Disruption Talks by Netguru

If you’re a fan of this podcast series, you probably know that we recently had Lucas Bédout, Head of Engineering at Spendesk recently on our show. What has changed since then? Well, actually A LOT as Spendesk has just become a unicorn 🦄 and their growth rates are formidable. We invited Spendesk’s Head of Marketing Stephanie Bowker to discuss the nuts and bolts of growing and scaling a b2b fintech, positioning differences between Europe and the US, what are the metrics that help her decide if her team’s branding efforts are working, and building successful links between the community and the product. This one is a must-listen for everyone struggling with scaling up digital products. Hosted by Ola Prejs, Head of Growth at Netguru.

On this episode you’ll have a chance to meet Adrian Pica, who is the ex-VP of Product at Bolt, an expert in all things mobility, maps, geo and location-based technologies, B2C marketplaces, automotive, complex back-end platforms and autonomous driving. A seasoned Product Leader, passionate about product management in tech companies, with over 10 years of experience in both startups and large global companies in Europe, US and Asia. Together with our host Pedro Sousa, they discuss what are the most important aspects of Micromobility and how to remain in touch with users’ needs.

Sandra Wdowiak is an Experience Designer working at Pandora. She joined the company a few months ago, deciding to make a switch from the finance industry.On this episode she shares her insights on how to combine beautiful design with problem-solving and gives us a sneak peek into how they combine those two qualities at Pandora. She also shares her favorite UX practices and gives us a huge dose of inspiration around design. This episode is hosted by Sabina Białek, Senior UX Designer & Team Leader at Netguru. Enjoy!

Lucas Bédout, Head of Engineering at Spendesk is joining us for another Disruption Talks episode and will unveil what’s behind the great engineering culture at the company and what are the challenges they face when it comes to scaling tech teams. Spendesk is a fast-growing spend management platform that allows companies to control their money and budgets. They are well known for their built-in automation and smooth approval processes. This episode is hosted by Sean O’Connor, Fintech Sales Team Leader at Netguru.

Sit tight and get ready because on this episode of Disruption Talks we’re hosting a special guest from the luxury sector - Carlota Rodriguez-Benito, Head of Innovation at Chanel Iberia.In this episode Carlota shares insights from her first-hand experience working at a globally recognized luxury brand Chanel Iberia. Carlota sheds some light on innovation management in this industry, and whether it will be impact by the Metaverse. She also gives us the perspective of a writer as she’s about to launch her second book LUXE 4Z : Shaping a Landscape for Luxury in 2040. In her book Carlota presents predictions drawn from her own research, experience, as well as conversations with industry leaders.Hosted by Filip Sobiecki, Client Partner at Netguru.

Together with Helen Björk, Product Manager at Northmill Bank, we dig deeper into the challenges that Product Managers face, innovations in the payments sector, and Northmill Bank’s upcoming card launch.Hosted by Paulina Sztainwald.

Daniel Thomason, a Financial Crime Prevention Product Manager at Wise, shares his journey from the Australian Central Bank to fintech innovation. The discussion dives deep into KYC, Anti-Money Laundering, and the importance of transparency in international money transfers. He highlights the role of collaboration with stakeholders and creative problem-solving in navigating regulatory challenges. Thomason also reflects on learning from product failures and the key decision-making frameworks that can guide leaders in the complex world of product management.

Decentralized finance or DeFi is a relatively new idea even in the fintech world, but it has been gaining traction over the past year. DeFi offers a different experience to traditional banking and opens up a world of possibilities previously closed to consumers. In this episode of Disruption Talks, we spoke with the Co-Founder and CEO of Unstoppable Finance, Peter Grosskopf. Peter is a big name in the fintech and blockchain space and joins the live stream to talk about why he started his latest company, and to share his thoughts on DeFi’s future. Hosted by Sean O'Connor.

Nowadays, the world of fintech is much larger and more complex than ever before. It’s not just about banking anymore. It’s evolved into something much bigger.You can now throw brokerage, insurance, payments, lending, investments, and even crypto into the mix. All of these different financial verticals have different uses, regulations, tools, and accounts to manage them — making financial services fragmented by nature. The problem with this fragmentation is that consumers have to manage their money through a range of different tools from different providers. As none of these tools are really designed to integrate with each other, it’s up to the customer to manage it all individually. In other words, it can be a great hassle, time-consuming, and makes for an overall poor user experience. Aiming to solve the problem is Rize, a fintech-as-a-service provider designed to pull these different verticals together under one roof. Rize does this by using Synthetic Accounts technology, which seamlessly integrates checking, saving, and individual brokerage into one API fintech builders can use. In this episode of Disruption Talks, CEO and Co-Founder of Rize, Justin Howell, explains how its embedded fintech service works. Hosted by Filip Sobiecki.

In a world where digital payments are the norm, many businesses have begrudgingly accepted the high costs associated with processing credit card payments. However, alternative means of managing payments are rising in popularity. One such solution is provided by Dwolla. Founded in 2008, Dwolla was designed to make moving money simple, fast, and affordable. The company provides an API that allows companies to build and facilitate fast payments, specifically with a focus on ACH (automated clearing house). Skyler Nesheim, Senior Vice President of Technology, and Benjamin Schmitt, Vice President of Product at Dwolla, joined Disruption Talks to discuss how it all works. They explain how Dwolla’s payments API works, the challenges faced in the payments industry, and Dwolla’s success secrets.Hosted by Filip Sobiecki.