Money Memories

Leslie Gillin is the Chief Growth Officer of Pagaya, a lending platform that uses artificial intelligence to improve credit decision-making. Leslie shares how her mother instilled the importance of financial independence early on, and the challenges she faced around unconscious biases as a woman in the C-suite. This is an archival episode from October 2023.

A conversation with Michael Hershfield, CEO of Accrue Savings. From his humble beginnings in Canada to his entrepreneurial ventures and eventual founding of Accrue, Michael shares poignant insights into the importance of financial literacy, responsible spending, and the mission to revolutionize savings behavior in America. We talk about Michael’s lessons learned from failed ventures, and his visio...

This episode originally aired on July 13th, 2022. As a new college graduate living in New York City, Aja Evans thought she had made it. She quickly realized, however, that the weekly bottomless brunches add up. Eventually, she took control of her spending habits. Today, Aja is a licensed mental health counselor specializing in financial wellness. She shares how her personal journey informed her de...

We talk to Caesar Sengupta, the founder of Arta, a technology platform revolutionizing the world of personal finance. We delve into Caesar's background and his journey from growing up in India to studying computer science at Stanford and eventually joining Google. Caesar shares his early money memories and the shift in his mindset towards money as he discovered the financial superpowers of the ult...

Brian Barnes is the founder and CEO of the wealth management platform M1 Finance. Founded in 2015, the company uses digital tools to help customers automate the way that they invest and save. Brian shares how a stock pitch competition in school shaped his passion for investing, and how this experience later influenced his philosophy for M1. He also shares his three key tips for long-term financial...

Eryn Schultz is the founder of pHERsonal Finance Day, a platform that offers courses and content tailored to high-earning women. Eryn is a graduate of Georgetown University and Harvard Business School. She discusses what inspired her to plunge into entrepreneurship, and answers your questions about student loans. This episode is an archive episode from February 24th, 2021.

A conversation with Estelle and Stephen Cockcroft, the founders of Catamaran Guru, a boating business. They discuss their journey in yacht brokering, how their early childhood experiences in South Africa inspired them on their quest to sail around the world, and the key to a harmonious business and personal relationship.

Nico Simko is the founder and CEO of Clair, a digital banking app that allows customers to access funds from their paycheck sooner. Nico built Clair on one simple premise; if you can send money instantly to your friends via Venmo, then why can’t you receive your paycheck as soon as you complete a job? Nico discusses how his multicultural Swiss upbringing shaped his views on money, his journey into...

Drew Breneman is the founder and CEO of the real estate platform, Breneman Capital. Drew shares how his initial journey into real estate began with a successful online business in high school. A business which, over time, evolved into a $200 million portfolio. Drew discusses why he believes that real estate is still a meaningful tool for building long-term wealth, and the number one thing that he...

Leslie Gillin is the Chief Growth Officer of Pagaya, a lending platform that uses artificial intelligence to improve credit decision-making. Leslie shares how her mother instilled the importance of financial independence early on, and the challenges she faced around unconscious biases as a woman in the C-suite.

Chase Allen is a South Carolina-based iron artist. He discusses his transition from real estate marketing to founding his artistic venture, Iron Fish Art. Raised by a single mother, he recalls early financial struggles and being inspired by creative trailblazers. In spite of skepticism, he dived into his passion for metalworking, even funding his business through credit cards. Chase's story emphas...

Joe Percoco is the CEO and founder of the wealth management fintech Titan, which aims to provide elite capital management for everyday Americans. Joe shares his upbringing in a small New Jersey town, his earliest money memory of receiving a bond as a gift, and how his experience as an outsider working on Wall Street inspired him to develop a solution to empower individuals with better investment s...

Steve Carlin is the CEO of AiFi, an AI platform that enables retailers to scale autonomous shopping solutions. Although Steve began his career working with consumer products, he eventually found his calling working with cutting-edge technology firms. Steve shares the financial lessons he has held onto along the way, and why it's never a bad idea to ride the career "brontosaurus."

A 2021 study by the Human Rights Campaign found that LGBTQ+ individuals are 6 percentage points more likely to live in poverty and that they earn, on average, approximately 89 cents for every dollar earned by their non-LGBTQ+ counterparts. Money Memories is celebrating pride month and re-airing this conversation with the Berlin-based drag artist Karlie Kant. Karlie shares the financial challenges...

Conversations around financial independence can often feel exclusionary. Much of the personal finance content that is available seems like it caters to people who haven't faced financial hardships. This week's guest, Alex Shapero, is a public high school teacher. Alex shares his emotional response to seeing large sums of debt, and the importance of balancing financial growth with self-care.

Today, 34% of Americans are "credit invisible;" They lack access to basic lending products such as credit cards. Upstart is on a mission to change that. The fintech platform uses AI models to improve access to affordable credit. In this conversation with CEO and co-founder David Girouard, we discuss how his humble upbringing opened his eyes to the challenges the financial challenges that typical A...

Reem Kassis is an award-winning Palestinian writer whose work focuses on the intersection of food, history, and politics. Her cookbook, “The Arabesque Table,” has received rave reviews and was listed on the New York Times' Best Cookbooks of 2021. Reem talks about how she was able to overcome cultural taboos around money talks, and why she is teaching her daughters the importance of self-worth. Ree...

Stefanie O'Connell Rodriguez is a personal finance writer and host of the Real Simple podcast "Money Confidential." She describes how her upbringing as a child of immigrant parents influenced her attitude around frugality, and made her realize that the common discourse around money didn't speak to her experience. Plus, we talk about why the common recommendation for emergency fund savings might no...

Chris Ramos is a personal finance aficionado. Chris received his undergraduate degree from Virginia Tech University, and proceeded to work in government for several years before deciding to pursue an MBA. He was admitted to the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, and faced a conundrum: attend a prestigious school and take on debt, or forgo the opportunity to avoid the expense? We talk about how...

Miguel Fernandez is the founder of Capchase, a fintech platform that provides financing for software-as-a-service ("SaaS") companies. Miguel shares some of the biggest mistakes he made as a startup founder, and how those lessons helped Capchase raise almost $1 billion in financing. He also shares how growing up in Spain influenced his views on risk aversion, and who he is supporting in this World...

Did you know that 13% of US drivers are uninsured? This week’s guest, Murray Macdonald, is on a mission to change that. Murray is the co-founder of the insurtech company Just Insure, which aims to provide affordable coverage using advanced data analytics. Murray grew up in South Africa, and talks about how witnessing extreme income disparities influenced his belief in the importance of equal acces...

Jake Blum is not only an esteemed host of his own podcast, called Quakers and Makers, he’s also a financial planner with Northwestern Mutual. Jake shares what his keys to financial wellness are, and his journey from investment banking on Wall Street to running his own business.

Elizabeth a recent college graduate and creator of the platform MyTwoCentsFinance. While she was a full-time student, Elizabeth saved more than $20,000 that helped her achieve her goal of living in Spain after graduation. She shares her strategies for financial planning, and why setting ambitious "stretch" goals is an important step in this process.

Shay Bloch is a serial entrepreneur from Tel Aviv, Israel. Currently, he is the CEO of Jobox.ai, which is a platform that connects individuals freelance home services professionals. Shay shares what his biggest financial obstacle was as CEO, the toughest decisions he has had to make, and why sometimes, even money isn't enough to solve your problems.

Pinaman Owusu-Banahene is the founder and CEO of Adjoaa, an online fashion marketplace that highlights African designers. A graduate of the London School of Economics, Pinaman spent her childhood between Ghana and New Zealand. Although she initially began her career in public policy, she has since pivoted into the world of entrepreneurship, where she leverages her global perspective to connect cus...