Fintech Leaders

Send us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Bill Capuzzi, CEO of Apex, a company that’s built capital markets infrastructure to enable investing. Their customers include major global banks, Webull, eToro, SoFi, and a long list of financial institutions with $115B+ in AUM and 21 million brokerage accounts.In 2023 the company reportedly had over $400 million in operating revenue and they confidentially filed for a U.S. IPO in December 2023. They are widely expected to go public this year in 2024.We discuss:The rise of retail investing and democratizing access to public marketsWhat you should keep in mind when building and selling enterprise-grade software Bringing capital markets infrastructure to the 21st centuryWhat he’s learned since joining the board of DTCC, Bill’s take on the movie dumb money… 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? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join 60,000+ readers and listeners worldwide!Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder and 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/3jWIp

Send us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Wayne Slavin, CEO & Founder of Sure, a leading insurtech SaaS and infrastructure company powering embedded products for some of the world’s most recognized brands and carriers. They’ve raised over $120m from Menlo Ventures, IA Capital, David Rubenstein’s Declaration Partners, Plug and Play, and many more.We discuss:How Sure pivoted from a direct-to-consumer model to a B2B embedded insurance providerWhy embedded insurance has the potential to revolutionize the industrySeeking mentors strategically and learning from both good and bad managersWhy you cannot outcompete the immigrant drive and hustle mindset in business… 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 60,000+ readers and listeners worldwide!Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder and 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/3jWIp

Send us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Dan Rosen, Founder of Commerce Ventures, a fintech and retail-focused fund that’s been building an impressive portfolio since 2013. Some of their investments include Bill.com, Marqeta, Socure, Moov, MX, and many more.We discuss:Building a Venture fund and how their thematic strategy has evolved in the last decadeQualities of great tech and fintech investorsThe real advantage of second-time foundersWhy we are starting to see signs of a comeback in the growth market… 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 60,000+ readers and listeners worldwide!Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder and 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/3jWIp

In this insightful discussion, leaders from Ramp, Gusto, Figure, Upgrade, Melio, Fundrise, and Sardine share their experiences and hard-won lessons in building successful fintech companies. They delve into the significance of organizational culture and the impact of hiring practices on a startup’s identity. The CEOs reveal strategies for navigating growth while maintaining cultural integrity and explore the alignment of sales and marketing goals. Listeners gain invaluable advice on managing capital and the importance of strong KPIs for sustainable growth.

Send us a textThis episode was the most popular one of 2023 - it first aired Apr 18, 2023. Enjoy and have a happy new year! Miguel 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 60,000+ readers and listeners worldwide!Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder and 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/3jWIp

Send us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Maëlle Gavet, CEO of Techstars, a premier global accelerator and one of the world's most active pre-seed investors. Techstars was founded in 2006 and has backed almost 4000 companies with a combined portfolio market cap of $105B. Some of their invested companies include Remitly, Chainalysis, DataRobot, and Alloy.We discuss:Trends and lessons learned at Techstars after 16 years, countless programs, and backing 9000 foundersMaelle’s criticism of the venture industry and how it could improve to better serve foundersHow Techstars has been able to scale internationally and across programs with a partially decentralized approachA deep dive into Maelle’s impressive background as a former founder and operator… 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 60,000+ readers and listeners worldwide!Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder and 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/3jWIp

Send us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Luis Silva, CEO & Founder of Cloudwalk, where they are building an interplanetary payment network. Headquartered in Brazil, Cloudwalk has now expanded internationally, is profitable, and recently crossed annual revenue of $400 million. They are backed by Valor Capital, Coatue, DST, FIS, Plug and Play, The Hive, and many more.We discuss:Benefits of extreme long-term planning – why you should think in thousands of years, not just in quarters or decades.An optimistic take on AI – why Luis is convinced this technology will help humans become better humans and improve societyHow treating GenAI as an ally can help you massively accelerate and improve productivityFrom humble beginnings in a small town in Brazil to building a global fintech giant… 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 60,000+ readers and listeners worldwide!Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder and 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/3jWIp

Send us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Sarah Hammer, Executive Director and Professor at the Wharton School. Sarah has a long history of leading multiple fintech and financial institutions at Wharton, in the private sector, and also in the public sector.Additionally, Sarah leads the Cypher accelerator, Wharton’s fully-remote and non-dilutive accelerator program built to launch the world’s leading technology startups. So, if you’re starting to build a fintech company anywhere in the world, be sure to apply by December 17th. Some of the program mentors include Mark Cuban, Tim Draper, and Charles Birnbaum.Wharton’s Cypher accelerator and the types of companies they are looking to supportLessons from leading the PA Department of Banking and Securities throughout the Silicon Valley banking crisis Potential applications, uses, and impact of GenAI in the financial world … 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 60,000+ readers and listeners worldwide!Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder and 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/3jWIp

Send us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Ohad Samet, CEO & Co-Founder of TrueML, a leading platform of fintech products to enable intelligent, digital customer communication, which in clues TrueAccord, a leading debt recovery and collections platform with a consumer-friendly digital experience. They are backed by AmEx, Arbor Ventures, BoxGroup, Felicis, Homebrew, Nyca, Max Levchin, and many more.Ohad is also an industry veteran and previously held leadership roles at PayPal and Klarna.We discuss:Lessons learned at PayPal and Klarna. What drives the success of these organizations?How TrueAccord has pioneered a humane, consumer-friendly approach to debt collectionThe state of BNPL and why Ohad thinks the category is here to stay and he hopes it displaces payday loansAdvice on managing your relationship with VCs… 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 60,000+ readers and listeners worldwide!Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder and 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/3jWIp

Send us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Jason Guss, CEO & Co-Founder of Octane Lending, the leading software and credit provider for purchases of powersports vehicles, RVs, and outdoor power equipment. Founded in New York City in 2014, Octane now funds over a billion dollars in annual loans and is backed by Valar Ventures, Contour, IA Ventures, Barenson, Third Prime, Fintech Collective, Upper90, and many more.We discussed:De-risking your business with early hires and the difference between missionary and mercenary talentWhy they were forced to build a profitable business from day oneReflections on building a credit-driven business and dealing with capital marketsFundraising lessons and advice on how to deal with venture capitalists… 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 60,000+ readers and listeners worldwide!Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder and 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/3jWIp