Fintech Builders

Every year, more than half of private student loan applicants get declined. Not because they're unserious about their education — but because they narrowly miss a credit cutoff. For upperclassmen and grad students already deep into a degree, that rejection often means dropping out. ⁠Jen O'Donald⁠ spent 13 years at Sallie Mae, most recently running product, watching this gap go unsolved. So she built ⁠GradBridge⁠ to solve it — creating an entirely new category in student lending: the second look. In this episode, Jen breaks down what it actually takes to go from zero to live in heavily regulated fintech, how she managed a multi-stakeholder launch across a sponsor bank, servicing platform, and compliance stack, and why federal student loan policy shifts are reshaping the entire private lending market in real time.Topics Discussed:Why half of private student loan applicants get declined — and what it costs themHow GradBridge identified and defined a category that didn't previously existThe "circular reference" problem of building in regulated fintech and how to move through itCoordinating a launch across a sponsor bank, origination platform, servicing platform, and compliance stackHow federal policy changes are shifting private student loan demand — and how GradBridge repositioned in real timeSchool partnerships and referral channels as the core distribution strategyWhat "flawless execution" looks like in a zero-tolerance regulated environment heading into peak season// Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership.⁠ www.FrontLines.io⁠The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.⁠ www.GlobalTalent.co⁠//Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here:⁠ https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM

Savvy Wealth⁠ is an AI-enabled platform for independent financial advisors — solo operators and small teams — that handles everything from CRM and billing to compliance, investment management, and financial planning. In this episode of BUILDERS, I sat down with ⁠Ritik Malhotra⁠, Founder & CEO, to get into the GTM mechanics behind selling into one of the most trust-locked markets in financial services: advisors who don't just buy software — they move their entire business.Topics Discussed:What Ritik took — and deliberately inverted — from watching Brex scale from ~$5M to $100M in revenue in a single yearWhy Savvy's GTM motion is structurally closer to recruiting than B2B sales — and what that means for team designHow a data science-driven "likelihood to move" model shapes top-of-funnel targetingWhat's actually driving growth: brand trust and advisor word-of-mouth over outboundWhy cold email and conference booths underdelivered, and the experimentation framework Ritik runs insteadHow Savvy deliberately blends adjacent-industry sales talent with wealth management insidersWhy the "AI replaces the advisor" framing gets the value prop of human financial guidance fundamentally wrongThe long-term vision: a fully vertically integrated operating system for financial advisors, orchestrated by proactive AI agents// Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.ioThe Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe. www.GlobalTalent.co//Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM

Jacob Casson⁠ spent years trying to solve cash flow for the entertainment and media industry — influencer agencies, production houses, film and TV — while nearly running his own company into the ground twice. In this episode, he breaks down how ⁠Monet⁠ evolved from a creator banking product into a financial back office and lending platform, how he recapitalized under a hostile takeover attempt, and why the UK media industry is one of the most defensible fintech niches nobody is building for.Topics Discussed:Why traditional lenders systematically misprice influencer agency riskHow Monet ended up inside Coldplay's global marketing payment flowsThe pivot from creator-facing banking to agency financial infrastructureSurviving a hostile takeover attempt and engineering a recapitalizationThe decision to stay UK-focused in 2025 and what it would actually take to enter the USExpanding into film and TV debt: tax credits, pre-sales, and broadcasting license feesRaising debt vs. equity: why conflating the two is a costly fintech mistakeThe founder psychology of performing better under pressure than in calm// Sponsors: Front Lines — Silicon Valley's leading Podcast Production Studio. We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. Mention you are a listener and get a 10% discount.⁠ www.FrontLines.io/Podcast-as-a-Service

The cross-border payments market remains stubbornly difficult despite billions in venture capital and countless smart founders attacking the problem. The core challenge isn't technology—it's economics. Western Union's margins weren't exploitative greed; they reflected the brutal reality of cash distribution networks, compliance infrastructure, and dual-country regulatory overhead. Palla Financial cracked this by inverting the entire model: instead of fighting for expensive US-based senders, they partnered with Latin American banks to let recipients pull funds. This approach taps into the world's largest remittance corridor ($160+ billion annually flowing from the US to Latin America) while sidestepping the customer acquisition bloodbath. In this episode, ⁠Enrique Perezalonso⁠, CEO of ⁠Palla Financial⁠, breaks down why recipient-driven payments eliminate distribution costs, how they rebuilt their product three times based on bank feedback, and why the "no CAC" embedded model still requires massive partner investment to actually work.Topics Discussed:Why cross-border payments remain broken: dual-country regulations, cash distribution economics, and two-sided transaction complexityThe shift from cash-based infrastructure to digital rails and its impact on unit economicsPalla's pull-based model: embedding payment requests inside bank apps to flip sender/recipient dynamicsRevenue mechanics: $3 consumer fees, FX markup economics, and interchange/revenue sharing with bank partnersThe buy-vs-build calculus for banks and why a Central American banking group returned after a four-year internal build attemptCreating a new category and watching competitors attempt to copy the embedded approachSelling into banks with no standardized buyer: navigating from remittance teams to CEOs depending on organizational maturityThe reality of "indirect" CAC: why embedded distribution still requires heavy investment in partner successImplementation failures and the shift from hands-off best practices to consultative partner enablementGTM Lessons For B2B Founders:Flip expensive distribution by attacking the other side of the transaction: While competitors burned cash acquiring US-based senders in saturated corridors (US-Mexico, US-India), Palla partnered with recipient-side banks in Latin America. Target buyers who already tried and failed to build: A Central American banking group spent nine months evaluating Palla, decided to build internally, then returned four years later. This wasn't poor execution—it was competing priorities, lack of scale economics, and the reality that cross-border payments isn't their core business. "Embedded" and "no CAC" are myths without massive partner investment: Palla initially provided best practice guides and light coaching, assuming banks would naturally drive adoption. They saw "lackluster results" until they became "more and more hands-on," shifting to consultative implementation with proper incentive design and accountability frameworks. Use speed to rebuild the product in real-time with customers: The product Palla launched bears little resemblance to their original vision. They rebuilt features "hand in hand" with bank partners, leveraging their advantage over large competitors: no bureaucracy, hunger to make it work, and speed. //Sponsors:Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership.⁠ www.FrontLines.io⁠The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.⁠ www.GlobalTalent.co⁠//Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I HireSenior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role.Subscribe here:⁠ https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM

Maxima is building AI agents that automate enterprise accounting while maintaining the auditability and control standards finance teams require. In a recent episode of BUILDERS, we sat down with ⁠Yogi Goel⁠, CEO and Co-Founder of ⁠Maxima⁠, to explore his eight-year journey at Rubrik from Series C through IPO, and how those lessons shaped his approach to solving the 70-80% of finance time currently wasted on manual work.Topics Discussed:Why Rubrik's approach—entering stagnant markets with first-principles thinking—became Maxima's blueprintSecuring $3K-$5K POC commitments from Figma mockups before writing codeWhy Scale AI and Rippling rejected a point solution and demanded 3-4 modules from day oneThe compound startup model: building multiple products simultaneously to meet buyer expectationsHow 17% of CFOs are adopting AI tools today (vs 51% in software development)Why finance teams view AI agents as "digital college freshmen" who need proof of workHiring from YouTube Studios, Apple, and Robinhood instead of legacy finance software companiesHow NetSuite World conference booth sizes revealed the data integration infrastructure gapThe $3K-$5K validation threshold that proved finance pain was urgent enough to pay pre-productGTM Lessons For B2B Founders:Demand generation unlocks engineering potential: Yogi learned from his Rubrik mentors: "focus on demand and if you have great engineers then they will solve the problems." Maxima built products in 2-3 months they didn't initially know were technically feasible—because customer demand pulled the engineering team forward. $3K-$5K is the pre-product validation threshold: Before writing any code, Yogi secured POC commitments at this price point based solely on Figma mockups. This isn't about revenue—it's about proving urgency. Verbal interest means nothing. Small pilot commitments mean "we'll try it someday." Sophisticated buyers will reject your narrow MVP: Scale AI and Rippling told Maxima explicitly: "If you will only build this one thing, we will not buy. You have to commit to building three, four modules." Conventional wisdom says start narrow, but enterprise buyers with complex workflows won't adopt point solutions that create new integration headaches. Target acute pain over easy access: Early-stage companies (10-30 people) were easier to reach but finance wasn't urgent enough. At that scale, it's "build product, ship product"—finance operations aren't broken enough to warrant urgent attention. Hire intensity and first-principles thinking over domain knowledge: Maxima deliberately hired zero engineers from legacy finance software companies. Their frontend engineer came from YouTube Studios. Others came from Apple, Robinhood, Netflix—none with financial product experience. Yogi's three hiring criteria: "incredible intensity, huge confidence in themselves, and fast thinking mode." Make AI explainable or finance teams won't adopt: Finance teams adopted faster than expected because Maxima showed every calculation step. "If they can prove by looking at the Math, you know, 18 plus 88 plus 36 is X. And I can see the step of the work, they are willing to give it to them." This isn't about fancy UX—it's about auditor-grade proof of work. //Sponsors:Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership.⁠ www.FrontLines.io⁠The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.⁠ www.GlobalTalent.co⁠//Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I HireSenior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role.Subscribe here:⁠ https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM

Rainforest⁠ enables vertical software companies to embed payment processing directly into their platforms - solving the complexity that previously forced software companies to direct customers to separate banks or resellers for payment processing. Founded by ⁠Joshua Silver⁠, who spent nearly 20 years in payments starting with PatientCo (a healthcare billing company that scaled to process billions for major healthcare organizations), Rainforest now serves as the enabling layer for thousands of vertical software companies. In this episode of BUILDERS, Joshua shares the unconventional GTM decisions that shaped Rainforest's trajectory: from making contracts a product feature to implementing a zero bugs policy, and why he measures podcast success by qualified lead conversion rather than download counts.Topics Discussed:The embedded payments opportunity: why software companies stopped directing customers to banksBuilding in highly regulated environments where traditional MVP approaches failThe extended foundation-building phase required before processing the first paymentTransitioning from 2.5-3 years of founder-led sales to a scalable GTM motionUsing contract terms as competitive differentiation rather than negotiation leverageImplementing a zero bugs policy and its impact on service costs and retentionBuilding thought leadership through the Payment Strategy Show and Vertex conferenceLead quality metrics over vanity metrics for content investmentsGTM Lessons For B2B Founders:Hire from the industry and invest disproportionately in technical onboarding: Rainforest maintains one of the highest concentrations of payments talent on a percentage basis—nearly everyone has worked in payments or payments-adjacent roles. But hiring isn't enough. Joshua obsesses over training because in complex sales, prospects ask detailed technical questions and "the moment that you give bad answers or don't know your stuff, they're going to detect that and that's going to detract a lot from the trust." When selling technical infrastructure, surface-level product knowledge kills deals. Engineer your standard contract to eliminate negotiation cycles: Joshua inverted conventional wisdom by making Rainforest's standard contract "overly favorable to the client"—no hidden terms, no punitive clauses, no exclusivity provisions. The result: "We don't have to spend a lot of legal time going back and forth. We don't have to invest a lot of time and by the way, burning a lot of goodwill too in contract negotiations." Embed sales capabilities into your customer success function: Rainforest trains their CS team on negotiation tactics, value selling, and objection handling—competencies rarely developed in post-sale teams. Joshua noted the primary goal is customer assistance, but growth is an underlying objective. Enforce a zero bugs backlog in high-stakes environments: Joshua's unofficial core value—"don't f with the money"—manifests in their zero bugs policy. It's not that they never create bugs; it's that "we don't tolerate living with them. We don't have a backlog of bugs to fix." When a bug is validated, they fix it immediately. His head of engineering recently discussed this on a podcast because people find it radical. //Sponsors:Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership.⁠ www.FrontLines.io⁠The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.⁠ www.GlobalTalent.co⁠//Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I HireSenior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here:⁠ https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM

F2⁠ is the AI platform for private markets investors, automating due diligence and portfolio monitoring workflows with agentic AI. After building ARK into a digital banking platform that scaled from tens of millions to tens of billions in loan volume, ⁠Donald Muir⁠ developed AI technology to automate debt placement on ARK's marketplace. When upmarket institutional lenders requested access to the AI for their entire deal flow—not just ARK's marketplace deals—Donald recognized the technology's standalone value. In this episode of BUILDERS, Donald shares how he's commercializing enterprise-grade AI for an industry where he personally spent years in the private equity bullpen, and how F2 is addressing the reliability and trust barriers that prevent AI adoption in high-stakes financial decision-making.Topics Discussed:How F2 emerged from ARK's internal need to automate debt marketplace screening memosThe technical approach to eliminating hallucination in Excel-based financial analysisReplicating private equity's "super day" interview format to prove AI capability with live deal dataSales team composition: hiring ex-finance professionals instead of traditional sales repsAI's role in evolving private equity analysts from menial tasks to system operatorsProduct roadmap from due diligence to portfolio monitoring to deal syndication platformMaintaining operational independence while preserving strategic alignment with ARKGTM Lessons For B2B Founders:Solve your own hardest problem first, then productize: Donald built F2's core technology to scale ARK's debt marketplace, focusing on the most difficult engineering challenge—reliable financial analysis of unstructured Excel data—because the marketplace required it. This resulted in technology that foundation models still haven't replicated over a year later. Design sales processes that mirror how your ICP evaluates talent: Donald replicated private equity's "super day" format where analyst candidates receive a data room, laptop without internet access, and three hours to produce an LBO model and investment thesis. F2 runs identical timed tests—customers send live deal data rooms under NDA, F2 generates investment committee memos using their templates, and presents same-day results. Prioritize credibility over sales experience in technical markets: Donald's entire sales team consists of ex-finance professionals who lived in the seat—no traditional salespeople. These reps can screen-share investment memos created that morning and discuss them authentically with MDs and principals using industry-specific language. Engineer for auditability before optimizing for speed: F2 focused on eliminating hallucination and achieving mathematical accuracy—solving what Donald calls the "reliability and trust" gap—before addressing workflow efficiency. The company name references the F2 keystroke used to audit Excel calculations at 3 AM in the PE bullpen. Leverage institutional knowledge as competitive differentiation: Beyond automating existing workflows, F2 enables firms to pipe in decades of institutional knowledge via API—instantly benchmarking new deals against thousands of historical transactions by vertical, revenue size, leverage levels, and management quality. //Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership.⁠ www.FrontLines.io⁠The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.⁠ www.GlobalTalent.co⁠//Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here:⁠ https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM

Turnstile is reimagining quote-to-cash for the modern B2B world, where negotiated agreements create operational chaos that standard pricing never does. After selling Second Measure to Bloomberg, co-founders ⁠Michael Babineau⁠ and Lillian Chou experienced the irony firsthand: running a data analytics company while managing their own revenue operations through spreadsheets and manual processes. That incongruence became the catalyst for Turnstile, a self-serve revenue platform designed to support sales-led B2B companies from their first negotiated deal through tens of millions in ARR. In this conversation, Michael shares how they're solving the structured data problem that plagues B2B revenue operations, why eliminating custom development forced genuine platform flexibility, and how they're collapsing a traditionally 3-6 month implementation into a self-serve onboarding that takes minutes.Topics Discussed:Why negotiated B2B agreements create the structured data problem that breaks revenue operationsTurnstile's compound startup approach spanning quote-to-cash to revenue recognitionThe internal ban on custom development that forced true configurability into the platformHow supporting non-standard contracts from day one enables earlier market entry than traditional CPQRevenue leakage and "truth drift" between contract terms and actual customer relationshipsThe rippling-style GTM strategy: start with startups, grow into enterprise with your customersPositioning challenges when your category exists but your ICP doesn't know it yetBuilding for human operators and AI agents simultaneously on the same platform primitivesAgentic dunning and the roadmap toward AI-automated revenue operations//Sponsors:Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership.⁠ www.FrontLines.io⁠The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.⁠ www.GlobalTalent.co⁠//Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I HireSenior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role.Subscribe here:⁠ https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM

tiun is building auth and payment infrastructure that consolidates two traditional categories into one streamlined solution. By combining social login with instant payment functionality, tiun eliminates the standard account creation and credit card entry flow, reducing user onboarding to a two-click process. Operating as merchant of record, tiun serves online entertainment businesses, content creators, news publishers, and SaaS platforms. The company currently reaches 10 million users monthly through customer website placements and is growing transactions 15-20% month-over-month. In this episode of Category Visionaries, Sandro Zweig shares how tiun evolved from targeting news publishers to building a broader entertainment ecosystem, the challenges of creating a market for a combined category, and the data-driven approach to proving ROI before scaling.Topics Discussed:Evolution from news publisher focus to entertainment and SaaS ecosystem strategyConsolidating auth and payment infrastructure into a single categoryCase study metrics: 20% uplift in paying users with under 1% subscription cannibalizationThe 2.5x lead generation improvement versus traditional subscription modelsBuilding market-specific ecosystems as a B2B2C go-to-market strategyDACH penetration strategy before US expansionAchieving organic exposure through customer website placementReducing integration complexity to drive adoption in an emerging categoryGTM Lessons For B2B Founders:Geographic density creates B2B2C flywheels: tiun's go-to-market prioritizes ecosystem density within a single market over broad geographic distribution. Users discover tiun on one platform, then encounter it across 3-4 additional properties in their consumption pattern, creating recognition and repeat usage. This required penetrating DACH (100 million people, single language, unified regulations) before considering US expansion. For B2B2C products where end-user familiarity drives business adoption, concentrate on saturating one market until the consumer-side network effect reduces enterprise sales friction.Validate with 6-12 month pilot data before scaling: tiun ran contained pilots with 3-4 customers for a full year before pursuing their long-tail market. This produced case studies showing 20% paying user uplift and under 1% cannibalization—metrics that directly addressed the primary objection (subscription revenue risk). Sandro notes this extended validation period became essential because "there is no market for it yet. We're creating the market." When creating a new category, resist scaling pressure until you have multi-month data that quantifies business outcomes and neutralizes the biggest adoption barriers.Strategic revenue trade-offs accelerate ecosystem development: tiun deliberately adjusted pricing to "pay out more to our businesses to grow a bit faster"—prioritizing transaction volume and ecosystem density over near-term take rate. This economics decision reflected that their value proposition strengthens with ecosystem scale: users need to encounter tiun across multiple properties for the solution to deliver its full promise. Integration speed directly determines category creation velocity: Sandro identified that "if the sales cycle is too long and integration is too complicated, people won't do it. Especially since it's a product that doesn't exist and there is no market for it yet." They focused on reducing implementation to 2-3 weeks, recognizing that asking companies to replace existing auth and payment infrastructure requires minimal switching costs. Build investor relationships 12+ months before raises: Sandro emphasizes starting fundraising conversations well before needing capital: "If you decide, oh, I need to fundraise right now, then you will automatically get into a cash crunch. Because by the time you have established all the relationships, it just takes such a long time that you run out of money where it really hurts your negotiation power."

ZayZoon pioneered the earned wage access category a decade ago and has become the leading embedded provider through partnerships with over 300 payroll companies. With over $50 million raised and a team of 200, ZayZoon now serves 15,000+ businesses across the US. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, I sat down with Tate Hackert, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of ZayZoon, to unpack their B2B2C distribution strategy, the economics of three-sided marketplaces, and how they're expanding from earned wage access into the connected workplace.Topics Discussed:Building for two years without revenue while signing payroll distribution partnersWhy embedded B2B2C distribution beats direct sales for hourly workforce productsEngineering three-way marketplace economics that align payroll, employer, and employee incentivesThe November 2017 trade show that killed their Canadian market strategyEducating three distinct buyer personas in a category creation motionProduct expansion strategy: when to stay focused vs. when to launch adjacent productsPositioning shift from "financial wellness" to recruitment/retention/productivity outcomesThe underwriting advantage of payroll-integrated repayment for reducing loss ratesBuilding 300+ payroll partnerships through relationship-driven GTMGTM Lessons For B2B Founders:Solve distribution economics before product-market fit: ZayZoon spent 2014-2016 building product and signing payroll partners before generating first revenue in 2016. The insight: "Why would we go and try to sign up business by business...Let's sign up the payroll company because they're this umbrella organization." For B2B2C models, solve the distribution layer first—even if it delays revenue. Your bottleneck is partner adoption curves, not product readiness.Structure three-way economics where everyone wins big: ZayZoon discovered payroll companies had "this gold mine of employees that they hadn't yet monetized" and built a model where they pay payroll partners "a really hefty revenue share" while keeping enough margin for ZayZoon and keeping the service low-cost for employees. In platform businesses, the unit economics must be compelling enough that each party actively sells for you, not just tolerates you.Map your value prop to your buyer's actual job metrics: ZayZoon's breakthrough came from reframing earned wage access as solving recruitment, retention, and productivity—the metrics small business owners are measured on. Tate explained the unlock: "It's free for me, and it's deployed seamlessly through the HCM provider that I already use. Yeah, turn it on." Your features matter less than your impact on the specific KPIs in your buyer's quarterly review.Kill underperforming markets immediately, even after years of investment: After building in Canada from 2014-2017, one US trade show in November 2017 generated "more signed business than we had done in the previous couple of years in Canada." They put Canada "on life support" by January 2018. Resource reallocation speed matters more than sunk cost. When signal clarity emerges, move capital and team within weeks, not quarters.High-touch relationship GTM beats automation until you hit scale: Tate's core partnership advice: "Pick up the phone...be gritty as hell. Those first hundred customers that you do, be gritty." He emphasized personal outreach builds "pattern recognition and learnings that you receive from being ultra curious." For partnerships specifically, bring "humility, transparency and the expectation that you're building a ten year plus relationship, not being transactional." Automation scales what works—but relationship GTM discovers what works.

Carmen Li spent decades in financial services across trading floors and data companies before spotting a massive inefficiency in the AI/compute economy. After managing global data partnerships at Bloomberg, she witnessed AI startups struggling with unpredictable compute costs that could swing their margins from healthy profits to devastating losses overnight. Drawing parallels to how airlines hedge oil prices through futures markets, Carmen realized that compute—despite being one of the fastest-growing commodities—lacked basic risk management tools. Within months of leaving Bloomberg, she built Silicon Data into the world's first GPU compute risk management platform, raising $5.7M without ever creating a pitch deck and publishing the industry's first GPU compute index on Bloomberg Terminal.Topics Discussed:The systemic problem of compute cost volatility destroying AI company marginsWhy compute lacks the risk management tools available in every other commodity marketBuilding the world's first GPU compute index and benchmarking serviceRaising venture capital without pitch decks through product-first demonstrationsOperating as a solo non-technical founder leading a team of engineersThe unique buyer dynamics when selling to CTOs, portfolio managers, and AI researchers simultaneouslyGTM Lessons For B2B Founders:Price on value, not cost, and let customer conversations reshape your understanding: Carmen admits that every client conversation changes her valuation of the product's impact, typically making it bigger than initially thought. She prices based on the value delivered rather than cost structure. B2B founders should remain flexible in their value proposition and pricing as they learn more about customer impact through direct engagement.Product demonstrations beat pitch decks for technical buyers: Carmen raised $5.7M without ever creating a pitch deck, instead letting prospects interact directly with her product and writing a simple memo. For technical products solving complex problems, demonstrating actual capabilities often proves more effective than polished presentations. B2B founders should prioritize building working products over perfecting sales materials.Embrace being the "dumbest person in the room" for learning velocity: Carmen describes consistently being the least technical person in rooms full of CTOs, AI researchers, and GPU experts, but leverages this as a learning advantage. She asks hard questions and co-creates products on the fly based on these conversations. B2B founders should view knowledge gaps as opportunities for rapid learning rather than weaknesses to hide.Target systemic problems that span multiple sophisticated buyer types: Silicon Data serves everyone from chip designers to hedge funds to AI companies, requiring Carmen to handle technical GPU questions, financial modeling queries, and AI workflow concerns in single meetings. This breadth creates natural expansion opportunities and defensibility. B2B founders should look for problems that affect multiple stakeholder types within their target market.Leverage unique background intersections to spot obvious-but-overlooked opportunities: Carmen's combination of financial services expertise and data company experience let her quickly identify that compute needed the same risk management tools available in every other commodity market. The solution was "extremely intuitive" to her but invisible to others. B2B founders should examine how their unique background combinations reveal opportunities others might miss.

Atlas Invest is revolutionizing real estate financing as a marketplace connecting borrowers with institutional investors. With $13 million in funding, the platform provides an alternative to inefficient traditional lending models by offering borrowers quick, simple financing while enabling investors to access what Tal calls "the holy grail of asset classes" - real estate-backed bridge loans. In this episode of Category Visionaries, we sat down with Tal Shahar, CEO and Co-Founder of Atlas Invest, to discuss his journey from military special forces officer to venture capitalist to founder, and how Atlas is building a platform that delivers superior returns to investors while providing crucial financing for real estate developers.Topics Discussed:Tal's experience as an officer in Israeli special forces and how it shaped his approach to entrepreneurshipThe transition from venture capital at Deep Insight to founding Atlas InvestHow Atlas addresses inefficiencies in real estate bridge loan financing through technologyThe platform's dual-sided marketplace connecting borrowers and institutional investorsAtlas's ability to generate 12% net IRR for investors compared to traditional funds' 8%Strategies for building both sides of a marketplace business simultaneouslyThe challenges of securing the first deals that validated the business modelAtlas's approach to brand building and marketing experiments in the real estate spaceThe evolving vision to become the go-to platform for all real estate financing needs GTM Lessons For B2B Founders:Exercise disciplined due diligence in your own ventures: Before leaving his VC position, Tal created a comprehensive due diligence list and spent six months validating Atlas's potential during nights and weekends. B2B founders should apply the same rigorous validation processes to their own ideas that VCs would use, testing assumptions methodically before fully committing resources.Leverage market disruptions as entry points: Atlas launched during a period of rising interest rates when banks were pulling back from lending, creating an opportunity for new entrants. As Tal explained, "When we started Atlas, it was a crazy market environment... that actually enabled us to step into the market when each side was okay with us not having a lot of the other side." B2B founders should identify and exploit market dislocations that weaken incumbent advantages.Build marketplaces by continuously balancing both sides: Rather than solving the chicken-and-egg problem once, Atlas constantly rebalances supply and demand. Tal noted, "We're continuously balancing... Sometimes the challenging part is the deal flow, sometimes it's the investors. If it was always only one, maybe it's not the best product-market fit." The shifting nature of the challenge is actually a positive signal for marketplace businesses.Use white-glove service to win initial customers: For Atlas's first deals, personal relationships and exceptional service were critical. "It was a lot of white glove service... we're selling basically enterprise in a way," Tal shared. The team did "whatever it takes to win it, to make it successful." B2B founders should be prepared to deliver extraordinary service to early customers, especially in high-value transactions where trust is paramount.Test marketing channels empirically, not based on assumptions: Atlas discovered that LinkedIn performed poorly for their paid campaigns while Meta worked well, contrary to expectations for a B2B financial service. "I'm a big believer of not relying on our assumptions... always using data to make the decision," Tal emphasized. B2B founders should start with small tests across multiple channels, measure results objectively, and periodically retest channels that previously underperformed.

Tilled has pioneered "PayFac as a Service," creating a new category in the payments space that allows vertical software companies to embed payments within their platforms without becoming registered payment facilitators themselves. With over $40 million in funding, Tilled offers an alternative to industry giants like Stripe, providing better economics while maintaining high-quality developer tools. In this episode of Category Visionaries, I spoke with Caleb Avery, Founder and CEO of Tilled, about his journey from solo founder to category creator, the challenges of competing with established players like Stripe, and how he's built a successful business by identifying and serving an underserved segment of the market.Topics Discussed:Tilled's origin story and Caleb's two-year journey as a solo founder before finding product-market fitThe process of creating and defining the "PayFac as a Service" categoryHow Tilled positions itself against industry giants like StripeEffective content marketing and thought leadership strategies on LinkedInThe power of speaking at industry conferences to build credibilityLeveraging a mixed strategy of inbound marketing, digital advertising, and channel partnershipsTilled's vision to expand beyond payments into comprehensive embedded fintech solutions GTM Lessons for B2B Founders:Create your own category when existing ones don't fit: When Caleb realized that existing terms like "PayFac in a box" didn't accurately describe Tilled's offering, he invented "PayFac as a Service." This new category clearly communicated their value proposition and differentiated them from competitors. He explains, "The concept behind PayFac as a Service was really resonating with these vertical software companies that were saying, 'I don't want to go be a registered PayFac, I want all of the benefits as though I'm becoming a registered payment facilitator with 5% of the effort.'"Educate the market on your category through content: Tilled invested heavily in education through LinkedIn posts, blogs, ebooks, and speaking engagements to establish their category. Caleb notes, "Over a period of three or four months, we started introducing this concept of PayFac as a Service.Leverage fellow founders for early validation: Even without a product, Caleb reached out to other founders to validate his ideas. "Other founders are very willing to help founders, especially in the early stages where I had nothing to sell them...I was shocked by the response rates that I was getting." Balance personal and professional content for thought leadership: Caleb's LinkedIn strategy combined educational content about payments with personal stories about entrepreneurship and family life. "I think by allowing people to understand who I was as a person, it made me more approachable for some of the companies that were coming to us and saying, 'Hey, we're not ready to make a switch, but we are curious.'"Apply to speak at industry conferences: Caleb was surprised by how many speaking opportunities were available simply by applying. "It just shocks me how few founders that I know are willing to go apply for those speakerships, but it's really an incredibly easy thing for them to go do." Run targeted "conquest" campaigns against market leaders: Tilled runs specific digital advertising campaigns targeting pain points with competitors, using long-tail keywords like "Why is Stripe customer service so bad?" This strategy drives quality leads from customers already experiencing problems with the dominant player in the market.Embrace channel partnerships in B2B SaaS: Unlike many competitors, Tilled welcomes referrals from ISOs, agents, and payment consultants. "We're one of the few folks in our space, which is still bizarre to me, that embraces a channel strategy...it's been an incredibly lucrative strategy...it's still 30 plus percent of the deal flow for Tilled."

Foundersuite has established itself as the leading platform for startups raising capital, with $13 million in funding and a comprehensive suite of tools designed to streamline the fundraising process. In this episode of Category Visionaries, I sat down with Nathan Beckord, CEO of Foundersuite, to explore how his extensive background in investment banking and startup advisory evolved into building a specialized platform that's revolutionizing how founders approach fundraising. Nathan shares his journey from consultant to entrepreneur, and how Foundersuite has grown from a simple CRM into a robust platform serving startups from seed stage through Series B and beyond. Topics Discussed:The evolution from an investment banking career to founding a startup focused on fundraising toolsHow Foundersuite narrowed its focus from a broad suite of founder tools to specialized fundraising solutionsThe strategic decision to target the seed through Series B segment as their primary marketBuilding a sustainable marketing strategy through events, podcasting, and innovative guerrilla tacticsThe launch of Funding Stack, a new platform designed for VCs and fundraising consultantsHow AI is being integrated throughout the fundraising process to enhance efficiency and outcomes GTM Lessons For B2B Founders:Start with your unique expertise: Nathan built Foundersuite based on his decade of fundraising experience, turning his specialized knowledge into product features. He explained, "I'm a one trick pony. The only thing I've done ever since college is raise capital for startups." B2B founders should leverage their deep industry expertise when defining their product category and value proposition.Be willing to kill good products for great focus: Despite positive user feedback on several products in their initial suite, Foundersuite made the difficult decision to eliminate tools that weren't core to their primary value proposition. Nathan recalls, "It was hard to kill something that people did love... but they weren't really paying as much for that." B2B founders should continuously evaluate their product portfolio against market traction and be willing to make tough decisions for greater focus.Define your "Goldilocks" customer segment: Foundersuite identified their ideal customer segment as seed through Series B companies—not too early (pre-seed) and not too mature (Series C+). Nathan explains, "Too early, you don't have any money, you can't pay us, you're not really fundable. Too late, you have a lot of other resources to help you raise capital." B2B founders should similarly identify where their product delivers maximum value and focus acquisition efforts accordingly.Use content marketing as a learning opportunity: Foundersuite's "How I Raised It" podcast not only serves as a marketing channel but also provides valuable market intelligence. Nathan shared, "I thought I knew everything about raising capital. And here I am just drinking from a fire hose... I'm learning more than my first six months of doing a podcast than I have in the last five years of actually doing the work." B2B founders should view content marketing as both a growth channel and a customer research tool.Implement annual marketing experiments: Foundersuite commits to trying one new marketing approach each year. Nathan explains, "One of the things I try and do every year... let's try a new, different marketing experiment." For 2025, they're implementing monthly webinars. B2B founders should similarly build experimentation into their marketing roadmap while maintaining their core channels.

Routable is revolutionizing accounts payable automation by bridging the gap between finance teams and engineering requirements. With $100 million in funding, Routable has built a platform that handles everything from basic invoice processing to complex mass payouts, focusing on companies where AP is central to their business model. In this episode of Category Visionaries, I sat down with Omri Mor, CEO and Co-Founder of Routable, to explore how they're transforming a market where only 3.4% of potential customers currently use AP automation solutions.Topics Discussed:Evolution from in-house solution to scalable AP automation platformThe state of AP automation adoption and market opportunityRoutable's approach to product development and feature prioritizationThe importance of customer feedback in shaping product roadmapStrategic pivot from SMB to mid-market and enterprise customersBuilding trust in financial technology through customer referralsIntegration of AI and automation in financial workflowsGTM Lessons For B2B Founders:Find your wedge through empathy: Omri and his co-founder succeeded initially because they had built similar solutions internally and deeply understood the pain points. They approached customers with genuine curiosity and empathy, spending 45-60 minutes just listening about what wasn't working in their finance departments. B2B founders should leverage their authentic experience and empathy to build initial trust.Focus on critical pain points: Rather than trying to change established workflows entirely, Routable looks for specific pain points as entry points - like payment failures that take 30-45 minutes to correct manually. B2B founders should identify acute pain points that provide natural openings for their solution, rather than trying to force wholesale process changes.Build trust through demonstration: In the mid-market and enterprise space, Routable found success by showing rather than telling. They implement a "try before you buy" approach with customers' own data, demonstrating their capabilities concretely rather than just making sales promises. B2B founders should prioritize proving their value through actual demonstrations over sales rhetoric.Leverage customer feedback channels: Routable built in-product feature request capabilities and maintains a dedicated product feedback channel where customer conversations are shared and discussed. B2B founders should create systematic ways to capture, share, and act on customer feedback across the organization.Strategic pricing for growth: One of Routable's most important GTM decisions was strategically increasing prices to reflect their value and improve unit economics, even though it meant moving away from smaller customers. B2B founders should price their products to enable sustainable growth and continued investment in product development.

Patricia Montesi leads Qolo, a modern cloud-based financial payments platform that has raised $30 million to reimagine payment processing infrastructure. In this episode of Category Visionaries, Patricia shares insights from building a platform that combines card issuing, bank payments, and ledger capabilities to help both fintech companies and traditional banks modernize their payment systems without requiring complete infrastructure overhauls.Topics Discussed:Building a unified platform that handles both traditional and modern payment methodsNavigating the transition from "grow at all costs" to sustainable growthThe journey to reaching $7 million ARR and targeting $10 million ARREvolution of the bank-fintech partnership modelChallenges of fundraising as a first-time founderStrategic pivot from product-led to balanced growthGTM Lessons For B2B Founders:Solve the integration burden: Qolo succeeded by taking on the complex task of unifying different payment types that customers previously had to integrate themselves. Patricia explained, "That burden is actually shifted to the client...Qolo actually unifies it for them." B2B founders should look for opportunities where they can absorb complexity that customers are currently forced to handle themselves.Navigate market corrections strategically: During the fintech market correction, Patricia's team refocused on fundamentals: "Put the excitement aside...let's make sure we're all focused on verticals that we have a right to win in, that we have a fast path to monetize." B2B founders should be prepared to make hard decisions about resource allocation and organizational focus when market conditions shift.Balance product and go-to-market investment: Qolo initially focused heavily on product perfection at the expense of sales and marketing. Patricia admitted, "We are terrible at marketing and we're going to change that." B2B founders should ensure they don't over-index on product development while neglecting go-to-market capabilities.Leverage strategic customer wins: Qolo used their success with major banks to build credibility: "To the extent that you get a top 25 bank to sign an enterprise level agreement...we capitalize on that from a social media and marketing perspective." B2B founders should strategically amplify significant customer wins to build market momentum.Focus on sustainable unit economics: Rather than pursuing growth at all costs, Qolo prioritized efficiency and profitability. Patricia noted, "We're all sort of now thinking about profitability versus grow at all costs. I think that's a healthy thing." B2B founders should build their growth strategy around sustainable unit economics rather than pure top-line growth.

In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, I sat down with Steffen Vollert, Co-Founder and Interim CEO of Volt, to explore their journey building a global real-time payment network. With over $87 Million in funding, Volt has evolved from a European open banking solution to a worldwide payment infrastructure platform, connecting major payment systems like Pix in Brazil and PayTo in Australia. Beyond his role at Volt, Steffen shared an unexpected side venture - a vintage tractor restoration business that provides a therapeutic counterbalance to the digital world of fintech.Topics Discussed:Evolution from European open banking to global real-time paymentsThe transition through different leadership roles (CTO, COO, CEO)Early product market fit challenges and iterationsStrategic focus on PSPs and enterprise customersThe impact of COVID on early company formationBuilding marketing and sales teams in fintechFundraising journey through multiple roundsOrganizational scaling beyond 150 employeesGTM Lessons For B2B Founders:Speed to MVP Beats Infrastructure: Volt launched their initial prototype in just six months, compared to the industry standard of 2-3 years. Steffen explained, "We really focused on what is the fastest path to deliver something that has enough value for a merchants who actually put us on their checkout as a payment option." B2B founders should prioritize delivering core value quickly over building perfect infrastructure.Vertical Focus Drives Team Success: The team discovered that sales and marketing professionals in payments are highly specialized by vertical. Steffen noted, "Many salespeople in the industry are so specialized, they really join companies with a focus for their vertical where they have their network." B2B founders should commit to specific verticals long-term to attract and retain top talent.Product Market Fit is Continuous: Rather than a single moment, Volt experienced multiple "false" product market fits before achieving true traction. Steffen shared, "Every product advantage nowadays is temporary. You always need to be fast, you always need to be scrappy, you always need to think ahead." B2B founders should view product market fit as an ongoing process rather than a destination.Strategic Channel Selection: Volt deliberately chose to focus on large PSPs as distribution partners rather than pursuing SMEs directly. Steffen explained, "We really want to focus our resources on where we can move the needle for our revenue impact." B2B founders should evaluate distribution channels based on internal efficiency and resource constraints.Investment Partner Alignment: During fundraising, Volt prioritized investors who deeply understood their space over pure capital. Steffen emphasized, "For us it was much more important than the money itself... having partners on the other side to understand what we build, why we build it, why it's tough, why it's not going to be a straight line." B2B founders should seek investors who truly understand their market dynamics and challenges.

Auquan is revolutionizing financial services by automating the labor-intensive, data-heavy workflows that consume valuable time for investment professionals. With $8 million in funding, Auquan is building an AI-powered intelligence platform that transforms how financial firms extract insights from unstructured data. In this episode of Category Visionaries, we spoke with Chandini Jain about her journey from running arbitrage trading strategies at a Chicago trading firm to founding a company that's reinventing financial workflows through AI.Topics Discussed:The data overload problem in financial services that led to Auquan's creationAuquan's pivot from serving early adopters to developing a more scalable SaaS modelThe evolution of AI adoption in financial services from skepticism to cautious optimismThe distinction between "shallow work" and "deep work" AI toolsWhy financial services has seen little innovation since Bloomberg and how AI is changing thatThe need for AI tools that understand domain-specific nuances for specialized knowledge workers GTM Lessons For B2B Founders:Focus on co-development with early customers: Chandini emphasized the importance of working closely with early customers to shape the product. Rather than rushing to sign many customers initially, they focused intensely on one customer: "Customer one. Will you help us co-develop this product? We will give it to you for very cheap. But in exchange, we want lots of product feedback, we want access to all the users, we want access to your data." This approach helped them build a product truly aligned with market needs.Pivot when you find problem-market fit but not product-market fit: Auquan initially signed deals with major asset managers but hit a wall after customer #3. Chandini recognized they had "problem market fit" but not product-market fit: "There was a problem that the market was facing that needed to be solved. Just the way we were solving it was not going to work." This realization led to a substantial pivot that eventually unlocked growth.Create new roles to bridge the technology-adoption gap: Auquan created "outcome engineers" to ensure successful implementation of their AI solution. These specialists "take an underlying product and then they sit with the customer and they make sure that product is able to deliver outcomes exactly in the manner that the customer wants." This approach accelerates time-to-value and helps educate users about AI capabilities, addressing a major barrier to adoption.Differentiate between horizontal and vertical AI applications: Chandini articulated a clear framework distinguishing "shallow work" (horizontal) from "deep work" (vertical) AI tools. B2B founders should recognize that "if you try to use a shallow work tool to achieve a deep work outcome... your time to value is going to be so large because you will require so much setup and training and customization." Understanding where your AI solution fits in this framework helps position it correctly in the market.Raise funding from investors who share your vision of the problem: When fundraising, Chandini found success by identifying investors who already understood the problem space: "It is so much easier to raise money if you find the people who see the world as you see it." This alignment allows conversations to focus on your specific approach and execution plan rather than convincing investors the problem exists in the first place.

Canopy, an API-first loan management and servicing platform, has raised over $30 Million to revolutionize how companies manage and service loans. In this episode of Category Visionaries, Matt Bivons shares his journey from designer to founder, and how Canopy is transforming loan servicing from a cost center into a profit center. With over five years of experience serving B2B lenders, Canopy's platform enables companies to create flexible, personalized lending products while maintaining robust infrastructure for loan management.Topics Discussed:Evolution of Canopy from a student credit card concept to an enterprise loan servicing platformThe challenges of building infrastructure for financial servicesProduct-led growth in B2B enterprise softwareThe journey from designer to marketer to founderMarket segmentation and category creation in fintechThe transition from consumer to B2B lending focusDevelopment of "intelligent servicing" through AI and ML GTM Lessons For B2B Founders:Embrace market signals for pivots: Matt initially planned to build a student credit card but pivoted to loan servicing infrastructure after recognizing stronger market demand. He shares, "I realized at that moment that was the market pool, that was the signal that was saying I need to pivot." B2B founders should remain attuned to market feedback and be willing to adapt their vision accordingly.Find your wedge by going deeper: When Canopy eliminated 50% of their sales pipeline by cutting consumer lending, it enabled deeper penetration into B2B markets. Matt explains, "We were just spread way too thin, and we needed to go a lot deeper in the market that we're being pulled into." B2B founders should consider strategic trade-offs between market breadth and depth.Validate distribution assumptions: Matt learned that self-serve "lending as a service" attracted the wrong customers and complicated pricing. He notes, "It attracted the wrong type of customer... charging per API call is very confusing to most people when you're dealing with lending." B2B founders should thoroughly test go-to-market assumptions before scaling.Build trust through education: Canopy discovered that most sales cycles take about a year and require building deep trust. Matt emphasizes, "The combination of content marketing and direct sales, which is all about building trust, is where we are right now." B2B founders should invest in educational content and relationship building for complex sales.Segment your market precisely: Canopy analyzes their market by both vertical (logistics, healthcare, etc.) and horizontal loan types (revolving credit, merchant cash advance, etc.). Matt explains, "If the verticals are the business model, the loan type is the horizontal that goes across them." B2B founders should develop detailed market segmentation to guide product and GTM strategy.

Pier is revolutionizing credit infrastructure by enabling companies to launch compliant credit products through their API-first solution. Having raised $2.5M from notable investors including Y Combinator, Airbnb, OpenAI, Experian, and Morgan Stanley, Pier is transforming how businesses offer innovative credit solutions to their users. In this episode of Category Visionaries, Jessica Zhang shares her journey from identifying a critical market need at her previous company to launching Pier in 2023 and securing their first major customer within just four weeks.Topics Discussed:Building an API-first solution for compliant credit productsThe evolution from identifying market pain points to product developmentFirst principles approach to reimagining credit infrastructureStrategy for landing enterprise customers with 80k+ ARR dealsThe role of compliance in credit infrastructureVision for democratizing access to credit through trusted brandsGTM Lessons For B2B Founders:Leverage previous company experience: Zhang and her co-founder's insights from their time at Stilt gave them unique competitive advantages in understanding customer pain points. Sometimes the best startup ideas come from seeing unfinished business or unsolved problems at previous companies rather than a single "aha" moment.Focus on high-quality early customers: Pier specifically targets customers who are leaders in their respective categories, focusing on companies with 4.5+ star ratings and strong growth trajectories. This creates a "golden standard" playbook that can be replicated across similar verticals, making future sales much easier.Embrace organic growth channels: Despite having no dedicated sales or marketing team, Pier achieved significant growth through word-of-mouth referrals from satisfied customers and investors. They prioritized genuine in-person conversations at industry conferences over cold outreach.Move fast despite obstacles: The founders didn't let perfect timing dictate their launch. Despite missing YC batch deadlines and personal commitments, they moved forward because they had validated customer demand. Their ability to secure their first customer within four weeks validated this approach.Build for specific pain points: Instead of creating a general solution, Pier focused heavily on the compliance aspect of lending infrastructure after identifying it as the most painful and challenging part for potential customers through extensive market research and conversations.

After 25 years in payments, including leading roles at Braintree and PayPal, Klas Bäck noticed a persistent problem: companies were leaving money on the table due to suboptimal payment infrastructure. Despite being data-driven in other areas, even billion-dollar companies made payment decisions without complete, accurate, or timely data. This revelation led him to co-found Pagos, raising $44M to build a payment operations platform that helps enterprise companies optimize their payment performance through better data and analytics.Topics Discussed:Evolution of payments from a corporate banking afterthought to a product/engineering priorityThe opaque nature of payment operations and the industry-wide lack of data-driven decision makingWhy payment infrastructure optimization remains challenging despite technological advancesThe emergence of payment operations as a distinct category within enterprise companiesBuilding a global enterprise SaaS company from day oneThe impact of market noise on B2B marketing strategiesCommunity building through intimate dinner events and industry conferencesGTM Lessons For B2B Founders:Break into enterprise through brute force outreach: Bäck leveraged his LinkedIn network to systematically reach out to potential customers, focusing on companies with $50M+ in annual online sales. The key was having enough industry credibility to secure initial conversations.Adapt your MVP strategy for enterprise: When building features for early adopters, start with manual processes (like weekly data files) before investing in full automation. This allows you to validate value while managing development costs.Build community through peer connections: Rather than focusing on selling, create opportunities for prospects to meet peers facing similar challenges. Bäck found success hosting intimate dinners (10-12 people) where the value came from peer networking rather than vendor pitching.Embrace imperfect execution: In startup environments, waiting for perfection can be fatal. Launch quickly, stay close to early customers, communicate transparently about issues, and iterate based on feedback.Hire for curiosity and action-orientation: Look for team members who proactively take initiative in group settings and demonstrate genuine curiosity through question-asking. These traits are especially crucial in early-stage startups.Focus marketing on high-intent channels: Traditional demand generation tactics like Google Ads may not work well for new categories. Instead, focus on building presence in existing industry communities and conferences where your target buyers already gather.

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Scott Dorey, Co-Founder of OpenPath, a payments platform that's raised $25 Million in funding.Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:OpenPath’s Unique Approach: OpenPath started as a middleware for merchants, helping them manage checkout processes, accept payments, and mitigate chargebacks and fraud. They’ve now evolved to offer instant direct payments using real-time bank transfers, eliminating fraud and streamlining payment processing.Evolution of the Product: The initial idea was sparked by a co-founder’s vision. Over time, they saw an opportunity to partner with another payments company, leading to the creation of a new product—real-time, fraud-free bank transfers.The Fraud and Chargeback Problem: Scott highlighted the pervasive issue of chargebacks in e-commerce, which can cause significant financial strain on businesses. OpenPath's solution drastically reduces these issues by simplifying and securing the payment process.Seamless Merchant Onboarding: OpenPath has streamlined the process for merchants to integrate its technology, reducing development time and effort. This has enabled even large-scale merchants, like Lululemon, to quickly adopt their platform.Strategic Sales and GTM Execution: OpenPath built a robust sales pipeline well before their product was fully deployed. By dividing sales into industry verticals, they ensured the product reached the right decision-makers from the start.Future Expansion Plans: While OpenPath is currently focused on the U.S. market, with all regulatory approvals in place, Scott shared their plans to expand into Europe in the near future, where regulations are slightly more relaxed, making it an easier market to enter.

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Jeremy Almond, CEO & Founder of Paystand, a B2B payment network that has raised over $100 Million in funding.Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:Venmo for Enterprise: Paystand is a next-gen B2B payment network that saves companies millions of dollars by providing radically better economics, processing over $10 billion in payments and supporting around a million businesses.Building Through Focus: Jeremy emphasized the importance of staying focused. Paystand's growth is attributed to a brick-by-brick approach, first targeting specific markets like Oracle and Microsoft ecosystems before expanding.Scaling Milestones: Key company milestones were centered around unlocking the next stage of growth—from securing initial customers to making sales repeatable, and then scaling the business through focused enterprise sales strategies.Blockchain Innovation: Paystand’s payment platform is powered by blockchain, offering instant, automatic payments at zero cost, without reliance on traditional systems like Visa or Mastercard.Real Business Value, Not Blockchain Hype: While Jeremy is a believer in blockchain, he insists Paystand sells based on real value to customers, such as instant payments and reducing costs, not blockchain hype.The Next 10 Years: Jeremy envisions a future where businesses use blockchain infrastructure, replacing legacy systems like Visa and Mastercard, ultimately creating more efficient, tax-free financial ecosystems for companies globally.

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Daumantas Dvilinskas, CEO & Co-Founder of TransferGo, a money transfer platform that has raised over $125 Million in funding.Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:Long-term Focus: TransferGo's 12-year journey has been defined by a commitment to solving the complexities of cross-border payments, a challenge that Daumantas recognized as a young entrepreneur.Innovation Through Partnership: The company's success lies in building a "network of networks," partnering with local financial institutions to bypass traditional international settlement systems like SWIFT.Regulatory Hurdles: Navigating regulatory landscapes and securing necessary licenses was a significant early challenge, especially when dealing with banks that were hesitant to work with a new and unproven company.Community Trust: TransferGo's marketing strategy focuses on building trust within migrant communities, emphasizing referral-based growth and strong brand credibility.Strategic Market Entry: The company's early entry into emerging markets like Ukraine, driven by a gut feeling rather than existing data, has paid off significantly, making it the largest digital money transfer service in the region.Expansion Lessons: Daumantas reflected on the challenges of segment expansion, particularly into business clients, which required a different organizational culture and strategy than consumer-focused efforts.

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Colin Luce, CEO & Co-Founder at Basis Theory, a payments tokenization platform that has raised over $20 Million in funding.Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:Understanding Tokenization: Colin explains how Basis Theory is redefining tokenization for data security, focusing on developer-friendly tools that simplify complex compliance and security challenges.The Klarna Experience: Colin shares insights from his time at Klarna, highlighting lessons learned from scaling a European fintech giant in the U.S. market and the challenges of adapting to a different ecosystem.Founding Basis Theory: The "aha" moment for Basis Theory stemmed from the frustration Colin observed in merchants dealing with high payment processing costs and the lack of flexibility in existing systems.Vertical vs. Horizontal Focus: Colin discusses the strategic decision to initially focus on payments as a vertical before considering broader applications of their technology in other sectors like healthcare.Go-To-Market Strategy Evolution: Basis Theory shifted from a broad, horizontal approach to a more focused, vertical strategy, emphasizing the importance of a top-down sales motion in achieving early traction.Outbound Sales Success: Despite the rise of PLG (Product-Led Growth), Colin highlights the continued relevance and success of outbound sales for deep infrastructure products like Basis Theory.

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Patrick Mollard, CEO & Co-Founder of Fipto, a blockchain payments platform that has raised $16 Million in funding.Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:Origins of Fipto: Patrick identified significant gaps in international payments during his previous fintech experience. This realization led to Fipto's founding in 2022, aiming to merge traditional payment best practices with blockchain technology.Building the Platform: Fipto's journey to its first paying customer involved significant investment in product and tech, including building a core banking system and obtaining necessary licenses in France and Luxembourg.API-First Approach: Fipto initially focused on API solutions but developed a platform to better sell and demonstrate these APIs. Their ultimate goal is to integrate with third-party systems like treasury management systems.Market Education and Adoption: Educating the market on blockchain's benefits, such as speed, transparency, and cost-efficiency, has been crucial. They target early adopters and payment service providers while anticipating broader corporate adoption as regulatory clarity improves.Fundraising Insights: Patrick emphasized the importance of securing a lead investor to set the terms of the funding round, which simplifies and accelerates the fundraising process.Geographic Focus: Identifying ideal customer profiles and key payment corridors, particularly in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, has been vital for Fipto's go-to-market strategy.

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Steve Pomfret, CEO & Founder at Cygnetise, a signatory management platform that has raised $8 Million in funding.Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:Background in Operational Change: Steve spent 20 years working with large banks not as a banker but as a process expert, which laid the foundational skills for starting Cygnetise, designed to optimize signatory management processes.Transition to Entrepreneurship: The confidence to start Cygnetise emerged from Steve’s experience as a freelance consultant, which bridged his transition from an operational expert to an entrepreneur.Strategic Use of Blockchain: Rather than focusing on blockchain as a buzzword, Cygnetise leverages the technology for its immutability and efficiency, addressing specific operational inefficiencies in signatory management.Category Creation and Education: Steve emphasizes the ongoing evolution and challenge of establishing a new category in the market, highlighting the crucial role of education and adapting marketing strategies.Scaling Through Partnerships: Looking ahead, Cygnetise plans to accelerate growth by forming channel partnerships with large financial institutions and tech companies to expand its market reach dramatically.Vision for the Future: Steve envisions Cygnetise becoming a dominant player in the market through strategic partnerships and expanding its customer base across diverse geographies and industries.

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Dan Beck, CEO & Co-Founder of 401GO, a retirement benefits platform that's raised over $14 Million in funding.Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:Diverse Entrepreneurial Background: Dan has a history of starting and exiting various businesses, ranging from consumer products to consultancy in China, and even a food truck.Motivation for 401GO: Inspired by a personal finance class in college, Dan's goal was to make retirement savings accessible and easy for small businesses after struggling to set up a 401K for his employees.Simplifying Complexity: 401GO focuses on reducing the complexity and cost traditionally associated with setting up 401Ks, allowing small businesses to set up a retirement plan in just 10-15 minutes.Advisor-Centric Platform: The decision to build a platform that integrates financial advisors was crucial, providing both high-tech and high-touch service to clients.Regulatory Tailwinds: State mandates requiring small businesses to offer retirement benefits have increased demand, positioning 401GO to capitalize on this growing market.Sustainable Growth: 401GO has experienced consistent month-over-month growth of 8-10%, with a strong focus on partnerships with financial advisors and payroll companies driving this success.

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Felix Rodriguez, CEO & Founder of Finally, a finance automation platform that's raised over $110 Million in funding.Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:Vision and Rebranding: Felix shared the compelling story behind acquiring the domain "Finally" from a successful entrepreneur by pitching the vision of an all-in-one financial platform for businesses.Evolution of Tech: Comparing his first startup in 2003 to Finally, founded in 2019, Felix highlighted the advancements in technology, such as APIs and AI, which have significantly simplified and accelerated building new products.Trust in Finance Automation: Addressing the critical issue of trust, Felix emphasized the importance of accurate data ingestion and robust systems to avoid errors and build confidence with users.Target Market and Focus: Finally focuses on small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and medium-sized enterprises, aiming to simplify their financial operations by integrating multiple functions into one platform.Importance of Team and Vision: Felix underscored the significance of building a great team, having a clear vision, and executing flawlessly as key factors for success in winning the market.Inside Sales Success: Building an inside sales team has been a home run for Finally, enhancing their ability to convert leads and reduce customer acquisition costs (CAC) effectively.

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Daniele Grassi, CEO at Axyon AI, an AI platform for financial markets that has raised $5.5 Million in funding.Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:Early Passion for AI and Finance: Daniele's journey into the intersection of AI and finance began early, with him programming a stock market simulation at just eight years old. This early interest led him to pursue software engineering and eventually to the founding of Axyon AI.Specialization in Financial AI: Unlike broad AI applications, Axyon AI focuses on the specific challenges of applying deep learning and advanced machine learning techniques to financial time series, aiming to optimize financial market predictions without typical pitfalls like overfitting.Building a Startup in Modena: Known for high-performance automotive brands like Ferrari and Maserati, Modena, Italy, provided a surprisingly rich environment for AI development, with a strong engineering focus spurred by local industry demands.Challenges of Early AI Adoption: In the early days, Daniele faced significant challenges explaining what AI is and convincing stakeholders of its potential, especially following the disillusionment from the previous AI hype cycles.Impact of Generative AI on Perception: The release of more advanced AI models like ChatGPT significantly changed public perception and acceptance of AI, easing some earlier challenges Axyon faced in market education and acceptance.Vision for AI in Investment Strategies: Looking forward, Daniele sees AI becoming an indispensable component of investment strategies, not just for gaining an edge but as a fundamental necessity to compete effectively in financial markets.

Welcome to Marketing From the Front Lines, where we have unfiltered conversations with the B2B marketers who are bringing innovative technology to market. In today's episode, we're speaking with Helen Chong, Head of Growth at Puzzle, an autonomous accounting platform that has raised over $45 Million in funding.Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:Transition from Consumer to B2B Marketing: Helen discusses the similarities between consumer and B2B marketing, emphasizing the importance of understanding the target audience regardless of the sector.Founders' Needs and Market Validation: She shares her approach to understanding early-stage startup founders' needs through direct engagement, highlighting the value of creating relevant content based on these insights.Testing and Manual Processes in Marketing: Helen advocates for a hands-on approach in marketing, stressing the importance of manual processes over automation for learning and identifying issues.Partnerships as a Growth Lever: She reveals that forming partnerships has been a successful strategy for Puzzle, enabling them to leverage credibility and expand their reach effectively.Challenges with Influencer Marketing and Paid Ads: Helen shares insights into what hasn't worked for Puzzle, including influencer marketing and paid advertisements, and the importance of strategic event planning.Building a Unique Brand in Accounting Software: She discusses the challenges and strategies in making Puzzle stand out as an engaging and trustworthy brand in the accounting software category.

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that delves into GTM stories from the tech world's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're chatting with Daniel Grunstein, CEO and Co-Founder of Crowded, a digital banking platform designed specifically for nonprofits, that has raised $6.4 Million in funding.Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:Global Citizen Turned Fintech Innovator: Daniel's unique background, spanning continents and cultures, from Sweden to Australia to the US, shaped his perspective and approach to solving complex problems in the fintech space, especially for nonprofits.Identifying a Unique Market Need: The genesis of Crowded stemmed from Daniel's personal experiences with the financial disarray in large, multi-chapter nonprofits. His intimate understanding of these challenges drove him to create a solution that no one else was offering.COVID-19 as a Catalyst for Change: The pandemic played a crucial role in Daniel's decision to leave the comfort of salaried positions within established financial institutions. The constraints faced by these giants during uncertain times sparked his entrepreneurial journey.Product-Led Growth: Crowded's marketing philosophy centers around a product-led approach, highlighting the platform's unique features tailored specifically for nonprofit financial management and compliance, differentiating it from both traditional banking and modern fintech solutions.Embracing Challenges and Competition: Daniel candidly discusses the diverse competitive landscape Crowded operates within, from niche fintech startups to major banks and peer-to-peer payment platforms, outlining strategies for differentiation and success.Impactful Decisions and Team Dynamics: Key hiring decisions, particularly in leadership positions like CTO, significantly influenced Crowded's trajectory, underscoring the critical impact of assembling a driven, cohesive team on the startup's culture and success.

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from the tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Kevin Hart, CEO and Founder of Green Check Verified, a cannabis technology company that has raised $16 Million in funding. Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:Background and Expertise: Kevin brings a wealth of experience from the tech industry, having held C-level positions for four decades, taken companies public, and worked closely with VCs and private equity. This depth of experience fuels his current venture into solving financial and business service access issues in the cannabis industry.Founderitis and Portfolio Cramp: Kevin shares insights into "founderitis," a common affliction where founders can struggle with scaling and adapting their original ideas. He highlights the importance of having a strong team and clear operational goals to overcome these challenges.Transition to Cannabis Industry: Initially approached to build a point-of-sale system for the cannabis sector, Kevin's fascination grew with the financial service challenges within the industry. Green Check Verified was born from his desire to address these issues.Education and Advocacy: Kevin emphasizes the significance of educating oneself about the cannabis industry, respecting its culture, history, and the skepticism towards newcomers. He underlines the importance of contributing positively and avoiding the "green rush" mentality.Product Evolution and Market Fit: While Green Check Verified started with a focus on financial services for the cannabis industry, Kevin explains the evolution of their product suite to meet the complex regulatory and operational needs of their clients, aiming for a frictionless experience.Vision for the Future: Looking ahead, Kevin discusses the potential impacts of changes in cannabis regulation and the importance of data and operational efficiency in adapting to the evolving market. He envisions Green Check Verified playing a critical role in supporting businesses through these transitions.

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Laura Kornhauser, CEO and Co-Founder of Stratyfy, a predictive analytics and decision management solutions provider that has raised $10 Million in funding.Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:Laura's Journey to Founding Stratify: Laura shares her transition from a decade-long career at JPMorgan Chase to entrepreneurship, influenced by her engineering background and a personal mission driven by her family's entrepreneurial spirit.Inspiration from Literature: Laura discusses how "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" have significantly impacted her outlook as an entrepreneur, emphasizing lessons on societal issues and the entrepreneurial journey.Stratify's Mission: Stratyfy is focused on enabling financial institutions to better understand customer risk through advanced analytics, aiming to improve financial inclusion by addressing structural biases within the financial system.Early Challenges and Breakthroughs: Laura recounts the initial difficulty in convincing risk-averse financial institutions to adopt Stratyfy's innovative technology and the persistence required to secure their first customers.Rapid Growth and Team Expansion: Over the past year, Stratyfy has seen a 400% increase in its customer base and nearly doubled its team size, testament to the company's impactful mission and innovative technology.The Importance of Mission Alignment and Problem-Solving in Talent Attraction: Laura attributes Stratyfy's success in attracting top-tier talent to a shared commitment to their mission of financial inclusion and the opportunity to solve complex, meaningful problems.

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Julio Martinez, CEO & Co-Founder at Abacum, an FP&A platform that has raised $40 Million in funding. Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:Sabbatical Inspirations: Julio started with his transformative sabbatical in India, where he was immersed in microfinance, shaping his future perspective on business and finance.Corporate Finance Roots: Julio’s journey into finance was not planned from childhood but developed from early career choices and opportunities that emphasized rapid learning and high-pressure environments.Innovation at Banco Sabadell: Prior to Abacum, Julio led a venture builder and investment fund, initiating fintech innovations and investments across Europe and the U.S.Launching During COVID-19: Starting Abacum at the outset of the pandemic required conviction and adaptation to severe market uncertainties, shaping the company’s resilient foundation.Problem Definition and Impact: Abacum addresses the inefficiencies in financial teams’ operations by automating routine tasks, allowing focus on strategic analysis and timely decision-making.Strategic Focus on Mid-Market: From the start, Abacum targeted the mid-market segment, recognizing the specific needs and potentials for impactful solutions beyond what small businesses or large enterprises require.

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Ben Borodach, CEO and Co-Founder of April, an embedded tax solution that's raised $40 Million in funding.Topics Discussed: Ben’s background in fintech and cybersecurity, starting his first company when he was at NYU, and working at DeloitteFounders who inspire BenHow April offers taxpayers an embedded service that helps them leverage their taxes to have better financial outcomesThe current state of the market April operates in, and Ben’s view for the future of the companyWhy the most important thing to do as an entrepreneur is surrounding yourself with the best people

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Ben Goldin, CEO and Founder of Plumery, a digital engagement platform for banks that's raised $4.5 Million in funding.Topics Discussed: Ben’s background as a nerdy teenager in Lithuania and his career in tech for bankingCEOs that inspire Ben, and two books that are important to himHow Plumery helps mid-to-small size banks all over the world build delightful customer experiences and stay relevant and innovativeBen’s strategies for standing out from the competitionWhy Ben’s advice to his past self starting out would be “don’t be too serious”

In today's episode of Category Visionaries we speak with John Lunn, CEO and Founder of Gr4vy, a payment orchestration platform that's raised over $27 Million in funding.Topics Discussed: John’s background as a marine biologist who’s worked in payments for decades and helped start other companies, including PayPalJohn's most admired individuals, and sci-fi books that have influenced himWhy payments are a problem area for online retailers, and how Gr4vy helps them manage payments with ease and flexibilityThe current payment landscape, and why trying to sell a payment system to a company’s payments team is the wrong moveWhy it’s important to pick VCs that you like as people, and why John would advise his past self to grow his company slower

In today's episode of Category Visionaries we speak with Wade Arnold, CEO and Founder of Moov, an embedded payments platform that's raised $77.5 Million in funding.Topics Discussed:Wade’s background across several companies, and his frustration at payment platforms that are built on top of outdated infrastructureThe entrepreneurs and authors that most inspire WadeWhy less than 8% of SaaS companies have payments integrated into their platforms, and how Moov helps them change thatThe roller-coaster of being an entrepreneur, including getting too excited and taking premature decisionsWhy the one piece of advice Wade would give to his younger self goes against what every startup book says

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Olga Chin, CEO and Founder of InterPrice Technologies, a capital markets treasury management platform that's raised over $10 Million.Topics Discussed:Olga’s background in investment banking and her experience guiding large companies through bond transactionsWhy getting support from family and loved one can be ‘half the battle’ when it comes to building a businessThe InterPrice Technologies’ value proposition, and why treasury management can be so importantGiving clients a new way to think about the products and services in an existing category, and acquisition through familiarityCustomer evangelism and the importance of word-of-mouth to drive growth

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Swapnil Shinde, CEO and Co-Founder of Zeni, a finance operations platform that's raised over $47 Million in funding.Topics Discussed:Swapnil’s background in computer science, and starting a service that was like Spotify for Indian musicWorking together with his identical twin brotherWhy startup bookkeeping is generally fragmented, complex, and lacking in insights, and how Zeni helps solve those problemsCreating a new service category and disrupting a longstanding businessWhy fundraising becomes easier with every startup you found

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Ankit Ratan, Co-Founder and CEO of Signzy, a digital onboarding infrastructure platform that's raised over $38 Million in funding.Topics Discussed:Ankit’s financial services background, and the personal experiences which led him to found SignzyThe challenges modern banks face in transitioning to digital processes and collaborating with external ecosystems.How the conversation around digital transformations for banks shifted from uncertainty to necessityThe appeal of digital onboarding for customers and how Signzy intends to create a ‘Netflix’ experience for the banking sectorFundraising insights focused on how founders need to focus on demonstrating real-world customer problem solving 

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Kalpesh Kapadia, CEO and Founder of Deserve, a mobile-first credit card platform powering the future of credit cards. Topics Discussed:Kalpesh’s background as a mechanical engineer, his life in India in the 1980s, and his studies in the USHow his experiences as a foreign student in the US led Kalpesh to found the company that became DeserveWhat’s different about credit cards like Deserve, that run entirely on the cloud Why 99% of the credit cards still run on infrastructure from the 80s and 90s, and what problem this will be causing by 2025Working as B2C versus B2B, getting a domain name, and crisis management

In today's episode of Unicorn Builders, we speak with Arik Shtilman, CEO and Co-Founder of Rapyd, a Fintech as a service platform that's raised over $800 Million in funding, about why today’s global economy needs a new generation of payment solutions. Offering powerful fintech solutions to collect, hold and send funds across countries and between currencies with ease, Rapyd makes sure their customers have the time and resources available to focus on what matters most - building and growing their businesses.We also speak about Arik’s CEO superpowers of staying hungry and getting deep into the details, advice for early founders to focus on building a brand and boosting awareness, Rapyd’s marketing strategies, and creating a new category with ‘fintech as a service.’Topics Discussed:Lessons learned from the Israeli military The mindset Arik and his co-founders had when they founded the companyHow to deal with negative pressThe ROI of David GuettaHow one meeting saved the company from being closed Why the spray and  pray approach to fundraising doesn't work How Arik keeps him team and himself hungry and motivated Why brand awareness is everything 

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we chat with Reed Switzer, CEO of Hopscotch, an all-in-one B2B payments platform. Reed talks about his unconventional start in the B2B payments space, and how Hopscotch enables customers to achieve a frictionless payment experience by streamlining invoicing, bill pay, and cash flow management.Reed also shares his thoughts on the growth and traction the company has experienced since its launch and how they’ve been able to "rise above the noise" in a competitive market. Reed believes that building trust with customers is crucial for success. And having a high level of conviction in what you're building, and maintaining transparency are key to building a successful brand. Hopscotch achieves this through a strong brand identity, storytelling, and providing valuable content beyond their core offering. Topics Discussed:How Reed came up with the idea for Hopscotch after seeing the challenges faced by most B2B companies using antiquated payments platforms and systems that came up shortHow Hopscotch works to eliminate friction in the payment process by automating invoicing, streamlining communication between clients and vendors, and making it easy to manage cash flowReed’s experience in starting a business venture at a young age and how this helped him develop resilience and adaptability.Reed’s thoughts on maintaining a balance between vision and adaptability - the importance of staying true to your vision while being open to evolving and adapting to changes in the market.How Hopscotch aims to create its own market category by focusing on business profiles and innovative features that cater to the specific needs of their target audience.Reed’s vision for Hopscotch on becoming the control tower for small business finances, simplifying the entire finance stack, and fostering a strong community among its users.

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Sohaib Zahid, CEO and Co-Founder of Railz, an accounting data platform that's raised over $15 Million in funding, about why the future of finance needs access to data, and how they make sense of it for their customers. By connecting to major accounting, banking, and eCommerce platforms to provide quick access to normalized and analyzed financial data on small and medium-sized customers, Railz helps their clients make the right business-focused decisions in real-time.We also speak about Sohaib’s background in the medical field and how he made the transition to the tech economy through the world of hardware, new data tools transforming the financial sector, why analysis and not access has been holding it back for so long, and the vital importance of integrating trust at every level of business.Topics Discussed:Sohaib’s background in med school and what career trajectories look like for your typical ‘Asian kid’How he worked his way through a range of businesses before landing as the founder of RailzThe new data technology transforming the world of financial decision makingWhy analysis, not access, has been holding back the finance sector, and how Railz is bringing a new depth and scope of understanding to the industryHow building trust into the way your business functions operates at multiple levels between team, product, and customerWhy small business’ decisions should be based on comprehensive analysis of the entire growth cycle

In this episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Don Muir, CEO of Arc, a digitally native corporate banking platform. Don shares his journey into the world of fintech, the challenges faced by the industry, and how Arc is poised to disrupt traditional banking. He discusses Arc's mission to redefine the banking experience for tech-driven businesses by offering frictionless financial products.Topics Discussed:Don's background in finance and his decision to start Arc after noticing a gap in the market for a seamless, digital-first corporate banking experience.A preview on Arc’s algorithmic underwriting model which they use to efficiently process and synthesize raw historical financial data to make data driven funding decisions.How Arc’s explosive growth and success can be attributed to building a strong relationship with their customers, and focusing on solving real problems.The emergence of fintech in the corporate banking market and how regulatory changes are paving the way for startups like Arc to compete with traditional financial institutions.Don's vision for Arc in the next five years, including the adoption of technology-driven financial operating systems and the potential to compete with established banks.The significant shifts we can expect in the banking industry and the challenges faced by traditional banks in integrating and supporting innovative technologies.

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Stephany Kirkpatrick, CEO and Founder of Orum, an API integration platform for instant payouts that's raised over $85 Million in funding, about why the future of financial services looks fundamentally different, with everyone given the freedom to build their potential. With fully-developed financial infrastructure enabling their customers to more effectively save, manage and receive funding, Orum’s mission is to eliminate the constraints of socioeconomic status for all.We also speak about Stephany’s background in financial planning, how she became a ‘savings and payments nerd,’ why payout solutions can really help businesses grow through easier access to all important finance, why 250 million Americans are in need of a better financial system, and how to build something new based on breaking free from the status quo.Topics Discussed:Stephany’s career background as a financial planner, and how she eventually became a ‘savings and payments nerd’The current state of our financial infrastructure, and why 250 million Americans need something betterThe central role of a real-time payments network in keeping on top of a business’ finances in the modern economyHow socioeconomic status shapes our economic potential, and why Orum is on a mission to shatter those constraintsWhy Orum’s unique offering lies in its superior optimization and orchestration services for their customers

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Ron Benegbi, Founder & CEO at Uplinq,  a credit assessment and scoring platform for small business lenders that's raised over $5 Million in funding, about why small businesses the world over have been excluded from ethical credit servicing for so long, and why bringing them into the world of financial services is a great move for everyone in these uncertain economic times. By providing empirical, data based insights to support both creditors and their clients, Uplinq facilitates smart financial decision making and ultimately long term, sustainable success.We also speak about Ron’s extensive startup experience and why Uplinq is the business in which he has found the most passion, what it’s like building a business up from nothing, and why, in business, if it’s not a win-win solution, then you’re most likely looking at both parties losing out in the long run.Topics Discussed:Ron’s experience in the startup economy, and why, out of five businesses he’s started so far, Uplinq is the one he’s most passionate aboutThe critical role of small business in the modern economy, and why supporting them building a better business environment for everyoneThe challenges of financial access for small businesses, and the bureaucratic burden which they struggle to overcomeHow Uplinq uses data to empower decision makers and drive smart investment in tomorrow’s successful enterprisesWhy Ron sees the status quo as the biggest challenge to overcome, and supports other business working to change it, even Uplinq’s competitors

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Brian King, CEO of LODAS Markets, a marketplace for alternative investments that has raised $8.5 Million in funding.Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:Background in Marketplaces: Brian's extensive experience includes being part of the startup team for Bats Markets and launching Bats Europe, which is now the largest exchange in Europe.Inspiration for LODAS Markets: The idea for LODAS Markets stemmed from observing family and friends trapped in illiquid investments, motivating Brian to create a more liquid marketplace for alternative investments.Initial Traction: LODAS Markets has attracted significant buy-side interest, with over $1-$2 billion represented in the marketplace from institutional investors such as insurance companies, hedge funds, and PE firms.Overcoming Marketplace Challenges: Balancing the chicken-and-egg dilemma of attracting both buyers and sellers was a major challenge, which the company overcame by leveraging relationships with financial advisors and creating top-of-funnel strategies.Competitive Landscape: LODAS Markets faces limited competition in creating secondary markets for private real estate and private funds, distinguishing itself as an ATS (Alternative Trading System) functioning like a stock exchange for real estate.Vision for the Future: Brian envisions a future where alternative investments are interconnected through technology, making it easier for investors of all kinds to access and thrive in this market.