Wharton FinTech Podcast

Miguel Armaza sits down with Shamir Karkal, Co-Founder and CEO of Sila, a banking and payments platform that aims to break open the Financial System and make it easy for any company to offer out-of-the-box financial services. Shamir is also a true FinTech pioneer and legend, having played a crucial part in building the infrastructure that would pave the way for online banking. In 2009, he co-founded Simple, the first digital bank of its kind in the US, and later headed the Open Platform group at BBVA. In this episode, we discuss - Shamir’s fascinating background and how in fact he comes from a long line of Indian bankers - The story behind Simple and the ups and downs they faced launching the first independent digital bank in the US and what led them to an eventual acquisition by BBVA - Launching Sila and his approach as a second time fintech founder - Why’s so excited about the future and is convinced these are the early days for the industry - Founder lessons - And a lot more! Shamir Karkal A true FinTech pioneer, Shamir Karkal played a crucial part in building the infrastructure that would pave the way for online banking. In 2009, he co-founded Simple, the first bank of its kind in the United States, and later headed the Open Platform at BBVA. Shamir was drawn to serve smaller companies, co-founding Sila in 2018 with the goal of empowering financial innovations. Shamir studied physics and computer science at Bangalore University and is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business. He lives with his family in Portland, Oregon, and enjoys jiu-jitsu, long-range target shooting, and studying history whenever possible. About Sila Sila is a banking and payment platform for software teams building the next generation of financial products & services in regulated and unregulated industries. The Sila API enables white-label ACH payment processing, money transfer, digital wallets, bank account linking, and identity verification of business and individuals. We power any web, desktop, or mobile application with built-in compliance. Sila was co-founded in 2018 in Portland, Oregon by a diverse team of fintech, legal, and financial experts. For more information visit silamoney.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 Substack: https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp

In today's episode, Ryan Zauk sits down with Wade Arnold, Founder & CEO of moov. moov raised a $27M Series A from a16z in December 2020, following a $5M seed round led by Bain Capital Ventures. Moov provides developers with an elegant, simple platform that takes the complexity out of embedded payments and more. They take a developer-first approach of being built on open source, portable to cloud providers or on-premises, modular for customization, and decoupled from any single bank program. Wade is a self-described “engineers engineer,” a true nerd at heart who has built a number of technical products in fintech and beyond. Wade will be at the Wharton Fintech Conference on April 22 and 23, on a panel titled “Unpacking APIs and SaaS: how best-in-class fintechs are building from the ground up” alongside execs from Treasury Prime, Finix, OpenPayd, Railsbank, and QED. WFT Conf: https://whartonfintechconference.com/ Fintech Devcon: https://fintechdevcon.io/ 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/

Miguel Armaza sits down with Logan Allin, Founder and Managing General Partner at Fin VC, a Venture Capital firm focused on Enterprise SaaS FinTech companies in the US, UK and Europe, with a portfolio that includes 6 unicorns. In this episode, we discuss: - Logan’s background and the journey to becoming a Venture Capital entrepreneur - Transition from corporate VC under SoFi to a becoming a stand-alone firm - Why Fin VC focuses specifically on backing the fintech enablers that are building disruptive B2B-oriented businesses - Investing theses and portfolio company examples - Venturing internationally - His passion for chess - And a lot more! Logan Allin Founded in 2018, Fin VC is focused on Enterprise SaaS FinTech companies in the US, UK and Europe. Their portfolio currently has 21 companies globally, including 6 unicorns. Fin VC doesn’t just deliver with capital- it adds value through engaging with their portfolio companies at every stage. The team believes the acquisition of fintech stacks is the future of banks and big tech, and that through the integration of innovative fintech the US can outpace other geographies. An entrepreneur turned VC, prior to founding Fin VC, Logan was VP of SoFi Ventures and also worked at Light Street Capital, TMT investments and Formation Group, focused on early-expansion stage cross-border. Previously, Logan was a Senior VP in City National Bank’s wealth management division (now part of RBC). He also spent much of his career in leadership positions at Capgemini, EMC, and PwC. Logan earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in public policy and political science from Duke University and a M.S. in Management from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business where he was a Sloan Fellow.

Miguel Armaza sits down with Charles Moldow, General Partner at Foundation Capital, a legendary Venture Capital firm founded in 1995 that has raised nine funds, received over $3B in committed capital, has seen 28 IPOs, and over 80 acquisitions from their portfolio companies. Charles has been at Foundation since 2005, having led impressive investments like Uber, LendingClub, OnDeck and Rappi. Before Foundation, he lived the startup journey and was part of the founding team of two high-profile startups with successful exits in 97 and 2006. He is also a proud alum of our amazing Wharton School! We discuss: - Charles experience as an operator and entrepreneur through the dotcom bubble and why he eventually transitioned to the investing side - Thought process behind his investment strategy and reflections on some early mistakes as a venture capitalist - All things Fintech, including trends he’s most excited about - Foundation’s impressive track record and their secret behind this success - Why he’s particularly excited about the entrepreneurial scene in Latin America - And a lot more Charles Moldow Charles current portfolio contains fintech breakouts and emerging direct to consumer businesses. Fintech investments include StatesTitle, HealthIQ, LendingHome, Auxomoney, OneFinance, Hatch, Branch, Canopy, Agentero, Deepfraud and Decent. Direct to consumer businesses include Rappi, Rover, NextRoll and Clubhouse. Charles has seen four portfolio companies go public with Uber, LendingClub, OnDeck and Everyday Health. He has also managed nine companies through acquisition: Powerset by Microsoft, Motif by Schwab, Coverwallet by Aon, Finxera by Stonepoint Capital, Xoopit by Yahoo!, CloudOn by Dropbox, Zoomer by GrubHub, Refresh by LinkedIn and Bureau of Trade by Ebay. In 2016, CB Insights listed Charles among The Top 100 Venture Capitalists, and Forbes named Charles to the Midas List for the second time—citing among other factors his deep experience in all things marketplace lending. Charles attended the 2016 White House FinTech Summit, one year after publishing “A Trillion Dollar Market by the People, For the People,” which became the authoritative must-read on the potential of and challenges facing the marketplace lending industry. The paper has been downloaded more than 30,000 times and has frequently been cited by leading thinkers in finance and the media. Charles is an alumnus of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and the Harvard Business School. Charles moonlights as a AAA little league coach and family vacation planner. Foundation Capital Foundation Capital was founded in 1995. As an early-stage venture capital firm, Foundation has lived through the emergence of the World Wide Web, the IT war of the 90s, the dot-com bubble, Web 2.0, the mobile revolution, the Great Recession, the rise of Big Data, software’s ascension to the cloud, and the birth of blockchain. The wisdom of those experiences remains with the company, transmitted to each successive generation of partners. Two-thirds of VC firms never make it past their first fund; only 10 percent survive beyond their fourth. Foundation is 25 years and nine funds strong, with over $3B in committed capital, 28 IPOs, and 80+ acquisitions to their name. Their fintech, enterprise, and consumer investments have reinvented industries and defined new markets, with companies that include Lending Club, Sunrun, TubeMogul, Chegg, and Netflix. For a quarter of a century—through boom and bust, prosperity or calamity—Foundation Capital has endured, evolved, and thrived. Building companies is in their bones. 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 Substack: https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp

Miguel Armaza sits down with Carl Wazen, Co-Founder & Chief Business Officer at Yoco, South Africa’s leading payments platform for small businesses offering a convenient way to accept card payments in-person or online. Founded in 2012, the company serves over 100,000 small businesses and has received multiple rounds of investment from industry leaders like Quona, Partech, Greyhound Capital, FMO, and many more. We covered a wide range of topics, including: - Carl’s background and his entrepreneurial journey in Cape Town, South Africa as an immigrant outsider - Stories about the early days of Yoco and how they took the company from 0 to 1 - The importance of company culture in the fast moving fintech space - Navigating COVID and Yoco’s meaningful role in helping small businesses during the pandemic - The State of the fintech industry in South Africa and the rest of the continent - Entrepreneurial advice - And a lot more! About Yoco Yoco is an African technology company that builds tools and services to help small businesses get paid, run their business better, and grow. The company believes that by opening up more possibilities for entrepreneurs to be successful, they can help create more jobs, enable people to thrive and help to drive our economy forward.

On today’s episode, Ryan Zauk sits down with Lex Sokolin, CMO, Chief Economist, and Global Fintech Co-Head at ConsenSys, the world’s leading Ethereum software company. Lex also runs the Fintech Blueprint, an amazing fintech subscription newsletter. Before ConsenSys, Lex worked in strategy at Lehman Brothers before getting a JD MBA from Columbia. At Columbia he founded NestEgg, a private label robo, later selling it to AdvisorEngine, then worked in research at Autonomous Research. Lex is a fintech and technology futurist in every sense of the word, always writing at the intersection of finance, tech, law, philosophy, economics, and sociology. We are a huge fan of his work here at Wharton Fintech! Fintech Blueprint: https://lex.substack.com/ In today’s episode, Ryan & Lex discuss: - The deep meanings behind his career decision making, breaking from gold-star chasing to startups and now frontier technology - How Duchamp's "Fountain" can help people understand NFTs - How a conversation with a Deloitte exec turned him into a budding futurist - What ConsenSys is and how it works with the crypto ecosystem - His predictions for Defi and the road to mass adoption - His boredom with fintech super apps, robo advisors, and neobanks - Why Google Pay is going to kill many fintechs 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/

Miguel Armaza is joined by Doug Peterson, President and CEO of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI), one of the largest companies in the US that specializes in providing ratings, benchmarks, analytics and data to the capital and commodity markets worldwide. Prior to S&P, Doug held multiple leadership positions at Citigroup, including roles around the world as CEO of Citi Japan, Uruguay, and Costa Rica. He is also a proud alumni of our very own, Wharton School! In this episode, we talk about: - Doug’s journey, from childhood in New Mexico, to international student in South America, to global corporate leader. - The important role that Wharton had on his career and how it sparked his love for Finance - Why S&P Global is focusing on data analytics and artificial intelligence and how it has built a fintech portfolio around these topics - The rise of Environmental, Social, and Governance factors in capital markets around the world, particularly over the last year - Leadership advice and Doug’s approach to managing an organization with tens of thousands of professionals - The important difference between visiting and actually living in a new place and why he actively pursued an international career from early on - And a whole lot more... Douglas L. Peterson Doug Peterson has served as President, Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of S&P Global since 2013. He joined the Company in 2011 as President of Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services. Mr. Peterson has repositioned S&P Global to power the global capital and commodity markets of the future with transparent, innovative and independent credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics and data. His long-term business strategy for S&P Global focuses on six key priorities essential to the Company’s ongoing growth and success: global expansion, customer orientation, technology, innovation, operational excellence and people. Previously, Mr. Peterson was the Chief Operating Officer of Citibank, N.A., Citigroup’s principal banking entity that operates in more than 100 countries. Mr. Peterson was with Citigroup for 26 years. His prior roles include CEO of Citigroup Japan, Chief Auditor of Citigroup, Country Manager for Uruguay, and earlier he served as Country Manager for Costa Rica. Mr. Peterson is a member of the Boards of Directors of Business Roundtable, the Japan Society, the National Bureau of Economic Research, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the New York Stock Exchange Board Advisory Council and the U.S.-India CEO Forum. He is co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Stewardship Board of the Platform for Shaping the Future of Cities, Infrastructure and Urban Services. In addition, he serves on the Advisory Boards of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s Systemic Resolution Advisory Committee, the US-China Business Council and the Kravis Leadership Institute, and the Boards of Trustees of Claremont McKenna College and the Paul Taylor Dance Company. Mr. Peterson received an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an undergraduate degree from Claremont McKenna College. About S&P Global S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) is the world's foremost provider of credit ratings, benchmarks and analytics in the global capital and commodity markets, offering ESG solutions, deep data and insights on critical economic, market and business factors. We've been providing essential intelligence that unlocks opportunity, fosters growth and accelerates progress for more than 160 years. Our divisions include S&P Global Ratings, S&P Global Market Intelligence, S&P Dow Jones Indices and S&P Global Platts. For more information, visit www.spglobal.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 Substack: https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp

In today's episode, Ryan Zauk sits down with Dave Girouard, Founder & CEO of the recently IPO’d Fintech, Upstart. Upstart is an online lending marketplace that provides personal loans using 1,600+ non-traditional variables, such as education and employment, to predict creditworthiness. If you listened to our episode the other week with Chi Chi Wu of the National Consumer Law Center, you know credit and lending is a huge issue in America (https://soundcloud.com/wft/credit-reporting-and-consumer-protection-chi-chi-wu-national-consumer-law-center) Upstart is using artificial intelligence and rigorous machine learning to attack this issue, making it not only a great company, but a wonderful mission. In today’s episode, Ryan and Dave discuss: 3:30 – What exactly is Upstart? 6:44 – The current state of credit scores and how Upstart is upending the traditional credit score 10:57 – What needed to be true for banks to trust Upstart? 13:19 - How he navigated the regulatory environment, who he hired, and what a no-action letter is 15:39 – How COVID affected his business 18:40 – Why it was time to IPO, why he questions SPACs, and why raising private money was really, really hard 21:50 – How the IPO was different from private rounds and the importance of momentum 23:00 – The toughest challenges he faced as a founder 25:15 – His decision-making framework for leaving an amazing role at Google and founding Upstart...including the long conversations he had with his wife that made him take the plunge 26:24 – A rapid-fire round including his thoughts on bitcoin, where he was when the IPO bell rang, his favorite dinner meal before a long work night, first covid vacation and more! 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/

Miguel Armaza is joined by the talented Rob Petrozzo, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at Rally, a groundbreaking platform for buying & selling equity shares in collectible assets, that aims to give every investor a 21st Century Portfolio. The company has raised close to $30 million, from top industry investors like Upfront Ventures, Anthemis, Porsche Ventures, Alexis Ohanian, and many more. We discussed: - Rob’s winding road from artist to entrepreneur - Working with his co-founders and why they bring the perfect balance of personalities - Challenges and stories from building Rally and their vision of a 21st century portfolio - Operating with collectible luxury items like cars and art pieces, and the important question of whether they get to test-drive all those incredible cars - The importance of building a community and why most people confuse community and monetization - His vision for the future of Rally - And a lot more! About Rally Rally is a platform for buying & selling equity shares in collectible assets. Together, we rally to make investing behind ideas, emotions, and communities safe, easy, and accessible. The result… A 21st Century Portfolio, for everyone.

Miguel Armaza sits down with Elle Bruno, Managing Director of the Techstars & Western Union Accelerator. Armed with 19 years of experience as a founder, startup operator, and angel investor, Elle now leads the Techstars/Western Union accelerator focused on identifying innovative and disruptive startups working on cross border and cross-currency money movement for consumers and commercial businesses. In fact, if you are an entrepreneur in this category or know someone who’d be a good candidate, be it in the US or an emerging market around the world, make sure to apply by April 7, 2021. Apply Here -> https://bit.ly/2QE16FM Company Stage -> MVP+ Categories within fintech: - Alternative Financial Services Offerings (lending, emerging market asset management, P2P lending) - Payments and Remittance - KYC, AML, Compliance - Digital ID, Fraud Detection - Settlement and Transaction Processing - Digital Banking and Neo Banks - SMB emerging market POS Elle Bruno Elle Bruno is the Managing Director of the Techstars & Western Union Accelerator. Elle has been a founder and startup operator for 19 years. In 2004 she started her first company, an eBay ancillary marketplace, and since then she has been involved in building three venture-backed startups, most notably Trunk Club. Her expertise is in consumer tech, specifically revenue and growth. Elle has been an angel investor and advisor since 2015, with a focus on investing in female-founded companies, and was an EIR in the 2020 Techstars & Western Union program. About Techstars Techstars is the worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed. Techstars founders connect with other entrepreneurs, experts, mentors, alumni, investors, community leaders, and corporations to grow their companies. Techstars operates three divisions: Techstars Startup Programs, Techstars Mentorship-Driven Accelerator Programs, and Techstars Corporate Innovation Partnerships. Techstars accelerator portfolio includes more than 1,700 companies with a market cap of $20 Billion. www.techstars.com About Western Union The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement. Our omnichannel platform connects the digital and physical worlds and makes it possible for consumers and businesses to send and receive money and make payments with speed, ease, and reliability. As of March 31, 2019, our network included over 550,000 retail agent locations offering Western Union, Vigo or Orlandi Valuta branded services in more than 200 countries and territories, with the capability to send money to billions of accounts and mobile wallets. Additionally, westernunion.com, our fastest growing channel in 2018, is available in approximately 70 countries, plus additional territories, to move money around the world. With our global reach, Western Union moves money for better, connecting family, friends and businesses to enable financial inclusion and support economic growth. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.