Wharton FinTech Podcast

In our latest episode of the Wharton Fintech podcast, Miguel Armaza is joined by Hernan Kazah, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Kaszek Ventures, the largest venture capital firm in Latin America, with over $1 Billion dollars of raised capital. Kaszek was launched in 2011 and has invested in more than 75 startups, including at least 5 unicorns. Prior to Kaszek, Hernan co-founded MercadoLibre, the largest technology company in Latin America which is also listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market with a current market cap of over $43 Billion. Here, he worked for 12 years, nine as COO and three as CFO. Hernan received an MBA from Stanford University, and graduated magna cum laude in Economics from the University of Buenos Aires. In this fascinating interview, Hernan shares: - His entrepreneurial journey from zero to a Nasdaq IPO. What led him to Co-Found MercadoLibre with Marcos Galperin and some of the major challenges they faced along the way. - Almost 40% of Kaszek's portfolio is concentrated in Fintech companies and they continue to be extremely bullish on the industry. Technology has opened new opportunities for the financial sector, which has allowed fintechs to vastly expand in a sector with historically-low customer penetration. Tech has also allowed some of their portfolio companies, like Nubank, to build widely scalable platforms. - Kaszek's investing approach. Why the founding team is the most fundamental piece of a startup and why a third of the teams from Kaszek's first fund would not make the cut today. - COVID-19's impact on their portfolio. Why most Fintechs haven't been too affected nor have greatly benefited by this crisis. - Fintech sector focus. The main reasons why Kaszek is interested in backing Financial infrastructure companies and why this sector presents one of the biggest opportunities in Latin America. - Peculiarities and challenges of VC investing in Latin America and Emerging Markets. - And much, much more…

In this episode, Ines Gonzales Del Mazo sits down with Jalak Jobanputra, Founding Partner of Future Perfect Ventures to discuss her investing career across FinTech, software, and the blockchain. Jalak Jobanputra is Founding Partner of Future\Perfect Ventures, an early stage venture capital fund in NYC focused on next generation technology such as blockchain and machine learning. FPV’s portfolio includes Abra, Blockstream, Bitpesa, Fusemachines, Everledger and Blockchain. Jalak was awarded Institutional Investor’s Most Powerful Fintech Dealmakers from 2016-2018. In May 2018, Jobanputra was awarded Microsoft’s VC Trailblazer Award for “her early and bold” investments in the sector. She has been listed as a 100 Most Influential Fintech Leader of 2016 and 2017 based on her investment strategy at FPV. In 2017, she was cited as a “Top 5 Investor Powering the Blockchain Boom” and Crunchbase noted FPV as one of the top VC funds in blockchain “before it was cool.” Since founding the firm, she has spoken on blockchain technology, IoT, and artificial intelligence at many global conferences, including the Milken Global Institute, Dutch Development Bank/FMO Annual Meeting, and The Economist Buttonwood Gathering. She also founded Collective Future, an organization to foster diversity and inclusion in the nascent blockchain sector. FPV’s incubator FPV Labs was selected by the NYC Economic Development Corporation in January 2019 to operate the NYC Blockchain Center, a unique private-public partnership formed to serve as an access point to the growing blockchain ecosystem and collaborate with elected officials on policy initiatives. Prior to FPV, Jobanputra was the Director of Emerging Market Mobile Investments at Omidyar Network, a philanthrocapitalist fund started by Pierre Omidyar, co-founder of eBay. Previously, she worked at Intel Capital investing in enterprise software in Silicon Valley from 1999-2003, as well as New Venture Partners and the NYC Investment Fund where she formed one of NYC’s first seed funds and helped establish the Fintech Innovation Lab in 2010. She started her career as a media/tech/telecom investment banker in NYC and London. Jobanputra is also active in supporting education reform and social entrepreneurship. She served as a Trustee of Achievement First Bushwick Charter Schools (Brooklyn). She is on the Board of Directors for the Center for an Urban Future, Advisory Board of L’Oreal’s Women in Digital Initiative, member of Mayor DeBlasio’s Broadband Taskforce, and former Access to Capital Committee member of the US Secretary of State Clinton Women’s Leadership Council. She is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, with a B.S. in Economics (concentration in Finance) from The Wharton School and a B.A. in Communications from the Annenberg School. She received her MBA from Kellogg in 1999. Her full bio can be found here, and she has been active on twitter since 2007 at @jalak.

In our latest episode of the Wharton Fintech podcast, Miguel Armaza (WG’21/G’21) is joined by Marc Weiser, Founder & Managing Director of RPM Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm. Marc is also a board member of NASA and the James Beard Foundation. Marc Weiser is the Founder and Managing Director of RPM Ventures, a seed and early stage venture firm where he focuses on investing in mobility and autonomous vehicle companies. Over the last 15 years he has served on over 20 boards of directors and currently sits on the boards of: BountyJobs, the leading contingency recruiting marketplace; Mobi, a machine learning, multi-modal, dynamic route planning system; and Polysync, a platform for delivering safe and reliable autonomous vehicles. Prior to forming RPM, Mr. Weiser was an internet and software entrepreneur. He co-founded and led technology development at QuantumShift, a provider of web-based business-to-business technology and services focused on corporate telecommunications needs. He was also an early employee at MessageMedia (acquired by DoubleClick) where he pioneered some of the original methods for e-commerce and helped lead the company’s IPO. In addition to his board roles for RPM, Marc serves as Vice-Chair of McKinley, Inc., and the Board of Trustees of the James Beard Foundation. Previously he was the founding member of the Board for the Center for Entrepreneurship (CFE) and Wolverine Venture Fund at the University of Michigan, where he was adjunct professor. He is the recipient of the University of Michigan College of Engineering Alumni Distinguished Service Award for his efforts in founding the CFE, the TechArb (student accelerator), and the Masters in Entrepreneurship (a joint program between the College of Engineering and Ross School of Business). Additionally, he and his wife led the creation of the Mary H. Weiser Food Allergy Center at the University of Michigan. This Center provides national leadership in food allergy research and a path to a cure for those that suffer from food allergies. Marc graduated cum laude from the University of Michigan with a BSE in aerospace engineering and an MBA with highest honors. In this interview, Marc shares: - His background and how he landed the role of employee #1 at MessageMedia (acquired by DoubleClick), the first online payments system company in the early 1990s. - Why he decided to Co-Found QuantumShift, a SAS company, in 1996 and the reason why he calls this experience a "successful failure". - Launching RPM and the challenges of starting a Venture Capital fund in the year 2000. - The reason why after several years of operations, RPM narrowed its scope to invest only in Mobility and Fintech. - His conviction that most startups that win are the ones that generally fall over in the right direction and then pick themselves back up and then fall over again in the right direction again. The ones that do this process faster are the ones that win. - His fascinating journey as an early stage investor and advisor of SoFi. - What an RPM entrepreneur looks like. Hint: “We look for entrepreneurs that can run up the beat at the machine gun nest while simultaneously biting the heads off of chickens.” - The importance of investing in companies that have no rational chance of success. - His journey to becoming a board member at NASA and why this is his proudest personal achievement. - Going from restaurant investor to board member of the James Beard foundation. The devastating effects of the COVID-19 crisis on the industry and how the James Beard foundation is helping save the restaurant industry.

In a Wharton Fintech exclusive podcast interview, Miguel Armaza and Guillermo Gonzalez went behind the scenes of one of the most transformational acquisitions in the fintech space to date. We sat down with Anthony Noto, CEO of SoFi, and Clay Wilkes, CEO of Galileo, to discuss their most recent transaction in which SoFi acquired Galileo for the total sum of $1.2 Billion. What prompted SoFi to consider Galileo as a crucial strategic alternative? What were the challenges of executing a landmark transaction amidst a global pandemic? Similarly, we had an opportunity to explore what the future holds for both companies. What products will both companies build by leveraging their unique strengths and capabilities? Wondering about international expansion? Notably, both Anthony and Clay believe in the mission of advancing financial independence and inclusion for millions of historically disadvantaged consumers. This conviction has guided their decision to keep both companies independent, opening the door for far-reaching, industry-wide collaborations. Thrilled enough? Join us for this exciting conversation with Anthony and Clay.

In our latest episode of the Wharton Fintech podcast, Miguel Armaza (WG’21/G’21) is joined by Ryan Falvey, Managing Partner of Financial Venture Studio, a venture capital firm that invests in early stage teams who are seeking to improve how Americans conduct their financial lives. Ryan Falvey is the Managing Partner of Financial Venture Studio. He has spent the last 15 years identifying, supporting and leading market-changing innovations in technology. Since 2015, he's invested in 40 early stage fintech firms, which have grown to represent approximately $3 billion in aggregate equity value. Prior to founding the Venture Studio, Ryan led the development of the Financial Solutions Lab, a partnership between JPMorgan Chase and the Financial Health Network. Prior to managing the Lab, Ryan worked with leading tech firms to develop payment solutions at Silicon Valley Bank. He also served as Strategy Group Lead at Enclude Solutions, overseeing global strategy consulting work around mobile-enabled financial products. Financial Venture Studio invests in great early stage teams who are seeking to improve how Americans conduct their financial lives. From more efficient savings to superior investments to faster payments and better information, the promise of today’s financial products has never been greater. Learn more at www.finventurestudio.com. FVS has selected three cohorts of startups for its unique model of support since its founding in 2018. Of the first 13 startups to participate in the firm’s previous two cohorts, 12 have raised subsequent funding—with over $37 million in follow-on capital raised by firms since participating in the FVS program. In this interview, Ryan shares: - Their investment thesis and the type of company FVS invests in. - Details about their accelerator program and its strong partnerships with investors, regulators, operators, and media companies. - Highlights of some their portfolio companies and what drew FVS to invest in them. - His analysis on how technology is breaking down the centuries-old nature of financial services. - His take on the opportunities being exposed by the COVID-19 crisis and why this event will have broader implications on the financial sector for many years to come. - The reasons why you don’t want to be a founder with a pre-COVID mentality in a post-COVID world. - And much, much more…

Eric Rosenthal is a Vice President and Managing Director of Rapyd, managing their North American Business Unit. Rapyd is the world's largest global payment network, accepting and disbursing more than 900 payment types in over 100 countries. It connects 2 million global ATM and over-the-counter (OTC) cash access points across the globe.  Before Rapyd, Eric worked in startups and major enterprises including Abra, American Express, First Data, Citigroup and McKinsey.

In our latest episode of the Wharton Fintech podcast, Miguel Armaza (WG’21/G’21) is joined by David Brear, CEO of 11:FS, a challenger consultancy building out new propositions and ventures in the UK, US, Europe and Asia. David Brear is the CEO of 11:FS and since his dream of being a sportsperson was crushed (along with the ligaments in his knee!) and he had to get a proper job, he has worked in pretty much every angle of the financial services industry never losing that competitive desire to win. Having pitched, established and run billion-pound transformations for some of the biggest FS companies on the planet the realization that digital banking is only 1% finished has spurred his desire to establish an organization that can actually make it happen. 11:FS is a challenger consultancy building out new propositions and ventures in the UK, US, Europe and Asia for some of the biggest brands on the planet. Alongside this 11:FS build in-house products from competitor benchmarking tools like 11:FS Pulse, to core banking systems like 11:FS Foundry. Most recently David has led the creation and market establishment of the challenger business bank Mettle for Natwest in the UK as it’s CEO, proving that the big banks can fight back against the fintech threat. He is also a host of the global business podcast, Fintech Insider. In this interview, David shares: - Why he strongly believes digital banking is only 1% finished and what the 11:FS team is doing to change the fabric of financial services. - Culture at 11:FS. The importance of finding people that revere each other’s talents and not just their own. - The reasons why culture and talent are the only two things that really matter in any organization. - His plea to large institutions acquiring fintech companies: Don’t break what you buy! Plenty of examples of fintechs being acquired and eventually being left to die. - The biggest challenges of incumbent banks and why legacy mentality and culture are more impactful than legacy technology systems. - Fintech in the UK. Why the UK regulators took an innovator-friendly approach and how it benefited the local scene by spurring competition and attracting some of the best global talent. - The horrific impact of COVID-19 and why this crisis is unlocking the realization of senior bankers that digitization is not optional, but mandatory. - Why he thinks this is the best time to be working in financial services and what 11:FS is doing to help financial institutions unleash their full potential.

In our latest podcast, we're excited to speak with Nicolas Kopp, the US CEO of N26. In Europe, N26 is a fully licensed mobile bank offering an effortless, sleek user experience with no hidden fees. It has grown to serve over 3.5 M customers across 24 markets and recently launched in the US with a mobile banking app and Visa debit card together with Axos Bank. In this extensive interview, Nic speaks to: ● N26's founding and how it was built to offer a completely different approach to banking ● The rationale for N26's launch in the US and the opportunity it sees in the market ● N26's plans for expanding in the US to better meet consumers' needs, particularly with its Perks and Spaces offerings ● How N26's culture enables it to innovate and challenge the status quo ● Nic's thoughts on how consumer banking will evolve in the US Nic originally joined N26 in 2015 as one of its first employees heading up Business Development and Operations, which he built from the ground up. Prior to N26, Nic spent several years at Morgan Stanley.

In our latest episode of the Wharton Fintech podcast, Miguel Armaza (WG’21/G’21) is joined by Pierpaolo Barbieri, Founder & CEO of Ualá, one of the fastest growing fintechs in Latin America. Ualá is an Argentine mobile banking app and lending platform that's also one of the fastest growing fintechs in Latin America. Since launching in October 2017, the company has issued over two million cards, raised almost 200 million in funding, and has grown to over 300 employees. Pierpaolo Barbieri grew up in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He moved to the US to study at Harvard University, where he graduated magna cum laude. He then moved to the UK to pursue a Master degree in Cambridge and obtained his postgraduate in history and economics. In 2016, he returned to Argentina to launch Ualá. He is fluent in Italian, Spanish and French. In this extensive interview, Pierpaolo shares: - What motivated him to move back to Argentina and launch Uala in 2017 with the vision of building an inclusive financial company - The challenges of building a banking institution from scratch - Why simplicity can be transformational and why this philosophy drives Uala’s mission to build a beautiful and simple product that is easy to understand - The importance of providing “skin in the game” to your team and why over 15% of the company is owned by Ualá employees - His advice for aspiring entrepreneurs and why he is convinced this is the best environment to test the feasibility of a business idea - And why it’s hard for him to stop answering to clients directly on his own personal Twitter feed!

In our latest episode of the Wharton FinTech Podcast, Miguel Armaza (WG'21/G'21) is joined by Monica Brand Engel, Co-Founder and Partner at Quona, a venture capital firm that invests in growth-stage financial technology companies in emerging markets. Quona Capital is a venture capital firm that invests in growth-stage financial technology companies in emerging markets. The firm was formed with a simple idea - technology has the power to radically improve the quality, access, and affordability of financial services for underserved consumers and businesses in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Quona invests in disruptive innovations to create a more financially inclusive world. Monica Brand Engel is a Co-Founder and Partner at Quona, where she focuses on global investments. Monica is an investor and entrepreneur, having launched a number of investment vehicles and products aimed at broadening financial inclusion. Before co-founding Quona, Monica was the founder and Managing Director of Accion Frontier Investments Group, a growth stage fintech portfolio. She also launched and managed Accion's Marketing and Product Development Unit, where she oversaw the creation of new financial services to move the industry beyond microcredit, and worked in Mexico with Compartamos Bank, the largest microfinance institution in Latin America which IPO'd in 2007. Monica started and co-taught a graduate level course on financial inclusion and impact investing for over a decade at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, with the goal of disseminating lessons learned and promoting investment approaches that will help mainstream the industry. She has also co-authored a chapter on equity in impact investing in a book, New Frontiers of Philanthropy, and was a founding member of the Impact Investment Advisory Council established by the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association. Monica has served on the boards of Sokowatch, Yoco, Azimo, Zoona, GloboKasNet, Shubham Housing, Paralife, Compartamos Bank, and Pay Rent Builds Credit. Monica chairs the Investor Representative Committee of LeapFrog Financial Inclusion Fund I, the world’s first microinsurance fund. Monica holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, a Master of Arts from Stanford University, and a Bachelor of Arts from Williams College. In this extensive interview, Monica shares: -Her personal background. How growing up in a multicultural and multi-religious family, shaped her belief that what connects us is much more powerful than what differentiates us -Why she is convinced Venture Capital can be a powerful tool for good How she became a big believer in the power of financial services to affect change in underserved markets -The notable challenges of launching a VC firm aimed at financial inclusion in 2014 -The most important lessons she learned from her mentor and former boss, Michael Chu -How to succeed in VC. The importance of building a good team with strong track record and relevant operational expertise, while having a clear and specific thesis -Why "panicking" early is an important philosophy in business and the value of always preparing for the worst -Monica's take on the lessons COVID-19 has brought to light and why Quona could not have existed 15 years ago -Why Quona remains super bullish about the future of financial services and financial inclusion and why she's excited about the Alternative Lending and Neobanking spaces