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In our latest podcast, Peter Jankovsky (WG'20) is joined by Chris Britt, the Co-Founder and CEO of Chime. Chime is a challenger bank that was founded with the mission of helping its members achieve financial peace of mind. Since launching in 2013, it has become one of the fastest-growing challenger banks with over 4 M accounts and recently raised $200 M in funding at a $1.5 B valuation. In this extensive interview, Chris dives into: * His motivation for founding Chime and the distinct value prop it offers in the market today * How Chime's customer-centric approach is fueling its rapid growth with a revenue model that is aligned with the happiness of its members * What's next for Chime, including how Chris thinks about partnerships and his thinking on whether or not to pursue a bank charter * The future of the US retail banking market and how it will evolve to the benefit of consumers * Advice for entrepreneurs in the FinTech space Chris Britt is the co-founder & CEO of Chime. Before founding Chime, Chris was the Chief Product Officer and SVP, Corporate Development at Green Dot. Prior to that, Chris held roles as a senior product leader at Visa and as one of the first executives at ComScore. In addition, Chris is a Board Member of coachart.org, a non-profit that connects chronically ill kids with free lessons in the arts and athletics.
In our latest podcast, Keane Ehsani (WG ’20) is joined by Thomas Sponholtz, CEO and Chairman at Unison Home Ownership Investors (https://www.unison.com). In this extensive interview, Thomas explains how Unison helps first time homebuyers by co-investing in their down payment. Thomas also discusses homeowner’s equity as an asset class, how Unison uses data analytics to forecast the value of its portfolio, and how Unison is revolutionizing the industry by unlocking homeowner’s equity. Unison is pioneering a smarter and better way to buy and own homes by helping homebuyers with their down payment in exchange for a portion of their home’s appreciation when they sell. At Unison, Thomas has built a team of financial and real estate professionals who are committed to helping homebuyers get the home they want, and homeowners finance their life needs without adding debt. Unison believes in a world where buying and owning a home is not a zero-sum game, and that with the right partners, everyone can win. Thomas founded Unison and leads the company’s overall strategic direction. He has more than twenty years of experience building large-scale consumer finance and investment management businesses at companies such as Barclay’s Global Investors, where he managed the $28 billion residential mortgage portfolio, built the first Fixed Income ETF (iShares) and developed Barclay’s Global Multi-Strategy and Credit Long/Short fund.
In this broadcast from LendIt Fintech USA in April 2019, recent alumna Dipika Sen (WG'19) speaks with Ryan Rugg, R3's Global Head of Industry Verticals. In this role, Ryan oversees the global team that is responsible for helping industry leaders understand and navigate the forces reshaping their businesses, including blockchain technology. Previously, she led the Global Insurance businesses for R3, which has become one of the largest ecosystems building and deploying on R3’s Blockchain Platform, Corda. Prior to R3, Ryan worked for Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan where she gained extensive experience in financial services covering a broad range of institutions including insurance, hedge funds, banks, and asset managers.
In our latest podcast, Keane Ehsani (WG ’20) attends the FinTech Innovation Lab 2019 Demo Day in New York, where 11 enterprise tech companies got to showcase innovative products and services. In this podcast, Keane is joined by Maria Gotsch of the Partnership Fund for New York, Hans Morris of Nyca Partners, George Hessler of Magma Trading, and Nir Perry of Cyberwrite. The FinTech Innovation Lab (https://www.fintechinnovationlab.com) was founded in 2010 by Accenture and the Partnership Fund for New York City. The Lab provides early- and growth-stage FinTech companies with access to the world’s leading financial institutions. The Lab was established to help make New York a leader in FinTech and to grow technology jobs by leveraging the concentration of large financial institutions and deep domain expertise that exist in New York. Maria Gotsch, President and CEO of the Partnership Fund for New York City The Partnership Fund (https://partnershipfundnyc.org) has invested $173mm to preserve New York City’s competitive edge and to mobilize the city’s financial and business leaders to help build a stronger and more diversified local economy. In addition to leading the Fund’s investment operations, Maria has spearheaded the creation and operation of a number of the Fund’s strategic initiatives, including the FinTech Innovation Lab for New York. Hans Morris, Managing Partner of Nyca Partners Nyca (https://www.nyca.com) is a leading venture capital firm focused on connecting innovative companies to the global financial system. In addition to being the Managing Partner of Nyca, Hans also serves as chairman of the board of Lending Club and as a board member of AvidXchange, Boomtown, Payoneer, and SigFig. Prior to Nyca, Hans held several senior management positions at General Atlantic, Visa, and Citigroup. George Hessler, CEO and Founder of Magma Trading Magma Trading (https://www.magmatrading.com) has created a new kind of stock market that allows broker-dealers to trade large blocks of equities. This structure allows market-making firms to post large potential trades without fear of getting run over by high-speed electronic sweeps. Nir Perry, CEO and Founder of Cyberwrite Cyberwrite (https://cyberwrite.com) enables insurers, brokers, and agents to cyberprofile and benchmark the cyber insurance risk of small-medium businesses worldwide and to estimate the financial impact of potential cyber incidents on their businesses using their unique Cyber Profiling technology. Fintech Innovation Lab Demo Day Press Release: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190627005121/en/11-Enterprise-Tech-Companies-Showcase-Inventive-Products Fintech Innovation Lab Demo Day Archived Video Presentations: https://www.fintechinnovationlab.com/new-york/live/
In our latest podcast, Keane Ehsani (WG ’20) is joined by Dov Marmor, GM & Head of Banking as a Service at Green Dot (https://www.greendot.com). In this extensive interview, Dov dives into the proliferation of prepaid cards and Banking as a Service in the U.S. Dov also discusses Green Dot’s unique and vertically integrated value proposition for companies looking to provide banking services, how to land a job in fintech, and the evolution of the fintech industry. Dov Marmor leads Green Dot’s Banking as a Service (BaaS) division, which is the platform used by companies like Uber, Intuit, Apple, and Stash to create custom financial products for their customers. He is also a fintech lecturer at Cornell University’s Johnson Business School where he earned his MBA and serves on the alumni board. Prior to joining Green Dot, Dov led the US launch of Currencycloud, a Google Ventures funded fintech platform that processes billions of dollars in payments globally for major tech companies. Earlier in his career, Dov held leadership roles at Super Derivatives (Sold to Intercontinental Exchange) and Standard & Poor’s. He has extensive experience across fintech, Cloud Platforms, Payments, and digital innovation. Linked in article link about how to land a job in FinTech: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-land-job-fintech-dov-marmor/ For more information on Banking as a Service: https://greendot.com/business
In our latest podcast, Peter Jankovsky (WG'20) speaks with Ray Martinez, the Co-Founder and President of EVERFI. EVERFI is a recognized leader in financial literacy education that uses digital learning platforms to power financial wellness products for many of the country's leading institutions. Founded in 2008, EVERFI is backed by some of America's leading CEOs and VC firms, including Amazon founder/CEO Jeff Bezos, former Alphabet Chairman Eric Schmidt, Twitter founder Evan Williams, Advance Publications, Rethink Education, and Rethink Impact. In this extensive podcast, Ray dives into: * The founding of EVERFI and how it developed a unique revenue model in its early days * How EVERFI's new Achieve platform delivers engaging, personalized financial education to consumers * How financial institutions can use Achieve to better understand and engage with their customer base * Learnings from EVERFI's K-12 educational offerings that informed the design of Achieve * EVERFI's ambitions to build out additional educational offerings for healthcare finance, savings/retirement, emotional learning, and mental wellness, among other areas Ray's learnings from his experience as an entrepreneur boot-strapping EVERFI in its early days As President of Financial Education, Ray is responsible for leading the Company's financial education business, which powers financial capability programs for hundreds of financial institutions across the country. He also oversees EVERFI's Financial Capability Network which has grown to include over 850 financial institutions, thousands of teachers, government officials, Advisory Board members, and non-profit partners. The Financial Capability Network is committed to delivering critical financial education to K-12 students and adults in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada, while also leveraging best practices and technology solutions to yield maximum impact within their communities. Ray has spent over 20 years in the education industry, having served in leadership roles at Kaplan prior to co-founding EVERFI. Questions? Comments? Want to get in touch? Send us a note at whartonfintech@gmail.com
In our latest podcast, Peter Jankovsky (WG'20) is joined by Colin Walsh, the CEO and Co-Founder of Varo Money. Varo Money is on track to become the first mobile-centric national bank in US history after gaining approval for a national bank charter. We previously spoke with Colin in the early days of Varo's launch and are excited to welcome him back to the podcast to share his experience in the market. In this extensive interview, Colin shares: * His unique founding story and the value proposition behind Varo * The rationale for Varo's decision to pursue a national bank charter * His vision for what's next for Varo - including both product and geographic expansion * Challenges that Varo has overcome since launching in the market * Advice for entrepreneurs seeking funding * His views on the competitive landscape for consumer banking in the US Prior to starting Varo, Colin spent over 25 years working in consumer banking at global financial institutions. He was previously an EVP at American Express, leading Europe's largest credit and charge card business, and an MD at Lloyd's, leading the UK's largest mortgage and savings businesses. Feedback? Questions? Send us a note at whartonfintech@gmail.com
In our latest podcast, Keane Ehsani (WG ’20) is joined by Gerry Tsai, Director of Applications and Fintech in the Financial Institution Supervision and Credit Group at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco (FRBSF) (https://www.frbsf.org). In this extensive interview, Gerry dives into the evolution of the Fintech industry and the U.S. regulatory response. Gerry also discusses the FRBSF’s Fintech Navigate program, regulatory sandboxes, and the various regulatory regimes that apply to the use of consumer financial data. In his Fintech role at the FRBSF, Mr. Tsai leads a team of analysts that focus on better understanding the opportunities and regulatory questions posed by the Fintech industry, as well as related impacts on the banking sector. In his applications capacity, he oversees a team that reviews and acts on regulatory applications by banking institutions to engage in mergers, acquisitions, and other expansionary activities. Mr. Tsai previously served both as Corporate Secretary and as Associate General Counsel for the Reserve Bank’s Legal Division where he focused on payment systems and bank regulatory matters. Before joining the Reserve Bank, Mr. Tsai was vice president and counsel at a large financial institution in Los Angeles, and was an attorney with the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C. Mr. Tsai graduated from Johns Hopkins University and Boston University School of Law; he is admitted to the bar in California and Massachusetts. Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco: Fintech Navigate https://www.frbsf.org/banking/fintech/navigate/ U.S. Department of the Treasury: A Financial System That Creates Economic Opportunities: Nonbank Financials, Fintech, and Innovation https://home.treasury.gov/sites/default/files/2018-08/A-Financial-System-that-Creates-Economic-Opportunities---Nonbank-Financials-Fintech-and-Innovation_0.pdf
In our latest podcast, Keane Ehsani (WG ’20) is joined by Zor Gorelov, the CEO and Co-Founder of Kasisto. In this extensive interview, Zor dives into Kasisto’s sophisticated conversational AI platform that powers virtual assistants for financial institutions. Zor also discusses his fascinating background as a four-time entrepreneur and how Kasisto’s KAI is revolutionizing the way customers interact with their banks. Kasisto (https://kasisto.com) is the developer of KAI, a conversational AI platform that powers virtual assistants and bots on mobile, web, messaging platforms, and voice-enabled devices. The world’s most innovative financial institutions license KAI to create intelligent conversations that fulfill requests, solve problems, and predict needs for their customers. Zor has over 20 years of experience in the software industry. He was the CEO and co-Founder of SpeechCycle, a market leader in cloud-based contact center optimization solutions for the telco market. SpeechCycle was acquired by Synchronoss Technologies (SNCR). Prior to that, Zor founded and ran BuzzCompany.com, a provider of enterprise collaboration and messaging software, which was acquired by Multex.com (MLTX).
In our latest podcast, Keane Ehsani (WG ’20) is joined by Karn Saroya, the CEO and co-founder of Cover. In this extensive interview, Karn dives into Cover’s sophisticated customer-centric and elegant apps built to better serve customers. Karn also discusses his pivot from fashion to insurance, how Cover is utilizing native mobile and its Magicam technology to disintermediate the insurance industry, and valuations and consolidation in insurtech. Cover (https://cover.com) is a technology company and nationally licensed insurance brokerage that works with more than 30 insurance companies across the United States. Their apps ensure that customers get the most out of their insurance, the best possible customer experience, and the best rates & coverage. Karn Saroya is the CEO and co-founder of Cover. He is responsible for operations, business development, growth and investor relations primarily. To date, Karn has raised $27M (USD) throughout seed, Series A and Series B rounds. Karn’s first company, Stylekick, was acqui-hired by Shopify in 2015 and, before entrepreneurship, he was a management consultant at Oliver Wyman. Karn holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Queen’s University and a Master of Finance from MIT, where he attended as a Fulbright Scholar. He is also a Y Combinator fellow and alumnus.
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