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Miguel Armaza brings you a deep dive into one of the most pressing issues facing the financial industry today: consumer fraud prevention and identity verification.

Over the last couple of years, Miguel has interviewed some of the top leaders in identity management and fraud-fighting, and in this episode you’ll hear a summary of the most interesting takeaways from five of the most extraordinary industry leaders:

1. Blake Hall, CEO of ID.me
2. Nick Peddy, CTO of Clear
3. Soups Ranjan, CEO of Sardine
4. Trisha Kothari, CEO of Unit21
5. Tommy Nicholas, CEO of Alloy

In this episode, you'll learn about:

• The current state of financial and identity fraud and the creative tactics used by fraudsters
• Advancements in anti-fraud measures and identity verification
• The delicate balance between security and user experience
• Innovative products from each of these companies to prevent fraud… and a lot more!

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Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder and 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.

Miguel on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nKha4Z

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Fintech Leaders Newsletter: bit.ly/3jWIp

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[Original air date, March 28, 2023] Miguel Armaza interviews Mercedes Bent, Partner at Lightspeed, a global venture capital firm founded in the year 2000. Over the last 23 years, they have secured over $18 billion in committed capital and backed over 500 companies, including Snap, Affirm, Faire, Grubhub, Carta, Blend, and a long list of great firms.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Investing in marketplaces or credit-driven businesses and what founders and investors should keep in mind when looking at these verticals.
• Benefits of having a global investment team how Lightspeed often invests in similar trends and businesses around the world
• The Latin American fintech opportunity. Mercedes leads the LatAm practice at Lightspeed – what are some of the biggest ideas taking place in Brazil, Mexico, and beyond?
• Potential AI applications in Fintech
• Lessons for emerging VCs
• Lightspeed’s portfolio construction strategy… and a lot more!

Want more podcast episodes? Join me and follow Fintech Leaders today on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app for weekly conversations with today’s global leaders that will dominate the 21st century in fintech, business, and beyond.

Do you prefer a written summary? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join ~70,000+ readers and listeners worldwide!

Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder and 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.

Miguel on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nKha4Z

Miguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBc

Fintech Leaders Newsletter: bit.ly/3jWIp

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Miguel Armaza interviews Alex Konrad, Senior Editor at Forbes, where he covers venture capital and startups. Alex also edits and curates the famous Midas List and The Forbes 30 Under 30 VC category. He is a central figure in the world of Venture Capital, Tech, and Fintech and I suspect you’ll enjoy hearing what he has to say.

We discuss:

• A behind-the-scenes look of the Forbes Midas List and the growing influence of FinTech in it
• The Impact and adoption of AI in the financial industry
• Evolution and future of the VC industry
• The role of media in tech, curating the 30 Under 30… and a lot more!

Want more podcast episodes? Join me and follow Fintech Leaders today on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app for weekly conversations with today’s global leaders that will dominate the 21st century in fintech, business, and beyond.

Do you prefer a written summary? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join ~70,000+ readers and listeners worldwide!

Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder and 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.

Miguel on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nKha4Z

Miguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBc

Fintech Leaders Newsletter: bit.ly/3jWIp

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Miguel Armaza interviews Melissa Guzy, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Arbor Ventures, a global fintech-focused fund with offices across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the US. Founded in 2012, some of their portfolio companies include Tabby, TrueAccord, Grab, and Fundbox.

We discuss:

• Melissa’s early days as a VC investor at VantagePoint Capital where they navigated the dot com crash and later invested in Tesla’s Series A
• Building Arbor Ventures and pioneering fintech investing in China, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East
• How Arbor has successfully generated liquidity from fintech investing in emerging markets
• Why real-time payment networks have the potential to transform fintech… and a lot more!

Want more podcast episodes? Join me and follow Fintech Leaders today on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app for weekly conversations with today’s global leaders that will dominate the 21st century in fintech, business, and beyond.

Do you prefer a written summary? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join ~70,000+ readers and listeners worldwide!

Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder and 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.

Miguel on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nKha4Z

Miguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBc

Fintech Leaders Newsletter: bit.ly/3jWIp

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[Original air date, May 9, 2023] Miguel Armaza sits down with David Haber, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), one of the largest Venture Capital funds in the world, founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz.

Based in NYC, David focuses exclusively on investing in global fintech. Before a16z, he founded Bond Street, a NY fintech that aimed to transform small business lending in the US. Bond Street was eventually acquired by Goldman Sachs in 2017.

We discuss:

• Company building lessons from his experience at Bond Street and why he always looks for people with “humble confidence”
• The power of storytelling and why David believes effective storytelling is crucial for entrepreneurs and investors
• The future of fintech
• Key qualities of a good venture capital investor
• A look inside a16z and the vision of Mark and Ben for the firm… and a lot more!

Want more podcast episodes? Join me and follow Fintech Leaders today on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app for weekly conversations with today’s global leaders that will dominate the 21st century in fintech, business, and beyond.

Do you prefer a written summary? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join ~70,000+ readers and listeners worldwide!

Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder and 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.

Miguel on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nKha4Z

Miguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBc

Fintech Leaders Newsletter: bit.ly/3jWIp

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Miguel Armaza interviews Rakefet Russak-Aminoach, Managing Partner at Team8, a global Venture-Creation and VC Fund with over a 1 billion dollars in AUM, that creates and invests in companies focusing on Fintech, Cybersecurity, Data & AI, and Digital Health. Since launching in 2014, Team8 has built 20 companies and achieved over two billion dollars in exits.

Prior to Team8, Rakefet was the CEO of Bank Leumi, which she drove to become the largest company by market cap in all of Israel.

We discuss:

• Team8’s process behind incubating and launching massive companies
• Transforming and building a company’s culture
• How great talent is the most important ingredient behind achieving great results
• Why embedded fintech will drive the future of financial services… and a lot more!

Want more podcast episodes? Join me and follow Fintech Leaders today on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app for weekly conversations with today’s global leaders that will dominate the 21st century in fintech, business, and beyond.

Do you prefer a written summary? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join ~70,000+ readers and listeners worldwide!

Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder and 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.

Miguel on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nKha4Z

Miguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBc

Fintech Leaders Newsletter: bit.ly/3jWIp

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[Original air date, July 4, 2023] Miguel Armaza brings you a curated selection of the best lessons, stories, and candid reflections about raising venture capital.

You’ll hear directly from some of the strongest fintech entrepreneurs around the world spanning four continents. The founders featured in this episode have built revolutionary companies. Many of them multi-billion-dollar enterprises. To get there, they’ve successfully raised venture capital from some of the most respected investors in the world.

We feature nine founders:

• Alex Prot, CEO/Co-Founder of Qonto
• Laura Spiekerman and Tommy Nicholas, Co-Founders of Alloy
• Itai Damti, CEO/Co-Founder of Unit
• Brynne McNulty Rojas, Co-Founder of Habi
• Katlego Maphai, CEO/Co-Founder of Yoco
• Jorge Combe, CEO/Co-Founder of DD360
• Kurt Lin, CEO/Co-Founder of Pinwheel
• Rob Petrozzo, CPO/Co-Founder of Rally

Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur just starting your journey, or a seasoned founder facing new challenges, we hope you find valuable takeaways in this episode.

Want more podcast episodes? Join me and follow Fintech Leaders today on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app for weekly conversations with today’s global leaders that will dominate the 21st century in fintech, business, and beyond.

Do you prefer a written summary? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join ~70,000+ readers and listeners worldwide!

Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder and 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.

Miguel on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nKha4Z

Miguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBc

Fintech Leaders Newsletter: bit.ly/3jWIp

Send us a Text Message.

• What it takes to be a great trader on and off the trading floor
• How technology, client demands, and regulation transformed the trading industry in the last two decades
• Why Webull decided to expand beyond the US, making a big push in places like Latin America and Asia
• Webull’s plan to go public via a $7 Billion SPAC… and a lot more!