Wharton Fintech Podcast

In this episode, my guest is Henrique Dubugras, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Brex, a financial operating system for startups and growing companies, with services including a charge card, cash management, and controls in a single account. Originally from Brazil, Henrique built a payments company when he was only sixteen and in just three years grew it to process over $1.5 billion in processed transactions. Shortly thereafter, he co-founded Brex along with Pedro Franceschi. In this interview, we talk about: - Henrique’s story from entrepreneur, to Stanford student, to Stanford dropout and Brex co-founder - How he met his co-founder, Pedro, and their inspiration to launch Brex - Their significant decision to move Brex into a remote-first company and what that means for them - The importance of company culture and some key lessons for fintech founders - And a whole lot more! Henrique Dubugras Henrique Dubugras is Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Brex — the smartest corporate card in the room. A Brazilian entrepreneur, Henriq

Miguel Armaza sits down with Allison Barr Allen, Co-founder and COO of Fast, an online login and checkout platform on a mission to make buying online faster, safer and easier. The company is backed by Stripe, Index Ventures, Susa Ventures, Global Founders Capital, and Brian Sugar. Prior to Fast, Allison held senior product roles at Uber, where her team launched and scaled Uber’s payments, risk, and compliance products globally. Before that she was a strategy consultant at PwC. Allison is also a passionate private and public investor, both as an LP at Operator Collective and as an advocate for value investing in the public stock market. We talked about: - Allison’s fascinating experiences at Uber - The power of investing in public and private markets - Her journey at Fast over the last 12 months, - The value of listening and acting on client feedback - The importance of company culture, partnerships, and having a really clear vision of the future of your company - and much, much more! Allison Barr Allen,

Miguel Armaza interviews Frank Rotman, Founding Partner of QED Investors, a Venture Capital fund that invests in early-stage, disruptive financial services companies around the world. Frank focuses on financial services and financial technology companies that are credit-oriented or have data analytics foundations at their core and his portfolio includes some of the fintech rockstars of our generation, including LendUp, Credit Karma, Avant, SoFi, and many more. We talk about: - Frank’s experience at Capital One, starting as one of the first employees to senior executive and chief credit officer - The evolution of QED - The state fintech in the US, Latin America, and around the world - His approach to evaluating early-stage fintech startups - His outlook on the road ahead for the industry. - And much, much more! Finally, we also talk about Frank’s Twitter presence. It’s not an exaggeration to say he is probably the most respected fintech voice on Twitter and has become famous for sharing some of the most th

On today’s episode, Ryan Zauk is joined by Jess Liberi, Head of Product for eMoney, a Fidelity-owned company. eMoney is a company most people aren’t familiar with, but many have been affected by. eMoney is a software company that empowers financial advisors with the tools to create robust financial plans, set savings, investing, and spending goals, conduct cash flow analysis, and much more. eMoney is used by over 70,000 financial professionals across a wide variety of practices in the US, reaching the financial future of ~5 million US households. It’s been trendy over the last decade to claim that financial advisors are becoming obsolete, have archaic fee models, etc. But Jess and Ryan dive into how advisors have adapted to new consumer demands both from the product and fee side, and the importance of a planning-centric advisor. During the COVID crisis, advisors were as important as ever, helping people stay the course during rough times. They also cover eMoney's product, the advisor trends Jess spotted dur

Building Unicorns and Redefining Online Banking - Renaud Laplanche, Upgrade CEO/Co-Founder I sat down with Renaud Laplanche, co-founder and CEO of Upgrade, a neobank that offers affordable and responsible credit to mainstream consumers. Since inception in 2017, Upgrade has surpassed $100 million in revenue run rate and a billion-dollar valuation. The company is backed by some of the best VCs in the industry and has raised over $200M dollars in debt and equity, including Mouro Capital, Ribbit Capital, Union Square Ventures, FirstMark Capital, CreditEase, and many more. Prior to Upgrade, Renaud founded and ran Lending Club, a company that pioneered consumer fintech and that he took public in December 2014 at a 10B dollar valuation. There’s no doubt Renaud and Lending Club inspired a generation of fintech founders around the world and countless of fintech founders repeatedly cite Lending Club as an inspiration for their companies. Renaud is also in a select and exclusive club of founders that have started not

Miguel Armaza sits down with Anish Acharya, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (A16Z), where he invests primarily in financial services and adjacent technologies. Prior to joining A16Z, Anish held multiple leadership roles at Credit Karma and before that he founded two different startups – SocialDeck (acquired by Google) and Snowball (acquired by Credit Karma). In this episode, we talk about his transition from operator investor; The evolution of his investing approach; Why all of his best career decisions have mostly been focused on people; and, why he believes there’s a huge opportunity in fintech for the GenZ generation. Anish is also a passionate DJ and loves to spin records, so as bonus for our listeners, we have included a few minutes of his latest mix at the end of the show! Anish Acharya Anish Acharya is a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz where he invests primarily in financial services and adjacent technologies. He currently serves on the boards of remote payroll and compliance platf

Miguel Armaza sits down with Hernan Fernandez, Founder and Co-Managing Partner at Angel Ventures, one of the oldest and most active Venture Capital funds in Latin America investing in early-stage to early-growth companies with business models tailored for the Latin American market. We talked about Hernan’s career, what drove him to leave the corporate world and launch one of the first VC’s in the region, his take on the entrepreneurial market in Latin America, and some of the trends and opportunities that get him going these days. Hernan is also the founder of the largest angel investment network in Latin America and serves as a Board Member at the Mexican Association of PE & VC Funds. Prior to AV, Hernan got his MBA degree at MIT’s Sloan School of Management Hernán Fernández Lamadrid Hernan is the Founder and Co-Managing Partner at Angel Ventures, where he manages deal-flow, investor relations and shares duties in creating value for the investment portfolio. He is also the founder of the largest angel i

Miguel Armaza sits down with Eric Satz, Founder and CEO of AltoIRA, a company on a mission to help individuals in the US access and execute investments in alternative assets using their retirement savings. We cover: - Eric’s journey from investment banker, to coffee shop owner, to venture capitalist, to AltoIRA founder. - What influenced him to pursue entrepreneurship throughout most of his life. - Why he thinks this is now a great time to invest in private companies. - The advantages of launching a fintech startup in Nashville, Tennessee. - Why he thinks the only thing harder than fundraising for startup money is making somebody laugh and why he has so much respect for stand-up comedians. - And much, much more! Eric is also the host of his own podcast, The Altogether Show, which features unfiltered interviews with untraditional entrepreneurs who ignored boundaries and followed their instincts. https://altogether.show/ Eric Satz An entrepreneur and former investment banker, Eric worked for DLJ/Credit Sui

In this episode, Miguel Armaza sits down with Jo Ann Barefoot, CEO & Founder of the Alliance for Innovative Regulation and host of the podcast Barefoot Innovation. Jo Ann is a famous advocate of “regulation innovation,” and is one of the most active and visible fintech leaders working to improve and modernize financial regulation around the world. She is also a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School Center for Business & Government and in the past was Deputy Comptroller of the Currency of the United States and a staff member at the U.S. Senate Banking Committee. Jo Ann Barefoot Jo Ann Barefoot is CEO & Founder of AIR - the Alliance for Innovative Regulation and host of the global podcast show Barefoot Innovation. A noted advocate of “regulation innovation,” Jo Ann is Senior Fellow Emerita at the Harvard Kennedy School Center for Business & Government. She has been Deputy Comptroller of the Currency, partner at KPMG, Co-Chairman of Treliant Risk Advisors, and staff member at the U.S. Senate Bankin

Ryan Zauk sits down with Evgenia Plotnikova, Partner and Investor at Dawn Capital in the wake of Dawn's $400M raise in September. Dawn Capital is one of the premier venture firms in Europe and is focused on B2B Software and FinTech, investing mostly in Series A and B rounds for high-growth companies across Europe. Evgenia is a seasoned investor in both venture and private equity. Prior to Dawn, she was a VC at Atomico, where she spearheaded the firm's entry into France and worked with a number of businesses, including Ontruck and Memphis Meats. Before VC, Evgenia was an investor at TPG Capital focused on telecommunications, retail, transportation, and mining. She started her career at J.P. Morgan in the London and Dubai offices, where she advised businesses on potential M&A transactions as well as equity and debt financings. Evgenia is fluent in French and Russian, has lived in 5 countries, and has traveled to 55 (though COVID may be slowing her march to 60). In 2017, Evgenia was named to Forbes’ “30 Under

In this episode, Miguel Armaza sits down with Matt Oppenheimer, Co-Founder and CEO of Remitly, a Seattle-based mobile payments platform enabling consumers to send and receive payments around the world that aims to provide the full suite of financial services to immigrants and migrants. The inspiration behind Remitly came when Matt was working in Kenya in 2010 and saw how difficult it was to send and receive money overseas. He began working on the problem immediately and has since grown the business to a rumored 1.5 Billion dollar-valuation in 2020. The company has raised almost $500 million in debt and equity from top industry VCs, including Generation Investment Management, Nasper’s PayU, Stripes Group, Threshold, QED, the World Bank’s IFC, Jeff Bezos, and many more! Matthew Oppenheimer Matthew Oppenheimer is Co-Founder and CEO at Remitly. The inspiration behind Remitly came when Matt was working for Barclays in Kenya and saw how difficult it was to send and receive money overseas. Matt was drawn to th

Miguel Armaza sits down with Claire McDonnell, Co-founder and COO of True Link Financial, a company that aims to make life better for people with disabilities, vulnerable elders, individuals in recovery, and their families and professional support networks. At True Link, she focuses on growth, product, operations, and customer experience. There’s no doubt True Link is a transformative firm that is making the world a better place by serving and meaningfully helping some of the most vulnerable members of society. The company has raised over $50 million from a list of impressive Investors, including Centana Growth Partners, Khosla Ventures, Initialized Capital, QED, Radicle Impact, Y-Combinator, Alexis Ohanian, and many more! Claire McDonnell Claire is co-founder and COO of True Link Financial, a venture-backed fintech company that makes life better for people with disabilities, vulnerable elders, individuals in recovery, and their families and professional support networks. At True Link, she focuses on gro

In this Wharton Fintech exclusive, Ryan Zauk went behind the scenes with CB Insights’ Anand Sanwal and Blockdata’s Jonathan Knegtel to discuss their recent transaction. The three of them walk through the details of the acquisition, the current state of global blockchain, and the cold email Jonathan sent that kicked off this entire deal. What was the email that caught Anand’s eye amongst a sea of inbounds? You can view it on our LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Medium - just search Wharton FinTech or Ryan Zauk. Anand & Jonathan strike a perfect balance with Anand's macro view of corporate blockchain strategies/appetite and Jonathan's in-depth knowledge of the space. Episode details below: - How Anand and Jonathan first got into blockchain technology (4:19 - 6:53) - The cold email that got Blockdata on Anand's radar and what made it so effective (6:54 - 9:25) - Challenges & benefits of doing this deal in COVID (9:26 - 11:37) - A deeper look at Blockdata and why Anand bought them (11:38 - 15:27) - The roadb

In this episode, I sit down with Kamran Zaki, COO of Adyen (AMS:ADYEN), a Dutch payments company that allows businesses to accept and receive payments across multiple channels and platforms. Publicly listed in the Amsterdam Internet Exchange, the company has grown over 120% since the beginning of the year and has a current market cap of $50 billion. Prior to Adyen, Kamran worked in several tech and payments companies, including PayPal, Netflix, and Citigroup, where he headed global payments teams across Europe, North America and Emerging Markets.

Miguel Armaza interviews Christine Kenna, Partner at IGNIA, a Venture Capital firm that invests in innovative solutions for the emerging middle class in Latin America. Christine joined IGNIA in 2011 and has been investing and working with entrepreneurs in strategic planning, critical problem solving, and operational issues. We discussed her background, investing approach, the evolution of the fintech ecosystem in the region, and the important efforts she leads to continue improving diversity and inclusion within the private capital industry in Latin America. About IGNIA IGNIA is a leading Mexico-based venture capital firm that partners with entrepreneurs who are reinventing the way to do business with the emerging middle class. IGNIA invests in sectors where innovation has a high impact on people’s lives such as healthcare, housing, financial services and basic services (water, energy and communications). By providing effective market responses to the enormously underserved needs of low income population

“To someone who’s not involved in this business you might think what's the big deal? But if you're in this business you think oh my god this is a big deal...but it really shouldn't be...and that's why we exist.” In today’s episode, Ryan Zauk sits down with Philip Brittan, Founder & CEO of Crux. You know that frustration when someone routinely sends you great data but they’ve added rows, changed date formats on you, or re-ordered tabs? Then all of your pulls, lookups, and macros need to be redone? Enter Crux, which Philip has built into the “humble, neutral utility” of data connections, or what he calls the “FedEx of financial data.” Crux ingests data sets from over 100 suppliers, then routinely cleans and standardizes them for delivery to end-users like hedge funds in the format they need. Building off partnerships with Snowflake, AWS, and a who’s who of strategic investors, Crux is transforming financial data. If you’ve spent time in this space, you know the scale of this problem. Philip has been in th

“I always get most nervous when things are going really well, I think that's when you need to be the most vigilant.” In this episode, Miguel Armaza interviews Steve Sarracino, Founder of Activant Capital, a growth equity fund with over $500 million in assets under management that partners with high-growth companies transforming the industrial complex. Steve has a great track record of investing in disruptive tech and places particular emphasis on data-heavy businesses that can act as the source of truth for large industries. He is also an MBA graduate from our very own Wharton School and was a great guest! Steve Sarracino - Founder and Partner of Activant Steve founded Activant Capital in 2012, and is a partner on the investment team. He has a long track record of investing in disruptive technology companies, and has extensive experience as a board director in high-growth B2B platform businesses. Steve places a particular emphasis on data-heavy businesses that can act as the source of truth for large indu

On today's episode, Ryan Zauk sits down with legendary entrepreneur, author, and financial literacy advocate Neale S Godfrey. How do you summarize the background of someone like Neale? Let’s give it a try: - First female VP at Chase Manhattan Bank where she worked on some of the largest M&A deals in history - New York Times bestseller, but only after buying a publishing company because she couldn’t get a deal! - Founder of both the First Women’s Bank and the First Children’s Bank, the latter of which was famously used by Princess Diana in NYC’s FAO Schwartz - Founder of “Children’s Financial Network” where she has become one of the nation’s top crusaders, advocates, and thought leaders on financial literacy - Collaborator with Oprah, Executive in Residence at Columbia Business School, served on a number of boards including UNICEF Quite a life, right? Well, Neale is only getting started. In this episode, Neale discusses: - Her life as a woman on wall street in the 70's and 80's and the discrimination women

In this episode, Miguel Armaza sits down with Olugbenga “GB” Agboola, Co-Founder and CEO of Flutterwave, a revolutionary company building the digital payments infrastructure for Africa that’s enabling businesses to receive or make payments across the continent and the entire globe. Launched in 2016, Flutterwave has grown at an astonishing rate and in 2019 processed 107 million transactions worth $5.4 billion. The company has also raised over $55 million in equity from a long list of top VCs, including Y-Combinator, Visa Ventures, Fintech Collective, Endeavor, Mastercard, Golden Palm Investments, and many more! Olugbenga Agboola Olugbenga Agboola is the co-founder and CEO of Flutterwave. Prior to co-founding Flutterwave, Olugbenga contributed to the development of fintech solutions at several tech companies and financial institutions such as PayPal, Standard Bank, among others. He is a serial entrepreneur with two successful exits under his belt. He is a software engineer with a master's degree in informati

Miguel Armaza sits down with Sebastian Ceria, CEO of Qontigo, a NY-based global company that combines the most sophisticated risk analytics and portfolio-construction tools in the market, while also offering indexing services. Qontigo has over 550 employees, but it’s one of those revolutionary and successful companies most people haven’t heard of. Prior to launching his own venture, Sebastian was an Associate Professor of Decision, Risk and Operations at Columbia Business School. But after seeing the incredible entrepreneurial success from some of his former students, he decided to leave academia and launch his own ventures in 1998. About Qontigo Qontigo is a financial intelligence innovator and a leader in the modernization of investment management, from risk to return. The combination of the group’s world-class indices and best-of-breed analytics, underpinned by technological expertise and customer-driven innovation, enables its clients to achieve competitive advantage in a rapidly changing marketplace.