Fintech Leaders

Send us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Tidjane Deme, General Partner of Partech Africa, one of the largest Africa-focused venture capital funds with close to $500 million in assets under management. Some of their investments include TradeDepot, Wave, Yoco, Reliance, and Nomba.We discuss:A deep dive into the African Fintech landscape and what he’s learned from the most innovative companies and markets in the continentFundraising lessons from building one of the first and largest dedicated African VC fundsImportant differences between VC investing in Africa vs US/EuopeLaunching Partech’s annual Africa Tech Venture Capital Report… lots more!Want more podcast episodes? Join me and follow Fintech Leaders today on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app for weekly conversations with today’s global leaders that will dominate the 21st century in fintech, business, and beyond.Do you prefer a written summary, instead? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join 55,000+ readers and listeners worldwide!Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder & Managing General Partner of Gilgamesh Ventures, a seed-stage investment fund focused on fintech in the Americas. He also hosts and writes the Fintech Leaders podcast and newsletter.Miguel on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nKha4ZMiguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBcFintech Leaders Newsletter: bit.ly/3jWIpqp

Send us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Luvleen Sidhu, CEO & Founder of BM Technologies (NYSE American: BMTX) a US Banking-as-a-Service platform that provides access to multiple financial services. The company currently serves over two million account-holders and provides disbursement services at approximately 725 colleges and universities.We discuss:How they successfully pivoted BM Technologies from a consumer to a B2B modelBuilding a Banking as a Service company and navigating a highly regulated environmentPros and cons of going public through a SPAC in 2021 as a profitable companyPutting yourself in the client’s shoes, Leadership lessons… and a lot more!Want more podcast episodes? Join me and follow Fintech Leaders today on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app for weekly conversations with today’s global leaders that will dominate the 21st century in fintech, business, and beyond.Do you prefer a written summary, instead? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join 55,000+ readers and listeners worldwide!Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder & Managing General Partner of Gilgamesh Ventures, a seed-stage investment fund focused on fintech in the Americas. He also hosts and writes the Fintech Leaders podcast and newsletter.Miguel on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nKha4ZMiguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBcFintech Leaders Newsletter: bit.ly/3jWIpqp

Jorge Combe, former co-head of Goldman Sachs Mexico and Latin America, discusses bootstrapping, building a B2B and B2C business, and the incredible potential in Mexico and Latin America. They also talk about demographic advantages for entrepreneurship, the process of starting a company, the impact of AI tools on work, analyzing residential construction, and the changing entrepreneurial landscape in Mexico and Latin America.

Send us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Daniel Cohen, Co-Founder of Cohen Circle, an investment firm; Cohen & Company, an asset manager with $2.2+ billion AUM; and The Bancorp, a bank specialized in fintech as a service and payments. Notably, Daniel has had a successful career in banking, along with his co-founder and Mother, Betsy Cohen.We discuss:Turmoil of US regional banks in 2023 and what it means for the industryImpact of some of the biggest changes in banking and financial services over the last decadesWhy bankers should never overestimate the loyalty of their customersOpportunities for banks to work closely with fintechs … and a lot more! Want more podcast episodes? Join me and follow Fintech Leaders today on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app for weekly conversations with today’s global leaders that will dominate the 21st century in fintech, business, and beyond.Do you prefer a written summary, instead? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join 54,000+ readers and listeners worldwide!Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder & Managing General Partner of Gilgamesh Ventures, a seed-stage investment fund focused on fintech in the Americas. He also hosts and writes the Fintech Leaders podcast and newsletter.Miguel on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nKha4ZMiguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBcFintech Leaders Newsletter: bit.ly/3jWIpqp

Send us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with David Haber, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), one of the largest Venture Capital funds in the world, founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz.Based in NYC, David focuses exclusively on investing in global fintech. Before a16z, he founded Bond Street, a NY fintech that aimed to transform small business lending in the US. Bond Street was eventually acquired by Goldman Sachs in 2017.We discuss:Company building lessons from his experience at Bond Street and why he always looks for people with “humble confidence”The power of storytelling and why David believes effective storytelling is crucial for entrepreneurs and investorsThe future of fintechKey qualities of a good venture capital investorA look inside a16z and the vision of Mark and Ben for the firm… and a lot more! Want more podcast episodes? Join me and follow Fintech Leaders today on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app for weekly conversations with today’s global leaders that will dominate the 21st century in fintech, business, and beyond.Do you prefer a written summary, instead? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join 54,000+ readers and listeners worldwide!Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder & Managing General Partner of Gilgamesh Ventures, a seed-stage investment fund focused on fintech in the Americas. He also hosts and writes the Fintech Leaders podcast and newsletter.Miguel on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nKha4ZMiguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBcFintech Leaders Newsletter: bit.ly/3jWIpqp

Send us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Itai Damti, CEO & Co-Founder of Unit, one of the leading banking-as-a-service and embedded finance providers in the US. Launched in 2019, Unit is backed by Accel, Better Tomorrow Ventures, Insight, Flourish Ventures, and many more.Itai is also a serial entrepreneur, having previously co-founded two companies in the financial industry back in Tel Aviv and Hong Kong.We discuss:Learning from successes and failures of building companies around the worldEmbracing "atomic" problem-solving and why this is incredibly important in product and company managementWhat fintech founders should keep in mind when partnering with banks and financial institutionsFundraising lessons and why you should not ignore investor feedback… and a lot more!Want more podcast episodes? Join me and follow Fintech Leaders today on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app for weekly conversations with today’s global leaders that will dominate the 21st century in fintech, business, and beyond.Do you prefer a written summary, instead? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join 53,000+ readers and listeners worldwide!Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder & Managing General Partner of Gilgamesh Ventures, a seed-stage investment fund focused on fintech in the Americas. He also hosts and writes the Fintech Leaders podcast and newsletter.Miguel on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nKha4ZMiguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBcFintech Leaders Newsletter: bit.ly/3jWIpqp

Send us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Jane Alexander, Chief Marketing Officer at Carta, a platform that helps people and companies manage equity, build businesses, and invest in private companies.Launched in 2012 by Henry Ward, Carta is used by nearly 30,000 companies and over half a million employees to manage cap tables, compensation, and valuations. Carta also works with over 4,500 funds representing over $92B in assets under administration. They have raised over a billion dollars from a very long list of investors, including Union Square Ventures, Tribe Capital, Spark Capital, Silver Lake, Lightspeed, a16z, Insight, and many more.We discuss:The power of content creation and why it’s been an incredible source for organic growth at CartaThe role of a CMO at companies and how generative AI tools are transforming the jobNavigating the pressures of a more competitive and challenging business environmentTime management and productivity hacksImportance of customer feedback… lots more!Want more podcast episodes? Join me and follow Fintech Leaders today on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app for weekly conversations with today’s global leaders that will dominate the 21st century in fintech, business, and beyond.Do you prefer a written summary, instead? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join 53,000+ readers and listeners worldwide!Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder & Managing General Partner of Gilgamesh Ventures, a seed-stage investment fund focused on fintech in the Americas. He also hosts and writes the Fintech Leaders podcast and newsletter.Miguel on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nKha4ZMiguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBcFintech Leaders Newsletter: bit.ly/3jWIpqp

Send us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Nilan Peiris, Chief Product Officer at Wise (WISE.L), a global fintech that helps clients move money around the world. Founded in 2011 by Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus, Wise went public on the London Stock Exchange in 2021 and has a current market cap of £6 billion, has served 16 million people and businesses, and processes £9 billion in monthly cross-border transactions across 170 countries in 50 currencies.We discuss:Building through a mission-driven approach and why it’s crucial for companies to have very clear missionsHow Wise turned a consumer product into a B2B offering and an infrastructure business, essentially building three companies inside a single firm.Building customer trust through transparency and how this can lead to high customer satisfaction and strong referralsTurning regulatory challenges into opportunities… and a lot more!Want more podcast episodes? Join me and follow Fintech Leaders today on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app for weekly conversations with today’s global leaders that will dominate the 21st century in fintech, business, and beyond.Do you prefer a written summary, instead? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join 53,000+ readers and listeners worldwide!Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder & Managing General Partner of Gilgamesh Ventures, a seed-stage investment fund focused on fintech in the Americas. He also hosts and writes the Fintech Leaders podcast and newsletter.Miguel on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nKha4ZMiguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBcFintech Leaders Newsletter: bit.ly/3jWIpqp

Send us a textMiguel Armaza stops by Public.com’s TriBeCa headquarters for a conversation with Leif Abraham, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Public.com, an investing platform for equities, fixed income, and alternative assets.Founded in 2019, Public now serves 3+ million customers and has raised hundreds of millions of dollars from Greycroft, Accel, Lake, Star, Tiger Global, and many more.They discuss:How Leif launched his first internet company as a teenager from his room in Hamburg, GermanyImportance of building a customer fan base and the concept of emotional retentionInternational expansion and why bonds are definitely backBuilding Public’s app as a mainstream window to the marketsStartup founder advice… lots more!Want more podcast episodes? Join me and follow Fintech Leaders today on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app for weekly conversations with today’s global leaders that will dominate the 21st century in fintech, business, and beyond.Do you prefer a written summary, instead? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join 52,000+ readers and listeners worldwide!Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder & Managing General Partner of Gilgamesh Ventures, a seed-stage investment fund focused on fintech in the Americas. He also hosts and writes the Fintech Leaders podcast and newsletter.Miguel on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nKha4ZMiguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBcFintech Leaders Newsletter: bit.ly/3jWIpqp

Miguel Armaza chats with Alex Prot, CEO & Co-Founder of Qonto, a major fintech platform for SMBs in Europe. They discuss Qonto's explosive growth to 350,000 clients and its ambitious goal of reaching a million. Alex shares unique insights on navigating the European regulatory landscape and the importance of strong co-foundership. He reflects on challenges in scaling the team and maintaining connections in a rapidly growing company. Fundraising experiences and the evolving fintech scene in Europe also take center stage, painting a picture of innovation and opportunity.