Fintech Impact

In this 143rd episode of Fintech Impact, Jason Pereira, award-winning financial planner, university lecturer, writer, and host interviews Heinrich Zetlmayer, the Founder and CEO of Blockchain Valley Ventures, a Swiss venture firm that focuses on industry-leading blockchain businesses.Episode Highlights: 0:32 – Heinrich introduces Blockchain Valley Ventures.1:48 – Heinrich left IBM in 2008 to enter the venture capital industry.2:55 – Investments in the blockchain space needed to be separated from the business.4:26 – Blockchain Valley Ventures helps entrepreneurs by taking care of their problems.5:48 – Switzerland is a hotspot in the crypto world because of its unique regulations.7:07 – BVV invests in only two types of sectors.8:18 – With all the remote working brought on by COVID, Keyless has been brought to the forefront.9:32 – Heinrich discusses the multiple clusters in the supply chain management industry.12:03 – How are consumers finding product-market fit right now?17:49 – What excites Heinrich about the blockchain industry in the near future?20:09 – How will gaming play a part in the future of blockchain?21:40 – Coin Source is developing a system of crypto ATMs.24:20 – Why do people fear the volatility of the bitcoin market?26:10 – If Heinrich could change one thing about the blockchain sector, what would it be? 26:44 – What is the biggest challenge in Heinrich’s company today?27:49 – Heinrich discusses what excites him the most about his career.3 Key PointsBlockchain Valley Ventures provides value to entrepreneurs by helping them with their problems.Blockchain is just moving out of its infancy as an industry.People struggle with blockchain because of the volatility of bitcoin, but in reality, world currency is just as volatile. Tweetable Quotes:“We’re fully dedicated to the impact of blockchain technology and blockchain innovation...because it is such a fundamental innovation. It’s so complex in itself as it combines legal, technology, innovation.” - Heinrich Zetlmayer“If you want to be relevant in the blockchain space and deliver value, you cannot be just an investor. You need to add value.” - Heinrich Zetlmayer“The whole industry is moving out of an early-stage industry. It’s moving from proofs-of-concept into pilate projects and rollouts.” - Heinrich Zetlmayer“Value is not in a physical object; it can be abstracted. Just for the sake of convenience, it’s going to continue to grow around the world.” Jason PereiraResources Mentioned:Facebook – Jason Pereira’s FacebookLinkedIn – Jason Pereira’s LinkedInFintechImpact.co – Website for Fintech ImpactJasonPereira.ca – Sign up for Jason Pereira’s newsletterLinkedIn – Heinrich Zetlmayer’s LinkedInBvventures.ch – Blockchain Valley Ventures Website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this 142nd episode of Fintech Impact, Jason Pereira, award-winning financial planner, university lecturer, writer, and host interviews Matthew Bogart, Vice President of Marketing at NexJ Systems, a financial-specific CRM and data analytics tool. Episode Highlights: ● 00:27 – Matthew Bogart introduces himself and NexJ Systems. ● 01:35 – What is the history of NexJ ? ● 02:30 – How does NexJ go beyond just basic tracking? ● 03:48 – How has NexJ’s customer base evolved? ● 04:42 – What do they offer financial advisors? ● 06:12 – Matthew Bogart discusses the data points that NexJ looks at. ● 10:27 – NexJ has been around since 2004. ● 10:48 – What does Matthew see coming down the pipeline? ● 19:29 – Those that engage the most with their clients drive loyalty and are also usually the higher performing firms. ● 20:19 – What would Matthew Bogart change in his business or industry? ● 21:04 – What have been the biggest challenges Matthew Bogart has faced? ● 23:41 – What keeps Matthew Bogart excited each day about his work? 3 Key Points 1. NexJ looks at about 44 points of data. 2. Machine learning is when the systems analyzes pieces of data, looks for common patterns, and uses that to take action. 3. Exporting data is becoming a greater priority than it has ever been. Tweetable Quotes: ● “NexJ delivers intelligent customer management solutions to the financial industry, focused specifically on wealth management.” – Matthew Bogart ● “Who would have thought back in the year 2000 that a firm like Shopify would be designated as a CRM vendor?” – Matthew Bogart ● (NexJ) “Having thi very vertical-specific product that focuses on really the sales, service, and marketing elements that a financial advisor would need.” – Matthew Bogart Resources Mentioned: ● Facebook – Jason Pereira’s Facebook● LinkedIn – Jason Pereira’s LinkedIn ● FintechImpact.co – Website for Fintech Impact ● JasonPereira.ca – Sign up for Jason Pereira’s newsletter ● Linkedin – Matthew Bogart’s Linkedin ● nexj.com – Website for NexJ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this 141st episode of Fintech Impact, Jason Pereira, award-winning financial planner, university lecturer, writer, and host interviews Ned Phillips, Founder and CEO of Bambu. Bambu is a digital platform that helps businesses deploy robo advisor solutions quickly, fast, and customized. Episode Highlights: ● 00:56 – Ned Phillips introduces himself and Bambu. ● 02:48 – What led to the creation of Bambu? ● 04:04 – What was it about robo advisors that they gravitated towards? ● 05:50 – What problems did they run into with Bambu? ● 09:15 – When customers want Bambu to build them a robo advisor, what does that experience look like? ● 12:47 – What have been the responses to their robo advisors? ● 16:11 – How far down market in terms of client size or enterprise does Ned see this going? ● 17:48 – What does the pricing look like? ● 22:08 – What has demand been looking like? ● 26:04 – What would Ned Phillips change in his business or industry? ● 27:17 – What have been the biggest challenges Ned has faced? ● 29:32 – What keeps Ned Phillips excited each day about his work? 3 Key Points 1. If you build what everybody wants it becomes a random bunch of codes which isn’t a product. If you build a product and no one buys it, you are out of business. 2. Bambu built up their initial customer base by finding out what problems businesses had that they could solve for them. 3. Bambu can typically have you up and running with a robo advisor in 4-8 weeks if they are willing to go with their fixed version with the front end customized to the client. Tweetable Quotes: ● “We design, build, and integrate robo advisors. So the simplest way I can describe it is that financial institutions say to us, ‘I want a betterment. I want a wealth front. I want my own robo-advisor. We are a pure technology company.” – Ned Phillips ● “We are technology guys, 4-years-old. Yes, we are based in Singapore. But we have been pretty global. We have been really lucky. We have clients in the U.S. We have clients in Europe, and across Asia and in the Middle East.” – Ned Phillips ● “We have built over 20 financial institutions now. Some of the biggest Franklin, Standard Chartered, HSBC.” – Ned Phillips Resources Mentioned: ● Facebook – Jason Pereira’s Facebook ● LinkedIn – Jason Pereira’s LinkedIn ● FintechImpact.co – Website for Fintech Impact ● JasonPereira.ca – Sign up for Jason Pereira’s newsletter ● Linkedin – Ned Phillips’s Linkedin ● bambu.co – Website for Bambu Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this 140th episode of Fintech Impact, Jason Pereira, award-winning financial planner, university lecturer, writer, and host interviews Samir Vasavada the Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Vise and Runik Mehrotra the Co-Founder & Chief Investment Officer of Vise. Vise is a next generation asset measurement platform that allows for the development, tracking, monitoring, and testing of portfolios made up of individual stocks. Episode Highlights: ● 00:30 – Samir Vasavada and Runik Mehrotra explain Vise. ● 01:40 – What led to the origin of Vise? ● 05:28 – What was the journey to getting Vise started? ● 06:55 – What does the workflow look like and the core data points? ● 08:45 – They talk about employment as a risk factor. ● 11:52 – What does a conventional portfolio look like to them? ● 15:57 – What are their thoughts on direct indexing? ● 19:39 – What has the feedback for Vise been like? ● 24:38 – What would Samir Vasavada and Runik Mehrotra change in their business or industry? ● 27:50 – What have been the biggest challenges Samir Vasavada and Runik Mehrotra have faced? ● 33:23 – What keeps Samir Vasavada and Runik Mehrotra excited each day about their work? 3 Key Points 1. Vise can customize strategies around financial advisors and explains why a portfolio is built the way it was. 2. A portfolio can be as few as 25-30 individual stocks to 100 individual stocks. 3. Vise helps advisers differentiate themselves, giving advisors some of their time back. Tweetable Quotes: ● “Essentially what Vise is, is that we are using AI to automate investment management for financial advisors. The vast majority of financial advisors really struggle to differentiate. They provide their clients the same generic portfolios.” – Samir Vasavad ● “We’ve essentially built this AI where we can analyze clients’ needs, money they have to invest, goals, networth needs, career risks, private holdings, to build a highly personalized portfolio of individual stocks, bonds, other assets. .” – Samir Vasavad ● “The thesis behind the company is the advisor is their relationship with their client, and we do everything else in an automated yet personalized way.” – Samir Vasavad Resources Mentioned: ● Facebook – Jason Pereira’s Facebook ● LinkedIn – Jason Pereira’s LinkedIn ● FintechImpact.co – Website for Fintech Impact ● JasonPereira.ca – Sign up for Jason Pereira’s newsletter ● Linkedin – Samir Vasavada’s Linkedin ● Linkedin – Runik Mehrotra● vise.com – Website for Vise AI  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Fintech Impact, Jason Pereira, award-winning financial planner, university lecturer, writer, and host interviews Peter Misek, Founding Partner of Framework Venture Partners. Framework Venture Partners is a venture capital firm that takes a data-driven approach to investigate and benchmark companies before they even invest in them, and also provide consulting investment feedback before and after the engagement process. Episode Highlights: ● 00:39 – Peter Misek introduces himself and Framework Venture Partners. ● 01:35 – What is the history of Framework? ● 04:04 – How does being data-driven benefit startups? ● 08:08 – What does Framework Venture Partners come back to a startup with after scoring them? ● 10:48 – What types of levels of dropping out have occurred? ● 12:56 – Are their results leading to a more diverse group of founders? ● 18:25 – What is the next step after a company scores well? ● 22:29 – Peter Misek describes the experience of his team. ● 25:21 – What would Peter Misek change in his business or industry? ● 27:02 – What have been the biggest challenges Peter Misek has faced? ● 29:32 – What keeps Peter Misek excited each day about his work? 3 Key Points 1. Founders need advice and mentorship. 2. Framework Venture Partners tracks 15,000-plus startups across North America, which is about 3%. 3. Framework Venture Partners interviews with startups take 15-30 minutes with cursory consulting. Tweetable Quotes: ● “Framework was started with the premise that data can help us both find great startups, but also help our startups know where they need to go on a journey to become a world-class company.” – Peter Misek ● “We layer in operational expertise that we’ve developed over 20-plus years, my partner and I and the team, in very specific areas such as vertical expertise. So think financial services and artificial intelligence, and then think talent.” – Peter Misek● “All of the levels of government across Canada, the average sales cycle...is 24 months. All of the levels of government across the United States, the average sales cycle is below 12 months.” – Peter Misek Resources Mentioned: ● Facebook – Jason Pereira’s Facebook ● LinkedIn – Jason Pereira’s LinkedIn ● FintechImpact.co – Website for Fintech Impact ● JasonPereira.ca – Sign up for Jason Pereira’s newsletter ● Linkedin – Peter Misek’s Linkedin ● framework.vc – Website for Framework Venture Partners Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this 138th episode of Fintech Impact, Jason Pereira, award-winning financial planner, university lecturer, writer, and host interviews Ethan Buchman, Co-Founder of Cosmos and CEO of Informal Systems. Cosmos is one of the largest blockchains and one of the most valuable cryptocurrencies in the world, of which Ethan Buchman was an integral part of creating. Episode Highlights: ● 00:32 – Ethan Buchman explains Cosmos. ● 02:53 – What is Ethan Buchman’s history? ● 09:20 – What is the differences between and proof of work and proof of stake? ● 10:10 – Which countries consumed less power than bitcoin? ● 11:09 – Where else can you go besides bitcoin to maximize options? ● 12:00 – They discuss public and private blockchains. ● 16:06 – Where are the limitations with authurium? ● 25:24 – What does Informal Systems do? ● 35:01 – What would Ethan Buchman change in his business or industry? ● 35:49 – What have been the biggest challenges Ethan has faced? ● 36:50 – What keeps Ethan Buchman excited each day about his work? 3 Key Points 1. Blockchain is the evolution of automating human processes, moving from personal computers, to the cloud, and now to the multi-stakeholder operation. 2. In 2019, bitcoin consumed more power than Switzerland. 3. Reducing compliance is an important use case in the blockchain world. Tweetable Quotes: ● “We want to make it as easy as possible for people to build their own blockchains, launch their own blockchains, structure them in the ways that they need to that fit their needs and fit their values, and the values of their community.” – Ethan Buchman ● “In 2013 I programmed my first bitcoin transaction from scratch, which is almost like a religious experience to be able to do that.” – Ethan Buchman ● “The public blockchain becomes this source of truth that you can audit against without necessarily revealing all the information to the whole world. The boutry between public and private becomes significantly blurred .” – Ethan Buchman Resources Mentioned: ● Facebook – Jason Pereira’s Facebook ● LinkedIn – Jason Pereira’s LinkedIn ● FintechImpact.co – Website for Fintech Impact ● JasonPereira.ca – Sign up for Jason Pereira’s newsletter ● Linkedin – Ethan Buchman● cosmos.network – Website for Cosmos ● informal.systems – Website for Informal Systems Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this 137th episode of Fintech Impact, Jason Pereira, award-winning financial planner, university lecturer, writer, and host interviews John Bromley, Founder and CEO of Charitable Impact and Mike Todd, Director of Charitable Investment Programs at Charitable Impact. Charitable Impact is a fintech online platform that enables charitable donations through donor-advised funds. John Bromley and Mike Todd talk about how they are able to get this done and what a donor-advised fund is. Episode Highlights: ● 00:38 – What is Charitable Impact? ● 01:30 – What was the impetus for Charitable Impact getting started? ● 03:44 – What is a donor-advised fund and why do they get used? ● 13:26 – How many people come directly and how many people come from other sources? ● 14:44 – Charitable Impact works with close to 100 investment managers across various firms. ● 16:58 – How does the technology work? ● 23:48 – What would John Bromley and Michael Todd change in their business or industry? ● 32:21 – What have been the biggest challenges John Bromley and Michael Todd has faced? ● 36:52 – What keeps John Bromley and Michael Todd excited each day about their work? 3 Key Points 1. The questions that pushed John Brimley to start Charitable Impact are: Where do you go to get advice in the charitable giving world? How can charitable giving be made possible and fluidly during any translation on a cost-effective basis? 2. There are over 85,000 charities in Canada. 3. Donor-advised funds are like having a bank account for charitable giving. Tweetable Quotes: ● “Charitable Impact asks the questions, who is really there to support the donor who is looking to participate, or who is participating in charitable giving? .” – John Bromley ● “We give people their own individual giving account, it is what is referred to as a donor-advised fund and they take on that account, they can put their charitable donations into it.” – John Bromley ● “We have higher net worth donor, and generally the majority of those people we meet through financial advisors. The majority of our donors, however, are everyday Canadians, I would refer to as grassroots donors.” – John Bromley Resources Mentioned: ● Facebook – Jason Pereira’s Facebook ● LinkedIn – Jason Pereira’s LinkedIn ● FintechImpact.co – Website for Fintech Impact ● JasonPereira.ca – Sign up for Jason Pereira’s newsletter ● charitableimpact.com – Website for Charitable Impact ● Linkedin – John Bromley ● Linkedin – Michael Todd’s Linkedin Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this 136th episode of Fintech Impact, Jason Pereira, award-winning financial planner, university lecturer, writer, and host interviews Garima Shah, President of Biller Genie, a SaaS company that helps companies get paid faster on their accounts payable. Garima Shah explains how Biller Genie got started, how it works for clients, and the benefits of their value proposition. Episode Highlights: ● 00:29 – Garima Shah explains Biller Genie and the origin of the company. ● 02:57 – Which accounting systems does she commonly encounter? ● 05:28 – What was the journey to getting Biller Genie started? ● 06:55 – How does the billing model work for Biller Genie? ● 09:09 – Garima Shah takes us through the Biller Genie process? ● 11:52 – What has been the general feedback they have been getting from most companies? ● 22:06 – They talk about accounts payable automation efficiency. ● 27:04 – What would Garima Shah change in her business or industry? ● 30:39 – What have been the biggest challenges Garima Shah has faced? ● 32:17 – What keeps Garima excited each day about her work? 3 Key Points 1. 90% of businesses in the world handle accounts receivable manually. 2. Biller Genie charges a monthly fee plus a percentage only when they collect on invoices. 3. On average, Biler Genie gets businesses paid 15 days faster, collecting 60% of their outstanding balances no matter what within the first 30 days ,and saves them between 15-20 hours a week in manual labor. Tweetable Quotes: ● “Biller Genie is an automated account receivable software, which is a whole lot of words that don’t mean a lot to most people.” – Garima Shah ● “Our average client does between $70,000-$100,000 a month in revenue or invoicing, and a client that does $100,000 a month would only pay $550 for Biller Genie in the entire month.” – Garima Shah ● “The average cost for an invoice, according to the Wall Street Journal, is between $16-$38 to process a single invoice manually.” – Garima Shah Resources Mentioned: ● Facebook – Jason Pereira’s Facebook ● LinkedIn – Jason Pereira’s LinkedIn ● FintechImpact.co – Website for Fintech Impact ● JasonPereira.ca – Sign up for Jason Pereira’s newsletter ● Linkedin – Garima Shah● billergenie.com – Website  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this 135th episode of Fintech Impact, Jason Pereira, award-winning financial planner, university lecturer, writer, and host interviews two members of senior leadership at Conquest Planning, Mark Evans, President and CEO, and Brad Joudrie, Chief Revenue Officer. Conquest planning is a next generation financial planning software that is bringing in various forms of modern technologies to planning that will help expedite and increase the accuracy and the effectiveness of financial planning. Episode Highlights: ● 00:35 – Mark and Brad explain Conquest Planning. ● 01:12 – How did Conquest Planning get started? ● 05:20 – What were the gaps in the industry that they were looking to fill? ● 16:14 – Why is the API infrastructure so important to customers? ● 21:40 – What has been the response from the potential clients they have spoken to? ● 24:24 – How have they made this easier and more efficient? ● 30:34 – Advisors will be able to learn the nuances of various strategies while they use the service. ● 35:18 – What would Mark Evans and Brad Joudrie change in the business or industry? ● 39:47 – What have been the biggest challenges Mark Evans and Brad Joudrie has faced? ● 45:07 – What keeps Mark Evans and Brad Joudrie excited each day about their work? 3 Key Points 1. Conquest Planning uses 50+ defined financial planning strategies and they can test them all in less than a second against the plan to see which works best and rank the impact. 2. Having a strong API strategy helps with workflow and the power of data. 3. Conquest Planning’s digital stories are like live reports with key performances indicators. Tweetable Quotes: ● “Conquest Planning is coming to the market to really make financial planning more accessible to more Canadians. We feel like there is a huge gap in the industry today with the amount of people that have access to good and sound financial advice.” – Brad Joudrie ● “It’s easier once you have done it to come back and go, ok, I know what I need to build and how I can improve it and I’m starting from scratch and I am not using technology from the 1990s. I’m using today’s technology.” – Mark Evans ● “When something changes, you want to be able to react and see which new strategies might be applicable now that you have modified the plan, using a set of other strategies.” – Mark Evans Resources Mentioned: ● Facebook – Jason Pereira’s Facebook ● LinkedIn – Jason Pereira’s LinkedIn ● FintechImpact.co – Website for Fintech Impact ● JasonPereira.ca – Sign up for Jason Pereira’s newsletter ● Linkedin – Hayden James● conquestplanning.com – Website for Conquest Planning ● Linkedin – Mark Evans● Linkedin – Brad Joudrie Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this 134th episode of Fintech Impact, Jason Pereira, award-winning financial planner, university lecturer, writer, and host, welcomes Jennifer Leger and Venky Kulkarni, co-Founders of Quber. They discuss common barriers to saving money, how Quber works to help its users overcome those barriers, and how they’re planning to grow the company. Episode Highlights: ● 00:41 – Quber is a money-saving app that helps people to save for specific life events and goals. ● 01:02 – Jennifer was inspired to create Quber out of her own personal financial frustration. ● 01:40 – When you download the app and create an account, you’re prompted to create your first savings goal, like an emergency fund. ● 02:06 – Quber stores the money that users are saving in a trust account so they can’t easily spend it. ● 02:38 – This is not investing in the stock market, it is simply setting aside cash to have on hand. ● 03:09 – Quber starts with saving rules, outlining how money will be moved from your bank account into your “savings jar” on the app. ● 03:32 –Quber creates savings goals and challenges for people to participate in within the app. ● 04:17 – Their target market is middle to low income people who have children. ● 06:05 – Quber is for really foundational savings, built for people who think they can’t save their money. ● 07:02 – For every $20 you save in the app, you get an entry into a drawing to win more money, and this attracts and retains users. ● 07:20 – Quber also has business partnerships, which is the primary way they get new users. ● 12:21 – Their next step is outreach to more Canadians through community savings initiatives and more traditional marketing. ● 13:53 – Quber’s monetization is primarily through their B2B partnerships. ● 15:02 – If Jennifer could change one thing within Quber or the industry, it would be to be able to move money faster. ● 16:24 – If Venky could change one thing, it would be to stop fees from disproportionately hitting the financially underserved. ● 18:26 – The biggest challenges for Venky were figuring out regulations and compliance as the company was starting, building partnerships with banks, and getting people to provide their bank account information. ● 21:00 – The biggest challenge for Jennifer is similar, but it’s mainly that growth has been slower than they’d hoped. ● 21:29 – What excites both Jennifer and Venky the most is hearing user testimonials. 3 Key Points 1. People often don’t look at their spending habits to understand where their money goes. 2. Quber has found success by incentivizing people to save through contests and partnerships. 3. Cultures in other parts of the world emphasize community savings and Quber hopes to bring that to North America. Tweetable Quotes: ● “A lot of people have cash but they’re spending it on things that they don’t really need. So what we’re trying to do is help people to save for the things that they want by changing their spending.” –Jennifer Leger ● “Those coffees and those foods really do add up, and people don’t realize it. When you’re spending, you’re not actually looking at it or looking at it in depth. So once they see that they can start cutting back on those things, they really see their savings grow.” –Jennifer Leger Resources Mentioned: ● Website – Jason Pereira’s Website ● Facebook – Jason Pereira’s Facebook ● LinkedIn – Jason Pereira’s LinkedIn ● FintechImpact.co – Website for Fintech Impact ● Quber Website  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.