Fintech Leaders

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Miguel Armaza travels to SF for an interview with Rujul Zaparde, CEO & Co-Founder of Zip, a leading SaaS & Fintech platform recently valued at $1.5 Billion that’s focused on bringing smarter procurement and spending software for small and large enterprises.

Founded in 2020, Zip today serves hundreds of clients, including giants like Snowflake, Coinbase, Reddit, Canva, Databricks, and Discover. Zip has raised $180m in equity from CRV, Y Combinator, TwentyTwo VC, and Tiger Global.

We discuss:

• The strict process and criteria they first used to validate Zip as a potential large business, before getting started
• The importance of moving fast, learning, and iterating
• Why Rujul loves rewarding and promoting talent from within the company
• Nailing enterprise sales… 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? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join ~70,000+ 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/3nKha4Z

Miguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBc

Fintech Leaders Newsletter: bit.ly/3jWIp

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Miguel Armaza interviews Michael Tannenbaum, CEO of Figure, one of the largest US fintech platforms building infrastructure and embedded products. Founded in 2018 by Mike Cagney, also the founder of SoFi and past guest of the show, Figure is now the largest non-bank originator of Home Equity Lines of Credit in the US having done $11 billion in AAA securitizations.

Every time I talk to Michael I’m impressed by his clarity of thought and his skill in sharing valuable insights. He was previously COO of Brex and you can check out our 2023 Fintech Leaders episode for an in-depth conversation about his time there.

We discuss:

• Bringing fresh energy and founder mode, even as a non-founder CEO
• The importance of organizational design and aligned priorities for a company’s success
• How Blockchain helps Figure provide “Truth over Trust” to reduce transaction and origination costs
• Why standardization is crucial to enable embedded finance services at scale… 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? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join ~70,000+ 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/3nKha4Z

Miguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBc

Fintech Leaders Newsletter: bit.ly/3jWIp

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Miguel Armaza interviews Diya Jolly, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Xero (XRO.AX), a $22Bn tech giant that offers accounting and CFO management services for small businesses worldwide.

Xero is one of the largest fintechs in the world. Their latest total annual revenue was $1.6Bn and they’ve doubled in size over the last three years.

Prior to Xero, Diya was the Chief Product Officer at Okta and before that she held multiple leadership product roles at Google. She’s extremely thoughtful and this conversation is a delightful masterclass on building a tech and software business.

We discuss:

• The tensions of product managers and how to navigate them
• Is cannibalizing your own product ever a good idea?
• How AI is revolutionizing accounting.
• Frameworks to make good decisions with incomplete information… 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? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join ~70,000+ 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/3nKha4Z

Miguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBc

Fintech Leaders Newsletter: bit.ly/3jWIp

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Miguel Armaza interviews Raimundo Morales, CEO of Yape, the dominant fintech app in Peru and certainly one of the biggest consumer fintechs in the world. Yape has 16 million users in Peru, which represents 80% of the country’s total population. On average, they process 550+ million payments a month and are doubling in volume on a yearly basis. 

They are big and extremely important for the country. If Latin America runs on WhatsApp, it’s fair to say Peru runs on Yape.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The strategy to led them to onboard 65% of Peru’s adult population as daily active users in just eight years
• Yape was built within Credicorp, a $14Bn company traded on the NYSE. How were they able to build a fintech disruptor within a large corporation?
• The road to building a super-app
• Why you should always set irrational goals, winning the war on cash… 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? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join ~70,000+ 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/3nKha4Z

Miguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBc

Fintech Leaders Newsletter: bit.ly/3jWIp

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Miguel Armaza interviews Darian Shirazi, General Partner at Gradient Ventures, an early-stage venture fund focused on AI and data-rich companies, with Google as its major LP.

Prior to Gradient, Darian founded and sold Radius, a B2B Customer Data Platform. He is also an early investor in companies including Lyft, Udemy, Carbon Health, Palantir, and Niva. Fun fact, he was Facebook’s first intern back when the company had only 10 people.

We discuss:

• Joining Facebook as its first intern and working directly for Mark Zuckerberg. Why is Mark such a special tech leader?
• Gradient’s three different strategies to invest in AI
• Why the evolution of AI will be exponential and not linear
• The incredible story of how Darian’s family had to escape Iran and rebuilt itself into one of the strongest tech families in the US… 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? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join ~70,000+ 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/3nKha4Z

Miguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBc

Fintech Leaders Newsletter: bit.ly/3jWIp

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In this episode, I sit down with Andrew Endicott, who’s my co-founder at Gilgamesh Ventures and who also previously built Petal, a New York fintech company.

Andrew and I discussed a research report we recently published in collaboration with the Wharton School of Business. We examined the incredible impact that 15 leading fintech companies are having on the broader fintech ecosystem by helping train the next generation of founders in fintech and tech in the Americas.

Some of our interesting findings, include:

• These 15 companies have spawned almost 2,600 founders in the Americas, 12% of which left to build fintech companies, while others are building in AI, SaaS, HealthTech, and beyond.
• The founders building in fintech have raised $4.3Bn collectively. With Square, Zillow, and SoFi alumni representing 60% of this total.
• Product and engineering leaders represent 50% of all fintech founders.
• And 48% of the founders we studied launched their fintech companies in 2022 and 2023.

For more details, please visit our website or the Fintech Leaders newsletter.

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? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join ~70,000+ 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/3nKha4Z

Miguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBc

Fintech Leaders Newsletter: bit.ly/3jWIp

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Miguel Armaza brings you a deep dive into one of the most pressing issues facing the financial industry today: consumer fraud prevention and identity verification.

Over the last couple of years, Miguel has interviewed some of the top leaders in identity management and fraud-fighting, and in this episode you’ll hear a summary of the most interesting takeaways from five of the most extraordinary industry leaders:

1. Blake Hall, CEO of ID.me
2. Nick Peddy, CTO of Clear
3. Soups Ranjan, CEO of Sardine
4. Trisha Kothari, CEO of Unit21
5. Tommy Nicholas, CEO of Alloy

In this episode, you'll learn about:

• The current state of financial and identity fraud and the creative tactics used by fraudsters
• Advancements in anti-fraud measures and identity verification
• The delicate balance between security and user experience
• Innovative products from each of these companies to prevent fraud… 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? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join ~70,000+ 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/3nKha4Z

Miguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBc

Fintech Leaders Newsletter: bit.ly/3jWIp

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[Original air date, March 28, 2023] Miguel Armaza interviews Mercedes Bent, Partner at Lightspeed, a global venture capital firm founded in the year 2000. Over the last 23 years, they have secured over $18 billion in committed capital and backed over 500 companies, including Snap, Affirm, Faire, Grubhub, Carta, Blend, and a long list of great firms.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Investing in marketplaces or credit-driven businesses and what founders and investors should keep in mind when looking at these verticals.
• Benefits of having a global investment team how Lightspeed often invests in similar trends and businesses around the world
• The Latin American fintech opportunity. Mercedes leads the LatAm practice at Lightspeed – what are some of the biggest ideas taking place in Brazil, Mexico, and beyond?
• Potential AI applications in Fintech
• Lessons for emerging VCs
• Lightspeed’s portfolio construction strategy… 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? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join ~70,000+ 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/3nKha4Z

Miguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBc

Fintech Leaders Newsletter: bit.ly/3jWIp

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Miguel Armaza interviews Alex Konrad, Senior Editor at Forbes, where he covers venture capital and startups. Alex also edits and curates the famous Midas List and The Forbes 30 Under 30 VC category. He is a central figure in the world of Venture Capital, Tech, and Fintech and I suspect you’ll enjoy hearing what he has to say.

We discuss:

• A behind-the-scenes look of the Forbes Midas List and the growing influence of FinTech in it
• The Impact and adoption of AI in the financial industry
• Evolution and future of the VC industry
• The role of media in tech, curating the 30 Under 30… 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? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join ~70,000+ 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/3nKha4Z

Miguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBc

Fintech Leaders Newsletter: bit.ly/3jWIp

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Miguel Armaza interviews Melissa Guzy, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Arbor Ventures, a global fintech-focused fund with offices across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the US. Founded in 2012, some of their portfolio companies include Tabby, TrueAccord, Grab, and Fundbox.

We discuss:

• Melissa’s early days as a VC investor at VantagePoint Capital where they navigated the dot com crash and later invested in Tesla’s Series A
• Building Arbor Ventures and pioneering fintech investing in China, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East
• How Arbor has successfully generated liquidity from fintech investing in emerging markets
• Why real-time payment networks have the potential to transform fintech… 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? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join ~70,000+ 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/3nKha4Z

Miguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBc

Fintech Leaders Newsletter: bit.ly/3jWIp