Tearsheet Podcast: Exploring Financial Services Together

Welcome to the Tearsheet Podcast. I’m Tearsheet editor in chief, Zack Miller. Today’s guest is Zack Gipson, who runs Charles Schwab’s digital investor solutions. We talked in depth about Schwab’s Stock Slices, the firm’s fractional share product. Together with a new investor starter kit, the incumbent is reaching a new investor base, younger and earlier in their journeys. Zack shares how the produ...

Welcome to the first episode of Power of Payments, Tearsheet’s new bi-weekly podcast. Host Ismail Umar takes you through the recent developments in the world of payments and their wider implications for the industry. In the inaugural episode, we talk about the changing relationship between BNPL and credit scores, cryptocurrency payroll, Apple’s new Tap to Pay feature, and ‘Save Now, Pay Later’ --...

Welcome to the Tearsheet Podcast. I’m Tearsheet editor in chief, Zack Miller. We’re at an inflection point right now when it comes to blockchain technology. There are a handful of technology partners that, instead of bypassing the traditional financial industry, are working together with it. Anchorage is one of those firms. As the sole digital asset firm with a national banking license, it works w...

Welcome to the Tearsheet Podcast. I’m Tearsheet editor in chief, Zack Miller. Many of the firms we cover are moving towards becoming a one-stop-shop for their customers. Looking to deeply service their constituency, they’re converging on becoming banks – whether or not they actually have a license. At least, they look and smell like banks. Fundbox, a provider of financial services to small busines...

Welcome to the Tearsheet Podcast. I’m Tearsheet editor in chief, Zack Miller. I like to say that it takes a village to raise a fintech firm. You can really see the power of the ecosystem when it comes to successful companies in our space like Square and Plaid. Lloyed Lobo has seen first hand the power of having an audience. Launched in a spare bedroom with pizza nights, the community he co-founded...

In this episode of The Challengers, Josh Liggett and Zack Miller explore Sofi's move to get a bank charter and what it may mean for the company, as well as for its platform business, Galileo. Josh and Zack talk about N26's recent admission that in a push to globalize, it missed the move to crypto. . Lastly, your hosts discuss the UK's Starling Bank and its move to become a platform. Josh and Zack...

Welcome to the Tearsheet Podcast. I’m Tearsheet editor in chief, Zack Miller. Some of the largest banks in the US have active venture investing arms. They may differ in how they’re structured but for firms like Truist, their fintech portfolios are about getting a seat at the table with innovative firms. Partnerships are important, as well as insights into their portfolio companies’ product develop...

Welcome to the Tearsheet Podcast. I’m Tearsheet’s editor in chief, Zack Miller. If you want to understand just how imperative it is for banks – particularly community banks – to move to digital, you’re going to want to listen to Dan O’Malley. Dan’s a co-founder and CEO of Numerated, a firm that digitizes the loan experience. He’s working with over 100 FIs who he believes are finally getting the go...

The following was produced by Tearsheet Studios. We worked with small business lender BlueVine to produce a four part series on creating financial solutions serving historically underserved small businesses. In this episode, Tearsheet editor in chief Zack Miller spoke with Herman Man, CPO of BlueVine, about the importance of customer-product fit, and what’s next for digital-first banking solutions...

Welcome to the Tearsheet Podcast. I’m Tearsheet’s editor in chief, Zack Miller. 2022 is here and I’m beginning to meet and talk to a growing number of embedded finance platforms that may be new brands but have deeper, longer roots in the space. Tern is one of those companies. Brion Bonkowski is the founder and CEO of Tern. Tern’s a low code/no code embedded finance platform that provides onboardin...

Welcome to the Tearsheet Podcast. I’m your host, Tearsheet’s editor in chief, Zack Miller. This following is part of a new series we’re running. It’s called the Big Bank Theory, and it’s all about the future of banking. We see three options going forward: in the march towards digital, people will gravitate towards the digital arms of incumbent banks, give their business to new upstart challenger b...

Welcome to the Tearsheet Podcast. I’m Tearsheet editor in chief, Zack Miller. 2021 was a year for payroll data. Payroll data continues to open up new possibilities and use cases, tapping into sources of income. While data matters, we’re also seeing payroll providers themselves move into fintech. Gusto services 200,000 businesses and teans with modern payroll, benefits, and HR. Gusto has also moved...

Welcome to the Tearsheet Podcast. I'm Tearsheet's editor in chief, Zack Miller. If data is the underpinning of modern finance, payroll data is expanding the pie. Early data firms like Plaid, MX, and Finicity made it easier for lenders and other fintech apps to access banking data. But now, firms like Pinwheel and Argyle are opening up payroll data. Traditional W2 work is evolving in the gig econom...

Welcome to the Tearsheet Podcast. I’m your host, Tearsheet’s editor in chief, Zack Miller. This following is part of a new series we’re running. It’s called the Big Bank Theory, and it’s all about the future of banking. We see three options going forward: in the march towards digital, people will gravitate towards the digital arms of incumbent banks, give their business to new upstart challenger b...

This following is part of a new series we’re running. It’s called the Big Bank Theory, and it’s all about the future of banking. We see three options going forward: in the march towards digital, people will gravitate towards the digital arms of incumbent banks, give their business to new upstart challenger banks, or the biggest opportunity, which is to bank with the brands they love. The following...

The following was produced by Tearsheet Studios. We worked with Q2, a digital banking software company, to create a four part podcast series on the interplay between banks and fintechs. The world of embedded finance, and Banking as a Service in particular, are made up of three pillars: banking, product, and platform. To make a truly good BaaS product, each one should be delivered by its own expert...

Welcome to the Tearsheet Podcast. I’m your host, Tearsheet’s editor in chief, Zack Miller. This following is part of a new series we’re running. It’s called the Big Bank Theory, and it’s all about the future of banking. We see three options going forward: in the march towards digital, people will gravitate towards the digital arms of incumbent banks, give their business to new upstart challenger b...

Welcome to the Tearsheet Podcast. I’m Tearsheet’s editor in chief, Zack Miller. While we use the term challenger bank to refer to many of today’s top competitors in digital banking, the truth is very few are actually chartered banks. They are a user experience layer on top of an incumbent bank’s infrastructure. Not Piermont Bank. Started in 2019, Piermont is a fully chartered commercial bank. It u...

Welcome to the Tearsheet Podcast. I’m your host, Tearsheet’s editor in chief, Zack Miller. This following is part of a new series we’re running. It’s called the Big Bank Theory, and it’s all about the future of banking. We see three options going forward: in the march towards digital, people will gravitate towards the digital arms of incumbent banks, give their business to new upstart challenger b...

What it would take for FIs to embrace DeFi by Tearsheet

The following was produced by Tearsheet Studios. We worked with Fiserv, a financial services technology company, to create a four part podcast series on the role and changing nature of data aggregation in the financial industry. You can read and listen to the first episode on the Tearsheet website. In this episode, we spoke with Paul Diegelman, VP of Fiserv side by side with the president and COO...

Welcome to the Tearsheet Podcast. I’m Tearsheet editor in chief, Zack Miller. I’m excited to share with you some news about our upcoming online conference, The Big Bank Theory. This year, we’ve combined two of our tent pole events: Challengers and Embedded into a single event, November 10-12. We’ve assembled the top companies and professionals creating and scaling this generation and next generati...

Welcome to the Tearsheet Podcast. I’m Tearsheet editor in chief, Zack Miller. During the pandemic, many for-profit companies and startups started creating digital tools to help people manage and save their money -- things like getting access to products and services that support their financial health, like financial coaching. At the same time, underserved and low-income consumers -- typically lef...

Welcome to the Tearsheet Podcast. I’m Tearsheet editor in chief, Zack Miller. Twilio sits behind the scenes of today’s slick onboarding and login experiences. The tech firm gives its customers the ability to embed communications into their offerings. Twilio’s few lines of code help with two factor authentication -- where you receive an SMS to your phone after logging into an app or website, all th...

Nigel Vaz, CEO of Publicis Sapient, is our guest today on the Tearsheet Podcast. As the head of a multinational organization working with top financial services brands like Goldman Sachs and Bank of America, Nigel has seen digital transformation up close. He's written a book about it, too -- Digital Business Transformation: How Established Companies Sustain Competitive Advantage From Now to Next....