Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend dive headfirst into insights from the first AMA session on the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator, then look at Stripe’s re-entry into crypto and what they’d miss if they stayed on the sidelines, Pete shares some stories from the Token 2049 conference last week in London, and Eoin tees up some unique insights on embedded finance through the lens of NerdWallet’s IPO filing and Productfy’s $16mn Series A. MAIN STORIES COVERED: Highlights from 1st AMA (ask-me-anything) on the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator in Dublin (YouTube, 13-Oct-21) Stripe goes back to the crypto future (Charlie Taylor @ Irish Times, 13-Oct-21) Stories from Token 2049 in London last week (Business Insider, 11-Oct-21) NerdWallet’s IPO filing reveals high-margin content business, accelerating marketing spend (Techcrunch, 11-Oct-21) OTHER STORIES/REFERENCES: ‘Shopify of embedded finance’ startup Productfy grabs $16 million in funding (ITMunch, 10-Oct-21) Proposed Bank Jewel Wants to Become a Global Stablecoin Issuer, With Bermuda’s OK (Coindesk, 13-Oct-21) Plaid Report: The Fintech Effect - Fintech’s Mass Adoption Moment (Plaid Blog, 12-Oct-21) LINKS: Leave a review and subscribe on Podchaser| Apple Podcasts | Spotify| Google| Overcast Check out our MoneyNeverSleeps website Subscribe to our newsletter on Substack Follow us on Twitter Podcast| Twitter Pete| Twitter Eoin Get in touch at info@moneyneversleeps.ie --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/moneyneversleeps/support

MoneyNeverSleeps

159: Money Talks #43: Launchpool Web3 Techstars AMA | Stripe Goes Crypto Again | Stories from Token 2049

Laura Walsh is the COO of Launchpool, a digital asset platform with a mantra of egalitarian investing in blockchain projects.  In this episode, we talk through how Laura’s incredibly unique foundation as a teacher of English as a second language, as an international development operative, and as someone with a deep interest in how things work, led to her entry point into the blockchain ecosystem in 2017. We also dive into the mission of Launchpool and Launchpool’s impact as a platform for investing in blockchain projects, and also where things are headed with the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator landing in Dublin in 2022. LINKS: Episode title inspired by ‘The Magic Number’ by De La Soul. Get in touch with Laura Walsh and check out Launchpool and the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator to learn more. Leave a review and subscribe on Podchaser| Apple Podcasts | Spotify| Google| Overcast Check out our MoneyNeverSleeps website Subscribe to our newsletter on Substack Follow us on Twitter Podcast| Twitter Pete| Twitter Eoin Get in touch at info@moneyneversleeps.ie --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/moneyneversleeps/support

158: 3 is the Magic Number | Laura Walsh, Launchpool and Techstars

157: Money Talks #42:  Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator in Ireland | Chase Goes UK | AngelList Gets Stacked Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend dive into the big news for Ireland’s startup ecosystem as Techstars come to Ireland with the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator, along with some news of how Pete will be leading the program, then we get into how we think Chase’s digital bank might fare in the UK, and also AngelList’s announcement of AngelList Stack and their opportunity to monetize their massive user base through fintech. MAIN STORIES COVERED: Techstars comes to Ireland with the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator Techstars to hold blockchain-focused accelerator in Dublin (Charlie Taylor, Irish Times, 27-Sep-21) 5 Questions with Pete Townsend, Managing Director of Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator(Techstars Blog, 30-Sep-21) Chase Launches UK Digital Bank JPMorgan Chase Launches New Digital Bank in the UK: What do the Industry Think? (Fintech Times, 21-Sep 21) AngelList launch AngelList Stack AngelList returns to its founder-focused roots, with a twist (Techcrunch, 28-Sep-21) LINKS: Leave a review and subscribe on Podchaser| Apple Podcasts| Spotify | Google | Overcast Check out our MoneyNeverSleeps website Subscribe to our newsletter on Substack Follow us on Twitter Podcast| Twitter Pete | Twitter Eoin Get in touch at info@moneyneversleeps.ie --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/moneyneversleeps/support

157: Money Talks #42: Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator in Ireland | Chase Goes UK | AngelList Gets Stacked

Our guest this week is Gershie Vann, Founder and CEO of Magma Capital Funds, a Chicago-based quantitative hedge fund firm. We talk through the long iterative climb involved in launching a business, finding alternative skillsets outside of finance when building his team during the first pandemic lockdown in 2020, what’s at the core of his entrepreneurial mindset, quieting the always-on mind of the founder, an innovative approach to raising capital for new hedge funds, along with a shallow dive into crypto and sovereign currencies…and being the elder statesman in a family of 7 kids! LINKS: Episode title inspired by ‘Bring the Noise’ by Public Enemy and Anthrax Get in touch with Gershie Vann and check out Magma Capital Funds to learn more Leave a review and subscribe on Podchaser| Apple Podcasts | Spotify| Google| Overcast Check out our MoneyNeverSleeps website Subscribe to our newsletter on Substack Follow us on Twitter Podcast| Twitter Pete| Twitter Eoin Get in touch at info@moneyneversleeps.ie --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/moneyneversleeps/support

156: Bring the Noise | Gershie Vann and Magma Capital Funds

Sophie Guibaud is the Chief Growth Officer at OpenPayd and she’s spent the last 10 years designing and executing the go-to-market of banking-as-a-service (BaaS) and embedded finance propositions in Europe, building teams and operations from scratch, and integrating financial services into customers’ existing products to create new revenue streams. We talk through Sophie’s entrepreneurial journey to date, some real-world applications of embedded finance, the benefits of her extracurricular activities with podcasts and advisory boards feeding her creativity….and her past life as a competitive boxer! LINKS: Episode title inspired by ‘Vision’ by Travis Scott Get in touch with Sophie Guibaud and check out OpenPayd to learn more Leave a review and subscribe on Podchaser| Apple Podcasts | Spotify| Google| Overcast Check out our MoneyNeverSleeps website Subscribe to our newsletter on Substack Follow us on Twitter Podcast| Twitter Pete| Twitter Eoin Get in touch at info@moneyneversleeps.ie --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/moneyneversleeps/support

155: Vision | Sophie Guibaud and OpenPayd

Shane Monks O’Byrne, founder and CEO of Aikido Finance, joins the show this week to talk to Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend about the Aikido Finance mission of democratizing quant investing, how he went from a grad with a Computer Science degree to a fully empowered startup founder in less than two years, the similarities between a rules-based mind and the merits of quant investing, finding co-founders and building the A team, raising a $1mn seed round from angels and a US VC, and the parallels between building a scalable fintech platform and alpine climbing. LINKS: Episode title inspired by ‘My Parallel’ by Royce Da 5’9” Leave a review and subscribe on Podchaser| Apple Podcasts | Spotify| Google| Overcast Get in touch with Shane Monks O’Byrne and check out Aikido Finance to learn more Check out our MoneyNeverSleeps website Subscribe to our newsletter on Substack Follow us on Twitter Podcast| Twitter Pete| Twitter Eoin Get in touch at info@moneyneversleeps.ie --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/moneyneversleeps/support

154: My Parallel | Shane Monks O’Byrne and Aikido Finance

Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend walk through Amazon’s new partnership with BNPL (buy-now-pay-later) player Affirm and what this means for the Amazon flywheel, and then answer the question ‘what’s a stablecoin?’ in the context of USD Coin and the Centre Consortium, before diving into the world of NFTs through Visa’s $150,000 purchase of a CryptoPunk NFT and the big opportunity for monetizing the metaverse. MAIN STORIES COVERED: Amazon-Affirm BNPL (buy-now-pay-later) Affirm shares soar nearly 47% after Amazon partnership that lets consumers buy expensive things in installments (CNBC, 30-Aug-21) Is Affirm's Amazon Deal Better Than Walmart? (Fintech Business Weekly/Jason Mikuda, 29-Aug-21) How does Affirm make money? (Finty, 21-Jun-21) USDC and Stablecoins Centre Consortium announces new team to create 'global network of stablecoins' (the Block (via Coindesk), 30-Aug-21) AID:Tech utilises Circle and USD Coin to provide fraud resistant disaster relief(Finextra, 30-Aug-21) Visa is now supporting settlement of card transactions with USDC (Techcrunch, 29-Mar-21) Visa gets into NFT space Visa buys a CryptoPunk as it takes first steps into 'NFT commerce' (The Block, 23-Aug-21) Nifty Corporates (Not Boring by Packy McCormick, 30-Aug-21) LINKS: Leave a review and subscribe on Podchaser | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google| Overcast Check out our MoneyNeverSleeps website Subscribe to our newsletter on Substack Follow us on Twitter Podcast| Twitter Pete | Twitter Eoin Get in touch at info@moneyneversleeps.ie --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/moneyneversleeps/support

153: Money Talks #41: Amazon-Affirm BNPL | USDC and Stablecoins | Visa, CryptoPunks and the World of NFTs

Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend unpack the shiny new $24bn valuation for Chime in the context of the American neobank landscape, Ron Shevlin’s concept of neobank-driven deposit displacement through the lens of Bank of America, Facebook’s relaunch of their crypto project, the potential impact of Amazon hiring a crypto lead, the LendingClub turnaround and a sampling of Lex Sokolin’s poetic fintech prose. MAIN STORIES COVERED: Chime’s Big Raise Chime raises $750 million, earns big jump in valuation as another fintech moves closer to IPO (CNBC, 13-Aug-21) Bank of America and Deposit Displacement Bank Of America is losing its grip on millennials as fintechs reinvent the checking account (Ron Shevlin in Forbes, 16-Aug-21) Facebook’s Wallet Relaunch Will Facebook’s Relaunched Digital Wallet [Novi] Alter the Future of Payments? (The Financial Brand, 24-Aug-21) Amazon’s Crypto Journey Beyond the rumors: Amazon's likely direction in crypto (American Banker, 30-Jul-21) Lending Club Turnaround Buying a bank turned LendingClub around. Now the fintech industry is watching (Protocol, 16-Aug-21) HONORABLE MENTIONS: Creating, Transacting, and Storing Value in the Financial Metaverse of NFTs, DAOs, and DeFi (Lex Sokolin, Fintech Blueprint, 23-Aug-21) Walmart is looking for a crypto product lead (The Block (via Arca) 15-Aug-21) LINKS: Leave a review and subscribe on Podchaser | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google | Overcast Check out our MoneyNeverSleeps website Subscribe to our newsletter on Substack Follow us on Twitter Podcast | Twitter Pete | Twitter Eoin Get in touch at info@moneyneversleeps.ie --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/moneyneversleeps/support

152: Money Talks #40: Chime and American Neobanks | Facebook’s Wallet Relaunch | Amazon’s Crypto Journey | Lending Club Turnaround

Recorded during the Finsight Series virtual event that Pete Townsend moderated recently hosted by Navirum and Salesforce, this episode features an all-star cast with Rory Galvin from Navirum, Bryan Clagett from Moven, Cory Haberkorn from Salesforce and Niall Twomey from Fenergo. The main theme we covered is this: The demand for digital financial services goes far beyond the domain of neobanks - how do we become truly digital upstream of consumer banking, especially in institutional banking and wealth management? GET IN TOUCH WITH SPEAKERS: Rory Galvin, Founder and CEO of Navirum Bryan Clagett, Chief Revenue Officer at Moven Cory Haberkorn, Senior Manager and Industry Advisor, Wealth and Asset Management at Salesforce Niall Twomey, CTO and Co-founder of Fenergo LINKS: Leave a review and subscribe on Podchaser| Apple Podcasts | Spotify| Google| Overcast Check out our MoneyNeverSleeps website Subscribe to our newsletter on Substack Follow us on Twitter Podcast| Twitter Pete| Twitter Eoin Get in touch at info@moneyneversleeps.ie --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/moneyneversleeps/support

151: Money Talks #39 | The First Edition of the Finsight Series

Brian Kenny is the CEO and Founder of MiniCorp. Brian left the Lego behind at an early age and started building through code. We go deep into how Brian thinks about leading MiniCorp and what makes MiniCorp unique, how his modus operandi has evolved during his career in tech, the critical task of truly knowing your first ten customers, analogies between startups and marathons, and the importance of balance and human kindness. MiniCorp are based in Dublin and help companies create exceptional digital products and experiences. In short, MiniCorp are your ready-to-go product team. Through years of experience, MiniCorp have created world-class digital products together with their clients. Their digital experiences have touched millions of customers and allow MiniCorp to grow concepts into top startups. LINKS: Episode title inspired by Growing Up by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Leave a review and subscribe on Podchaser| Apple Podcasts | Spotify| Google| Overcast Follow Brian Kenny on Twitter and get in touch to learn more about MiniCorp Check out our MoneyNeverSleeps website Subscribe to our newsletter on Substack Follow us on Twitter Podcast| Twitter Pete| Twitter Eoin Get in touch at info@moneyneversleeps.ie --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/moneyneversleeps/support

150: Growing Up | Brian Kenny and MiniCorp

Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend dive deep into the annual results from UK neobanks Starling and Monzo and what’s next for both, before getting into Square’s deal for BNPL (buy now, pay later) player Afterpay and how the integration will lead to a ‘fintech flywheel’. They then dive even deeper into their developing fintech flywheel thesis with a look into how Amazon and Shopify built their flywheels around a B2C to B2B bridge and ‘doing one thing well’, before tying it all back together with a look at Revolut’s travel plans. MAIN STORIES COVERED: Starling’s Results Breaking down Starling’s 2020 financials (Sifted, 22-Jul-21) Monzo’s Results Monzo reports £114m annual loss and a second “going concern” warning (Sifted, 30-Jul-21) Square’s big move into BNPL with Afterpay Why Square is shelling out $29B to snag BNPL player Afterpay (TechCrunch, 2-Aug-21) When Fintech Meets Marketplaces (a16z Fintech Newsletter, July 2021) HONORABLE MENTIONS: Revolut, Europe’s $33 billion fintech giant, launches a travel booking feature(CNBC, 20-Jul-21) LINKS: Leave a review and subscribe on Podchaser | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google | Overcast Check out our MoneyNeverSleeps website Subscribe to our newsletter on Substack Follow us on Twitter Podcast| Twitter Pete| Twitter Eoin Get in touch at info@moneyneversleeps.ie --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/moneyneversleeps/support

149: Money Talks #38: Starling Up, Monzo Down | Square’s BNPL Deal | Amazon, Shopify, Revolut and Fintech Flywheels

Gerard Tannam, Strategic Brand-Builder at Islandbridge, tells us all about the use of storytelling as a framework in bridging the gap between buyers and sellers, businesses and their markets. In this episode, we weave through Ger’s own story that takes him from Ireland to Hong Kong and back again, then into the lessons learned from marketing and strategy direction for big brands before launching the Islandbridge business, how building bridges between businesses and customers drives growth for businesses of all sizes….and almost becoming a priest! MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals. HIGHLIGHTS: On one of the earliest signs of what became Gerard’s modus operandi in building brands: “As part of our event management business in Hong Kong in the ‘90’s, we also set up an art gallery. The common thread was that I became used to walking into an empty space and looking on both sides and asking the question, what do I need to do to fill this gap?” “You're constantly being thrown into an environment where you're obliged to translate, to step into that space between and to determine how are we going to make this work?” “Narrative and story are concerned with making sense of the world, of finding a language to describe the world. So when Alice goes down the rabbit hole into Wonderland, what Lewis Carroll is doing is he's describing another world. When we build brands, that's what we're doing.” LINKS: Episode title inspired by The Bridge by MC Shan Get in touch with and to learn more about Gerard Tannam and Islandbridge. Leave a review and subscribe on Podchaser| Apple Podcasts | Spotify| Google| Overcast Check out our MoneyNeverSleeps website Subscribe to our newsletter on Substack Follow us on Twitter Podcast| Twitter Pete| Twitter Eoin Get in touch at info@moneyneversleeps.ie --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/moneyneversleeps/support

148: The Bridge | Gerard Tannam and Strategic Brand-Building

Eoin and Pete mine a motherlode of fintech hotspots this week starting with insights into Revolut’s latest $33bn valuation, Square’s quest for crossover between creators, crypto and small businesses, then we dive deep into the upcoming Robinhood IPO and our developing thesis on fintech flywheels. MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals. MAIN STORIES COVERED: Revolut’s Big Raise Revolut confirms a fresh $800M in funding at a $33bn valuation to supercharge its financial services superapp (TechCrunch, 15-Jul-21) Revolut: required study for any student of disruptive innovation (Sifted, 21-Jul-21) Revolut vs. Nubank: Insight from Rally Cap Venture’s Juan Gabriel (Twitter, 16-Jul-21, thanks Lex Sokolin) Square’s Crossover Square to Create New Bitcoin Platform for Financial Services (CoinDesk, 15-Jul-21) Square to take on incumbents with business banking accounts (Finextra, 21-Jul-21) Robinhood IPO Robinhood IPO: Still A Bad Bet for Investors With Alarming Risk (David Trainer, Forbes, 20-Jul-21) HONORABLE MENTIONS: Invest Like the Best with Patrick O’Shaughnessy: David Velez from Nubank (Apple Podcasts) $1 out of every $5 in venture funding went to fintech in Q2 2021 (Morning Brew, 8-Jul-21) LINKS: Leave a review and subscribe on Podchaser| Apple Podcasts | Spotify| Google | Overcast Check out our MoneyNeverSleeps website Subscribe to our newsletter on Substack Follow us on Twitter Podcast| Twitter Pete| Twitter Eoin Get in touch at info@moneyneversleeps.ie --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/moneyneversleeps/support

147: Money Talks #37: Revolut’s Big Raise | Square’s Crossover | Robinhood IPO | Fintech Flywheels

Ankur Mohan, Founder & CEO of MarketXLS joins the show to share his story on his entry point into Galway in the West of Ireland to launch MarketXLS, how a certain demographic just prefers the simplicity and control of Excel for managing personal and professional portfolios, closing the gap between the haves and the have-nots of the investing world, and the life-long lesson of the benefits of hard work. MarketXLS provide a leading Excel-based investment research platform with a belief that each investor and strategy is unique, and that building and executing a great investment strategy should not require a PhD or a million-dollar budget. MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals. LINKS: Episode title inspired by ‘Global Access’ by Wiz Khalifa Get in touch with Ankur Mohan and MarketXLS to learn more Leave a review and subscribe on Podchaser | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google | Overcast Check out our MoneyNeverSleeps website Subscribe to our newsletter on Substack Follow us on Twitter Podcast| Twitter Pete| Twitter Eoin Get in touch at info@moneyneversleeps.ie --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/moneyneversleeps/support

146: Global Access | Ankur Mohan and MarketXLS

Ernest Cantillon (CEO of DramEx) and Brian Elders (Founder of SORS Digital Assets and advisor to DramEx) join the show this week to talk about DramEx, a community governed digital whiskey marketplace. We get into the genesis of the DramEx business through Ernest’s life story as a hospitality entrepreneur and Brian’s path through finance and into digital assets, why the timing is right to bring DramEx into the $63bn global whiskey market, the bridge between whiskey and digital assets through NFTs…and training to be a chef and a mathematician! Across the trading lifecycle and around the world, DramEx will enable you to efficiently manage risk and capture opportunities previously unavailable in the digital whiskey marketplace. MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals. Episode title inspired by ‘Calling My Spirit’ by Kodak Black Get in touch with Ernest Cantillon and DramEx to learn more and follow DramEx on Twitter Leave a review and subscribe on Podchaser| Apple Podcasts | Spotify| Google| Overcast Check out our MoneyNeverSleeps website Subscribe to our newsletter on Substack Follow us on Twitter Podcast| Twitter Pete| Twitter Eoin Get in touch at info@moneyneversleeps.ie --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/moneyneversleeps/support

145: Calling My Spirit | Ernest Cantillon, Brian Elders and DramEx

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