February 15, 2024

Episode 531: Killing It: A Simple Journey and Lending Without Bias

1 hour 14 minutes

In This Episode

You heard it here last week, a new series from Breaking Banks, ‘Killing It’ with co hosts Jason Henrichs and Alex Johnson, Fintech Takes. In this first episode we feature a candid discussion with Shamir Karkal, Alliance for Innovation Regulation, Co-founder and CEO of Sila, formerly Co-founder of Simple (BankSimple), America’s first neobank which operated 2009 – 2021. A FinTech pioneer, he shares learnings, successes, failures and some of the tough decisions made along his ‘simple’ journey while reflecting on what it means for him today.

Then, Brett King connects with DIVINE, Victor D. Lombard, CEO & Founder, Solvent with tag line, The Future is Freedom. You may remember DIVINE from 2022 when we interviewed him about a venture with AWS’ Impact Accelerator. Today he is joined by Brent Chandler, CEO and Eric Lapin, President of FormFree to talk about their new partnership aligned around their missions to empower underserved demographics. The focus is lending, specifically the mortgage space, with new products to help underserved individuals get access to credit and a new two-sided marketplace, FormFree Exchange, connecting lenders and borrowers — helping credit invisibles get loans and institutions to lend without bias. Tech for good, who doesn’t love that!

Read the entire transcript here.

Podcast Content:

Chapter 1: [00:00] Welcome and Overview

The hosts introduce the episode, featuring Shamir Karkal of Simple and discussions on lending innovations with FormFree and Solve It.

Chapter 2: [05:00] The Simple Story: Lessons in Fintech Pioneering

Shamir Karkal shares the history of Simple, from founding to acquisition, revealing insights into the challenges and tough decisions faced.

Chapter 3: [20:15] Navigating Tough Choices: The Reality of Exit Decisions

A candid exploration of Simple’s decision to sell to BBVA, balancing financial viability, employee impact, and mission-driven goals.

Chapter 4: [35:00] Beyond Simple: Building Platforms and New Ventures

Shamir reflects on the post-acquisition journey, launching platforms at BBVA, and transitioning to new entrepreneurial projects.

Chapter 5: [50:00] FormFree and the Evolution of Lending

Brent Chandler and Eric Lappin discuss FormFree’s mission to transform lending through data-driven insights and bias-free decision-making.

Chapter 6: [01:05:30] Solving Financial Inequality with Solve It

Divine shares his journey from incarceration to tech entrepreneurship, partnering with FormFree to empower underserved communities.

Chapter 7: [01:15:45] The Role of AI in Inclusive Lending

The discussion delves into AI-powered data models and tokenization for financial identity, revolutionizing access to credit for the underbanked.

Chapter 8: [01:30:00] Closing Reflections and Next Steps

The hosts reflect on key themes of resilience and innovation, offering a glimpse into what’s next for the guests and the fintech space.