On this episode of The Restive Perspective, Ryan Falvey sits down with Jason Wilk, founder & CEO of Dave — the fintech that went public faster than almost anyone before it.
Jason shares how his personal challenges led directly to the company's origin, why people actually love overdraft (but hate the fees), and how the company turned overdraft protection into a technological breakthrough. He opens up about the highs and lows of going public, the clarity that losing 90% of the company’s value brought, and how the company's transformation into an AI leader is powering its meteoric growth.
We cover everything from raising capital when VCs said his customers were “too poor,” to building Dave into an AI-first fintech that serves millions, all while staying lean (albeit with ~300 employees).
Topics include:
-The pain point that led to founding Dave
-Raising capital when no one believed in neobanks
-The rollercoaster of going public, collapse, and comeback
-How AI transformed credit underwriting & customer growth
-Lessons in resilience, product velocity, and trust
This is a candid, insightful conversation about fintech disruption, resilience, and the future of AI in financial services.
👉 Don’t forget to subscribe for more conversations with leaders shaping the future of finance.
About Dave:
Dave is on a mission to build products that level the financial playing field. The app launched in 2017 to help Americans take control of their finances. Since then, Dave has brought its 13M members the products other banks won’t: ExtraCash™ up to $500, goal tracking, and simple ways to find Side Hustles when they’re behind on their budget.
About Restive:
Restive is a seed stage fintech venture capital fund. We are former founders and operators and we aim to be your most helpful investor. We help you bridge the seed to A with capital and key industry partners in financial services to give you what you need to grow.
About The Restive Perspective:
The Restive Perspective is a series from Restive Ventures about our views on the market. We share founder interviews, commentary on the tech and VC industries, and other timely content to advance the discussion about the state of technology and fintech today.
To learn more about Restive and get in touch with us, please visit us at https://www.restive.com/.
fintech, venture, investing, Ryan Falvey, Cameron Peake, Tyler Griffin, VC, podcast, story, personal, background, founder story, founder origins
Learn more about The Restive Perspective and Restive Ventures at www.restive.com.
⏱️ YouTube Chapters
00:00 – Why people actually love overdraft
00:36 – Ryan welcomes Jason Wilk (CEO of Dave)
01:23 – Dave’s founding story
03:00 – Fighting overdraft fees: “Dave vs. Goliath”
04:20 – Launching “Extra Cash” — no-fee advances
06:00 – How Dave grew faster than other neobanks
07:45 – Consumers knowingly using overdraft as credit
09:10 – Early validation & ultra-low acquisition costs
12:25 – Struggles raising capital: 120 investor meetings
15:40 – Investors didn’t understand the customer base
17:00 – Going public early & capitalizing the company
19:00 – Stock collapse and rebound story
21:30 – Market cap swings: $4B to $59M to $3B
24:30 – Why being public helped long-term strategy
27:25 – Becoming an AI-first company
29:05 – AI underwriting: lowering losses to ~1%
32:00 – Competition: Big banks vs. neobanks
33:30 – Expanding credit, longer durations & new products
35:00 – Building a small but elite team (300 employees)
36:08 – Jason’s five- to ten-year vision for Dave
37:36 – CEOs Jason models himself after (Coinbase, Robinhood)
40:00 – Trust, brand, and customer adoption
43:00 – Lessons from the rise, fall, and comeback
44:23 – Closing reflections
