What The Heck, Fintech

💬 In this special two-part episode of What the Heck, Fintech? (Fintech is FinLife), Robert Sarnie sits down with Chris Houlihan, a 35-year veteran of Fidelity Investments and now a global innovation leader at MassChallenge. 💼 Chris unpacks how Massachusetts is a powerhouse for fintech, why startup ecosystems matter, and how talent, technology, academia, and transformation collide to shape the fu...

💬 In this special two-part episode of What the Heck, Fintech? (Fintech is FinLife), Robert Sarnie sits down with Chris Houlihan, a 35-year veteran of Fidelity Investments and now a global innovation leader at MassChallenge. 💼 Chris unpacks how Massachusetts is a powerhouse for fintech, why startup ecosystems matter, and how talent, technology, academia, and transformation collide to shape the fu...

In this episode of What the Heck, Fintech, we sat down with Mike Nugent and had a Fin-tastic time as he unpacked the forces shaping tomorrow’s fintech. With a career spanning NASDAQ, HarbourVest, SVG Capital, and the founding of Bison. Co, Mike has lived every side of finance — from analyst to entrepreneur to venture capitalist. Today, as Co-Founder & General Partner of BPS Ventures, he’s back...

In this episode of What the Heck, Fintech, we sat down with Mike Nugent and had a Fin-tastic time as he unpacked the forces shaping tomorrow’s fintech. With a career spanning NASDAQ, HarbourVest, SVG Capital, and the founding of Bison. Co, Mike has lived every side of finance — from analyst to entrepreneur to venture capitalist. Today, as Co-Founder & General Partner of BPS Ventures, he’s back...

In this episode of What the Heck, Fintech, we sit down and have a Fin-tastic discussion with Mark Zheng, Founder & Executive Director of TopContenders Network, a dynamic platform dedicated to empowering transformative startups. Mark explains how TopContenders identifies and scales breakthrough ventures by providing mentorship, funding opportunities, and access to industry leaders, while also s...

In this episode of What the Heck, Fintech, we sit down and have a Fin-tastic discussion with Mark Zheng, Founder & Executive Director of TopContenders Network, a dynamic platform dedicated to empowering transformative startups. Mark explains how TopContenders identifies and scales breakthrough ventures by providing mentorship, funding opportunities, and access to industry leaders, while also s...

In this episode of What the Heck, Fintech, we sit down with the Fin-tastic leadership team from Gemsen — Charlie Ko (Co-founder & CEO), Aoife Manley (Co-founder & COO), and Ezra Levine (Chief Strategy Officer). Financial institutions are swimming in data but starving for insights. Gemsen is solving this paradox by helping organizations unlock data faster, cheaper, and more securely. Gemsen...

In this episode of What the Heck, Fintech, we sit down with the Fin-tastic leadership team from Gemsen — Charlie Ko (Co-founder & CEO), Aoife Manley (Co-founder & COO), and Ezra Levine (Chief Strategy Officer). Financial institutions are swimming in data but starving for insights. Gemsen is solving this paradox by helping organizations unlock data faster, cheaper, and more securely. Gemsen...

In this episode, we had a Fin-tastic talk with Austin Zhou. Austin was not only a standout fintech student but also a dedicated basketball player at WPI. After earning both his BS & MS, he went pro in Fintech at Fidelity Investments. You will hear his great stories, insights, and learnings on growing up in fintech. Hearing Austin share his stories, amazing approaches, and thoughts on how he le...

In this episode, we continued our talk with Austin Zhou. Austin was not only a standout fintech student but also a dedicated basketball player at WPI. After earning both his BS & MS, he went pro in Fintech at Fidelity Investments. You will hear his great stories, insights, and learnings on growing up in fintech. Hearing Austin share his stories, amazing approaches, and thoughts on how he learn...

In this episode, we had a Fin-tastic talk with Marcel Blais. Marcel shares his great perspectives and stories as a 20+ year professor at WPI in Mathematical Sciences, Data Science, and as an advisor for many capstone fintech student projects. He also explains the importance of quantitative finance and project-based learning in real-world industry environments, and how this approach is deeply conne...

In this episode, we continued our talk with Marcel Blais. Marcel shares his great perspectives and stories as a 20+ year professor at WPI in Mathematical Sciences, Data Science, and as an advisor for many capstone fintech student projects. He also explains the importance of quantitative finance and project-based learning in real-world industry environments, and how this approach is deeply connecte...

In this episode, we had a Fin-tastic talk with Ken Mooney. Ken was a successful senior financial services executive with over thirty years of lending and credit experience across various disciplines and industries. He is also a fintech/blockchain professor at Suffolk University, an angel investor, a board member, an advisor, a coach, a mentor, an all-around fintech enthusiast, and more. You will h...

In this episode, we continued our talk with Ken Mooney. Ken was a successful senior financial services executive with over thirty years of lending and credit experience across various disciplines and industries. He is also a fintech/blockchain professor at Suffolk University, an angel investor, a board member, an advisor, a coach, a mentor, an all-around fintech enthusiast, and more. You will hear...

In this episode, we had a Fin-tastic talk with Jagathi Gururajan. Jagathi is the founder of Fintech Women, a Global Executive, Strategic Advisor, Business Transformation Leader, Technologist, Board Member, and an impactful player in the Fintech ecosystem. You will be amazed at Jagathi's thoughtful commitment and determination to drive success and to develop future leaders for all fintech women (an...

In this episode, we continued our talk with Jagathi Gururajan. Jagathi is the founder of Fintech Women, a Global Executive, Strategic Advisor, Business Transformation Leader, Technologist, Board Member, and an impactful player in the Fintech ecosystem. You will be amazed at Jagathi's thoughtful commitment and determination to drive success and to develop future leaders for all fintech women (a...

In this episode, we had a Fin-tastic talk with Ian Sheridan. Ian is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Vestigo Ventures, bringing over 30 years of deep expertise in business innovation, startup growth, turnaround strategies, and transformative financial solutions. His career began on the NYSE and was further shaped at Goldman Sachs, setting a foundation for his impactful work across the Wealth a...

In this episode, we continued our talk with Ian Sheridan. Ian is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Vestigo Ventures, bringing over 30 years of deep expertise in business innovation, startup growth, turnaround strategies, and transformative financial solutions. His career began on the NYSE and was further shaped at Goldman Sachs, setting a foundation for his impactful work across the Wealth and...

In this episode, we had a Fin-tastic talk with Mohammed Dastigir. Mohammed is well-known and a key player in the Fintech ecosystem. Mohammed collaborates across the industry by coaching, mentoring, and leading fintech programs to take us all to the next level. When Mohammed shares his great fintech stories, background, experiences, and learnings in his fun and energetic way, you will be pumped to...

In this episode, we continued our talk with Mohammed Dastigir. Mohammed is well-known and a key player in the Fintech ecosystem. Mohammed collaborates across the industry by coaching, mentoring, and leading fintech programs to take us all to the next level. When Mohammed shares his great fintech stories, background, experiences, and learnings in his fun and energetic way, you will be pumped to joi...

In this episode, we continued our talk with Ian Cain. Ian is a Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of QUBIC Labs, City Council President of Quincy, MA, and the host and organizer of Boston Blockchain Week. The perspectives, insights, and stories Ian shares are truly remarkable, touching on topics such as regulation, politics, blockchain, and more. Ian's blockchain and leadership stories and expe...

In this episode, we had a Fin-tastic talk with Ian Cain. Ian is a Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of QUBIC Labs, City Council President of Quincy, MA, and the host and organizer of Boston Blockchain Week. The perspectives, insights, and stories Ian shares are truly remarkable, touching on topics such as regulation, politics, blockchain, and more. Ian's blockchain and leadership stories and e...

In this episode, we continued our talk with Debora Jackson. Debora is an Academic administrator, executive, technologist, consultant, author, and pastor (Yes, I said pastor). When Debora was the Dean of the Business School at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), she launched the Fintech BS, MS, and PhD degree programs, making WPI the first university in the US to offer a triple stack Fintech pro...

In this episode, we had a Fin-tastic talk with Debora Jackson. Debora is an Academic administrator, executive, technologist, consultant, author, and pastor (Yes, I said pastor). When Debora was the Dean of the Business School at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), she launched the Fintech BS, MS, and PhD degree programs, making WPI the first university in the US to offer a triple stack Fintech...

In this episode, we had a Fin-tastic talk with Jay Ash. Jay, for many years, has been an economic leader in Massachusetts. Jay has been the City Manager of Chelsea, Housing and Economic Secretary under Massachusetts Governor Baker, Board member of Mass Fintech Hub, and now President & CEO at Massachusetts Competitive Partnership. The history, insights, and leadership stories Jay shares are tru...