How to Lend Money to Strangers

Latest Episodes:

Special re-release: How to stop lending money to strangers and follow your dreams, with Gideon Griebenow (World Turtles) May 03, 2023

Show notes

Stephen Hawking starts A Brief History of Time with an anecdote he attributes to Bertrand Russel who, having just finished a lecture on the heliocentric nature of the planets’ orbits, was challenged by a lady in the audience.

“What you have told us is rubbish.” She said, “The world is really a flat plate supported on the back of a giant turtle."

"If your theory is correct, madam," Russell replied, "then what does this turtle stand on?"

"You're a very clever man, and that's a very good question," she replied, "but the first turtle stands on the back of a second, far larger, turtle, who stands directly under him."

"But what does this second turtle stand on?" persisted Russell patiently.

And I think we all know her answer to this, which was of course that “it's turtles all the way down."

The World Turtle is a mytheme of a giant turtle supporting the world. It occurs in Hindu mythology, Chinese mythology, the mythologies of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, and, of course, has nothing to do with lending. So why am I dedicating so much real estate to the idea?

Well, because the idea was reflected in Terry Pratchet’s incredibly popular Disc World Series of books, and those inspired today’s guest, Gideon Griebenow, to give up his credit risk career to become an independent game developer. World Turtles is a wholesome colony builder game where you guide a tribe of creatures, called Meeps, on their mission to save themselves and the world they live on... and it’s just gone live for early release on Steam (20% off until 8 May)

But you can also get involved on their Discord Server (https://discord.com/invite/2NEb4HxwhF), while the Youtube channel is here (https://www.youtube.com/c/RecOgMission) and there is a subreddit, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram account, too.

You can learn more about myself, Brendan le Grange, on my LinkedIn page (feel free to connect), my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24

If you have any feedback, questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.

Regards, Brendan

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Untangling bureau data, with Dillon Harindiran (Slipstream) Apr 27, 2023

Show notes

Last week I compared credit bureaus to city walls, defensive structures that, because they’re solid and immovable, can keep the riskiest of customers out, but, also because they’re solid and immovable, can’t always let all the good customers in. Today, we look at those walls from the inside, and it turns out, their design is keeping some defenders out, too.

Let’s say the first step is too high for some to step up onto. Am I stretching this metaphor too far? Possibly. The idea is that lenders and their data are the defenders, and that the process to bring new lenders onto a credit bureau is flawed. Now, if you’re sticking with me, you can think of Dillion Harindiran and his co-founders at Slipstream are building ladders, allowing more defenders to get to the top where they can be useful.

Or, in sensible adult language, Slipstream have built a single, simple API that allows lenders of all sizes - they count start-ups, unicorns, and household names among their early customers - to connect to the three major UK credit bureaus simultaneously, hyperfast and with minimal effort.

You can find Slipstream at: https://oneslipstream.com/

You can find Dillion on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/harindiran/

Or just arrange to speak to him in person via https://calendly.com/dillon . You can also read how he and the team got their cool Calendly links over here https://www.linkedin.com/posts/harindiran_allof-slipstreamsco-founders-have-a-calendlycom-activity-7051568664638021632-51tN?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop)

If you have any feedback, questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.

Regards, Brendan

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'New to credit' shouldn’t mean 'too risky for credit', with Charlie Wise (TransUnion) Apr 20, 2023

Show notes

About five years into my time in Hong Kong, I slipped my foot into a shoe only to bump into a frog sleeping inside it. Rough calculations say that, by that stage, I’d slipped a foot into a shoe 3,650 times in the city so the odds were greatly stacked in my favour. And yet, so great was my shock, and so increased was my awareness of what might slip under the door, that I checked every shoe every morning from there on out.

Lending is similar. The pain from the one loan you lose can overshadow the joy from the nine, or even ninety-nine, that pay you back. So you take precautions. You tip over the shoe. Or maybe you’re more scared of frogs than I am, and you poke a stick in there. Fair enough. But sometimes, those precautions become overkill. Maybe you’re that scared of frogs that you won’t settle for anything less than one of those bendy cameras surgeons use. Unfortunately, you don’t have one of those bendy cameras surgeons use so you go barefoot.

Or, if we bring this back to lending, new to credit borrowers get turned away, not because they’re risky, but because lenders lack the data we want to be one hundred per cent sure they’re safe. Lenders are too scared of frogs.

The study we’re speaking about is here: https://content.transunion.com/v/english_report_empowering-credit-inclusion-a-deeper-perspective-on-new-to-credit-consumers

And as we mentioned, your local TransUnion homepage will also have links to the country-specific versions where those are available: the USA, Canada, South Africa, among others.

Charlie can be found on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-wise-959570/

You can learn more about me on my LinkedIn page, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24

Oh, and I'll announce it properly, but I'll be recording an episode of this show at Money2020 Europe in June so if you're going to be there, too, let's meet up. And if you're not, but you would still like to participate in the show, reach out to me at https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/contact-us

Regards, Brendan

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Community-sourced loans for SMEs, with George Cook (Honeycomb Credit) Apr 13, 2023

Show notes

I scheduled this episode to follow the Honey Badger episode because I liked the alignment of their names, but I could just as easily have linked it to the Wine Funding episode, because we're once again turning engaged fans into even more engaged financiers! Only this time, we're taking all comers.

So when George says Honeycomb is "helping business owners really activate this community of customers and fans and neighbours that they already have, and to level up those customers and turn them into evangelists for their business by getting them on board and then literally invested in the long term success of those businesses" we hear echoes of Maxime, who described his lenders as "the most sincere and genuine ambassadors you can dream of as a wine estate, because they're part of the adventure, and they share that with their friends."

You can find Honeycomb Credit and all their projects over at https://www.honeycombcredit.com/ Twisted's artisanal egg roll project is already funded in Chicago, but maybe check out InBox Beverage in Chestertown (MD) with their turnkey micro-brewing system; or Bless Thy Skin in Riverview (FL), a black-owned, woman-owned, family-owned business that specializes in skincare products and treatments; or even the Rockfish Oyster Bar, a new seafood restaurant coming to Cleveland’s Chagrin Falls neighborhood... there really are so many great options.

They're on LinkedIn, too, where they publish wonderful little glimpses into those projects and the impact that capitalised small businesses are making to their communities.

Regards, Brendan

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Imagery that only your customers will know, with Matt Salisbury (Honey Badger) Apr 06, 2023

Show notes

I'm bad at passing KYC checks. I know the classics, mother's maiden name, first pet, colour of my first car, all that sort of stuff. But, chances are, so do the fraudsters. Where I struggle is the financial data that banks now use, I simply don't pay that close attention to what they name their products, I don't know if my wife having a secondary card means I have two credit cards or one, I don't know which email address they have as their one on record, and I don't remember when I opened my last credit card.

The problem with these events they want me to recall, is that they are once off tasks that have quickly faded from memory. But every day I travel through my neighbourhood. Actually, that's not the best example as I work from home and the kids school is a thirty second walk away, but I've just got back into golf, so I do drive to the range a few times a week and I'm not a complete hermit yet 🤣 Anyway, as each day passes and I remember less about the details of opening that credit card, I remember more about my neighbourhood. And that's what Honey Badger's geo authentication product relies on.

In this episode, I'm chatting to Matt Salisbury, co-founder and CEO of Honey Badger, who are creating user-friendly authentication challenges to stop fraudsters in their tracks. Matt loves to chat to lending people on LinkedIn, so feel free to hit him up, and tell him the podcast sent you.

You can book a demo by, or first learn more about, Honey Badger at https://honeybadgerhq.com/ - including direct jumps to their geo authentication and their mobile data for credit risk and fraud solutions

Honey Badger were also at the Future Identity Finance event in London a couple of weeks ago, and technically this post is speaking about that, but it also gives a wonderful timeline of that relationship with Amplifi Capital that is discussed in our chat: https://honeybadgerhq.com/future-identity-finance/

Regards, Brendan

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Your interest paid in fine wine, with Maxime Debure (WineFunding) Mar 30, 2023

Show notes

When you lend someone money, you give up the usage of those funds - temporarily if things go well, permanently if they don't - and so, to make it worth your while, you charge the borrower interest. That's just business. But sometimes business is good to you, and instead of your interest being paid in boring old Euros, you get paid in fine wine!

That's the concept behind WineFunding, the world's first crowdfunding and alternative financing platform specifically for wine companies. With equity and debt-based model, any wine lover can now also become a wine producer, and drink the glorious rewards of that work.

"It's a passion investment, but it doesn't need to be irrational or risky."

WineFunding's home page is at https://www.winefunding.com/en, with the list of available and funded projects at https://www.winefunding.com/en/projects/explore (I picked this one essentially out of the hat for the episode, https://www.winefunding.com/en/domainebaudon but you're just out of time to participate now)

You can also find videos of those projects on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/c/Winefunding

WineHub, the co-working and events space dedicated to the wine industry and whose seed funding was raised on the WineFunding platform, can be found here: https://winehub.fr/ >>> And if you would like to get involved in any of those wine projects, use the code HTLMTS at checkout to save €20 on any investment or €100 if you invest over €1,000!

If LinkedIn is more your pace, you can find Maxime there (https://www.linkedin.com/in/maximedebure/) as well as pages for WineFunding and WineHub. While you're there, send me a connection request, too.

The wine estates that were bought by the other Pierre's aboard the Berg China were https://cabriere.co.za/ and https://www.la-motte.com/, and are both worth a visit

If you would like to participate in the show, reach out to me at https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/contact-us

Regards, Brendan

Oh, and if you’re in need of more banking podcasts, you can find related content at https://blog.feedspot.com/banking_podcasts/

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A fintech pioneer and change bringer in Pakistan, with Naureen Hyat (Tez/ ZoodPay) Mar 23, 2023

Show notes

When Naureen Hyat and Humza Hussain joined forces with Nadeem Hussain, the founder behind the world’s second-largest branchless banking solution, they decided to pivot their B2B microfinance business towards the consumer, giving rise to Tez, the first FinTech in Pakistan to get a digital lending licence. They made mistakes quickly and learned from them, creating a scalable and digital lending model with risk at or below the levels of the OpEx heavy manual models of old.

"Our first cohort was probably the best part of the learning journey for us, because we actually got over 50% defaults on that first cohort... And then the credit scoring engine started taking shape. And we started bringing defaults down from 50 to 40, 40 to 30, 30 to 20, 20 to 15. Then the tougher bit came because it was not only about the credit scoring, it had to be about the experience of the consumer, how is the product structured, from the first interaction of the consumer with the company till after he or she has been paid, everything matters... the latest cohort actually closed at under three percent default. This was uncollateralized cash lending to the masses, so yeah, it was quite an interesting experience and we learned a lot from it."

Tez, now ZoodPay Pakistan, is at https://www.zoodpay.com/pakistan (or visit the group page if your interest are more global)

ZoodPay is on LinkedIn, too, where you can also follow Naureen, with 50,000+ others that are learning from her journey (https://www.linkedin.com/in/naureen-hyat/)

If you're interested in the broader fintech ecosystem in Pakistan, check out the Pakistan Fintech Network at https://pfn.org.pk/

The early growth of Tez was supported by, among others, Accion Venture Lab and Omidyar Network who have both got indirect links to this show, via episode 42 with Jayshree Venkatesan (a primer on microlending) and episode 68 with Elena Botella (a lesson in responsible lending)

If you would like to participate in the show, reach out to me at https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/contact-us

Regards, Brendan

Oh, and if you’re in need of more banking podcasts, you can find related content at https://blog.feedspot.com/banking_podcasts/

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Building a Canadian loan marketplace, with Vlad Sherbatov (Smarter Loans) Mar 16, 2023

Show notes

This whole show is built on the premise that lending money is a tricky endeavour, but, let's face it, borrowing money can sometimes be easier said than done, too: instalment or revolving, secured or unsecured, long-term or short-term, monthly cost versus APR, affordability versus need, etc.

There's a lack of transparency and a lack of knowledge. "And when there is a lack of knowledge, there is a lack of trust, and as long as there is a lack of trust, there's always going to be a hindrance to the advancement of the industry" says Vlad Sherbatov, President & Co-Founder of Smarter.Loans - helping Canadians discover top loan providers for any credit purpose.

Head on over to https://smarter.loans/ to see what's there, or https://smarter.loans/videos/ for a wealth of lending content.

Or get them ont he socials, they're big on TikTok (at https://www.tiktok.com/@smarter.loans?lang=en), YouTube (at https://www.youtube.com/c/SmarterLoans) and Instagram (at https://www.instagram.com/smarterloans/?hl=en)

We also discuss the Canadian Lenders Association, that's over here: https://www.canadianlenders.org/

If you would like to participate in the show, reach out to me at https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/contact-us

Regards, Brendan

Oh, and if you’re in need of more banking podcasts, you can find related content at https://blog.feedspot.com/banking_podcasts/

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Pay your rent and I'll give you the house, with Ike Udechuku (Pathway Points) Mar 09, 2023

Show notes

Imagine you rent your home. Now imagine your landlord gave you a straight choice: (1) pay rent for forty years, renewing the lease biennially for the rest of your life, or (2) pay the same rent for thirty years at the end of which your landlord gives you the house.

Pick your answer, but don't tell me yet, because I have one more pair of choices for you, this one from the funding side of things.

This time I want you to imagine yourself as an investment manager at a pension fund with £1 billion to invest, would you rather place it in (1) a 40-year gilt to earn an inflation-adjusted return of zero or (2) buy the right to receive monthly rent from a club of motivated renters that give you an inflation-adjusted yield of two or three per cent for forty years?

OK, now let me guess... hmmm, you picked two and two, right?

Yeah, I'm not a genius for knowing that. It's simple. And yet... also quite complicated. My first degree was in structured finance, so I really should have a handle on this bond pricing stuff, and how to split income streams from asset growth, but when I went from university into lending instead, I promptly forgot it all.

My guest today, Ike Udechuku, has no such blind spot. With a, frankly astonishing, track record in the bond markets and a passion for property and property management, he looks perfectly positioned to shake up these two huge industries with Pathway Points - which will give both investors and renters a way to answer 'two' to those simple questions.

You can learn more about Pathway at https://thepathway.club/ (which includes some great little video clips explaining the process), but you should also follow them on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/pathway-points/) where they publish regular insights

If you're an investor, you can reach out to Ike on LinkedIn to start a conversation: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ikeudechuku/

We mentioned Ampersand House, and if you'd like to see more of that, check out this great article from 2017: https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/ampersand-house-everything-is-for-sale

Ike mentions Sharia mortgages in our conversation. In episode 88 of this show, Abdullo Kurbanov explains murabaha in more detail

I mention an accidentally pilfered Alvar Aalto glass vase, see how this vase may have inspired the swimming pools that inspired modern skateboarding https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/the-pool-and-the-stream/

If you would like to participate in the show, reach out to me at https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/contact-us

Regards, Brendan

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Opening a beer faster, with Oli Tomson (Era) Mar 06, 2023

Show notes

This is a special episode for two reasons: (1) it is my long-awaited debut in Australia, a market that's slipped through the gaps for too long on this show, and (2) it's a birthday bonus episode. Well, no, actually, it's actually special for three reasons, because it is also a story about taking chances. First, someone had to take a chance on Oli, when he was a restaurant manager looking for a change into credit risk management. Then Oli had to take a chance on a restaurant of his own, when he was looking for a change out of credit risk.

Oli is now at ERA, which you can read about here https://era.bar/ and if you're in Brisbane, book yourself a table (they're at 3/75 Redcliffe Parade, Redcliffe, QLD 4020)

You can read more about the fight to save Suttons Beach Pavillion here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-29/qld-redcliffe-sutton-beach-pavillion-rally/101106584

On a happier note, Oli wants you to visit Tasmania, if you agree check this out: https://www.discovertasmania.com.au/

And you'll have heard about Oli's fantastic wine guy, he's at http://www.thewinetradition.com.au/#/home or if beer is more your thing, he also gave shout outs to https://www.catchmentbrewingco.com.au/, https://www.bentspokebrewing.com.au/pages/beer-core-range, and https://yourmatesbrewing.com/products/larry

If you have any feedback, questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on my site: https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/contact-us

Regards, Brendan

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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