PitchIt

On episode 24 I talk with Carl-Alain Memnon of Grain. Grain is the Digital Credit Card for Everyone, they provide a line of credit based on your cash flow, not your credit score.

That is one of the most interesting things about the company, they don’t use credit scores to extend credit. Grain uses your cash flow to understand your credit profile and extends a line of credit based on that. 

Carl and I dig deep into the current credit system, the state of financial wellness, where the concept of Grain came from, and a whole lot more. I hope you enjoy the show.

In this podcast you will learn:

• Carl’s founder story
• Growing up in Haiti with co-founder Christian
• The systematic generational wealth problem
• Challenges of getting credit until making it to law school
• The dual meaning of the name Grain
• How Grain is the alternative to traditional credit card, without issuing a credit card
• The practicality of using the revolving line of credit
• Why community banks align with the values of Grain
• The concept of credit and why the system needs to be changed
• Carl recommends reading The Great Gatsby and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

And more…

This episode was sponsored by Zendesk, a service-first CRM company that builds software designed to improve customer relationships. Qualifying startups get Zendesk free for 6 months.

This week's list of top stories in fintech:

Plaid Pushes Into Payments Business After Scuttled Visa Deal

• Teaming up with Square, Stripe, Marqeta and others
• Competes directly with Visa, MC and Amex
• Plaid says it is a compliment, not a competitor
• Makes payments more efficient, cheaper for consumers and better for SMBs for more sales

SEC-approved Bitcoin futures ETF goes live

• ProShares bitcoin futures ETF goes live
• Big moment for crypto, though overall stance from the SEC has not yet changed
• the fund will allocate “approximately 25 percent” towards buying month-out bitcoin futures contracts traded on the CME

Facebook selects Coinbase as custody partner for its Novi cryptocurrency wallet

• Novi users will be able to transact paxos dollar, a stablecoin whose value is pegged to the US dollar.
• Coinbase is custody partner
• David Marcus, head of Novi, chose USDP because it is fully backed by the US dollar and is held 100% in cash and cash equivalents

PayPal is in late-stage talks to acquire Pinterest

• PayPal has discussed acquiring the company for a potential price of around $70 a share, which would value Pinterest at about $39 billion
• Shopify pressure in part why PayPal is doing the deal
• Growing social commerce space

Two Crypto-Lending Firms Ordered Shut by New York’s James

• Crypto lending firms ordered shut by NY AG
• AG sent three other platforms letters with questions about their operations
• Nexo and Celsius - though it seems Nexo was incorrectly sent to them
• Regulators stance toward space continues to be confrontational

Fixed-income titan Pimco is starting to embrace cryptocurrencies, CIO says

• Pimco has dabbled in cryptocurrencies and plans to gradually invest more in digital assets
• Speaking to investors, taking baby steps 
• You have to understand decentralized finance, because it will be disruptive, and it very well may disrupt our industry, in our business in particular

FTX Trading Gets $25 Billion Valuation in $420 Million Funding Round

• FTX’s user base has reportedly grown 48% and its average trade volume has increased by 75%
•  FTX US, acquired LedgerX, and has recently launched a global NFT marketplace, FTX NFTs.
• MLB and NFL sponsor, spend a lot on marketing to consumers

Challenger bank N26 raises $900 million at $9 billion valuation

• Big jump in valuation from their last round, 2.5x larger
• 7 million users in 25 countries
• Refocusing on EU
• It gives us a lot of time over the next three to four years to line up for an IPO - co-founder and CEO Valentin Stalf

This week's list of top stories in fintech:

Coinbase is launching its own NFT platform to take on OpenSea

• NFT platform will launch by the end of year
• Will make “​​minting, purchasing, showcasing, and discovering NFTs easier than ever.”
• Will support ETH blockchain, no layer-2 integrations
• Becoming competitive marketplace

NerdWallet IPO Filing Shows 21M Unique Visitors Per Month

• Dropped S-1 last Friday
• 2020 revenues of $245m
• Seeking valuation of $5b
• Showing strong revenue growth in 2021

Crypto Lender Celsius Network Raises $400M in Bid to Reassure Regulators

• The investment gives the company a $3 billion valuation.
• Last year they raised $30m at $120m
• This is about credibility.
• Regulatory trouble with KY, AL, NJ and TX

Tala grabs $145M to offer more financial services in emerging markets

• Series E funding led by Upstart
• Valuation north of $400m
• Have served 6 million people with microcredit
• Wants to become a full financial account
• Plans to develop the first mass market crypto product for emerging markets

Crypto could cause 2008-level meltdown, Bank of England official warns

• Deputy governor of BofE says crypto could cause a global financial crisis
• Regulators should not overreact, now risks are limited
• Questions whether major price corrections can be absorbed

Oportun pulls bank charter application, says it plans to refile

• 22 consumer advocacy groups wrote for OCC head to wait until CFPB probe is completed
• Has a large number of debt collection lawsuits
• Partners with MetaBank to operate in 33 states
• They remain committed to pursuing a bank charter

Bank Dora: The First Neo-Credit Union in the U.S.

• Started by four east coast credit unions
• Neobank strategy for credit unions
• Launched last month
• They are saying Bank is a verb
• Will have full bilingual integration

New custom fintech stock market ticker launches

• New ticker of 21 public fintech companies
• Show rolling stock price on home page
• Started in 1998 or later (year PayPal began)
• Publicly traded in the US.

Jamie Dimon says bitcoin is ‘worthless’

• Continues his negative view of bitcoin
• But he will serve his clients who want to own bitcoin
• He thinks “regulators are going to regulate the hell out of it.”

Canopy Connect is building the infrastructure that powers best-in-class insurance experiences. They empower consumers to gain value and convenience from their own data and enable businesses to securely and quickly support their customers. 

Canopy Connect is making the process of sharing your insurance data so much simpler and more efficient, you no longer have to fumble around for a VIN number or insurance papers. Tolga and I discuss how far insurance is behind as compared to fintech, the importance of consumer permissions data, raising capital, and a whole lot more. I hope you enjoy the show.

In this podcast you will learn:

• Tolga's founder story
• What he learned from his time at Nova Credit
• The importance of consumer permissioned data
• How the benefits of Canopy Connect extend to both the consumer and insurance agent
• The importance of the work done by Plaid, Finicity and Yodlee
• Data sharing is now normalized for consumers
• Insurance could be 5 - 10 years behind fintech with innovation
• He is a casual Warriors and Raptors fan
• Tolga recommends reading Never Split the Difference and Sphere
• And more…

This episode was sponsored by Zendesk, a service-first CRM company that builds software designed to improve customer relationships. Qualifying startups get Zendesk free for 6 months.

This week's list of top stories in fintech:

Google Kills the Google Plex

• Google is abandoning plans to offer the Google Plex checking account, first announced Nov 2019
• Google wants to focus on delivering digital enablement, not offer services themselves
• Consumer showed strong interest
• Current partners were caught by surprise
• Big banks not joining might have pushed Google to make this decision

Return of The Postal Bank: Another New Rival or a Bad Joke?

• New pilot is being rolled out in four cities
• One service so far: cashing checks under $500 in exchange for a visa gift card
• Could soon include bill payments, ATM, wire transfers, improved money orders
• Bank lobby groups are not happy

How card issuers inadvertently fueled the buy now/pay later boom

• Card issuers clamped down on credit to new customers
• Credit card issuers have changed fees and rewards, but personalization is top of mind for consumers
• Cash flow control also a big concern, BNPL allows consumers to spread our cash

Facebook down, and so was its digital payments site Novi

• Stablecoin was also down when Facebook was down
• Would have been a big issue if the product was live
• if the servers go down for cryptocurrency wallets or exchanges, the consequences are unknown

US Bank launches bitcoin custody service

• Crypto demand is main driver behind the move
• The offering will help investment managers store private keys for bitcoin, bitcoin cash and litecoin with the help of sub-custodian NYDIG
• Crypto being seen as more legitimate by large scale FI’s

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler Looks to Rein in Crypto Exchanges, Digital Assets and Stablecoins

• Testimony focused on the need for more regulation and greater investor protection provisions.
• Non-committal on previous guidance from Clayton on ethereum and Bitcoin
• Gensler: Stablecoins are used to avert AML
• Regulation by enforcement

Fintech’s Explosive Growth Has Regulators Scrambling

• The pandemic has seen a huge rise in the fortunes of many fintech companies.
• There will be fintech failures (in the UK we have had Wirecard and Greensill already)
• Government should do more to reduce the risks of a fintech failure.
• But regulators can’t keep up.

In episode 22 I talk with Kurtis Lin of Pinwheel. 

Pinwheel is a payroll connectivity API company used by the biggest financial institutions to securely update direct deposits, access income and employment data. As their founding ethos says, they are trying to make the financial system fairer. 

The really interesting piece for a firm like Pinwheel is that their products not only help the consumer, but also help lenders and financial firms have near real time information. Kurtis and I dig deep into where the financial system is today when it comes to fairness, why payroll connectivity is a game changer, gig workers, raising capital and a whole lot more. I hope you enjoy the show.

In this podcast you will learn:

• Kurtis's founder story
• What he learned from his time at Volvo about HSAs
• Why we need to move away from FICO scores
• The use cases can be infinite with payroll connectivity
• Payroll data holds a wealth of information
• Critical mass was a key in order make a real impact
• Income needs to be rethought
• Payroll is the highest piece of the financial stack
• Culture, especially in the current world, needs to be built intentionally
• How Pinwheel has built a remote first culture
• The key to raising money is tying the story back to how the investor can also succeed
• Kurtis is not a bandwagon Warriors fan
• Kurtis recommends reading Atomic Habits and Only the Paranoid Survive
• And more…

This episode was sponsored by Zendesk, a service-first CRM company that builds software designed to improve customer relationships. Qualifying startups get Zendesk free for 6 months.

Lightyear is a simple and approachable way to invest your money globally without unnecessary barriers and fees. We saw a huge influx of retail investors over the past 18 months and not all markets around the world are in the same place when it come to technology and access. 

Lightyear is looking to help UK based retail investors gain access to US markets. Martin, Mihkel and I discuss why they decided to start with U.S. markets, the impact of a Robinhood on their business and how it increased awareness for trading, their future roadmap, raising money and a whole lot more. I hope you enjoy the show.

In this podcast you will learn:

• Martin & Mihkel's founder story
• What they learned from Transferwise
• How complicated & expensive trading is for UK consumers today
• Robinhood has had an overall positive impact on their business
• The pandemic helped accelerate interest in global and crypto markets
• ETF penetration in EU is quite low
• How Lightyear is trying to navigate different cultures, currencies and more
• How they plan to make money 
• How they partnered with the right investors interested in solving this problem
• And more…

This episode was sponsored by Zendesk, a service-first CRM company that builds software designed to improve customer relationships. Qualifying startups get Zendesk free for 6 months.

PowerPay is a digital lending platform that offers home improvement financing for contractors, their customers and everyday consumers. When talking with David I found out they launched in January of 2020, right before the world changed.

It turned out to be a big stroke of luck for PowerPay, while stuck in their homes people started to examine those projects that got pushed down the personal to do list. Whether it was a bathroom renovation, fixing a leaky roof or installing new windows, there ended up being record demand for these projects. 

David and I discuss PowerPay’s journey over the last 18 months, the exponential growth they saw in the home improvement space, working with bank partners, raising capital, unfortunately USC football, and a whole lot more. I hope you enjoy the show.

In this podcast you will learn:

• David's founder story
• What he learned from his early drive for money
• The difference between intrepreneur and entrepreneur
• They serve super prime, prime and sub prime
• How PowerPay works with banks
• How PowerPay works with contractors
• How they went from $0 to $1bn in loans originated during the pandemic
• They have long term digital banking plans
• He recommends reading The Talent Code
• He enjoys teaching the young workers within the organization
• He is a diehard Philadelphia sports fan
• And more…

This episode was sponsored by Zendesk, a service-first CRM company that builds software designed to improve customer relationships. Qualifying startups get Zendesk free for 6 months.

With 18 founders under my belt I thought it was time to start bringing investors on the podcast. Flourish are a venture firm investing in entrepreneurs whose innovations help people achieve financial health and prosperity. As an evergreen fund, they deploy patient capital with a long-term perspective. 

They are really one of the leaders in the impact space. Emmalyn and I covered a range of topics including where we’re at on the path to financial inclusion, the best way to increase access to those who need it most, whether or not blockchain based tech is fairer, building diverse teams and boards, advice for founders and a whole lot more. I hope you enjoy the show.

In this podcast you will learn:

• Emmalyn's story to venture
• Flourish's focus and mandate
• The current state of financial inclusion & wellness
• The best entry point into fintech
• Why financial education has been a taboo subject
• Why Flourish is bullish on CBDC's
• How banks need to reimagine products for the mass market
• How Flourish leads on diversity
• Best piece of advice she received was "be yourself, lead with compassion"
• She recommends The Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Gift of Failure.
• And more…

This episode was sponsored by Zendesk, a service-first CRM company that builds software designed to improve customer relationships. Qualifying startups get Zendesk free for 6 months.

In episode eighteen of PitchIt: the fintech startups podcast we talk with Berbix Co-Founder Eric Levine.

This was a special live episode, we recorded in front of a virtual audience. Berbix instantly and accurately validate photo IDs, driver licenses, and passports. Instantly is the key word there, they do it in real time to help ensure the user experience is smooth and someone is not forced to restart the on-boarding process.

Eric and I discuss how the last 18 months has impacted fraud, the complicated nature of IDs from different states, countries, synthetic identity fraud, raising capital and a whole lot more. I hope you enjoy the show.

In this podcast you will learn:

• Eric's founder story
• The funny origin of the name Berbix
• Lessons learned from Airbnb
• The complicated process of verifying IDs
• How Berbix verifies ID's in real-time
• The impact of Covid on fraud
• The growing problem of synthetic identity fraud
• How to balance user experience & friction
• The differences between malicious, opportunistic and accidental fraudsters
• The path to digital identities
• Eric recommends Love in the Time of Cholera and Children of Dune
• And more...