 exits on 700 angel investments. Fabrice has served as CEO for three multinational companies and has an impressive track record as an early investor in Alibaba, Flexport, Delivery Hero, Betterment and Brightroll. Fabrice is currently running the startup studio and venture fund FJ Labs, which he cofounded with business partner Jose Marin. Fabrice was named the #1 Angel Investor in the world by Forbes Prior to FJ Labs, Fabrice was co-founder and co-CEO of OLX, one of the largest websites in the world with over 300 million unique visitors per month. The company operates in 30 countries and has over 10,000 employees. OLX is the largest classifieds site in India, Brazil, Pakistan, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Portugal and many other emerging markets. Prior to OLX, Fabrice was the CEO and founder of Zingy, a mobile content company, which he grew to over $200 million in annual revenues and profitability in 4 years. Fabrice started his entrepreneurial journey in 1998, at 23, when he co-founded and was CEO of Aucland. Soon after, Aucland grew into one of the largest auction sites in Europe. Before his entrepreneurial endeavors, Fabrice worked as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company. Fabrice holds a BA in Economics from Princeton University. He graduated Summa Cum Laude in 1996, and was awarded the Halbert White prize, given to the most distinguished economics student, as well as The Wolfe Balleisen memorial prize, awarded for best thesis. In his free time, Fabrice likes to travel the world, kitesurf, play tennis, and blog about his personal and professional life at www.fabricegrinda.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

Anirudh Singh sits down with Adam Green, co-Founder and CEO of YieldX. In this episode they discuss: - Adam's experience at MoneyLion - Founding something new at YieldX - Lessons learned from growing during the pandemic - Arbitraging Spice Girls concert tickets And more! Adam Green: Adam Green is a technology innovator, founder and capital markets veteran. He is currently the CEO and co-Founder of YieldX, a breakthrough technology infrastructure that is reimagining fixed income. The company launched in October, 2020 and is helping institutional clients democratize fixed income access, analytics portfolio construction and optimization capabilities via an API-driven, modular technology platform. Prior to that, Adam was a co-Founder at MoneyLion. Founded in 2013, MoneyLion provides a mobile and financial membership platform that empowers users to take control of their personal finances. In his work as a founder, Adam has collected deep experience in conceptualizing, funding, scaling and monetizing businesses, and providing executive leadership, strategic thinking and proven execution skills. Prior to his time at MoneyLion, Adam spent the early part of his career in the investment banking space, with notable tenures at Bear Stearns, Credit Agricole and Citadel. He is a graduate of the Martin J Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University. Adam lives and works in Miami, Florida. 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 talented Mary Ann Azevedo, Senior Reporter at TechCrunch covering all things Fintech and Latin America Tech. Mary Ann is a seasoned reporter, who’s been covering tech for 25 years! She’s seen and heard it all and this was a great conversation where we cover a ton of ground, including: - Mary Ann’s writing and creative process - Some of the biggest trends she’s seeing in the fintech space - Managing the insane volume of industry news on a daily basis - The main differences between US-based entrepreneurs and Latin American founders - Have you ever wondered what goes behind the screen at Techcrunch HQ? We cover that too! - Plus, tips and best practices to pitch a story to a reporter and some things you should absolutely avoid doing - ... and a lot more! Mary Ann Azevedo Mary Ann Azevedo has more than 20 years of business reporting and editing experience for publications such as FinLedger, Crunchbase News, Crain, Forbes and Silicon Valley Business Journal. Prior to joining TechCrunch in 2021, she earned numerous awards including the New York Times Chairman’s Award and others for breaking news coverage. She holds a Master’s degree in journalism from the University of Texas in Austin, where she currently lives. TechCrunch TechCrunch, founded on June 11, 2005, is a global news website dedicated to the tech scene. The company provides breaking technology news, opinions, and analysis on tech companies from around the world. From publicly traded tech companies to emerging startups and venture capital funding rounds, TechCrunch is the number one guide for all things technology. 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

Ryan Zauk sits down with Leore Avidar, CEO & Founder of Alt. Alt has created a marketplace for sports cards that authenticates its transactions & provides buyers with the peace of mind that the card they’re dropping thousands on is no fake! Leore himself is a card collector and trader fanatic, having been deep in this asset class for years. Leore is also the CEO of Lob, a direct mail marketing & address verification API company on the path to going public. (Pretty good track record) They cover: - His journey from Wall Street, to tech, to entrepreneurship, & the Kobe card that sparked his journey - How Alt works, how they verify cards, & the 3 key pillars of fraud they watch - The crazy IRR Leore has reaped in this asset class - His vision for the future of alt assets as stores of value & mediums of exchange - The $31M round he raised from folks like Alexis Ohanian, Larry Fitzgerald, Founders of Coinbase & Blackrock, Darren Rovell, & Kevin Durant - And much more! Link: onlyalt.com For more Fintech insights, follow us below: Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech Ryan's Twitter: twitter.com/RyanZauk LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/wharton-fintech-club/