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In this episode, I sit down with Zach Noorani, Partner at Foundation Capital, a 28-year venture capital firm with $3 billion in AUM that has backed great companies like Stripe, Solana, Lending Club, Envestnet, Alto, and many more.
In this episode, we discuss:
The importance of specializing in financial services and fintech and how it’s allowed Zach to distinguish fairytales from reality
“What's changed [in fintech] is, it's gone from people not giving a shit, to way too many people giving a shit, and mistaking derivative copycatting business models for innovation.”
Fintech has garnered incredible growth, attention, and enthusiasm from investors, with one in five VCs considering fintech as their primary focus area. But this hype hasn’t all been positive. Zach recognizes that some may have mistaken copycatting business models for innovation and telling fairy tales about disrupting well-established behemoths. To stand out in a crowded market, entrepreneurs should have deeply held beliefs about what they want to achieve in the world, have a clear vision of the industry’s future, and seek nuanced opportunities that aren't just a direct analogy.
What Zach learned after spending almost a decade at Capital One and why there’s such a strong fintech alumni network coming out of the bank
“One of my favorite categories of people to invest in, is former Capital One employees and coworkers.”
Differences and similarities between US-based founders and Latin American entrepreneurs
Zach and Foundation Capital have been investing in Latin American founders for almost a decade, and have had a front-row seat to the incredible evolution of the region’s startup ecosystem. Over the years, founders have evolved to become more sophisticated and knowledgeable. It’s safe to say that in the early days, there was a real distinction between Silicon Valley and Latin American startups, but today, it's hard to tell the difference between the two.
Transitioning from operator to investor, best practices for board management… and a lot more!
“Good ideas are a dime and dozen, but it's really about who's executing it and who you're excited to work with. In that respect, that transition for me was pretty significant.”
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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.
Zach Noorani, Foundation Capital Partner – The Future of Financial Services, Global Fintech Opportunities, & Lessons From Investing Mistakes