The Founders Peak Podcast

Dushyant is the Managing Director of Rosenblatt Securities’ FinTech Investment Banking group on Wall Street. With a stellar career spanning 25 years in the finance industry, Dushyant is a seasoned banker with a keen eye for the winds of change in money. In this episode, get ready to dive into Dushyant's journey and discover the insights he's gained as a Fellow at MIT Sloan, guest lecturer at prest...

Salim is the CEO & Co-Founder of Pave Bank, a trailblazing digital bank for the new financial era. With a background that includes leading BigPay to success as one of Southeast Asia's largest neobanks, Salim is a visionary in programmable money and regulated digital assets. In this episode, Salim shares his expertise honed through years of experience in banking, payment technology, and fintech...

Geoff Ira is a financial maven with 15 years of industry immersion. From weathering the storm of the 2008 financial crisis to pioneering client onboarding for digital banks and blockchain enterprises, Geoff's journey is one of resilience and innovation. In 2020, inspired by lessons from the pandemic, Geoff ventured into the insurtech startup ecosystem. Rising from Risk Lead to Chief Risk Officer,...

Abhijit a first-time founder with a remarkable evolution in entrepreneurship. From a graduate at India's top commerce colleges to an international-level chess player representing India, Abhijit's journey is nothing short of inspiring. In this episode, Abhijit shares the invaluable lessons he's learned over the past 3 years. From the importance of self-awareness to the realities of entrepreneurship...

Sucharita is the co-founder and CEO of Kaleidofin, a fintech platform championing "Finance for Freedom." With a passion for financial inclusion, Sucharita's journey is a testament to transforming the landscape of banking. In this episode, we uncover Sucharita's story of co-founding the IFMR group and building innovative financial solutions for the underbanked. Recognised as one of India's 'Top 40...

Cherie Wang is the founder of Planner Bee and is on a quest to simplify and automate insurance planning for everyone. As a Chartered Financial Advisor with 14 years of experience, Cherie ranks in the top 5% globally, bringing practical strategies to navigate financial pitfalls. In this episode, we delve into Cherie's journey of streamlining the complex world of insurance planning. Discover how her...

Young is the Managing Director of ZA Tech Global for the SEA market. A key member of the founding team since 2018, Young has spearheaded ZA's expansion into the SEA market, forging strategic partnerships with major ecosystems and insurers in the region. Young's journey began as an engineer at PayPal. Over the past decade, he has immersed himself in the realms of online payments, banking, and insur...

Hiro is the founder and CEO of Wallex, a cutting-edge cross-border payments fintech company. With Wallex acquired by M-DAQ in 2022, Hiro's leadership has seen the company flourish with over 150 employees across Singapore, Indonesia, and Hong Kong. Transitioning from his role as a VC investor, Hiro founded Wallex in 2016, bringing a unique perspective to the table. His experiences with GREE Venture...

Ian Huang is the Founder, CEO & Chief Architect of ParallelChain Lab. With a track record as a technologist, Ian boasts 10 blockchain patents and a wealth of experience. From leadership roles in tech giants like Tektronix, Northrop Grumman, and DEC, to founding XNET Technology (Santa Clara), which went public on NASDAQ in just 4 years, Ian's expertise is unparalleled. In this episode, we dive...

Nuraizah is a multi-award-winning technopreneur and serial entrepreneur. With a background in Electrical Engineering, Nuraizah began her career in engineering and R&D with industry giants like Motorola and Nokia. Since founding her first company in 2006, she now leads Madcat World, a software development powerhouse, and Madcash, a groundbreaking Fintech focused on empowering women with micro-b...

Formerly the Senior Vice President & Head of Payments for First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), Ramana spearheaded the creation of groundbreaking solutions. His legacy includes pioneering lifecycle solutions for corporates, from merchant acquiring to government solutions, prepaid services, remittances, and the UAE's trailblazing digital wallet - Payit. In this episode, we delve into the transformative p...

Mishal's inspiring journey of founding Trukkr, Pakistan's pioneering embedded finance platform for the logistics industry, is a testament to innovation and impact. Trukkr stands at the forefront, offering small- and medium-sized trucking companies in Pakistan unparalleled transport management and supply chain solutions. What sets Trukkr apart is its groundbreaking fintech integration, bringing dig...

Manuel is a pioneering force in Brazil's booming fintech sector. Today, Kanastra unveils a remarkable $13 million seed funding round, propelling its mission to revolutionise infrastructure solutions for the country's innovative startups. Manuel's journey to Kanastra was sparked by the frustrations he and his co-founders faced in the debt finance sector. Prior to this groundbreaking venture, Manuel...

Vladimira is a visionary at the forefront of financial wellness in emerging markets. A Forbes-awarded serial entrepreneur, Vladimira's journey from Slovakia to impacting 230 million lives in Pakistan breaks stereotypes and inspires change. Co-founding Neem in Pakistan, Vladimira embarked on a mission to revolutionise financial well-being for millions. Her innovative approach has not gone unnoticed...

An Economist and MBA, Matthew's diverse career spans 7 years in Tokyo's FX business and the launch of multiple online retail ventures. Delving into the heart of innovation, he spearheaded groundbreaking initiatives at KBC, including Europe's pioneering blockchain application at Bolero Crowdfunding. Co-founding SettleMint in 2016, Matthew embarked on a mission to simplify blockchain adoption for en...

Our guest on this episode is a serial fintech entrepreneur, and acclaimed blockchain author. Delve into his journey as he shares insights from his ventures, notably at Brú Finance where he revolutionised finance for farmers, tokenizing over US $600 million in crops. A Forbes 30 under 30 Asia honoree and Ethereum Foundation Fellow, Abhishek discusses the evolution of fintech for the underserved, sp...

Walter de Oude is the brilliant mind behind Singlife and Chocolate Finance. He presents a revolutionary approach to savings. Say goodbye to traditional fixed deposits—Chocolate Finance offers unparalleled returns without the usual hurdles. It's a testament to Walter's belief that everyone deserves financial growth to enrich their lives. Before Chocolate, Walter founded and steered Singapore Life (...

Prithvi Rai, the visionary behind Borneo Data, champions a mission to empower companies in their quest for 'Securing user trust' using Borneo's real-time data security and privacy observability platform. With an illustrious career spanning two decades, Prithvi honed his expertise in leadership roles as the Global Head of Security for industry titans like Uber, Facebook, and Yahoo! He also lends hi...

Our speaker today is Vinod Nair, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of MoneySmart Group. Vinod is a career entrepreneur and never worked for anyone else. He once did a 10-day silent meditation retreat on a mountain in Sri Lanka - it was the hardest thing he had ever done. He also happens to be a biohacking geek who takes 9 different supplements a day to stay in top form. His company, MoneySmart...

Our speaker today is Rob Schimek, Group CEO of bolttech. Rob successfully launched the bolttech brand right in the middle of the global pandemic in 2020 – with an ambitious vision to connect people with more ways to protect the things they value. Homegrown in Singapore, bolttech today is the world’s most internationally scaled insurtech, operating in 35+ markets across four continents. This year,...

Our speaker today is Dr Sara Saeed Khurram, Co-founder & CEO of Sehat Kahani. Sara is the first and only woman in her entire family to ever run a business of her own! She tells us that she has pitched to investors while cooking a meal for her family and still managed to secure the investment! Sehat Kahani is the first female led company in Pakistan to raise a pre series A round of $1 million,...

Our speaker today is Samuel Rhee, Co-founder & Chairman of Endowus. Sam calls himself a third culture kid being from Korea, growing up in England and having worked in HK and Singapore. Despite giving up promotions and bonuses, he still got pushed to the top in his 17 years at Morgan Stanley and became CEO and CIO of Morgan Stanley IInvestment Management. Sam was a startup founder in his 40s! L...

Our speaker today is Bulent Tekmen, Founder of Colendi based in Turkey. Bulent founded Colendi to empower every individual regardless of gender, background, financial position, banked or unbanked, to give them financial freedom and financial inclusion through simple, easy-to-use products. In his words, Colendi IS the future of finance that uncomplicates the complicated by empowering the unempowere...

Our speaker today is Andrea Baronchelli, Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer of Aspire. He was part of the early founding team of Lazada, built the company from the early days till the exit to Alibaba. He is also a Y-Combinator & Rocket Internet Alum. Backed by Y-combinator, Aspire has been named one of the top100 Fintech globally in 2023. The company tripled its yearly revenues, hitting...

Our speaker today is Dr Rahul Banerjee, Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer of BondbloX. BondbloX is the world’s first fractional bond exchange! Rahul and his co-founder went to b-school together! Rahul’s doctoral thesis was on the "role of trust in advice acceptance from AI". Along the way, Rahul married his highschool sweetheart. His career started in Brooke Bond (one of India's largest sel...