Fintech Leaders

Send us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Alexa von Tobel, Co-Founder / Managing Partner at Inspired Capital, an early-stage VC based in New York City, with over $500M in Assets Under Management. The firm was founded by Alexa and Penny Pritzker, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce, and has backed some outstanding fintech companies, including Finix, Rho, Habi, Orum, Public, and Kamino.In this episode, we discuss:Alexa’s background & entrepreneurial adventures and why she dropped out of Harvard Business School to build LearnVest, which she then sold for $375 million. Lessons learned in the last three years since launching Inspired and their process to look for an find exceptional founders with relentless determination.The reasons why Alexa is excited about the impact of fintech internationally, especially in places like Latin America.And why she loves hosting her own podcast, Inc. Founders Project, where she’s interviewed 150+ incredible founders and what she’s learned from them.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  32,000+ readers around the world!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 textWe bring you a recording of Miguel Armaza's live panel discussion at the MIT Fintech Conference, a Sloan student-run event, where Miguel sat down with an eclectic group of fintech leaders, including:Paulo Passoni, Managing Partner SoftBank Latin America FundDavid Green, CEO, EarnestAlex Kostecki, Founder and COO, ClairAlejandro Correa, Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer at Rappi We discuss:The promise of fintech. How is the industry doing on democratizing credit access for the underbanked?Avoiding biases. Challenges of building biased AI/ML (Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning) algorithms and how companies are fixing this problem.The future of credit scoring. Interesting approaches and experimentation being done on this front and some ideas about the future of consumer credit scoring.Virtues and flaws of Buy Now Pay Later… 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  32,000+ readers around the world!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 Kurt Lin, Co-Founder & CEO of Pinwheel, a cutting-edge payroll data connectivity platform helping fintechs and financial institutions access data from 1,400+ payroll providers in the US.Founded just a few years ago, Pinwheel now executes 4.6M+ processes per month and has raised $80 million from GGV, First Round, Coatue, Primary, AmEx, Jackie Reses, and many more top industry investors.We discuss:Kurt’s serial entrepreneurship and why he considers himself constitutionally unemployableThe power of consumer payroll data and why Kurt is convinced payroll systems are one of the major frontiers of innovation in the fintech industry today.Scaling a remote team. Pinwheel went from four employees pre-pandemic to almost 90 today. What did he learn in the process?Lessons from years of fundraising and how a challenging equity raising environment could look like for entrepreneurs… 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  32,000+ readers around the world!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 two iconic fintech leaders: Jackie Reses and Lauren Weinberg. Jackie is a fintech entrepreneur, former Head of Square Capital, and serves on the boards of Nubank, Endeavor, NYDIG, and Affirm. Lauren is the Chief Marketing Officer of Square, where she leads global Marketing and Communications, and has earned several distinctions and accolades for her work. In short, they are some of the most impressive executives in the industry.Lauren and Jackie are also the Co-Authors of SELF-MADE BOSS: Advice, Hacks, And Lessons from Small Business Owners, a fascinating book that provides first-hand accounts of small business owners who have built their companies from the ground up.The book is the result of their many years working together at Square, where they realized and experienced the struggles and needs of micro-entrepreneurs. Despite small businesses being the backbone of the economy, Jackie and Lauren learned that this community is completely underserved for information and SELF-MADE BOSS aims to provide much-needed support in building small businesses, including obtaining start-up capital, hiring staff, planning for growth, and coping with the daily stresses of being your own boss.Packed with incredible stories of grit and perseverance, SELF-MADE BOSS is not only an excellent guide for current and aspiring small business owners, but it’s also a must-read for any professional or fintech operator, focused on serving small businesses. It will help you empathize with your customers and understand their daily problems. I certainly recommend it!Hope you enjoy this great conversation with Jackie Reses and Lauren Weinberg.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  31,000+ readers around the world!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 Renaud Laplanche, Co-Founder & CEO of Upgrade, one of the leading neobanks in the US that was ranked by the Financial Times as the fastest-growing US company in 2021.Founded in 2016, Upgrade has issued over $10 billion in credit to consumers and has raised more than $600 million in equity from DST, Union Square Ventures, Ribbit, Coatue, and many more.In this episode, we discuss:Leadership lessons – Renaud is a serial entrepreneur and fintech OG, who previously founded Lending Club, one of the first fintech companies that went public in 2014 on the NYSE. He shares what he learned from that experience, including the impact of recurring revenue, people management reflections, fundraising strategies, and a lot more.Stakeholder capitalism – why optimizing the bottom line isn't enough for companies and CEOs need to pay attention to multiple stakeholders and demonstrate a positive impact on society.Renaud’s take on current investor sentiment for publicly traded fintech companies and why despite the latest downturn, he’s seeing high enthusiasm from investors for the fintech sector.Launching crypto-driven products and how Upgrade is helping mainstream consumers dip their toe into crypto… 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  31,000+ readers around the world!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 Soraya Darabi, Co-Founder & General Partner at TMV, a Venture Capital fund with over $100 million in Assets Under Management that aims to back early-stage founders building businesses beyond the bottom line.In this episode, we discuss:Breaking into Tech – How Soraya found herself at the very center of the digital media and startup land almost two decades ago and how it led her down the path of entrepreneurship and investing.Purpose-driven investing – TMV’s mission to find extraordinary returns in businesses that deeply care about the triple bottom line and the importance of backing entrepreneurs with diverse lived experiences.Fintech startups as a driving force for financial inclusion and some examples of amazing companies building a more inclusive economy.Fundraising lessons. Learning to love the process, reflections after raising over $75 million, and how Soraya found herself raising most of TMV’s second fund while pregnant… 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  31,000+ readers around the world!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 the outstanding Paulo Passoni, Managing Partner at SoftBank Latin America, the largest venture capital fund in LatAm that’s invested almost eight billion dollars in 80 companies like Nubank, Kavak, Creditas, Bitso, Rappi, Uala, Clip, Addi, and many many more.In this masterclass episode, we discuss:Navigating a bear market – Paulo shares lessons for entrepreneurs in a tough equity raising environment, where unit economics and execution are now more important than ever and why venture backed companies can’t afford not to tackle big problems.Shared traits of the strongest founders and why being holistic and talented in multiple different areas is critical for entrepreneursValuable advice for new international investors coming into Latin America, or any emerging market for that matter, and why it’s important to build a robust team and empower them with access to the global institutional knowledge of the firm.Reflections of the best company boards and key characteristics necessary for boards to succeed and add value to the company... 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  31,000+ readers around the world!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 textIn this Fintech Leaders edition, I sit down with the great Greg Krasnov, Founder & CEO at Tonik, the first and largest neobank in the Philippines, which officially started operating in 2021 and has since reached almost $150M in consumer deposits and is backed by Mizuho, Sequoia, Point72, Insignia, and many more.It’s worth mentioning Greg is a Ukrainian serial entrepreneur and about a decade ago he built Platinum bank in Ukraine and sold it once it became the third-largest consumer bank in the nation.We recorded this episode on Tuesday, Feb 22, 2022 – roughly 24 hours before Russia invaded Ukraine. Today Ukraine is under attack and during these horrific and difficult times for Greg’s country, my heart goes out to him, Tonik’s Ukrainian team, and their families. They are a resilient nation with incredibly talented people, and Greg and Tonik represent these values.If you are looking for ways to provide any type of support to the Ukrainian people, I’ve included a couple of vetted links below. 1. Ukraine: Relief for Children & Vulnerable in Kyiv - https://bit.ly/3MaNlql2. Donate to the Ukrainian Red Cross - https://bit.ly/3tbey3i3. Real ways you can help Ukraine as a foreigner - https://bit.ly/3HuOCF2---In this episode, we discuss:What Greg learned in over two decades of building banks and fintech businessesTonik’s approach to credit risk and how they are using their customer’s digital footprint and predictive analytics to expand access to the financial systemStaying innovative in a remote environment and how companies can balance internal cooperation and conflict to stay innovativeWhy it’s crucial for fintech founders to pick the right investors who actually understand their industry… 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  31,000+ readers around the world!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 Eric Satz, Founder/CEO of Alto Solutions, a Nashville-based company offering a self-directed IRA platform that gives people in the US access to invest in alternative assets using their retirement funds in assets like crypto, private funds, and collectibles.Founded in 2015, Alto now administers over $1B and has raised over $60M from Advance Venture Partners, Unusual Ventures, Acrew Capital, Foundation Capital, Coinbase Ventures, and many more.In this episode, we discuss:The importance of diversifying your retirement portfolio with alternative assets and why crypto and digital assets are an increasingly meaningful part of Alto’s product.Lessons from other countries around the world and what could be done to help people in the US strengthen their retirement savings.Hypergrowth during the pandemic and how Eric has managed to expand his team from 20 to 140 since the start of COVIDAnd just like we’ve heard from other leaders from around the world, Eric reminds us that the only way to beat your competition is to surround yourself with great people!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  30,000+ readers around the world!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 textIn this Fintech Leaders edition, I sit down with Adalberto Flores, Founder and CEO of Kueski, a Guadalajara-based “buy now, pay later” and online consumer lender, and one of LatAm’s Fintech OGs.Since inception in 2012, Kueski has issued more than 5 million loans online and has raised over $300 million from Altos Ventures, Core Ventures Group, Angel Ventures, Cathay Innovation, and many more.In this episode, we discuss:Challenges and lessons for founders in tough raising environments and emerging markets, and how Adal managed to raise Seed capital back in 2012.Importance of culture-building and how you can use your company culture to attract high quality talentState of BNPL in Mexico and how Kueski is using this product to enable the 60% unbanked population of the country to access the financial system and start building creditWhy Guadalajara is known for Tequila, Mariachis, and Technology and how it became the Silicon Valley of Mexico… 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  30,000+ readers around the world!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