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Peter Jones co-founded Nimo Industries with Leann Jones after living the core banking problem himself as a mutual bank CEO. Ten years ago he decided solve the problem for himself. Today, Nimo is a platform serving over 20 Australian banks and lenders, entirely bootstrapped. 

In this episode of Fintech Chatter Dexter asks Peter how his mutual sector background shaped the product. Peter shares his journey bootstrapping a bank grade technology platform through APRA-grade compliance. And shares real examples of how mutual banks are growing nationally on the Nimo platform.

About Peter Jones

Peter Jones is co-founder and COO of Nimo Industries, the Melbourne fintech building loan origination and core banking technology for Australian mutual banks, credit unions and non-bank lenders. Before starting Nimo in 2016, he spent close to two decades in banking, including as CEO of Plenty Credit Union and in roles at ANZ, NAB and ME Bank.

What we discuss

• Why living the “CEO killer” problem of fragmented core banking as a mutual bank CEO shaped how Nimo builds its platform
• How Nimo has stayed 100% self-funded for close to a decade 
• Why Nimo dropped the word “startup” for “scale up” internally, and how that shift changed hiring standards
• How South West Slopes Credit Union used Nimo to drive its open banking and CDR strategy
• How one mutual bank client went live on Nimo's platform in five to six weeks and a regional bank hit 30% growth and landed national exposure
• Why critical thinking, not competency-based interviewing, is now Nimo's deciding hiring factor
• Why Nimo is opening the door to outside investment after a decade of bootstrapping

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction 

02:32 Understanding Nimo's Banking Solutions

05:45 The Journey of Building Nimo Industries

12:48 Addressing Regulatory and Technology challenges in Mutual Banks

18:45 Building Trust with Mutual Banks

21:51 Talent Acquisition Strategies in a Competitive Market

29:07 Navigating Growth and Recruitment Challenges

32:25 Lessons Learned from a Decade of Business

34:38 The Importance of Resilience and Adaptability

36:36 Cultural Fit in Scaling Teams

38:08 The Role of Mindset in Organizational Success

43:53 Navigating Change and Embracing AI

47:45 Opportunities for Nimo

Links & resources

Peter Jones LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterjonesaust/

Nimo Industries website: https://nimoindustries.com/

Nimo Industries LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nimoindustries/

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Andy Taylor is the founder and CEO of ASX-listed Stakk Limited (ASX: SKK), an embedded trust and fraud prevention platform used by Chime, Robinhood, T-Mobile and H&R Block. 

In this episode Andy breaks down Stakk's proposed US$63 million acquisition of document intelligence firm ParaScript, and how the deal turns a decade of building into an AI-powered fraud detection engine. 

I ask Andy about Stakk's pivot from consumer neobanking under the Douugh brand into B2B infrastructure. He shares where the business is headed next as it expands into healthcare.

Before Stakk, Andy co-founded SocietyOne, Australia's first peer-to-peer lending platform, and later founded Douugh, an AI-first neobank that listed on the ASX pre-revenue. He has spent close to two decades building fintech businesses in Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

Find out more - https://stakk.tech/

Chapters
00:00 Welcome to FinTech Chatter
01:16 Introduction to Stakk and Andy Taylor
03:44 The Journey of Stakk: From Douugh to Success
10:54 Reflections on Society One and Early FinTech Days
17:17 Navigating Challenges in the Current FinTech Landscape
23:15 Consumer Behavior Shifts and Market Dynamics
25:55 Future Expectations for Stakk
34:55 Advice for Founders Facing Adversity

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Steve Hind is the co-founder and CEO of Lorikeet, an Australian AI startup that has raised more than $50 million USD to build AI concierges for high-regulation businesses in fintech, healthcare and energy.

Lorikeet's customers include Airwallex, Linktree and Eucalyptus, the telehealth company recently acquired by Hims & Hers in a deal worth up to $1.15 billion.

Before founding Lorikeet with former Google Brain researcher Jamie Hall, Steve worked in product roles at Stripe and climate tech company Watershed, following an earlier career at BCG and Bridgewater Associates and an MBA from Harvard Business School. 

He first connected with Dexter in 2019 while working in Silicon Valley. Here's what they discuss in this episode:

00:00 Introduction
01:32 Understanding Lorikeet and Its AI Concierge Solutions
05:54 The Origin of Lorikeet and Its Founding Story
09:50 Navigating the AI Landscape and Company Growth
12:49 Regulatory Challenges in FinTech and AI Compliance
15:12 The Role of AI in Compliance and Customer Relationships
20:03 Steve's Career Journey and Lessons Learned
23:51 The Art of Startup Hiring
28:34 Navigating AI's Impact on Work
33:36 The Future of Work and Leadership
39:05 Optimism in the Age of AI
41:57 Advice for Aspiring Founders

Find out more about careers - https://www.lorikeetcx.ai/careers

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Clayton Howes is the CEO of MONEYME (ASX: MME), an Australian non-bank lender that has originated over $5 billion in consumer credit and now manages a $1.9 billion loan book across personal loans, credit cards, and car finance. In this episode, Clayton walks through the full 13-year journey: bootstrapping from a desk-sized office, listing on the ASX in December 2019, acquiring SocietyOne during the Ukraine invasion, and engineering the Horizon technology platform that now powers everything.

0:00 Introduction
1:34 What MONEYME does and 13 years of milestones
3:37 From corporate to founder
5:32 Why consumer finance over any other vertical
9:53 Why consumer fintech is the hardest category
11:25 The ASX listing decision
14:38 The SocietyOne acquisition
19:53 The Horizon technology platform
23:00 Leadership evolution from player to coach
28:37 Staying close to the front line
32:28 Why the office is always full
36:18 Product innovation and the path forward
42:10 Careers at MONEYME

Links
Clayton Howes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claytonhowes/
MONEYME Website: https://www.moneyme.com.au
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Michelle Bagnall is the CEO of BankFirst, a mutual bank with 92,000 members and $4.7 billion in assets that exists to serve nurses and teachers in Australia. In this episode she tells Dexter the origin story of a bank that started with $480 in a shoebox, explains why nobody at BankFirst gets paid a bonus, and makes the case that mutuals were the original fintech startups.

00:00 Introduction 
03:08 The Origins of Bank First and Peer-to-Peer Lending
05:30 Understanding Mutual Banks and Their Model
10:54 Competing with Big Banks and Neo Banks
14:24 Leadership and Culture at Bank First
21:15 Finding Passion and Purpose in Banking
31:04 Bank First's Role in Supporting Members During Economic Challenges
36:00 The Complexity of Financial Solutions and Collaboration
40:47 Opportunities at Bank First

Links
Michelle Bagnall LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-bagnall/
BankFirst: https://www.bankfirst.com.au
Tier One People: https://www.tieronepeople.com
Dexter Cousins LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dextercousins/

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Fintech Chatter is presented by www.tieronepeople.com - executive search for Fintech.

In this episode Dexter chats to Jamie Twiss CEO of Beforepay Group (ASX: B4P) and Carrington Labs. Jamie joined Beforepay pre-IPO, turning them from a startup into a profitable ASX-listed fintech writing 40,000 small loans a week with a 99% repayment rate. 

Jamie and Dexter discuss why Beforepay is on a mission to disrupt the payday lending sector, and provide a fairer system based on advanced credit risk models.

They also discuss the other business of Beforepay Group, Carrington Labs. Jamie explains their expansion into North America, supporting US lenders with the Beforepay credit risk platform, and why he believes AI will fundamentally rewire financial services.

01:00 Introduction to BeforePay Group
02:50 Understanding Consumer Lending and Risk Management
06:13 The Role of BeforePay in Economic Challenges
09:03 Product Evolution: From Pay Advances to Personal Loans
12:10 Carrington Labs: Expanding into the US Market
14:54 Journey into FinTech: From Big Banks to Startups
17:58 Navigating Market Changes Post-IPO
21:12 The Importance of a Diverse Educational Background
23:50 Company Culture and Leadership Values
26:59 The Future of AI in Lending
30:09 Looking Ahead: What’s Next for BeforePay Group

Find out more - https://www.beforepay.com.au/

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Fred Schebesta co-founded Finder in 2006, grew it to five markets over 20 years, won a landmark Federal Court case against ASIC over the Finder Earn product, and is CEO of Finder Ventures. 

In this episode of Fintech Chatter we cover where Finder Rewards is going, why stablecoins have quietly won the crypto race, what actually makes an employee irreplaceable in the AI age, and what Australia’s regulatory environment is costing the innovation economy.

What we discuss

• How Finder built from Google search arbitrage in 2006 to a five-market platform in 2026
• Finder Rewards: the cashback product giving Australians $250–$500 on everyday switches
• Why the cost-of-living crisis has reset who uses fintech products and why
• The moat question: brand, data, and regulation as defensible advantages in the AI era
• Stablecoins and DeFi: why USDT’s market cap now exceeds Ripple’s
• The Finder Earn case: ASIC, the Federal Court, and what it cost Australian fintech innovation
• Why Australia keeps losing crypto and fintech builders to Singapore and Dubai
• What makes an employee essential in 2026 (and what doesn’t)
• AI adoption: why not using it is the same as refusing to use a computer in 1995

Discover Finder Rewards - https://www.finder.com.au/finder-rewards

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Chris Brycki founded Stockspot in 2013 with no income, no office and no VC, and built it into Australia's largest automated investment service with $1.5 billion under management. In this episode, Chris and Dexter discuss what it actually takes to build an enduring fintech in Australia: staying lean, rejecting growth-at-all-costs capital, and never losing sight of the customer.

About Chris Brycki

Chris Brycki is the founder and CEO of Stockspot, Australia's first and largest automated investment service. He left a career on the institutional side of finance in 2013 to build a lower-cost, evidence-based alternative to traditional financial advice, and has since made money for 99.3% of clients who have invested with Stockspot for at least a year.

What We Discuss

• How Chris validated Stockspot's concept with friends before writing a single line of code
• Why he walked away from institutional finance to start a business with no income
• The Fat Cat Funds Report: how naming and shaming underperforming super funds drove real industry change
• Why paid marketing fails when you're competing against CBA's use-it-or-lose-it budget
• How Stockspot has made money for 99.3% of clients invested for at least a year
• Why Chris rejected VC and how that decision shaped everything that followed
• The discipline required to avoid meme stock temptation during the 2021 trading frenzy
• What nearly $500 million in client profits means in terms of real lives changed
• Why the next generation of fintech will be built with smaller teams and less capital raised

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background of StockSpot
05:14 The Journey of Entrepreneurship
12:16 Growth Strategies and Media Influence
16:19 Regulatory Challenges in FinTech
20:03 Staying True to Core Values
25:57 The Future of FinTech and AI
30:11 The Evolution of Founders and Startups
35:07 Impact of FinTech on Society
39:10 Maintaining Innovation and Customer Focus

Links and resources

• Chris Brycki on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brycki/
• Stockspot: stockspot.com.au
• Fat Cat Funds Report: https://www.stockspot.com.au/fatcat/
• Fintech Chatter: fintechchatter.com
• Tier One People: https://tieronepeople.com/

This show is brought to you by Tier One People, where we work with founders like Chris to find the 1% who redefine what's possible. If you're scaling your leadership team, start at tieronepeople.com.

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Brendan Malone, CEO of Raiz Invest, joins Dexter Cousins to mark 10 years since Raiz launched to Australian retail investors. From a joint venture with US micro-investing app Acorns in 2015, Raiz has grown to $2.1 billion in funds under management, over 330,000 active monthly users and over $5.5 billion invested for Australians. 

What We Discuss

• How Raiz started as a joint venture with US app Acorns in March 2015 before listing on the ASX as Raiz in April 2018
• The roundup innovation that put $2.2 billion to work for 340,000 Australians through small amounts consistently over time.
• Why Raiz expanded into Southeast Asia, the 280 million person opportunity in Indonesia and what made it harder than expected
• The ASX listing as a capital strategy when VC appetite for fintech was thin in 2018
• Brendan's frustration with CDR after a decade of roundtables, policy submissions and no meaningful consumer outcome
• How a 42-person team manages $2.2 billion using AI and machine learning, and why Brendan would not start again from scratch even in the AI era
• Raiz's product roadmap including the Raiz Kids ecosystem and why Brendan expects consolidation among micro-investing platforms within the next few years
• The endurance principles shared by Australian fintechs that have survived a decade: stay close to customers, resist the bright shiny things, and stick to the strategy

Key Timestamps

01:00 Celebrating a Decade in Business
02:11 The Genesis of Raze and Early Challenges
05:13 Breaking Down Barriers to Investing
08:08 Innovative Wealth Management Solutions
10:49 Growth Plans and Market Strategies
13:18 Exploring Southeast Asia's Market Potential
15:50 The Scale Game: Financial Inclusion in Indonesia
18:28 Lessons from Early Adopters: The CDR Experience
19:51 Navigating Regulatory Challenges in FinTech
23:04 Customer-Centric Innovation: Listening to the Market
24:19 The Impact of AI on Business Transformation
28:21 Building an Ecosystem for Sustainable Growth

Links and Resources

• Raiz Invest: raizinvest.com.au
• Brendan Malone on LinkedIn
• Tier One People: tieronepeople.com

This show is brought to you by Tier One People, where we work with founders like Brendan to find the 1% who redefine what's possible. If you're scaling your leadership team, start at tieronepeople.com.

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David Hyman co-founded Lendi Group in 2013 and built it into Australia's largest non-bank mortgage platform with a $107 billion loan book, 5 million customers, and $350 million in annual revenue. He stepped down as CEO in January 2026 and within weeks was building his next company.

In his fourth appearance on Fintech Chatter, David joins Dexter to talk about Mono AI, a platform business that helps established companies become AI native before a leaner AI native competitor makes them irrelevant.

They cover the difference between human motion and agentic motion, why the CTO is often the biggest blocker to AI strategy, what ElevenLabs's $2 million revenue per employee tells you about the next three years, and the two traits (curiosity and high agency) that separate people who will thrive in this transition from those who won't.

David also explains the Mono AI wedge model, why he's building a global AI business from Sydney, and what roles the company is actively hiring for now.

This episode was recorded just before the major job losses at Block and Atlassian. It is one of the most practically important conversations on this show to date.

Find David on LinkedIn or visit monoai.co

Tier One People: tieronepeople.com

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