Wharton FinTech Podcast

What do you think of when you hear “stock trading”? For most of us in 2020, we thought of YOLO Calls, Tesla Bulls, Robinhood, Wall Street Bets, and Day Trading. Going back to earlier days, you might think of men in suits on the phone, scrambling to buy & sell stocks. The culture of the market needs to change. Enter Public.Com, the stock investing app with a social, community-based focus making stock trading approachable (and free) for everyday people. On today’s episode, Ryan Zauk sits down with Co-Founder Leif Abraham to learn how Public is changing the culture of the market through approachability, community, in-app features, and celebrities like Tony Hawk and Adrian Grenier (netting 40% female users, an industry-high). Public has taken social media and FinTech by storm, and just raised $65M in a Series C backed by A list celebrities (Chainsmokers, Tony Hawk) and VCs (Accel, Greycroft) who are also prominent users of the platform. Lief and Ryan cover a ton in this episode, including - What FinTech marketers get wrong (and how they can fix it) - How Public has focused on building its app to reach 40% female users in a male-dominated market - A flurry of marketing tips and frameworks around K-Factor, Retention, Content Marketing, and more - Tangible advice on how to build a culture that democratizes and scales decision making ...And much more This is one of our most information-dense episodes to date – Leif does not disappoint. For more insights and analysis from FinTech leaders, 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/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/whartonfintech/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/whartonfintech/

Miguel Armaza sits down with Andrew Lerner, Managing Partner of IA Capital Group, a New York-based private investment firm and manager of the Inter-Atlantic funds, that’s dedicated to partnering with innovative entrepreneurs in venture and growth capital across InsurTech and FinTech. Andy has been at the company since 1995 and is responsible for the day-to-day activities of IA Capital, and is a member of its investment committee. He holds a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Princeton University and an MBA from our amazing Wharton School We talked about - Andy’s background - What drove him to fintech VC in the mid-1990s - His take on the evolution of the fintech industry - The advantages of being in an industry with meaningful tail winds - Why he’s excited about InsurTech for the foreseeable future - Importance of Financial Empowerment, along with diversity and inclusion - Why he prefers backing young entrepreneurs and thinks experience is overrated - The effects of COVID on their portfolio - And much, much more! Andrew Lerner Andrew Lerner is Managing Partner of IA Capital Group, where he has been employed since 1995. Mr. Lerner is responsible for the day-to-day activities of IA Capital, and is a member of its investment committee. In 2000, he launched IA Capital's venture capital business which is now the firm’s core activity. Mr. Lerner was also President and Managing Director of Guggenheim Securities, LLC, IA Capital's former broker-dealer business, until 2003. Mr. Lerner is a Director of Homeowners of America, SMArtX, Crown Global Insurance Group, Credit Sesame, Wellthie, Boost, SmartAsset, Gainfully, and Matic. Mr. Lerner has over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining IA Capital, he served as an investment banker in the Financial Institutions Group of Smith Barney Inc. for four years and in its Mortgage and Asset Finance Group for two years. Mr. Lerner holds a B.S.E. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Princeton University and an M.B.A. in Finance from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He serves as a director of Transportation Alternatives. About IA Capital Group IA Capital is the longest-tenured independent venture capital firm focusing on insurtech. Based in New York City, IA Capital has a two-decade track record of successfully partnering with innovative early and growth stage companies in insurance and—more broadly—financial services. IA is currently investing in its sixth, seventh, and eighth venture capital funds and manages strategic venture capital programs for 15 insurers. Learn more at iacapgroup.com.

Miguel Armaza sits down with Dave Unsworth and Kerri Golden from Information Venture Partners, a Canadian Venture Capital firm that primarily invests in early-stage North American B2B FinTech and enterprise software. We talk about: - Dave and Kerri’s transition from operators to investors - IVP’s relationship with the Royal Bank of Canada - Fundraising from institutional LPs - The duo’s strategy to invest in the next generation of leaders - The importance of engineering a culture early on - Interesting fintech trends - The role of a CFO at a Venture Capital firm - And a lot more! Dave Unsworth Dave Unsworth co-founded Information Venture Partners in 2014. Dave has led investments in eSentire (exited, 2017), Verafin, Sensibill, Igloo Software (exited, 2017), Viigo (acquired by BlackBerry), Coconut Software, BigID, Knowtions and LendingFront. Dave is focused on FinTech and Enterprise software and is particularly interested in cybersecurity, mobile, enterprise 2.0 and ventures that create highly valuable data assets by being at the center of large-scale financial transactions. Prior to founding Information Venture Partners Dave worked as an investor with RBC Venture Partners from 2001. Prior to his career in venture capital, Dave had a successful career in operating roles focused on e-commerce strategy development, technology-enabled financial services product development, technology project management and retail/commercial financial services. Dave is an active member in the start-up community in Toronto and Waterloo as a mentor to early-stage CEOs and founding teams. Dave also serves as a mentor in the Kaufmann Fellows program and more recently with the Holt FinTech Accelerator and as an investment committee member for the Investment Accelerator Fund. Dave has been a frequent contributor to Private Capital Magazine. Dave is an original member and past Chair of the Financial Services Venture Capital Alliance. Dave was granted an MBA from Queen’s University, a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics from Wilfrid Laurier University. He is also a graduate of the NVCA’s Venture Capital Institute and the Rotman SME Board Effectiveness Program. Kerri Golden Kerri Golden joined Information Venture Partners at inception in 2014 and works with the investment team to help select and support the fund’s investee companies and manage the financial operations of the fund. She has over 30 years of general management and finance experience in a variety of technology industries and she’s been active in securing financings of over $1 billion in equity and debt and in negotiations of a number of merger and acquisition transactions. Kerri was a General Partner of Primaxis Technology Ventures for eight years where she led and managed several investments in early-stage companies in the IT, software and communications sectors and also served as CFO of the fund. Kerri had a successful corporate career with high growth technology companies. She was a mobile pioneer at Rogers Wireless, joining prior to service launch and experiencing start-up challenges and opportunities as company grew from zero to $200M in revenue during her 2.5 year tenure. She was a public company CFO at Alliance Atlantis Communications and Lorus Therapeutics and ended her successful 7-year career at Bell Mobility as CEO, Paging Division after progressive leadership positions in Finance and IT. Kerri is an experienced start-up executive. She co-owns a small business Urban Flats Toronto and served as COO at SeaWell Networks and CFO at Infobright. She serves the start-up community as an active mentor at MaRS, where she co-founded the JOLT Fund and continues to serve as a volunteer general partner. Kerri obtained an HBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario and earned her CA designation while working with KPMG in Toronto.

Miguel Armaza sits down with Noah Kerner, CEO of Acorns, a mobile savings and investment platform that has raised hundreds of millions of dollars from PayPal, Bain Capital Ventures, DST Global, NBC, Comcast, Greycroft as well as a long list of Hollywood celebrities including The Rock and Jennifer Lopez. Originally from New York City’s East Village, Noah is a 4-time entrepreneur who at one point DJ'ed for Jennifer Lopez, built a creative agency in his 20s, and is also a Co-Founder of the shareholder rights fintech startup Say. We discuss: - Noah’s eclectic background - Why he only pursues projects that make him come alive - His journey at Acorns and the evolution and challenges over the years - Their approach to building company culture, defining corporate values, and recruiting talent - The surprising effects of COVID on their business - Entrepreneurial advice - And a whole lot more! Noah Kerner Born in New York City’s east village, Noah Kerner is the CEO of the micro-investing app Acorns and co-founder of the shareholder rights startup Say. His background is colorful: 4X entrepreneur, Co-author of "Chasing Cool” with the former CEO of Barneys, and former DJ for Jennifer Lopez. In his 20s, Noah built the leading creative agency for the young adult market, Noise. Before being acquired by Engine, Noise developed hundreds of products and marketing campaigns for this generation including Facebook’s first application, the first credit card to reward responsibility rather than spending for Chase, Vice's music site Noisey, and the top branded game in the App Store. Noah has been recognized as one of Billboard Magazine’s “Top 30 Under 30,” AdWeek’s “Top 20 Under 40,” Fast Company’s “Innovation Agents” and “Impact Council” members, and as a judge for the Webby Awards. He has also advised and invested in a variety of fast-growing startups, including WeWork, where he served as the first Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer from 2013-2014. Passionate about educating today’s youth, Noah has lectured on entrepreneurialism, fintech, and media at NYU, UCLA, Stanford, and Columbia and currently serves on the Board of VH1's Save The Music Foundation. Noah is a graduate of Cornell University where he studied Psychology and Economics. About Acorns Acorns is the country's fastest-growing saving and investing app helping more than 8.2 million save and invest for the future. Its easy-to-use, mobile-first technology makes it simple for anyone to set aside and invest life's spare money. Acorns allows customers to automatically invest in a low-cost, diversified portfolio of exchange-traded funds offered by some of the world's top asset managers (including Vanguard and BlackRock). Customers grow their wealth in one of five portfolios constructed with help from world-renowned Nobel laureate economist Dr. Harry Markowitz. Acorns' smart portfolio algorithms automatically work in the background of life, helping users build wealth naturally, pennies at a time. From Acorns mighty oaks do grow. Acorns is accessed simply and easily via the app for iPhone, Android, or desktop. Visit Acorns.com for more.

As 2020 comes to a close, we bring you a special episode featuring our hosts, Miguel Armaza and Ryan Zauk. You will finally get to hear from the hosts themselves as they share: - Some of the major trends they've seen after interviewing over 100 FinTech leaders. - Some funny anecdotes & growing pains. - The hyper-growth of Wharton FinTech. - Tips on turning a podcast into a rocketship. - And provide a sneak preview at what's ahead for 2021... Thank you to all of our listeners for your incredible support during this memorable year. We have great plans for 2021 to keep bringing you insights on the companies, founders, investors, and trends shaping financial services.

"The most contrarian take I have is that there is value in working with consumers in debt." Here are a few stats for you: - The average US household as of November pays almost 9% of its income to debt - Total household debt reached $14.35 trillion this fall per the New York Fed - The average person in debt owes money to 4 different lenders The current process for debt collections  --  a highly sensitive, case-by-case, and often life-defining financial situation -- has not evolved much in the last 50 years. The process is still how most would imagine…a collections team is assigned a low-base salary and high-commission, and is tasked with harassing debtors multiple times a day with a one size fits all approach. This process is inflexible, stressful, and borderline inhumane as each person has unique financial needs. Enter Ohad Samet and TrueAccord. After honing his time at companies like Fraud Sciences (acquired by PayPal), Signifyd, and Klarna (as their CRO), Ohad recognized this enormous problem and the need for a better solution. Fast forward to 2020, TrueAccord has built a digital-first, ML-powered, humane debt collection agency that leads with empathy. TrueAccord's successes have been incredible, with collection rates 30–50% higher than industry averages and an NPS of 40 (astoundingly high for a debt collections agency, and higher than a lot of financial institutions). TA's impact on daily lives cannot be understated. One stat I loved - "85% of customers wouldn't have been able to repay their debt without the highly flexible payment plans we offer." In today's episode, Ohad comes on the show to discuss: - The different ways TrueAccord engages with the customer, and how that approach has shifted overtime thanks to Machine Learning - 3 questions about debt that he bets none of our listeners can answer - Why his HQ2 city, Kansas City, is a hidden talent and cost of living gem - The cruciality of mission-alignment in business and at TrueAccord (P.S. they're hiring!) - Navigating FinTech partnerships - A special "rapid-fire" question set …and much more. For more insights and analysis from FinTech leaders, 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/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/whartonfintech/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/whartonfintech/

Miguel Armaza sits down with Rohit Arora, CEO and Co-Founder of Biz2Credit, a New York based company that offers financing, research, and educational resources to small businesses. Rohit and his brother founded Biz2Credit in 2008 and in the last 13 yrs the firm has arranged $2B in funding and registered over 200,000 clients. They have also raised over $60M in equity and $300M in debt from investors including Westbridge Capital and Nexus Venture Partners. We discussed - Rohit’s journey scaling Biz2Credit - Fundraising challenges as a contrarian entrepreneur - Lessons on resilience and leadership - The perils of a “growth at any cost” business mindset - Biz2Credit’s experience navigating the COVID crisis and what he believes will be the long term effects of the pandemic - And a whole lot more Rohit Arora Rohit Arora, CEO and Co-founder of Biz2Credit is one of America’s top experts in small business finance. He is responsible for driving Biz2Credit to its leadership position in the alternative lending industry among Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500. He holds a Masters in International Business from Columbia University and an Engineering degree from Delhi University. Rohit is often quoted about small business lending by major news media outlets, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Entrepreneur, American Banker, CNNMoney, MSNBC, Inc., and the Washington Post. In 2011, he and his brother Ramit were named New York City's “Top Entrepreneurs” by Crain’s New York Business, which also named Biz2Credit among NYC’s “Fast 50” of 2014. Since its inception in 2007, Biz2Credit has arranged $2 billion in funding and now has over 200,000 registered small and mid-sized company clients. About Biz2Credit Biz2Credit was founded in 2007 with one goal: make the business financing process work better for lenders and their customers. The company is focused on funding what’s next for small businesses and leverages data, cash flow insights, and the latest technology to give business owners an automated small business funding platform. Biz2Credit has provided over $3 billion in small business loans and financing. With over 350 employees globally, the team – made up of engineers, marketers and data scientists – is building the next generation in business lending solutions. Biz2Credit is also the company behind the Biz2X Platform. Biz2X is the natural outgrowth of Biz2Credit’s established platform software that brands like HSBC, Oriental Bank, and TATA Capital have chosen to launch new online lending initiatives. Biz2Credit raised $52M Series B in 2019 and is headquartered in New York City. Learn more at www.Biz2Credit.com.

On today’s episode, Ryan Zauk sits down with Kathryn Van Nuys, Head of Business Development for AWS FinTech. Kathryn was just named one of the Top 50 Women in FinTech by NYC FinTech Women, highlighted as one of the top network builders in the industry. Most of us know AWS as the cloud storage and computing behemoth, generating over $35B in revenue and the lion’s share of Amazon’s profits. However, AWS is much more than just cloud. It’s a tailored, industry-by-industry solution that is becoming closer and closer to a one-stop-shop for all things technical startups. Kathryn talks about the huge variety of services AWS provides for a who’s who of FinTech, including Chime, Coinbase, Betterment, Nubank, Affirm, and more. AWS served all 50 of Forbes FinTech 50 last year. In today’s episode, Kathryn delves into - The huge range of services AWS offers startups at each stage of their development - Some of their strongest case studies helping clients - What sub-verticals she’s paying special attention to - The explosion in FinTech partnerships ...And much more For more insights and analysis from FinTech leaders, 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/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/whartonfintech/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/whartonfintech/

In this episode, my guest is Santiago Suarez, Co-Founder & CEO of Addi, the leading POS financing platform in Latin America, backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Foundation, Monashees, Quona, and Village Global. Prior to returning to his native Colombia to launch Addi, Santiago started his career in finance in New York City at JP Morgan, and later moved to Silicon valley for a leadership role at Lending Club. We talk about: - Santiago’s entrepreneurial fintech journey and fundraising experience - Regional market dynamics - The virtues of applying an American credit-scoring approach in Latin America - Navigating an evolving regulatory landscape - The importance of company culture - And a lot more! Listen to the full interview --> Spotify | Soundcloud | Apple About ADDI ADDI was founded in 2018 by co-founders Santiago Suarez, Daniel Vallejo, and Elmer Ortega, to power commerce and make point-of-sale financing accessible to every Latin American merchant and consumer. For more information, visit https://addi.com/.

Miguel Armaza sits down with Jan Bellens, Global Head of EY’s Banking & Capital Markets Group. In his role, Jan counsels banks in defining their strategies and supports their implementation with investments, acquisitions, and ambitious organic growth initiatives around the world. He has been supporting banks for the last two decades and has worked with clients in over 20 countries. We talk about: - Jan’s professional journey and what led him to his current role where he oversees 45k people - A few of the trends he’s seeing from banks across different regions - What the impact of COVID really means for banks - The challenges of managing an organization with 45k+ professionals - And much, much more! Jan Bellens As the EY Global Banking & Capital Markets Sector Leader, Jan counsels banks in defining their strategies and supports their implementation with investments, acquisitions and ambitious organic growth initiatives. He has been supporting leading banks’ executive teams with their growth opportunities and multi-year business transformations for the last two decades. He has worked with clients in over 20 countries. Before joining EY, Jan was in management consulting for 17 years. He has an MBA from INSEAD. About EY Banking and Capital Markets EY’s worldwide team of industry-focused assurance, tax, transaction and advisory professionals integrates sector knowledge and technical experience. They work with clients to navigate digital innovation, new business models and ecosystem partnerships, helping banks become the nimble, responsive organizations that customers demand. About EY EY exists to build a better working world, helping create long-term value for clients, people and society and build trust in the capital markets. Enabled by data and technology, diverse EY teams in over 150 countries provide trust through assurance and help clients grow, transform and operate. Working across assurance, consulting, law, strategy, tax and transactions, EY teams ask better questions to find new answers for the complex issues facing our world today. EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. Information about how EY collects and uses personal data and a description of the rights individuals have under data protection legislation are available via ey.com/privacy. EY member firms do not practice law where prohibited by local laws. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.