Fintech One•On•One

This country has a savings problem. We have heard it so many times: the average person cannot afford a $400 emergency expense. While fintech has made some inroads here the problem is worse that it has ever been. What we need is a fintech that is laser-focused on this problem, working to create a simple and effective solution to truly address it.I am delighted to welcome my next guests on the Fintech One-on-One Podcast. Suze Orman needs no introduction, she has been providing personal finance advice for decades with her own TV show, many bestselling books and more. Devin Miller is the CEO and Co-Founder of SecureSave and he and his co-founder have teamed up with Suze Orman to address the emergency savings problem once and for all.In this podcast you will learn:The sorry state of emergency savings today in the U.S.The founding story of SecureSave.How Suze came to be involved.Why she hates celebrity endorsers and what she is bringing to the table.How she helped the company get to the right product market fit.How SecureSave is actually changing people's savings habits.The level of adoption they are getting with the average company.How people are accessing their emergency savings account.What people are withdrawing money for.Why they focus so much on the emergency part.Why they don't really focus on the demographics of their users.Their vision for the future of SecureSave.Connect with Devin on LinkedInConnect with Suze on LinkedInConnect with SecureSave on LinkedInConnect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

We are revisiting the venture capital space today because we are at such an interesting inflection point. Some VC firms took a very cautious approach amid the tumultuous market of 2022 but things might be turning around albeit slowly.My next guest on the Fintech One-on-One podcast is Clara Sieg, a partner at Revolution, the venture capital firm started by AOL founder Steve Case. Clara has been investing in fintech for many years and has an interesting take on the space today.In this podcast you will learn:The origins of Revolution Ventures.What attracted Clara to come on board at Revolution.Why they actively look to invest outside of the hot tech locations.How the geographic shift over the last three years has changed venture capital.How Revolution navigated the lofty valuations of 2021 and early 2022.Why they didn't do a single deal in 2022.The range of check sizes they are doing.Why they decided to invest in Sila and Paro.The different segments within fintech they are most interested in.Clara's perspective on the lack of capital flowing to women-led companies.Why she thinks this year will lead to more consolidation in fintech.Their expectation to do more deals in 2023.Connect with Clara on LinkedInConnect with Revolution on LinkedInConnect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

While there has been a lot of fintech innovation in small business lending, it has mostly been focused on loans of $500,000 or less. When it comes to loans of $1 million to $50 million there has been less innovation and it is still very much a manual, relationship-based process. But that is changing.My next guest on the Fintech One-on-One podcast is Blair Silverberg, the CEO and founder of Hum Capital. He looked at that market and realized a data-driven process could vastly improve efficiency so he has created a platform that intelligently pairs growth companies with investors and lenders. He calls Hum the world's only intelligent capital market.In this podcast you will learn:How Blair started his entrepreneurial journey at the age of six.The short term and long term opportunity that Blair saw that led to Hum Capital.Examples of how their platform works.Why they are focused purely on quantitative data.How they meet the demands of different types of investors.Why they are focused on private debt over equity.The range and average loan sizesHow they have challenged the relationship-based approach to mid-market lending.The compelling pitch they make to businesses seeking capital.What types of data they are working with.The two simple calculations they use to help businesses compare lending products.How they have removed bias from the lending process.How Blair feels about the impact of the changing macroeconomic environment.The different risk appetites of their investors.His vision for the future of Hum Capital.Connect with Blair on LinkedInConnect with Blair on TwitterConnect with Hum Capital on LinkedInConnect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

With all the layoffs in the news it would be easy to get the impression that fintech is on the downswing. But nothing could be further from the truth. There has never been a better time to start a fintech company and, as you will find out in this episode, the volume and quality of new fintech companies continues to increase.My next guest on the Fintech One-on-One podcast is Rex Salisbury. He is the founder of Cambrian Ventures and the creator of the Cambrian fintech community. He is one of the most well-connected people in all of fintech and has been supporting early-stage fintech companies for many years. In this podcast you will learn:The genesis of the Cambrian fintech community.What Rex did during his time at Andreessen Horowitz.How his co-founder matching service works.The size and focus of his first fund.Why he doesn't like to be a lead investor.How he sources new deals.Details of one of his first investments: Keep Financial The most interesting verticals in fintech today.What the pre-seed and seed fundraising market is like today.Why hiring at early-stage companies is easier than it has ever been.The volume of new fintech companies being created.What it is like being a solo GP in your own fund.Where he is taking Cambrian Ventures and the community.Connect with Rex on LinkedInConnect with Rex on TwitterConnect with Cambrian Ventures on LinkedInConnect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

There are few trends in fintech hotter today than embedded finance. There are companies offering to embed different type of financial products within the product flow of banks, fintechs and even brands. This is part of the rebundling of financial services and it is creating opportunities for many new companies.My next guest on the Fintech One-on-One podcast is Roy Ng, the CEO and co-founder of Bond. Today, Bond provides embedded consumer and business credit solutions for a range of different companies, but as you will find out in this episode, they are not stopping with credit.In this podcast you will learn:The founding story of Bond.How Roy defines embedded finance.Why they moved from a broad offering to doing one thing: credit.The target market they are focused on.How their process works when they onboard a new client.What the partnerships with their partner banks look like.How they are working with Adam Neumann's new company, Flow.The different areas where they are looking to expand.Roy's perspective on the future of embedded finance.Connect with Roy on LinkedInConnect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

The right lending infrastructure is what allows lenders to launch new products easily, to adapt products to changing economic conditions or to start an entirely new lending operation.My next guest on the Fintech One-on-One podcast is Eddie Oistacher, the CEO and Co-Founder of Peach Finance. Incubated inside Affirm, Peach has created a new kind of lending infrastructure that is adaptive and flexible and can scale for virtually any lending product (outside of mortgage).In this podcast you will learn:The founding story of Peach.How Max Levchin, the CEO of Affirm, supported new companies like Peach.The biggest challenges for lenders today.How Eddie describes Peach and where they sit in the technology stack.What an Adaptive Core is and why it is important.The different lending verticals they support.Type types of companies that use their software.What fintechs should be looking for when launching a new lending program.How lenders should think about loan servicing given a possible recession this year.What launching right before the pandemic was like.How their self-service migration tool works and why it is a big deal for lenders.What is next for Peach.Connect with Eddie on LinkedInConnect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

In the fintech space fighting fraud is a never ending battle. And there have been recent developments that is skewing the playing field in favor of the fraudsters. Fintech companies cannot do this themselves, they need the help of experts who are completely dedicated to making fraud as difficult as possible.My next guest on the Fintech One-on-One podcast is Kevin Gosschalk, the CEO and founder of Arkose Labs. Kevin has built Arkose Labs to tackle online fraud head on, having built a suite of tools used by fintechs and others operating online.In this podcast you will learn:The simple concept behind Arkose's approach.The state of play in the fraud space today as it applies to fintech.How Arkose Labs works with fintechs today.How much it costs to buy a valid identity on the dark web.What Cybercrime-as-a-Service is and why it is a huge issue.How fintechs can try to stop Cybercrime-as-a-Service.How to balance increasing friction and reducing fraud.An explanation of credential stuffing.Why they provide a $1 million warranty for credential stuffing.Why Arkose Labs created MatchKey to replace CAPTCHA.How they will adapt MatchKey to ensure it has longevity against criminals.How they are preparing for future fraud attacks.Connect with Kevin on LinkedInConnect with Arkose Labs on TwitterConnect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

The fintech industry has become much more sophisticated in how it engages with lawmakers and regulators in Washington. There are now many people in leadership positions, both within fintech companies and within the trade associations, with deep experience in government who can make sure our voice is heard. And that the issues that are most important to fintech companies are being discussed at the highest levels with Washington.Our next guest on the Fintech One-on-One Podcast is Penny Lee, the CEO of the Financial Technology Association (FTA). She has been around politics and government her entire career and now is bringing her expertise and connections to help the fintech industry engage with leaders in Washington.In this podcast you will learn:What attracted Penny to the role at the FTA.Their mission and the types of fintech companies they represent.Some of the big names on their board.How they are engaging specifically with lawmakers and regulators.Their plans for engaging with some specific state fintech issues.What initiatives have a shot at passing a divided Congress.How they are specifically engaging with the CFPB.The FTA's perspective on FedNow and what it could mean for fintech.How they are supporting the bank-fintech partnership model.How the FTA interacts with other fintech trade associations.What Penny is most excited about for 2023.Connect with Penny on LinkedInConnect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

Pix is probably the most successful fintech product in the history of the world. It is Brazil's instant payment system that launched in November 2020 and has taken the country by storm. More than 130 million Brazilians now use Pix and for around half of those people, it is the first digital payment tool they have ever used. If you are interested in fintech, you need to understand the Pix phenomenon.Our next guest on the Fintech One-on-One podcast is Carlos Brandt, the Head of the Management & Operations of Pix at the Central Bank of Brazil. I spoke with Carlos at Fintech Nexus LatAm held in Miami on December 13-14 and it was the highlight of the event for many of the attendees.In this podcast you will learn:The role Carlos played in the development of Pix.How his nine-year-old son helped in user experience and design.Why they rolled out Pix to both banks as well as non-banks on day one.Why they mandated all large financial institutions to join.The huge number of people who have done a digital transaction for the first time.What this means for Brazil's economy.How Pix has impacted the growth of e-commerce.How they are encouraging B2B payments.Why the Central Bank of Brazil is opening up Pix's protocols to other central banks.How Pix sits in relation to credit cards.If there is a place for crypto payments rails alongside Pix.How they are working to reduce fraud.What is on the roadmap for 2023 and the next five years.Connect with Carlos on LinkedInConnect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

User-permissioned financial data is becoming a bedrock of fintech innovation. Ever since Plaid came on the scene and enabled us to connect our bank account to other financial institutions, consumers have appreciated the advantages of this concept. But what the industry has really needed is an independent standard for this data sharing.My next guest on the Fintech One-on-One Podcast is Don Cardinal, the Managing Director of the Financial Data Exchange (FDX). This non-profit organization has created a common standard for the secure and convenient access of permissioned consumer and business financial data.In this podcast you will learn:What attracted Don to the opportunity at Financial Data Exchange.Don's work at FS-ISAC and what that organization does.The original vision for FDX and how it has evolved today.The state of open banking in the US today.The five core principles of financial data that FDX adheres to.Details of the FDX API standard they have developed.How that interfaces to the work that Plaid is doing.How the authentication of credentials works.Why biometric authentication is so much better than passwords.Some of the big names who are members are FDX.How they balance the different perspectives of banks, fintechs and consumer groups.The connection between FDX and the Open Financial Exchange (OFX).How they keep their own technology updated.Don's vision for the future of open finance.Connect with Don on LinkedInConnect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes