In this episode, I sit down with Kristy Kim, CEO and founder of Tomo Credit.

TomoCredit, a San Francisco fintech company focused on expanding access to financial services through technology. Since launching the business in 2019, she has led its development and the introduction of TomoIQ, an AI-powered financial advisor designed to support consumers in managing their financial lives.

Before founding TomoCredit, Kristy worked in business development at Credit Sesame and held investment roles at Kenetic, Oasis Labs and Vault12. She previously founded and led a venture-backed e-commerce company and served as Head of Global Business Development at Com2us Corporation, where she worked on international growth initiatives. Earlier in her career, she advised technology companies on mergers and acquisitions at J. Moore Partners, which later merged with B. Riley Financial.

Kristy is also a member of the Forbes Finance Council, where she contributes perspectives on fintech and personal finance. She holds an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and has served as a lecturer at Haas, teaching entrepreneurship and blockchain. Her background brings together financial expertise, startup leadership and a strong understanding of emerging technologies.

With her, we will talk about credit scoring in the US, fintech services and the importance of being in San Francisco to build your fintech startup.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode, I sit down with Elias Apel, CEO of Lucanet.

Elias has multiple years of experience in the financial industry, with experiences in IEG Investment banking group and Argonas corporate finance advisors. He joined Lucanet in 2018 as sales manager and then climbed the corporate ladder until becoming CEO in 2023.

Lucanet is one of the major CFOs solutions providers, trusted by more than 5,000 companies globally, with multiple locations around the world and more than 800 employees.

During this interview, recorded during Lucanet 2025 in Berlin, we’ve been talking about his experience going from sales to CEO, the opportunity and challenges in the fintech space, but also the importance of ESG in financial decisions and the impact of AI in his day-to-day operations.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 
ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode, I sit down with Giorgio Seveso, founder and CEO of Tundr.

Giorgio is the CEO and founder of Tundr, the first Italian fintech platform active exclusively on corporate welfare with a dedicated account and payment card, able to handle everything for the company and the final user, from HR to payments.

Prior to Tundr, Giorgio started his career in consulting, at Jakala first and Deloitte later, doing M&A and strategy for financial institutions. He launched Tundr in 2022 exactly because of those experiences, as he saw first hand how difficult it was to handle welfare in Italy for complex institutions.

With him, we will talk about the experience of a first time founder in Italy, the fintech ecosystem in the country, but also why not scaling globally from day 1 and how to be a champion in your niche. 

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode, I sit down with Aurimas Bakas, CEO and founder of Copla.

Aurimas Bakas is a serial fintech entrepreneur and chief executive with over two decades of experience building and scaling technology-driven businesses across Europe and globally. He is currently the co-founder of Copla, focusing on bridging the gap between cyber readiness and operational security in fintech.

Aurimas is best known for founding Paysolut, a banking technology company serving fintech scale-ups, which was successfully acquired by SumUp in 2021. His track record also includes multiple exits, such as DtecNet to MarkMonitor and Marguard to Prisync, alongside leadership roles in companies later acquired by Quaero Capital.

Earlier in his career, he played a key role in expanding international operations for Gaumina and scaling DtecNet into a global anti-piracy leader. His experience spans payments, data infrastructure, and enterprise software, complemented by executive education at UC Berkeley.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

Amazon:https://podcasters.amazon.com/podcasts/a1f92635-a50e-4a0c-ac96-7daa09c4e853 

In this episode, I sit down with Sir Gabriel Holbach, partner and CPO at 0to9.

Sir Gabriel Holbach is Partner & Chief Product Officer at 0TO9, where he helps founders turn early-stage ideas into scalable, user-centered fintech products. With over 13 years of experience in product design, UX strategy, and digital brand development across fintech, healthtech, and SaaS, he combines creative vision with operational precision.

Before joining 0TO9, Gabriel co-founded Penta (today Qonto), one of Europe’s leading SME-focused digital banks, where he led product design from MVP to 50,000+ users. He built and scaled design teams, managed agile squads, and developed a cohesive user journey from onboarding to dashboard through a reusable design system. Later, at Index Health, he led UX strategy and design systems, improving product–market fit to 68% and reducing customer acquisition costs by 66%. 

0TO9 is a fintech venture builder and investor aiming to launch 1,000 profitable European fintechs by 2045. Founded in Sweden in 2025, the company provides entrepreneurs with capital, compliance, talent, technical, and operational support needed to start and scale licensed financial companies in months rather than years. 0TO9 operates under European financial services licences, allowing its portfolio companies to launch regulated financial products immediately.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

Patrick founded Teylor in 2018 in Zurich as an SME lending platform, providing a web-based loan application process. Due to the success of the solution, they launched a SaaS product to help banks and financial institutions with those processes, and more recently a Private Debt arm that also includes a Debt Fund. 

With Patrick, we talked about the founder's process, the M&A growth strategy and the struggle of post-deal integration in the fintech market.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode, I sit down with Anne-Sybill Predelles, co-founder of Formance.

Anne-Sybill has a very interesting profile, coming from a financial background through experiences at Credit Suisse and Axa Venture partners, she then went deep dive on the startup ecosystem, working in cybersecurity startups before discovering her passion for the fintech industry.

Formance enables Platforms and Fintech companies to build modern financial applications composing payments, banking, lending, investing, and insurance through complex fund flows. After going through the program at Y Combinator, they raised a $21 million series A.

With her, we will deep dive on the experience of launching a fintech startup from scratch, the funding environment in Europe, but also the feeling of going through Y Combinator and how to raise a round in less than 3 months.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode, I sit down with Andrea Gurnari, partner and founder at 2100VC.

2100 Ventures is dedicated to supporting European entrepreneurs driving the new golden age of industrial innovation, investing in B2B businesses across a range of verticals. They’re investing in pre-seed and seed stage startups across Europe covering SaaS, AI, fintech & data, and ClimateTech, among others.

Andrea comes from a real multi sector experience, ranging from Blackrock to Goldman, from Atomico to Nivaura, with transversal skills from product to finance.

With Andrea, we will discuss the status of the VC market in Europe, the importance of a multicultural environment for founders, how to be relevant in this industry and the upcoming trends in fintech.

In this episode I sit down with Sahil Phadnis, founder of Affiniti, a US based fintech startup that offers an all-in-one financial operating system tailored specifically for SMBs in backbone industries—those overlooked by other fintech solutions.

Affiniti just raised a $60 million funding round, in order to expand its reach in the US and offer tailor made fintech solutions like credit card to the backbones of the US industrial economy. The company is targeting SMEs in rural areas like Nebraska or Arkansas in order to offer financial services to segments not usually covered by new or even traditional banking.

With him, we will speak about the next wave of fintech investments in 2025, on the targets for Affiniti in the long run, but also about hiring in the fintech space and the upcoming challenges in this market.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode, I sit down with Ertan Can, founder of Multiple capital.

Multiple Capital is a micro-VC focused fund of funds that invests in VC funds in Europe and the US. They seek out innovative, emerging fund managers (teams and solo) in niche geographies and verticals that are often overlooked and inaccessible for many investors. 

It's a unique perspective on how an investor decides on which funds to invest, and consequently on how VC managers drive their decision process.

With Ertan, we will discuss the VC industry in Europe, on how to choose a fund, and what the European startup ecosystem is missing to catch up the gap with the US.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode, I sit down with Eridian Alpha, product strategy lead at ETHgas.

Eridian is the product strategy lead at ETHGas and an Ethereum builder focused on blockspace infrastructure, validator economics and the development of a real-time Ethereum network. At ETHGas, Eridian works on technology designed to transform Ethereum blockspace into a predictable and tradable commodity, supporting instant transaction settlement and applications that can shield users from volatile gas costs.

A long-standing participant in the Ethereum staking ecosystem, Eridian has operated solo validators and contributed educational resources for node operators, developers and community stakers. Eridian co-created the EthStaker Knowledge Base and maintains an extensive collection of open-source documentation covering Ethereum infrastructure, Solidity development, smart-contract security, MEV and decentralised finance.

Eridian has also built projects including High Signal, an engagement and reputation platform for Ethereum communities, and Pool Playground, an interactive tool for understanding decentralised exchange mechanics. Through technical development, education and ecosystem participation, Eridian works to make Ethereum faster, more accessible and easier to operate.

With him, we will talk about the current infrastructure behind many popular crypto projects, but about the future of the industry and the main trend in blockchain today.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

Amazon:https://podcasters.amazon.com/podcasts/a1f92635-a50e-4a0c-ac96-7daa09c4e853 

In this episode, I sit down with Sander Janca-Jensen, CEO and co-founder of FlatPay

Sander is the CEO and cofounder of Flatpay, the Danish fintech company building payments, point of sale and financial services for small and medium sized physical merchants, including restaurants, cafés and independent shops. 

Founded in 2022, Flatpay has quickly become one of Denmark’s fastest growing fintech scaleups, reaching unicorn status after a €145 million funding round that valued the company at around €1.5 billion, up from roughly $100 million in 2024.

Before launching the company, he spent almost six years at Verisure, where he held senior roles including Deputy Managing Director and Field Sales Director, managing more than 450 salespeople and overseeing around DKK 300 million in annual profit and loss responsibility. Earlier in his career, he held multiple sales leadership roles at Berlingske Media and cofounded SimplyJob, which reached more than 125,000 users within one year before its exit in 2018.

With him, we will talk about the importance of physical sales in payments, hiring in fast growing environments, and the fintech trends in the payment space in Europe.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB
Amazon:https://podcasters.amazon.com/podcasts/a1f92635-a50e-4a0c-ac96-7daa09c4e853 

In this second episode, my guest is Ramneek Gupta founder and MD of PruVen Capital. We will discuss about the current VC environment, of how hard it is to raise funds right now, but also on how can VCs bring value to early stage startups.

In this episode I sit down with Nazir Zubairi, CEO of the LHoFT Foundation, a Public/Private sector initiative to drive fintech and digitalisation for Luxembourg's financial services industry. Nazir has multiple years of experience in fintech in many countries across the world, and honestly I was amazed the first time we sat down together to talk about everything he did in his career. 

Recently nominated among the 100 most influential people in Luxembourg, Nazir had multiple roles in some very interesting financial institutions in the past. From Kredinet to RBS, from EuroTRX to Currency Cloud, passing also through Finleap and the international monetary fund.

With him, we will speak about the overall fintech market in Europe, on what is missing in our ecosystem compared to the US, but also about why he doesn’t like the term “fintech” and the upcoming challenges in this industry.

In this episode, I sit down with Gaston Irigoyen, CEO and founder of Pomelo.

Gaston Irigoyen is the CEO and Co Founder of Pomelo, a Latin American payments infrastructure company serving more than 150 customers across Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Puerto Rico. Since its launch in 2021, Pomelo has raised $160 million from investors including Kaszek, Monashees, Index, Insight, QED, and Endeavor Catalyst. 

Before Pomelo, Gaston was CEO of Naranja X, where he helped build Argentina’s largest neobank to 9 million customers and cardholders. He also held leadership roles at Restorando, founded Guidecentral, and spent more than five years at Google, including as Manager of YouTube Partnerships. He is also a lecturer in entrepreneurship, fintech, and fundraising at Universidad de San Andrés.

With him, we will talk about the struggles of building a fintech company in Latam, but also the importance of payment rails and the complexity of managing payments globally.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

Amazon:https://podcasters.amazon.com/podcasts/a1f92635-a50e-4a0c-ac96-7daa09c4e853 

In this episode, I sit down with Sevan Marian, founder and CEO of Fleet.

Sevan Marian is a French technology entrepreneur and investor, currently serving as Co founder and Chief Executive Officer of Fleet, a Paris based company developing an operating system for workspace equipment management. Founded in 2019, Fleet provides an integrated platform that enables companies to lease, manage and renew IT equipment and office furniture through a subscription model. The platform combines hardware leasing, insurance, support services and device management tools, supporting more than 1,000 startups, scale ups and SMBs across Europe. 

Before becoming CEO in 2025, Marian held the roles of Co founder and Chief Operating Officer and later Co CEO, leading Fleet’s operational growth and product development. Prior to Fleet, he served as Managing Director at GoMore, a European mobility platform with more than two million members across several markets, and earlier held leadership roles at Jumia Group in Morocco, where he oversaw the rapid expansion of the Jumia Market marketplace.

Alongside his entrepreneurial activity, Marian is an active technology investor with stakes in companies such as Stripe, OpenAI, Anthropic, SpaceX and Anduril Industries, as well as several early stage startups. He holds a Master in Management from EDHEC Business School.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode, I sit down with Anil Stocker, CEO and founder of Kriya.

Anil Stocker is a UK fintech entrepreneur and investor, best known as the CEO and co-founder of Kriya, formerly MarketFinance. He founded the company in 2011 to provide UK businesses with frictionless access to B2B payments, credit and embedded finance, and has since overseen the deployment of more than £4 billion in credit through invoice finance, business loans and PayLater solutions. 

Under his leadership, Kriya raised over £50 million in equity and more than £500 million in debt from institutions including Barclays UK, Northzone, Mouro Capital, Deutsche Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo and the British Business Bank, before being acquired by Allica Bank in October 2025. 

Before founding Kriya, Stocker worked in private equity at Lehman Brothers and later at Cogent Partners, focusing on alternative investments and post-crisis portfolio restructuring. He holds a first-class degree in Economics from the University of Cambridge, is a Forbes 30 Under 30 Finance alumnus, and is an active angel investor across fintech, SaaS and climate-focused startups.

With him, we will discuss the ups and downs of launching a fintech company, but also how tricky it is to sell it to a big player, what is coming after an exit, and the difference between being an investor and a founder.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode, I sit down with Nik Talreja, CEO and founder at Sydecar.

Nik doesn’t come from the usual bankers/financial institution background. He started as a lawyer in New York, working at firms like Olshan Frome Wolosky and Weil Gotshal and Manges. He discovered startup pretty quickly, working with founders on term sheet and funding round, so he decided to move to Palo Alto.

In California he started working at Cooley as a lawyer again, but the entrepreneurial vocation was too strong. He joined Talis partner as a co-founder, where he wanted to use his experience as a lawyer first hand, managing his studio, then to Spiral Therapeutics, changing industry entirely, as director of finance operations.

Finally, he founded Sydecar, coming from years of experience in angel investments and rounds in startups. Sydecar makes it simple and efficient for venture fund and syndicate managers to form Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) and funds by automating banking, compliance, contracts and reporting. Founded in 2021, Sydecar is on a mission to build the infrastructure that powers private markets.

With him, we will talk about the two faces of the US startup ecosystem, comparing Silicon Valley to New York, but also his business angel experience, the set up of startup in Texas and his experience raising funds for startups and VC.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode, I sit down with Saskia Bruysten, Partner and Co-founder at Carbon Equity.

Saskia Bruysten is an impact entrepreneur and investor. In her current role as Partner & Co-Founder International at Carbon Equity, she leads the platform's global expansion, democratizing private equity investments in climate tech to make them accessible to a broader audience.
Carbon Equity is the world's most active climate tech LP.

Previously, Saskia co-founded and served as CEO of Yunus Social Business (YSB) alongside Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus. Under her leadership, YSB scaled social businesses that improved the lives of over 17 million people in East Africa, Latin America & India, providing access to employment, education, healthcare, and clean energy.

Her contributions to the field have earned her numerous accolades, including the BOLD Woman Award (2020), the Handelsblatt Vordenker Award (2020), Capital’s “Young Elite” (2017, 2018), the Wired Smart List (2013).

With her, we will talk about the latest trend in climate tech, nuclear energy, but also how VC invests in this field and how to choose a great founder with a world changing tech. 

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 
ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode, I sit down with Mark Beeston and Alexander Ross, founder and general partner at Illuminate financial.

Mark Beeston is a 30 year+ veteran of financial markets and is Managing Partner and founder of Illuminate Financial Management, a venture capital firm focussed on financial services technology currently investing from its third fund and which currently lists nine strategic partner LP’s drawn from the largest global names in banking, finance and markets infrastructure.

Mark launched the firm in 2014 following a long career in capital markets where he had been both the consumer of financial markets technology as well as the entrepreneur (T-Zero / Creditex), operator (ICAP), and early stage funder of capital markets businesses.

Prior to founding Illuminate, Mark was the CEO for the Post Trade Risk and Information business and Exco Member at ICAP (now Osttra, a CME and S&P Global JV) where he also oversaw the creation of ICAP’s own investment subsidiary. Before ICAP Mark was President of T-Zero, a credit derivatives trade processing platform (now ICELink) launched during his time on the Exco of Creditex resulting in the successful acquisition of the group by ICE in 2008.

Alexander Ross, joined Illuminate early-on to help set-up and launch the first fund. Alexander joined from Bain & Company where he advised Top Tier private equity funds on acquisitions of TMT & Fintech companies, he also worked on fund strategy and bank restructuring projects. Alexander worked in the Technology division at JPMorgan, an Agri-food social enterprise in Ghana, and co-founded the online booking system provider, Teamup.

With them, we talked about launching a fund from scratch, what can an investor bring to the table in terms of value and network, but also what to look for in fintech founders and their vision on the market itself.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 
ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode I sit down with Anthony Danon, founder and CEO of Rerail, a pre-seed and seed VC fund that aims to use the experience of many fintech operators and founders to back new ventures in the industry.

Anthony comes from a long experience both in fintech and venture capital, in companies like Anthemis Group, Speedinvest, but also with a strong investing experience in fintech giants like Truelayer, Tide and more recently the launch of Cocoa Venture Fund I. 

With him, we will speak about the upcoming trends in the fintech industry, the difficulty of raising a fund in 2024, the concept of collaborative investing and how he chooses founders based on obsession.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode, I will talk with Noam Inbar from Viola Fintech, Israel based VC with $200+ million under management and investment across US, EU and Canada.We will talk about the fintech market, the concept of context finance, and the evolution of the venture capital landscape.As always, enjoy and share it.

In this episode I sit down with Carlos Marín, CEO and co-founder of Akua. Carlos has held leadership roles as Country Manager for Colombia and Peru at many interesting fintechs like Pomelo and PayU, and Fintech & Digital Partnerships Director at Mastercard. 

He is now launching Akua, a fintech startup that aims to transform payments worldwide by making them simple, fast, and secure, driving financial inclusion and setting a new industry standard.

With him, we will talk about the fintech market in Latam, the credit ecosystem in the region and the leadership of Brazil in that direction.

In this episode, I sit down with Nika Kurdiani, CEO of TBC Uzbekistan.

Nika is the CEO of TBC Uzbekistan, one of the world's fastest-growing digital financial ecosystems, with more than 23 million registered users and 6 million monthly active users. He leads TBC Digital, the group's Uzbek holding company, and Space International, and sits on TBC Group's Executive Committee.

Over a career spanning more than 23 years, Nika has driven growth, transformation and post-acquisition integration across banking, payments, fintech, insurance and B2B SaaS in Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia. As Deputy CEO of TBC Bank Georgia, he oversaw business banking, payments, international expansion and the launch of the digital neobank Space. He also chaired the board of Payme, one of Uzbekistan's leading payment platforms, and held senior roles at UniCredit, Kaspi Bank and Bank of Georgia.

Beyond his executive work, Nika founded the Applied Management Institute and the Design Institute, invests in early-stage companies, and supports initiatives in education, food security and hospice care. He holds an MBA from IE Business School and completed executive programs at Stanford GSB and IMD.

A former professional basketball player, he received Uzbekistan's Presidential Order of Friendship (Dustlik) for his contribution to the country's financial sector.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

Amazon:https://podcasters.amazon.com/podcasts/a1f92635-a50e-4a0c-ac96-7daa09c4e853 

In this episode, I sit down with Rabea Bader, co-founder and CTO of Quidkey.

Rabea is a fintech entrepreneur and CTO with a strong focus on payments infrastructure and account-to-account solutions. He is the Co-Founder and CTO of Quidkey, where he is building a secure, bank-integrated checkout experience that enables seamless domestic and cross-border A2A transactions while helping merchants reduce costs and banks unlock new revenue streams. 

Prior to Quidkey, he served as CTO at REQPay Inc., where he co-invented a patented payments technology. His career also includes leadership roles as General Manager of Le Wagon in Israel and founding CEO of IZMUS. He began his professional journey as a backend developer at UBS, building a strong technical foundation in financial systems.

Rabea holds a degree in Computer Science and Economics from Tel Aviv University and brings a global perspective, with experience across the US, Israel, and Europe, and fluency in Arabic, English, and Hebrew.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB
Amazon:https://podcasters.amazon.com/podcasts/a1f92635-a50e-4a0c-ac96-7daa09c4e853 

In this episode, I sit down with Nicolas Kipp, CEO and founder of Credibur.

Nicolas Kipp is a fintech entrepreneur, investor and financial services executive with extensive experience across lending, payments, risk management and embedded finance. He is currently Founder and CEO of Credibur, where he is building infrastructure to automate the management of structured credit transactions between alternative lenders and institutional capital providers. 

Previously, Nicolas co founded Banxware, an embedded financial services provider enabling digital platforms to offer integrated financing products to merchants. Before that, he spent four years at Ratepay, ultimately serving as Chief Risk Officer, with responsibility for credit and fraud risk, KYC, compliance, data analytics and IT security. 

He has also served on Bitkom’s board for Payments, FinTech and Digital Banking, advised the German Bundestag on artificial intelligence, and invests in and advises fintech, proptech and software companies across Europe and the US.

With him, we will be talking about the future of the fintech market in Europe, but also building trust in this market, and going from an executive to a founder role.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

Amazon:https://podcasters.amazon.com/podcasts/a1f92635-a50e-4a0c-ac96-7daa09c4e853 

In this episode, I sit down with Bhavin Shah, founder and CEO of Sherlocq.

Bhavin is the Founder and CEO of Sherlocq, an AI-powered regulatory intelligence company helping compliance professionals, law firms, and regulators navigate complex global regulations with greater speed, accuracy, and security. With more than 20 years of experience across the U.S., UK, Middle East, and Asia, Bhavin has built a global reputation in financial crime, compliance, investigations, and governance. 

Before launching Sherlocq, he held senior leadership roles at Deloitte, PwC, EY, Roland Berger, Forensic Risk Alliance, and Secretariat, advising global banks, sovereign institutions, private equity firms, and digital platforms on high-stakes regulatory matters. Bhavin is also a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, a recognised thought leader in AI and compliance, and an advisor on financial and regulatory innovation.

With him, we will talk about the fintech market in the MENA region, how regulations are shaping this market, but also the differences between investing in fintech in different parts of the world.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB
Amazon:https://podcasters.amazon.com/podcasts/a1f92635-a50e-4a0c-ac96-7daa09c4e853 

In this episode, I sit down with Camillo Werdich, CEO and founder of Sinpex.

Camillo is the CEO and Founder of Sinpex, an AI-driven compliance platform focused on transforming how financial institutions manage KYC, onboarding, and regulatory workflows. Since founding the company in 2019, he has led the development of solutions leveraging large language models to improve data accuracy, automate document analysis, and adapt quickly to evolving regulatory requirements. 

He brings a strong blend of technical and financial expertise, with early experience in engineering roles at ZF Friedrichshafen and Transsolar, followed by consulting at Deloitte, where he gained exposure to complex business and regulatory environments. 

Dr. Werdich holds a PhD in Economics from the University of St. Gallen, complemented by academic experience at the London School of Economics and a cum laude MSc in International Business. His work sits at the intersection of AI, compliance, and financial services innovation.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB
Amazon:https://podcasters.amazon.com/podcasts/a1f92635-a50e-4a0c-ac96-7daa09c4e853 

In this episode, I will talk with Ethan Singer from Mighty Partners. Mighty Partners, formerly Fundabl, was founded in Sydney in 2021 by a passionate team on a mission to support Australian startups to thrive and scale.  They do this by providing tailored venture debt funding solutions, to meet the unique needs of every business and to help foster a more diverse funding environment.

We will talk about the venture debt market, how to back great founders, but also about the Australian ecosystem.

As always, enjoy and share it.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube:    / @buildersinfintech   

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj... 

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast...

In this episode, I sit down with Miguel Armaza, founder at Gilgamesh Ventures.

Miguel is a very well known figure in the fintech ecosystem, with multiple years of experience in financial services from Citi to MUFG across the globe. Over time, he became a real fintech enthusiast, launching multiple podcasts on this industry like Fintech leaders and Wharton fintech, but most importantly he launched Gilgamesh venture.

Gilgames Venture is a Venture Capital vertical in the fintech industry, based in New York but active worldwide. Main focus of the fund is pre-seed and seed fintech startups globally, with multiple stories of success like Affiniti, Niva and Pomelo.

With him, we will deep dive on the experience of launching a VC from scratch, but also the importance of your public figure in investments, how they choose founders and his point of view on the fintech market.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 
ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode, I sit down with Martina Weimert, CEO and founder of EPI company, the corporation behind popular payment infrastructure Wero.

 Martina has been supporting and guiding European banks and acquirers to build the foundation of the EPI company since the initiative was established in 2020, aiming to build an independent European solution and connect Europe’s payment industry.

With 20 years of experience in international payment consulting, she has in-depth experience in payments and payment solution set up, fintech, blockchain and retail banking in Europe, the Americas and Middle East. Prior to joining EPI company, she was a partner in financial services at Oliver Wyman in Paris, leading the European payment practice, and previously holding the position of Senior VP at Capgemini consulting and sales director for Deutsche Bank in France.

With her, we will talk about the importance of having an European independent and sovereign payment infrastructure, the resilience of new payment methods and the future of payments in the EU.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

Amazon:https://podcasters.amazon.com/podcasts/a1f92635-a50e-4a0c-ac96-7daa09c4e853 

In this episode, I sit down with Scarlett Sieber, Chief Strategy Officer at Money 20/20.

Scarlett has one of the most interesting and varied profile in the fintech market. She comes from a financial background, with experiences at BBVA and Opus Bank, but then she went full startups. She co-founded Infomous, a data visualization startup, she acted as contributor to the Huffington post, Forbes, WeWork, and many others.

More recently, she took over a very interesting challenge: driving the strategy for Money 20/20, maybe the most well known fintech event globally. With her, we will talk about the difficulty of doing products for an event company, the expansion of the brand globally, but also the impact of Covid in 2020 and the differences in events in different parts of the world.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 
ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode, I sit down with Tuomas Toivonen, founder and CEO of Holvi.

Tuomas Toivonen, Co-founder and CEO at Holvi, has over 15 years of experience advising governments and global mobile operators on payment systems. Tuomas saw the need for a better banking solution for small businesses in Europe. This drove him to create Holvi – a banking-service designed to meet the unique needs of SMEs.

Holvi is an Helsinki based digital bank, offering small businesses, from freelancers to micro businesses and growing startups, a home for their finances. With a business account and Mastercard, invoicing and bookkeeping tools all in one place, Holvi simplifies the time-consuming distractions of financial admin, helping small business owners to manage their balance. 

With him, we talked about the experience of launching a neobank in the nordics, the different funding environment in fintech between 2012 and 202, but also the main challenges in financial services in the current environment.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 
ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode, I sit down with Martin Della Chiesa, CEO at Skaleet.

Martin comes from a corporate finance and investment background, starting his career at Accuracy first, with a focus on strategy and financial services, and later on at Long Arc Capital, where he climbed the corporate ladder from associate until principal. At Long Arc, he discovered the passion for investments in high growth tech companies, backing multiple times between Paris and New York. 

He joined Skaleet in 2023 as board member, and eventually became CEO in 2024, stepping in with a very operative role. Skaleet is a core banking solution designed with a logic of perpetual evolution, cloud-based, modular and 100% API, managing the technical infrastructure for over 30 high level financial institutions clients across EMEA.

With him, we talked about the journey from investments to a very operative role, the struggle of being a CEO, but also hiring and the upcoming challenges he sees in fintech moving forward.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode, I sit down with Michael Hurup Andersen, CEO and founder of Kompasbank.

Michael Hurup Andersen is a Danish fintech entrepreneur and seasoned financial markets professional, currently serving as Founder and co-CEO of kompasbank, a Copenhagen based fintech focused on empowering small and midsized enterprises with integrated financial and operational solutions. 

Coming from a Master’s degree in Finance from Aarhus University and Mathematical Finance at the University of Oxford, he has over two decades of experience across banking, trading, and advisory, he has held senior roles at institutions including Alvarez & Marsal, where he advised on M&A and private equity transactions, and Deloitte UK, where he led large teams in banking treasury and risk management. 

Earlier in his career, he built deep expertise in capital markets at Saxo Bank and Nordea Markets, specializing in FX options, asset and liability management, and global macro strategies. 

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB
Amazon:https://podcasters.amazon.com/podcasts/a1f92635-a50e-4a0c-ac96-7daa09c4e853 

In this episode, I sit down with Ken Villum Klausen, CEO and founder of Lunar.

Ken Villum Klausen is a Danish entrepreneur and fintech founder best known as the Founder and CEO of Lunar, a digital banking platform he launched in 2015. Based in Copenhagen, he has spent more than a decade building Lunar with the ambition of rethinking banking from the ground up, focusing on transparency, simplicity, and technology driven user experiences. 

Prior to Lunar, he founded and led Wallmob, a mobile commerce company that was later acquired by Visma, and previously held leadership roles at digital agency Inzeit. Earlier in his career, he worked for nearly five years at Bestseller, progressing from sales roles to Brand Manager and International Retail Manager. His background spans retail, e-commerce, online advertising, and financial technology. 

Klausen has been recognised with several awards, including Berlingske Business Talent 100 and Founder of the Year in 2019, reflecting his influence on the Nordic fintech ecosystem and his role in challenging traditional banking models.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode, I sit down with Victor Orlovski, Managing Partner at R136 Ventures.

Victor started at IBM, then he became CTO of one of Europe's largest banks, managing a 25,000-person engineering team serving 90M+ users. But he discovered then that the real challenge, and his true passion, wasn't scaling tech. It was scaling founders.

He started his journey in Venture at Fort Ross Ventures in 2015. Now, he is General Partner at R136 Ventures, a $500M fund investing in Series B+ rounds ranging from AI, fintech, B2B software, and more. He was also the author of: "From Rhino to Unicorn", a WSJ Bestseller, and a Forbes contributor on late-stage markets and agentic AI.

Some of his exits over time: eToro (Nasdaq, $5.2B), Dynamic Yield (McDonald's, $327M), Granulate (Intel), DeciAI (Nvidia).

With him, we talked about the very basic dynamics of venture markets, the impact of AI on the global economy, but also why he thinks virtual assets and metaverse will be one of the main trends to watch.

In this episode, I sit down with Stephane Dehaies, CEO of Spendesk Financial Services.

Before leading Spendesk Financial Services, Stephane was previously partner at KPMG UK in the financial services practice, but also Deputy CEO and COO at Western Europe, Head of Integration & Separation at RBS / NatWest Group and ABN Amro, passing through experiences at Deloitte and KPMG US.

Now, he is building Spendesk Financial Services (SFS), a new payment system and infrastructure linked to the well known spend management software in Europe, and one of the most interesting new entries in the fintech market from a third party. Responsible for the SFS P&L and strategic partnerships, and leading teams across offices in Paris, London, Berlin and Madrid.

With him, we will talk about the evolution from a spend management system to a fintech service, the challenges behind the over regulation in Europe, but also the shift from a very well structured environment to a startup, and finally the importance of partnerships in fintech.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 
ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode, I sit down with Deniz Güven, CEO of Wamo.

Deniz Güven is a senior fintech and digital banking executive with extensive experience building financial services across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. He is currently Group CEO and Chair of the Board at wamo, and has held leadership and board roles at AKTech, Platform XIT, Colendi, Trust Bank, and Beşiktaş JK.

Previously, Deniz served as CEO of Mox Bank in Hong Kong, the virtual bank backed by Standard Chartered, and held senior digital leadership roles at Standard Chartered and Garanti BBVA. His career spans digital banking, fintech ventures, product innovation, and alternative revenue streams. Deniz has also mentored fintech start ups through Garanti Partners and brings a global perspective on how digital platforms are reshaping financial services.

With him, we will talk about SMEs banking in Europe, but also about his incredible careers in banking across APAC and MENA, and the future of banking.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

Amazon:https://podcasters.amazon.com/podcasts/a1f92635-a50e-4a0c-ac96-7daa09c4e853 

In this episode, I sit down with Meifan Shi, managing partner at Waterpoint Lane.

Waterpoint Lane is a venture capital and growth equity firm that specializes in unlocking transformative opportunities in the agrifoodtech sector. With a combined 40+ years of expertise in value investing, growth strategy, technology and capital raising, they are dedicated to revolutionizing the global food system by investing in growth stage enterprises that are reshaping the way we produce and consume food.

Meifan has 20+ years in technology and finance, she built, scaled, and exited high-growth companies, driving EBITDA growth, enterprise value, and long-term scalability across Fortune 500 firms and market-defining startups. She also co-founded the private equity business at AWS, growing an $800B+ AUM client portfolio and generating $50M+ in revenue within 18 months.

With her, we will talk about the experience of launching the first fund coming from a syndicate, the agrifoodtech sector and the challenges they face, but also how to bring value to startups by collaborating with large corporations.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 
ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode, I sit down with Tomas Campos, founder of Spinwheel.

Tomás Campos is the co-founder and CEO of Spinwheel, the agentic AI-powered credit data and payments platform that is revolutionizing the consumer credit ecosystem. Spinwheel services more than 15 million users and 165 million accounts, facilitating $1.5 trillion in connected debt across its network. A three-time founder, Tomás is a noteworthy entrepreneur, executive, inventor, and operator across payments, data, retail, consumer, and Saas industries. 

Prior to Spinwheel, Tomás founded and sold his previous company to Westfield Inc. where he then served as the SVP of product. He also grew the digital payments division of Blackhawk Network Inc. to a $1.5 billion business and independent reporting segment as the global general manager. 

With him, we talked about the whole experience of being a founder, that might not be for you, the differences between first time and second time founders, the credit market globally and how to raise funds in this environment. 

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode, I sit down with Oliver Hughes, Head of international business at TBC Bank Group.

Oliver has multiple years of experience in fintech and banking, with the life of a real globetrotter in this field. Starting his career in Visa, he went on becoming Head of Russia for this US giant, handling operations in the country for almost a decade.

After this experience, he jumped on the fintech train, becoming CEO of Tinkoff in Russia, leading the expansion of one of the most profitable digital banks in the world, building the team behind it from scratch.

Finally, he recently became head of international business at TBC Bank Group, the leading digital bank in Uzbekistan, one of the most interesting digital banks in central Asia.

With him, we will talk about a decade of experience of fintech between Russia and Asia, the growing economy of Uzbekistan, the differences between financial services in the region.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 
ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode, I sit down with Cam Rail and Joseph Pizzolato, founders of Defiant VC.

Defiant is a venture capital fund based in London and Lisbon. They focus on B2B SaaS and Fintech and invest in Seed ($1-3m) and Series A ($2-10m) across Europe and occasionally the US. Mostly like technical products, those with complexity, moats and barriers to entry, where we have deep expertise and an ability to add value. 

Cam is the product mind of the VC. With past experience as a derivatives trader and founder, he went on working as product lead with Creativemass and Tropicana Sunrise.

Joseph has a huge experience as an investor in Europe, coming from a strong VC and finance background, he invested over time on some big names like Travelperks, Wise and Marqeta.

With them we will explore the high and low of launching a new VC fund, but also the future of the fintech market, the importance of a highly transversal background and what it takes to build a billion dollar startup in Europe.

In this episode, I sit down with Jonatan Allback, CEO and cofounder of NinjaPay.

Jonatan comes from a very traditional background in finance at Goldman and Royal Bank of Scotland. Then he took the fintech way, being one of the first 200 employees at Adyen, where he led strategic projects and accounting management for 8 years.

After a first experience at Skipify and consulting, he co-founded and currently leads as CEO NinjaPay. NjiaPay is the Payments-as-a-Service provider that simplifies payments for online businesses in Africa.‍ With one integration, merchants have access to a complete Payments Management Platform. 

With him, we will be talking about the first hundred days in a fintech startups, how to scale numbers, but also the cross-borders market and the fintech industry in Africa.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 
ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode, I sit down with Nikolay Seleznev, Co-Founder of Uzum.

Nikolay started as a very traditional investment banker, at FX Trader In Mosca first, and then with JPM in London and Arthur D. Little later on. But his real passion was entrepreneurship and more specifically fintech, and he found a greenfield of opportunities in Uzbekistan.

He launched Uzum in 2022 along with Djasur Djumaev, and they quickly grew it to be Uzbekistan’s first unicorn after a $70M series A in 2024. Uzum started its journey in Uzbekistan with an e-commerce marketplace called Uzum Market, and shortly after its success, the startup added fintech with a debit card and later expanded into its express food delivery service, Uzum Tezkor. 

With him, we talked about the very basic dynamics of venture markets, the impact of AI on the global economy, but also why he thinks virtual assets and metaverse will be one of the main trends to watch.

In this episode, I sit down with Kostantin Stiskin, CEO and founder of Finom.

Kos has a very interesting background, with a strong interest in the entrepreneurial mindset. He started his career in Venture Capital, with Runa Capital and Finsight Venture, until reaching partner role at Binomial Ventures. But his main interest was the entrepreneur path.

After investing in Yieldify, he launched Genotek, a biotech startup that he sold after 7 years, until finally launching his main and current venture: Finom. The SMEs banking platform based in Amsterdam, that recently raised $90 million, is one of the main financial platforms for small businesses in Europe, and one of the most interesting fintech in Europe.

With him, we will talk about the path from investor to founder, how close he was to bankruptcy with his first startup, the current fundraising environment and the perspective on the fintech market.

Frankly, I had a lot of fun recording this one.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 
ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode, I will talk with Hugo Bongers from Motive Ventures, early-stage investment arm of Motive Partners, focused on pre-seed through to Series A financial technology investments in North America and Europe, with offices in Berlin, London and New York.We will talk about the fintech market, how to choose great founders, but also about the VC environment and a possible bubble in the AI industry.As always, enjoy and share it.Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode, I sit down with Alex Emeshev, Ceo and founder of Vivid Money.

Before founding Vivid, Alexander led the digital transformation of several major banks. As Executive Director at Kaspi Bank, he spearheaded business expansion and digital strategy. At Tinkoff Bank, he played a key role in scaling digital products, shaping the future of fintech, setting the foundation for his work with Vivid.

Under his leadership, Vivid evolved from a B2C fintech into a top European business bank, bringing the speed, simplicity, and affordability of retail banking to SMEs. Today, Vivid provides an integrated financial platform with competitive pricing, treasury management, and seamless connectivity between private and business banking. Backed by Greenoaks Capital and DST Global, Vivid is among Germany’s top three business banks, shaping the future of SME banking in Europe.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 
ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode, I sit down with Ashish Aggarwal, partner at PayPal Ventures.

Ashish started his career in IBM in India, but quickly moved to banking, specifically to Citi first, and then moving to London working at Deutsche Bank, with a focus on investment banking and of course fintech. 

He joined PayPal Ventures in 2017 in the corporate finance team at first, moving then to the corporate venture of the US payment giant, investing globally with focus on AI, B2B SaaS, and fintech, at the Series A and B stages. Over time, he took care of multiple deals in fintech, from Paymob (MENA) to Tink (UK/Europe), from Aspire (Singapore) to Pliant (EU), but also Tabby (UAE/KSA), Raisin (Europe). He currently sits as an observer on the board of Paymob, Stitch, PPRO, Codat, Pliant, Tabby, Mintoak, Single Interface. 

With him, we talked about the journey from bankers to VC, the multiple deals he backed over time, his take on the fintech market today and the main trends he is expecting to see shaping the market in the upcoming future.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode, I sit down with Chris Harmse, Co-founder of BVNK.

Chris is native from South Africa, where he also started his career in finance, starting at Renaissance Capital, Rezco asset management and most importantly the trading desk of fixed income at BNP Paribas.

He then went on working in the hedge fund industry, at Asymmetry asset management and Excelsia capital. During this experience he discovered the world of crypto and stablecoin, and that was the push that led him to launch BVNK. BVNK builds enterprise-grade payments infrastructure for stablecoins, and is one of the biggest payments providers in this industry, with more than 300 employees and over $12 billion in transactions managed.

With him, we will be talking about his experience coming from South Africa to London and San Francisco, his take on the fintech market, and most importantly the present and future for stablecoin.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 
ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode I sit down with Adrian Smith, founder and CEO of BlinkPay, a New Zeland based fintech startup that aims to revolutionize NZ's payments industry by offering seamless, cost-effective payment services. They are a kaupapa Māori kamupene, supported by strong relationships with NZ banks and the API Centre.

Adrian has multiple years of experience in Europe in the fintech industry, as a former executive of banking institutions such as Barclays and LLoyds, but also past experiences at Vodafone and Payment NZ. Blinkpay has recently being acquired by Bank of NZ, in one of the most interesting exit in the country

With him, we will speak about the transition from banking executive to being a founder, but also the differences between the open banking market in EU and in NZ, payments, and the whole experience of having an exit, from due diligence to the actual cash out.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 
ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode, I sit down with Lucrezia Lucotti, partner at 360 Capital.

Lucrezia Lucotti is Partner at 360 Capital, where she focuses on Italian and Southern European dealflow across B2B and B2C software, deeptech and climate tech ventures. She oversees investments and portfolio management across the firm’s 360 Deeptech, Climate Tech and Series A funds, following a progression from Analyst to Investment Director before being appointed Partner in January 2024.

Over the past five years at 360 Capital, Lucrezia has built a strong track record in sourcing, executing and managing early and growth stage investments. Prior to venture capital, she worked at Roland Berger as a Business Analyst on due diligences and industrial plans across financial services, pharma and industrial machinery, and gained experience at Gartner and Accenture in consulting roles spanning TMT and financial services, including the design of a new internet banking experience for SMEs 

A Bocconi graduate with a double degree from WU Vienna, Lucrezia combines analytical rigor with a deep interest in innovation and entrepreneurship, and has also served as Ambassador for Female Founders, supporting the next generation of European entrepreneurs.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 
ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode, I sit down with Benjamin Deplus, Partner at BREEGA.

Benjamin comes from a very traditional finance experience, starting at HSBC first and Amundi later. He then switched to the startups side, co-founding several startups over time, from fred to Inqom, acquired later on by Visma, until landing the principal at Antler.

He is now partner at Breega capital. Breega is a Paris based growth VC fund, investing in multiple stages, from seed to series B, in European ventures. Launched in 2015, they already have 700 million in AuM and over 100 portfolio companies, with honorable mentions like Dalma and Jump.

During this interview, recorded during Money20/20 in Amsterdam, we’ve been talking about his dual experience going from traditional finance to startup founder, until his last VC experience. We also discussed how to choose a great founder, the overall capital fundraising environment in 2025, and his prediction on the fintech market.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly 

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa 
ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB