Fintech Leaders

Send us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Ricardo Josua, CEO/Co-Founder of Pismo, a global tech company that builds banking and cards solutions for digital banks and large financial institutions. Headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the company has operations in Latin America, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the US and processes $210 billion dollars in annual transaction volume. Pismo’s investors include Redpoint Brazil, Softbank, Amazon and Accel.Importantly, back in June 2023, Visa announced a definitive agreement to acquire Pismo for $1 billion in cash. Making it one of the largest fintech acquisitions announced this year worldwide, and certainly the largest one outside of the US. The transaction is still subject to regulatory approvals so we couldn’t talk that much about it.In this episode, we discuss:From Brazil to the world – the importance of having a global mindset from day onePartnering with fintechs and large banks – how Pismo went from mostly fintech clients to selling to some of the largest banks in the worldBuilding a modern system while still connecting to legacy technologiesAdvice for company builders and leaders to navigate both great times and choppy weathers… and a lot more!Live Recording Alert! Join us for a live Fintech Leaders recording and Happy Hour with Stuart Sopp, CEO & Co-Founder of Current, a multibillion-dollar fintech built in New York City.  See you at Barclays Rise New York on Monday, October 16 to kick off New York Tech Week. Register here --> https://bit.ly/3sMaIBjWant 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 almost 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/3jWIpqp

Send us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Michael Tannenbaum, COO at Brex, a $12 billion global spend platform for finance teams and founders to manage every aspect of global spend.Launched in 2017 Brex was last valued at $12B in January 2022 and has raised over a billion dollars from YC, Ribbit, Human Capital, GFC, DST, Dragoneer, TCV, and a very long list of fintech investors.In this episode, we discuss:The implications of a high-interest rate environment for tech and fintechMichael’s time at SoFi and what he learned about promoting talent from withinReflections from the early days at Brex and what he describes as his favorite role at the companyThe future of Brex, bidding for SVB’s credit card portfolio… 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 almost 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/3jWIpqp

Send us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Pedro Conrade, CEO/Founder of Neon, one of the largest digital banks in Brazil and Latin America. We sat down on stage in Sao Paulo at the Gilgamesh Ventures Summit, an annual meeting where we gather Limited Partners, Founders, Co-Investors, and friends for a series of events and discussions about the future of financial services.Serving almost 20 million clients, Neon is one of the largest fintech companies in the Americas and, without a doubt, Pedro is amongst the most inspiring figures I know. Every time I talk to him, I come out with a shot of motivation and positivity.In this episode, we discuss:How an overdraft fee infuriated Pedro and inspired him to launch NeonWhy major crises and tough moments helped build a more resilient companyNeon’s M&A strategy – insights from five company acquisitionsAnd many more company building lessonsWant 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 almost 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/3jWIpqp

Send us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Gary Hoberman, CEO & Founder of Unqork, a revolutionary technology company that has pioneered a Codeless as a Service (CaaS) platform to help eliminate legacy code for enterprises.Launched in 2017, Unqork’s clients include some of the world's largest banks and insurance companies. The company was last valued at $2 billion and has raised over $350 million from Google, Goldman Sachs, Aquiline, Fin Capital, Blackrock, and many more.Prior to founding Unqork, Gary was Global CIO for MetLife, where he oversaw technology across 47 countries, and before that, he was one of the youngest Managing Directors in Citi’s history. He holds seven patents, six of which are still in use in the finance industry today.We discuss:The crisis in the world of enterprise software and why most of the dollars being spent are making companies worse, not better.Why Unqork believes that launching software isn't the final goal, but instead we should focus on ensuring software improves businesses and doesn't become a legacy burden.Challenges with the conventional approach towards cybersecurity and why most companies are not equipped to manage truly secure operations.Persevering in the face of adversity, turning 300 no’s from Investors into a $2B 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 almost 60,000 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

Stephany Kirkpatrick, CEO/Founder of Orum, discusses the future of real-time payments in the US and Orum's role in increasing adoption for small and mid-sized banks. She shares insights on building an enterprise sales organization, asking for help as a founder, and the importance of creating a personal 9-1-1 call list. They also explore the complexities of B2B sales in the financial sector and strategies for shortening sales cycles in payment integration.

In this engaging discussion, Alexis Pantazis, Co-founder of Hellas Direct, shares his journey in transforming the insurance landscape in Greece, Cyprus, and Romania. He reveals strategies for successfully launching products in challenging markets and the importance of navigating through economic turbulence. Alexis also discusses their approach to tackling fraud with innovative data usage and highlights the critical role of technology in modernizing insurance. Additionally, he emphasizes the need to mentor future entrepreneurs and his commitment to community engagement.

Send us a textMiguel Armaza sits down with Billy Libby, CEO/Co-Founder at Upper90 and Conor Witt, Vice President at Upper90. Upper90 is a hybrid fund that invests credit and equity in early-stage businesses.Launched in 2018, Upper90 has over $1.5B in AUM and has backed fintech companies like Thras.io, Octane Lending, Mundi, and many more.In this episode, we discuss:Combining equity and debt underwriting and how Upper90 has built a team with two different skillsets under the same roofWhat they’ve learned from working with the best credit-driven companies in the market and what great founders have in commonVenturing outside the US and why Upper90 sees a ton of opportunity in places like Latin AmericaHow electronic and quantitative trading in Wall Street led Billy to fintech and venture capital… 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 57,000+ 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 Chris Pento, CEO/Co-Founder of Clear Street, a $2 billion modern financial infrastructure business focused on providing capital markets services including clearing, custody, execution, and prime brokerage service.Launched just five years ago in 2018, Clear Street was recently valued at $2 billion and has raised close to $600 million in equity and debt from Prysm Capital, NextGen Venture Partners, IMC Investments, and many more.We discuss:A brief history of the US Securities and Capital Markets infrastructure and how Clear Street is modernizing 50-year-old technologyHow Chris thinks about strategic-decision making and why they’ve been able to execute and launch so many products in just a few yearsWhy he believes in the concept of a value-add investor, especially in niche and regulated spaces like theirsTransitioning from a Wall Street corner office to scrappy startup founder, competitive ping pong matches at Clear Street… 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 57,000+ 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 Salman Syed, CEO of Fidel API, a global financial infrastructure platform that helps build programmable experiences at the moment a transaction occurs on any payment card. They are backed by Bain Capital Ventures, Nyca Partners, QED, Citi Ventures, and Commerce Ventures. Prior to Fidel API, Salman spent over a decade in leadership roles at Mastercard and Marqeta.We discuss:How Fidel API is unlocking new products and technologies by accessing and leveraging real-time transaction dataKey trends that are shaping the future of financial servicesChallenges and advantages of building a global firm with employees and customers around the 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 57,000+ 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 Adena Hefets, CEO/Co-Founder of Divvy Homes, one of the most innovative PropTech companies in the US that helps renters transition into homeowners with a rent-to-own model. They are backed by great investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, GGV Capital, GIC, Tiger Global, Caffeinated Capital, and Max Levchin.We discuss:What’s going on in the US commercial and residential real estate markets? Adena gives a deep dive of the tough state of the market.How Divvy’s rent-to-own model is a win-win for consumers, giving them the flexibility to be homeowners without necessarily having a mortgage.Leadership and productivity lessons after six years in the CEO role.Struggles from their early fundraising journey, building company culture… 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 56,000+ 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