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In this Fintech Leaders episode, I bring you a special set of interviews from Money20/20 Las Vegas, one of the largest Fintech Conferences in the world.
First, I sit down with Tracey Davies, Money20/20 CEO, and Scarlett Sieber, Money20/20 Chief Strategy & Growth Officer.
We discuss:
Their excitement to bring the event back in person and some of the key fintech trends from this year, including:
Crypto and DeFi
Scarlett Sieber:
“We can't be here and not talk about DeFi and Crypto… there really is something different that hasn't been like this before”
Tracey Davies:
“What you have at Money20/20 Is the FinTech ecosystem. So, we reflect what that ecosystem is, and it changes over time. But the shift since 2019 to Crypto and DeFi - we see it in the people walking around, but we also see it in our partners and our sponsors.”
Financial Infrastructure
Scarlett Sieber:
“People are looking and finding ways to do business better and they want to do partnerships, whether you're the fintechs or the banks, the infrastructure needs a lot of help.”
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Next up, you will hear my conversation with Immad Akhund, CEO/Founder of Mercury, a US-based challenger bank built for startups and e-commerce companies.
Founded less than four years ago, Mercury recently became a unicorn valued at $1.6 billion and has raised $180 million from a long list of investors including Coatue, a16z, and Clocktower.
Immad and I explored:
The story and incredible growth of Mercury
“I've been doing startups since 2006. This is actually my fourth company. And in 2013, a lot of things that we use as entrepreneurs had improved, but banking was still basically in the stone age. Bad product, bad customer service, lots of fees, all of these frustrations everyone has with their bank on the consumer side, I think were worse on the business side in the US.”
Immad’s vision on the future of business banking
I think in five years there's probably going to be another 10x banks in the US. It's just a huge market, right? … there's people targeting construction industry banking, there's people targeting real estate, there's going to be a ton of these kind of vertical banks. I think we have a very interesting space which we can go broader, but we're still super early.”
Entrepreneurial advice for founders:
Make something people really want
Have a retentive product
Focus on good unit economics
Build a great distribution strategy
And, most importantly, have a good story that you're genuinely passionate about!
Finally, Immad reminded me why my favorite type of people are entrepreneurs. We spent a long time looking for a quiet space to record our episode, and when the only available area was an empty corner with no chairs or tables, he didn’t hesitate for a second to just record the episode while sitting on the floor. It was yet another reminder that you don’t need a fancy recording studio or office to get shit done!
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Emerging Fintech Leaders
Three early-stage fintech companies doing amazing things
Guava is an FDIC-insured banking hub for Black entrepreneurs and small business owners. Guava’s business has two focuses: financial services (with the business bank account as an entry point for small businesses, Guava provides core banking services to support and facilitate the growth of Black-owned businesses) and community value (providing Black entrepreneurs with the social and intellectual capital they need to grow and scale). Guava is actively fundraising with seed funding already secured, and they’re currently hiring!
Founder: Kelly Ifill
Vint is the first SEC-qualified platform for wine and spirits investing. Founded in 2019, just this month the company completed a $1.7 million pre-seed round led by Fintech Ventures. With the boost, Vint will expand its curated collections of fine wines and spirits, which both accredited and non-accredited investors can access with share prices starting as low as $25. All Vint investments are managed by an experienced and certified team of wine experts. Riding the tailwind of democratization in the alternative investment space, Vint is poised to expose many new investors to this exciting asset class!
Co-Founders: Nick King and Patrick Sanders
UAE-based financial literacy startup Verity teaches children and young adults crucial personal finance and savings skills all within one app. Its subscription-based family banking model incorporates every generation to foster strong money management for all. Verity has just raised an $800,000 pre-seed round to fund its mission of financial consciousness and independence for the next generation.
Co-Founders: Omar Al Sharif, Dina Shoman and Kamal Al-Samarrai
Want to break onto the fintech scene with a feature in our newsletter? Introduce us to your startup here!
-Thank you for reading!
Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder & Managing General Partner of Gilgamesh Ventures, a seed-stage investment fund focused on fintech in the Americas. He also hosts and writes the Fintech Leaders podcast and newsletter.
Money20/20 Special: Immad Akhund, CEO/Founder of Mercury Bank, and Tracey Davies, CEO Money20/20, & Scarlett Sieber, Chief Strategy & Growth Officer @ Money20/20