Cambrian Fintech with Rex Salisbury

My Fintech Newsletter for more interviews and the latest insights: ↪︎ https://rexsalisbury.substack.com/ In this episode, Nubank co-founder Christina shares how they built a $70B fintech giant serving 99M users—60% of Brazil's primary banking relationships. From launching Brazil's first purple credit card to surviving regulatory crises, conquering Mexico/Colombia, and now applying for a US bank ch...

My Fintech Newsletter for more interviews and the latest insights: ↪︎ https://rexsalisbury.substack.com/ In this episode, Anthropic’s Nicholas Lin explains how vertical AI agents are reshaping financial services, from building real-time investment models to automating data analysis for some of the world’s largest funds. We explore why finance was chosen as Anthropic’s first enterprise vertical, th...

My Fintech Newsletter for more interviews and the latest insights: ↪︎ https://rexsalisbury.substack.com/ In this episode, I sit down with Stevie Case from Vanta, a former pro gamer turned chief revenue officer, to discuss how AI is transforming the entire go-to-market function in B2B SaaS. Stevie shares insights on building agile sales organizations, how AI supercharges human roles rather than rep...

My Fintech Newsletter for more interviews and the latest insights: ↪︎ https://rexsalisbury.substack.com/ Figure’s CEO Michael Tannenbaum shares how blockchain is transforming home equity and mortgage lending following one of the year’s biggest IPOs. Learn about Figure’s journey from a contrarian startup to market leader, real asset tokenization, and rapid loan closures. Explore how partners use th...

My Fintech Newsletter for more interviews and the latest insights: ↪︎ https://rexsalisbury.substack.com/ Chaos in the global supply chain and big regulatory shifts set the stage as Ryan Petersen, founder and CEO of Flexport, explains how his team steered through COVID disruptions, rapid growth, and major pivots. Learn how Flexport tackled crises, restructured after setbacks, and built fintech prod...

My Fintech Newsletter for more interviews and the latest insights: ↪︎ https://rexsalisbury.substack.com/ In this episode, Jack, founder of Airwallex, shares his journey—from working odd jobs in Australia to leading a company that rejected a $1.2B acquisition offer from Stripe and now generates close to $900M in annual revenue. Jack reveals how Airwallex evolved through three distinct phases—from F...

In this episode, we sit down with Lex Sokolin, a fintech veteran and founder of Generative Ventures, to unpack the latest in tokenized assets, crypto infrastructure, and the future of payments. Lex shares his insights on Robinhood's controversial OpenAI token launch, the evolution of security tokens, and why fintech giants like Stripe and Coinbase are racing to build AI-native payment systems. We...

In this episode, we sit down with Johnny Ayers, founder and CEO of Socure, to uncover why government fraud rates remain stubbornly high compared to the private sector—and what it will take to fix them. Johnny shares lessons from working with 17 of the nation’s 20 largest banks, state and federal agencies, and over 600 fintechs. Together, we explore the flaws in identity infrastructure, the challen...

In this episode, Denise Leonhard, CEO of Early Warning (the company behind Zelle), joins us to discuss her journey from American Express and PayPal to leading one of the largest real-time payment networks in the US. Denise shares how Zelle became a $1 trillion powerhouse, what makes it different from other P2P networks, and how it’s expanding into small business payments. We dive into Zelle’s uniq...

In this episode, I sit down with René Lacerte, founder and CEO of Bill. René shares his entrepreneurial journey from growing up in a fintech family to building one of the most successful SMB financial platforms. We dive into his failed pitch to Intuit that led to his first company, why he parted ways with PayCycle to start Bill, and how he navigated the company through the Great Recession while de...

In this episode, I sit down with Jason Gardner, founder and CEO of Marqeta. Jason shares his journey from the early days of San Francisco's tech scene through building a modern card issuing platform that serves companies like Cash App, DoorDash, and Affirm. We dive into the big pivot that almost broke the company, how DoorDash became their defining customer, and the challenges of scaling a fintech...

In this episode I sit down with Wade Foster, the founder and CEO of Zapier. We explore Zapier’s unique path, from building its first integrations on nights and weekends in Missouri to scaling with minimal funding through Y Combinator. Wade shares how “don’t hire till it hurts” became a guiding mantra, why Zapier embraced remote work early on, and how the rise of AI is unlocking new automation poss...

In this episode, I sit down with Seema, a partner on the Andreessen Horowitz Fintech Team, to explore how AI is transforming accounting. We uncover why 75% of accountants may retire over the next decade and how AI could relieve shortages by streamlining data ingestion, research, reporting, and client advising. Seema also shares insights from her comprehensive market map on AI in accounting, along...

In this episode, I sit down with Leif, Co-founder and Co-CEO at Public, an investing platform built for people who take investing seriously. We discuss how Public raised $400 million, doubled its user base in just 48 hours, and evolved beyond commission-free trading to offer options, treasuries, bonds, and more. Leif shares their no-payment-for-order-flow approach, emphasizing transparency and tru...

In this episode I sit down with Peter Walker, head of insights at Carta, to discuss the sweeping changes in how founders are building and funding startups in 2024. Peter shares fresh data on AI’s outsized influence across every stage, why more founders are bootstrapping, and the real story behind down rounds and bridge rounds. We also dive into founder ownership trends, vesting schedules, and why...

In this episode Rex chats with Sheel Mohnot from Better Tomorrow Ventures. Sheel shares his journey of living on a dollar a day in India, founding and selling multiple companies (including one sparked by a chance meeting on a train), and even hosting nine weddings—one of them sponsored by Taco Bell in the metaverse. They dive into Sheel’s evolving personal finance stack, from traditional banks to...

In this episode, we dive into fintech and commerce enablement with Jay Ganatra, one of the founders of Infinity Ventures. Learn how this former PayPal Ventures team brings expertise in payments, lending, risk, and financial infrastructure to back the next generation of startups. We explore the backstory of PayPal Ventures, the challenges and opportunities in fintech investments, and why corporate...

Last week, I had an insightful podcast interview with Hamel Kothari, the co-founder and CTO of Brigit. We discussed how they've grown to over $100M in revenue, 1 million paying subscribers, and stayed profitable for more than two years. Brigit has built one of the top financial apps, ranking above companies like Barclays and Robinhood in the App Store. In the episode, we explore how they thrived i...

In this episode, I sit down with Avlok Kohli, CEO of AngelList, at their San Francisco headquarters. Avlok shares how AngelList responded to the 2022 market crash, shifting from a heavy reliance on SPVs to diversifying their product offerings, including rolling funds and venture fund management tools. He discusses the strategic decisions that led to AngelList's current success, insights on launchi...

In this episode, I sit down with James Dyett, head of platform at OpenAI. James discusses how AI is revolutionizing finance, with insights from clients like Morgan Stanley and Klarna. Learn how Morgan Stanley uses AI to improve wealth management and how Klarna has automated two-thirds of its customer service tasks. We also touch on Oscar Health and Nubank, exploring how AI enhances their operation...

In this episode, I sit down with Renaud Laplanche, founder and CEO of Upgrade. Renaud talks about his move from Lending Club to starting Upgrade, focusing on innovation in consumer fintech. He shares insights on the unique features of the Upgrade Card, the strategic partnerships with credit unions, and the future of consumer finance. We dive into his strategies for building successful fintech comp...

Keith Rabois is back at Khosla after leaving Founders Fund. In this episode, Keith discusses his return, why he focuses on seed investing, his most courageous bet, his biggest mistakes (deciding which meetings to take) and more. He also shares insights on evaluating founders, the intricacies of startup success, and his approach to investing.

Find out why Itai Damti (the founder and CEO of Unit) hates the word BAAS. We take a deep dive into his mindset and what got him to where he is today.

Join us for a captivating chat with Zach, Plaid's visionary founder and CEO. Plaid stands at the forefront of fintech innovation, linking financial institutions with apps to revolutionize banking and finance. From its early days in San Francisco to becoming a key player in fintech, Plaid's journey reflects the sector's rapid evolution. Zach guides us through Plaid's milestones—from filling a vital...

Pete Flint is a prominent figure in the technology and real estate industries, best known for his co-founding role at Trulia and his involvement with NFX, a venture capital firm. As one of the co-founders of Trulia, a real estate platform that gained widespread popularity, Flint played a pivotal role in revolutionizing the way people search for homes online. His entrepreneurial spirit and innovati...