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Miguel Armaza recorded this episode at FinTech Nerdcon in Miami with Steve McLaughlin, Founder and CEO of FT Partners, the largest fintech-focused investment bank. Since 2001, Steve has built a 250-person firm that's advised on landmark deals including Coinbase's $4.3 billion Deribit acquisition and Revolut's multi-billion dollar raises. FT Partners works with everyone from early-stage startups to industry giants.

In this conversation, Steve shares his unfiltered views on Fintech's dramatic recovery, the tokenization revolution, and why AI will completely reshape financial services.

Timestamped Overview
00:00 Intro & Steve’s Background
02:18 Fintech thrives with smarter strategies
07:45 Crypto M&A Major Deals Emerging
09:38 Future of Asset Tokenization
12:41 AI transforming digital business
17:45 AI enhances analyst efficiency
21:08 Efficient AI investment insights
25:57 Closed-Loop Ecosystem Dominance
27:42 Building a passionate resilient team
30:07 Subscribe for more interviews

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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.

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Miguel Armaza sits down with René Lacerte, founder and CEO of Bill, one of the fintech industry’s most successful and enduring leaders. From building PayCycle in the 1990s to now leading a publicly-traded company powering the “Fortune 5 Million”—the SMBs that are the backbone of America—René brings nearly three decades of hands-on experience in financial operations, product innovation, and organizational culture.

In this episode, René shares his singular journey, starting with childhood influences from a family steeped in entrepreneurship and jazz music, and moving through decades of building for small and mid-sized businesses. He dives deep into why serving SMBs is both uniquely challenging and vital for communities, and reveals how Bill processes over a trillion dollars annually for nearly half a million clients across the US, in partnership with more than 9,000 accounting firms.

René also shares rapid-fire insights on metrics he obsesses over (customer happiness and escalations), the importance of deep networks for founder success, and why investing in culture is the ultimate bet for long-term company excellence.

A must-listen for founders, fintech builders, and anyone passionate about the future of entrepreneurship, financial technology, and the creative power of small businesses.

Timestamped Overview
00:00 Intro & René Lacerte’s Background
04:41 Piano passion and perseverance
07:34 Dreaming of Wyntons Talent
11:52 SMBs community and identity
16:15 Entrepreneurship Requires Growth and Accountability
18:39 Being present and appreciating
20:11 Tech inspiration for SMBs
25:37 Scorecards Over Job Descriptions
29:47 AI Enhancing Creativity and Impact
33:09 Touchless Workflow Automation
35:38 Trust, data, and fintech success
39:07 Financial ecosystem and acquisitions
41:39 Embracing healthy workplace conflict
45:42 The Power of Networking
48:54 Celebration honors collective effort
51:48 The lasting impact of gratitude

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 ~85,000+ 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, November 19, 2024] Miguel Armaza travels to Alexandria, Virginia for an in-person interview with a fintech legend: Nigel Morris, Co-Founder of QED and Capital One.

QED is a global fintech venture capital firm that has backed numerous amazing companies, including Credit Karma, Nubank, Avant, SoFi, and Klarna. They currently have over $4.0 billion in AUM.

Prior to QED, Nigel co-founded Capital One in 1994. The bank today is amongst the 10 largest banks in the US with almost $500 billion in assets. They are also one of the most innovative financial institutions that have inspired countless of entrepreneurs worldwide.

Timestamped Overview
00:00 Intro
01:25 Nigel’s Background
05:02 Driven by Curiosity and Empiricism
09:03 Banking economics and unsecured credit
10:10 Data economics and scientific method
14:12 Intentional Leadership Shapes Culture
18:25 NuBank exceptional net promoter scores
22:37 Fintech Journey Early Stages
25:06 Financial inclusions global expansion
27:50 Big Tech AI Dominance
33:16 Co-Founder Synergy and Longevity
36:00 Effective board meeting essentials
37:25 Effective Board Meetings Matter
42:09 Climbing a million feet yearly
44:21 Fintech empowering global change

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 sits down with Andrew Wang (CEO) and Linda Du (COO) of Valon, the AI-native infrastructure platform transforming mortgage servicing in America. They have quietly built a top-10 national mortgage servicer with over $100 million in revenue and more than one million loans under management, all while achieving profitability. Valon is now selling their battle-tested platform to the largest servicers in the country. They are backed by a16z, Westcap, Jefferies, and Alleycorp, amongst others.

What makes their story remarkable is how they built it: $100 million in revenue sold entirely through founder-led sales, no marketing team, and a seven-year detour of becoming a servicer themselves just to prove their software works. Their journey from burning $4 million per month to 70% operating margins offers a masterclass in operational discipline and unconventional company building.

Timestamped Overview
00:00 Intro & Valon’s Background
04:14 Finding Trustworthy Growth Partners
07:55 Navigating startup licensing challenges
09:55 Overcoming Loan Licensing Hurdles
15:53 Proving Value Through Integration
18:22 Servicing philosophy shoot higher
21:23 Valenos Success Without Marketing
23:21 Building Two Businesses Two Strategies
27:01 Monetizing operations with efficiency
30:14 Debating AGI's future impact
34:52 Modern CTO Strategies Culture Infrastructure
38:19 LLMs redefining productivity models
41:39 Mentorship sparks business collaboration
44:02 Choosing New York over SF
47:55 Ali's thoughtful guidance and clarity

Do you prefer a written summary? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join 80,000+ 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 sits down with Santiago Suárez, Co-Founder & CEO of Addi, one of Colombia’s fastest-growing fintech and commerce platforms. With a background that spans global finance and a track record of driving innovation in Latin America, Santiago shares a candid, in-depth look at lessons from scaling Addi to over $1.3 billion in annualized GMV, serving 2.5 million customers, and achieving industry-leading gross margins above 55%.

In this episode, Santiago and Miguel dive deep into Addi’s unique approach to board management—treating every board meeting as a “dirty laundry” session to maximize transparency, trust, and tangible input from world-class investors like Andreessen Horowitz, GIC, and Union Square Ventures. Santiago also unpacks the company’s relentless focus on operational excellence, from shifting to a North Star-driven management style to building a contentious yet high-performing executive team with global talent from Amazon, Capital One, and PayTM.

Timestamped Overview
00:00 Intro
03:57 Monthly updates streamline meetings
09:00 Building Success Amid Challenges
13:02 Seamless commerce and finance ecosystem
14:20 Persistent Networking Pays Off
18:49 Marketplace built on consumer demand
21:43 Scaling globally through self-funding
24:00 Show Your Work The Why
27:30 Empowered Customer Service Equity
31:30 AI Agents Powering Transactions
34:10 AI Data and Deployment Nuances
38:30 Building success through early funding
41:30 CEO weekly field day

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Miguel Armaza sits down with Nico Simko, CEO and co-founder of Clair, for an inside look at the journey, pivots, and insights behind one of the most innovative companies in earned wage access and embedded fintech.

From his early days as a competitive fencer on the Swiss national team—where he learned the mental agility and resilience needed for entrepreneurship—to his high-impact stints at J.P. Morgan, Nico shares how his personal story shaped his approach to building and scaling Clair. He dives into founding Clair and the surprising early missteps around product-market fit, the company’s evolution toward deep partnerships with payroll and workforce management platforms, and why saying “no” is a crucial leadership skill for founders.

Timestamped Overview

• 00:00 Intro
• 05:31 Entrepreneurship as Mission, Not Title
• 08:35 Building Empowered Engineering Teams
• 09:29 Rethinking Direct Deposit Banking
• 14:22 Transparency in Company Pivot
• 16:32 AI-Driven Efficiency in Fintech
• 21:05 Strategic Partnerships with Payroll Firms
• 24:06 Business Payment and Tip Challenges
• 27:15 Unique Payroll Underwriting Edge
• 30:07 Passion Drives Success and Growth
• 31:27 Startup Reality's Tough Lessons

Do you prefer a written summary? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join 80,000+ 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 Alan Patricof and Howard Morgan, two of the most influential figures in the venture capital industry. From the early days of just 50 annual deals to today’s 10,000 opportunities, they’ve helped shape the industry’s explosive growth over the last five decades.

In this episode, Alan and Howard share lessons from navigating multiple crises, their vision for the AI revolution and a future with humanoid robots, and why mentorship and legacy matter more than money when building enduring companies.

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 80,000+ 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

Send us a text

Miguel Armaza interviews Art Levy, Chief Business Officer of Brex. Brex has scaled to over $100 billion in processed transactions while becoming one of the most influential multibillion-dollar fintechs in the world. In this episode, Art shares the strategies behind Brex’s hypergrowth comeback, its extreme focus on three core products, and the culture that continues to produce founders of billion-dollar companies.

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.