Between Builds

Every leader says they're data-driven. But what happens when you're building something no one has built before? Say, AI tool for ______.

In this episode of Between Builds, Tiffany sits down with Sruthi Lanka, CFO of Public, to unpack how great operators make decisions when perfect information doesn't exist. From building finance functions at high-growth startups to helping scale one of today's leading investing platforms, Sruthi shares why the best finance leaders are becoming builders, why her first hire wasn't a finance person, and how AI is fundamentally changing the speed and role of decision-making.

They explore why zero-to-one products require intuition before data, how to hire people who don't need to be managed, why middle management so often becomes the bottleneck to execution, and the one mistake leaders make when they mistake more information for better judgment.

Whether you're a founder, operator, or finance leader, this conversation is a masterclass in building organizations that can move quickly without sacrificing clarity.

For the last two decades, Shane Kim has helped founders build companies, scale operations, and navigate change as Managing Partner at Baleon Capital. But over the past year, he's found himself asking a different question: How should the way we work change when the tools around us fundamentally change?

In this episode of Between Builds, Tiffany sits down with Shane to explore what happens when artificial intelligence moves beyond headlines and becomes part of your everyday workflow. Together, they discuss why the future may belong less to the best prompters and more to the people who understand their work deeply enough to redesign it.

From digital twins and communication styles to investment decisions and operational workflows, Shane shares how he's using AI in practice—not as a replacement for human judgment, but as a tool to amplify it. He explains why relationships matter more than ever in an AI-enabled world, why expertise still lives in the last five percent, and why staying relevant requires a willingness to become a beginner again.

This conversation isn't really about technology. It's about curiosity, adaptability, and learning how to rethink the way we work before the world does it for us.

Whether you're leading a company, building a career, or simply trying to keep up with a rapidly changing landscape, this episode offers a thoughtful and practical perspective on what it means to stay human in an increasingly automated world.

What happens when someone trained to protect consumers realizes the system itself is no longer built for the world we live in?

On this episode of Between Builds, Tiffany Haynes sits down with Delicia Reynolds-Hand, Senior Director of Digital Marketplace at Consumer Reports and former Deputy Associate Director at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to unpack the collision between AI, financial systems, and human trust.

Delicia shares how her career evolved from community economic development law to helping shape consumer protection at one of the most influential regulatory agencies in modern finance.

Together, Tiffany and Delicia explore why today’s regulatory frameworks are struggling to keep pace with AI-driven systems, what it means to build responsibly in an era of agentic technology, and why the people who understand human systems may be just as important as the people building the technical ones.

The conversation also dives into imposter syndrome, technical fluency vs. technical expertise, and what it looks like to step into deeply technical spaces without a traditional engineering background. At its core, this episode is about redefining who gets to be called a builder and why the future of AI needs more people willing to invite themselves into the room.

In this episode of Between Builds, Tiffany Haynes sits down with Stephany (Yerger) Kirkpatrick —fintech operator, founder, and now, someone intentionally exploring what happens after the apex moments.

After building, scaling, and exiting, Stephany finds herself in a different kind of chapter: one defined not by urgency, but by curiosity and the pressure of what comes next. Instead of rushing into the next build, she’s choosing to sit in the discomfort of not knowing by redefining ambition, identity, and success on her own terms.

Together, Tiffany and Stephany explore:

• The grief that comes with leaving behind a company, a role, and a version of yourself
• Why the “encore” question can feel more like pressure than opportunity
• How performance addiction shows up and what it means to recover from it
• Rethinking ambition in mid-career, especially for women with financial optionality
• Navigating money, risk, and decision-making in a dual-income household
• Why choosing not to chase the next title isn’t “downshifting,” but intentional living and choosing what matters
• The role of curiosity, experimentation, and AI in shaping what comes next

Stephany also shares how this season has opened her up to new ways of thinking: from agentic commerce to health, aging, and community-driven ideas and why giving yourself permission to be a beginner again might be the most powerful move.

This conversation is about resisting external timelines, honoring the messy middle, and learning how to build not just a career, but a life that you don’t have to apologize for.

In this episode of Between Builds, Tiffany Haynes sits down with fintech and payments leader Amanda Estiverne-Colas to talk about what it means to reclaim your career and your purpose after burnout.

After stepping away from a major corporate role, Amanda entered what she calls a season of professional recovery: a time to reflect, reconnect with family, and rethink what leadership looks like beyond titles. What followed was a new chapter spanning board service, advisory work, global speaking, and advocacy focused on financial literacy, inclusion, and consumer-centered innovation.

Together, Tiffany and Amanda explore:

• What “professional recovery” looks like after leaving a major role
• The vulnerability and power of asking your network for help
• Why more women in fintech are redefining ambition beyond corporate titles
• The importance of empathy in designing financial products
• How fintech leaders can rebuild the industry around the people it’s meant to serve

Amanda also shares how initiatives like NAFLI and her work with Consumer Reports are pushing the industry toward a more human-centered approach to innovation - one where financial systems work not just efficiently, but fairly and transparently for the people who depend on them.

This conversation is about leadership between chapters, protecting your energy, and building a career that aligns with both power and purpose.

In this episode of Between Builds, Tiffany sits down with Pam Kaur, a powerhouse in Fintech who operates at the high-stakes intersection of banking, venture capital, and platform leadership. Pam currently leads platform at Alloy Labs and was recently honored by NYC Fintech Women as one of the "Inspiring Fintech Females of 2025."

But as Pam explains, her journey isn't just a collection of impressive titles—it’s a masterclass in the "unlearning" required to lead with conviction. From her upbringing as a child of immigrants where "women should be seen and not heard," to navigating male-dominated boardrooms where she was once told she’d be the "prettiest boss," Pam has had to fight to keep her voice from shrinking.

Tiffany and Pam dive deep into:

• Fintech with Heart: Why Pam traded her dream of being a fashion editor for computer science, and how her Substack is humanizing an industry often blinded by transactions.
• The "Hostess" Mindset: How Pam uses her platform to open doors for others, acting as a translator between founders’ lived realities and VCs’ financial goals.
• Strong Opinions, Loosely Held: Managing the tension of having a voice in rooms where you weren’t designed to be, and the power of being willing to be wrong.
• The Power of the Ask: Why women often struggle to bridge the gap between personal friendship and professional networking, and how to stop "shrinking" out of fear of asking for too much.

This conversation is for anyone sitting in their own "between" season—learning to trust their intuition, advocate for their worth, and step into the arena even when imposter syndrome is screaming the loudest.

Most media stories skip what happens when a “side project” becomes the backbone of an entire industry. This one lives there.

Nik Milanović didn’t set out to build fintech’s connective tissue. This Week in Fintech started as a simple weekly write-up - habit, a curiosity, a way to make sense of what was happening in the market. But somewhere between the late-night drafts, the exploding inbox, and the growing community, it turned into infrastructure: 10 newsletters, multiple podcasts, a global team, and now a 1,000-person conference shaping the future of stablecoins.

But when your project becomes a platform, what does it demand from you?

And who do you have to become to sustain it?

In this Between Builds episode, Tiffany and Nik step into the in-between years when your public persona grows faster than your comfort zone, when parasocial expectations collide with introversion, and when the “mess in the kitchen” forces you to build a team that can do things you no longer have time to touch.

Nik shares the discipline of saying no when everything looks like an opportunity, and why pressure is still a privilege. Tiffany brings her operator lens, exploring the chaos, identity shifts, and internal recalibration that define every founder’s quiet evolution.

This is a story about building something bigger than yourself, unlearning the instinct to do everything alone, and trusting the next chapter long before you can see where it leads.

In this episode of Between Builds, Tiffany sits down with Liang Zhao, CEO of Vansary and one of fintech’s most sought-after strategic communicators, for a candid look at what it really takes to lead, build, and show up in an industry that never slows down.

They explore the professional realities behind the personal ones: how postpartum reshapes leadership style, how founders and operators navigate visibility while juggling childcare, why authenticity has become a competitive advantage in PR, and what it means to build a career with both ambition and boundaries. Liang shares how becoming a mother intensified her clarity as a CEO, how community support translates into better decision-making at work, and why transparency has become central to how she leads teams and clients.

At its core, this episode is about working smarter, leading with intention, and recognizing that the “messy middle” isn’t a setback but the real operating environment for modern builders.

• How postpartum experiences influence leadership, communication, and executive presence
• Why authenticity is now a strategic asset in PR and fintech
• The hidden decision-making load working moms carry — and how it impacts performance
• How founders balance visibility, client demands, and real-life constraints
• Why community support systems matter professionally, not just personally
• The surprising link between creativity (yes, even cooking) and better leadership clarity
• The mindset shift from perfectionism to progress — and why it accelerates careers

Most founder stories skip what happens after the exit. This one lives there. 

Pete Glyman sold his first startup, Geezeo, after turning it into a platform used by over 10 million consumers and 500+ banks. But instead of jumping straight into his next fintech venture, he went somewhere nobody expected: hardware. Floating, solar-powered lamps. Prototypes. Manufacturing. Real-world constraints.

After scaling a fintech company to millions of users, why build a lamp?

In this Between Builds episode, Tiffany and Pete unpack the season between exits and new beginnings, when identity resets, experimentation begins, and the best ideas come from strange places. Pete shares how the physical world changed how he thinks about products, what pulled him back into fintech, and how he eventually founded Coinbax when the signal finally got loud enough.

This is a story about resisting the pressure to “build fast,” learning to listen to instinct, and why sometimes the weird idea is exactly the one you need to find your way home.

Tiffany Haynes sits down with Jordan Wright and Darin Petty to explore how you actually stay human while building something that’s never existed before. Recorded live at MoneyPot, this episode is pure kinetic energy — founders mid-build, mid-pivot, mid-life.

They swap founder frameworks in real time: how to spot pain that’s worth solving, how to trust defiance over consensus, how to pivot without losing belief. Jordan breaks down how Atomic bet on a credential-free future when it made no sense—and how timing and persistence turned that “wrong” call into a defining moment. Darin shares how Chisel turned long-term certainty into short, high-impact sprints that teach, de-risk, and convert.

In a rare vulnerable turn, the group gets into the emotional work of building: how to forgive, rebuild, and choose people over ego; how to live an integrated life where family, ambition, and community actually coexist.

It’s not a play-by-play of what to build—but a raw conversation about how to keep building when the noise, fear, and fatigue hit hardest.