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Send us Fan Mail  I sat down with Cristina Junqueira, co-founder of Nubank and CEO of Nubank’s U.S. operation, one day after Nubank officially launched in the United States. Founded in 2013 in a house in São Paulo, Nubank now serves over 140 million customers, 64% of Brazil’s adult population, and they have just launched their US operations. We talk about why product-led growth is a necessity rather than a strategy, why she would rather have a smaller customer base that loves the product than buy her way to growth, and why she spent launch night reading customer support transcripts. 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 ~85,000+ 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: https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp

Send us Fan Mail I sat down with Maik Taro Wehmeyer, co-founder and CEO of Taktile, an agentic decision platform that helps financial services companies automate their highest-stakes decisions: credit underwriting, fraud detection, and compliance. Maik and his co-founder built the company from a failed first product and 99 rejected banks into a business that just closed a $110 million round led by Goldman Sachs.  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 ~85,000+ 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: https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp

Send us Fan Mail I sat down with Harshil Mathur, Co-Founder and CEO of Razorpay, one of India’s most important fintech and tech companies. Razorpay moves hundreds of billions of dollars in annual payment volume and powers about 85% of the country’s largest tech companies. They are also reportedly preparing for a large IPO on the Indian Stock Exchange. Harshil started coding at age 12 and began building Razorpay in 2014, only a year after graduating college. Their early days were not easy, and Harshil and his co-founder, Shashank Kumar, ran into about a hundred bank rejections before a single bank partner said yes. Fast forward to 2026, and the company today is one of India’s most important payments players. 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 ~85,000+ 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: https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp

Send us Fan Mail Miguel Armaza flew to Almaty, Kazakhstan to sit down with Mikhail Lomtadze, CEO and Co-Founder of Kaspi, for their second conversation in two years. It is hard to explain how dominant and loved Kaspi is in this market: in a country of 20 million people, more than 15 million use the app daily, and it handles two thirds of Kazakhstan's e-commerce. What started as a traditional bank is now one of the world's most defining super apps, and it just entered a new chapter, expanding into Türkiye through Hepsiburada and launching Kasper, its consumer-facing AI assistant. They discussed why Kaspi's final destination is the everyday AI assistant rather than the everyday super app, why almost nobody in the company carries a financial target, how a 10,000-person organization stays a collection of startups, what the first year inside Türkiye has actually taught them, and why he thinks investors are underestimating their ability to execute. 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 ~100,000+ 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: https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any affiliated organization or employer. This content is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as professional financial, legal, or tax advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making any financial decisions.

Send us Fan Mail I sat down with Farooq Malik, CEO & Co-Founder of Rain, a $2Bn company that’s building infrastructure for Stablecoin-powered products, including card issuing, payments, wallets, and much more for businesses like Western Union, Slash and Nuvei. In 2025 they grew 30x and they recently raised a $250m round led by ICONIQ Capital.  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 ~85,000+ 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: https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp

Send us Fan Mail I sat down with Victor Cardenas, Co-Founder and CEO of Slash, one of the fastest growing fintechs in America that went from $10M to $300M in annualized revenue in 24 months And just crossed a $1.4 billion valuation after a $100M Series C led by Ribbit Capital, Khosla Ventures and Goodwater Capital. The company powers over $30Bn in annualized payment volume across wires, ACH, stablecoin, and card for over 5,000 businesses. Victor is a Venezuelan immigrant, Stanford dropout, and Thiel Fellow. He started Slash at 19 serving sneaker resellers, lost 60% of his revenue almost overnight, and rebuilt the company into a rocketship by betting on vertical banking.  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 ~85,000+ 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: https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp

Send us Fan Mail I sat down with Max Levchin, Co-Founder and CEO of Affirm and one of the living legends of tech and fintech. He co-founded PayPal with Peter Thiel and Elon Musk, invented anti-fraud technology that's still foundational today, and has spent the last 14 years building Affirm into one of the largest publicly traded fintechs in the world with a mission to replace credit cards with transparent lending. He is one of the most thoughtful and brilliant founders I've spoken with.  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 ~85,000+ 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: https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp

Send us Fan Mail I sat down with Rob Heyvaert, Founder and Managing Partner of Motive Partners, a fintech-focused private equity firm with over $6Bn in AUM, 80 portfolio companies representing over $15 trillion of assets in the wealth management space. Rob is a serial entrepreneur who started his first company at 24, sold it to IBM, and later founded Capco and sold to FIS to hundreds of millions of dollars, before launching Motive in 2016. He is a true fintech builder and it was inspiring to learn from him. We recorded this episode live at Motive's NYC office as part of New York Fintech week. 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 ~85,000+ 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: https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp

Send us Fan Mail I sat down with Renaud Laplanche, Co-Founder and CEO of Upgrade, a consumer fintech valued at $7.3 billion. Since 2017, Upgrade has originated over $45 billion in credit to 7.5 million customers, crossed $1 billion in annualized revenue, and has been cash flow positive for years. Renaud also founded Lending Club and took it public in what was the largest US tech IPO of 2014. He is one of the most accomplished entrepreneurs in fintech and someone I personally admire. We discussed building a multi-product platform from day one, how a company acquisition became their best customer generation engine, the first AI-native product Upgrade is shipping soon, and much more. Outside fintech, Renaud is an avid Sailor holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest Newport to Bermuda sailing crossing.  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 ~85,000+ 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: https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp

Send us Fan Mail I sat down with Tom Sosnoff, one of the most successful entrepreneurs in financial services. Tom spent 19 years on Chicago’s CBOE trading floor and then left to build Thinkorswim, the first online broker specialized in options, which he sold to TD Ameritrade for $600 million. He then built Tastytrade and sold it nine years later for a billion dollars to IG Group. He is now building Lossdog, a career optimization platform to help fight wealth inequality. What I enjoyed the most of this conversation is how genuine Tom is. He’s kind and cares about fairness and inequality. Prioritizes legacy over money. And he is a builder at heart that loves to take risks. 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 ~85,000+ 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: https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp

Send us Fan Mail I sat down with Andrew Endicott, fintech entrepreneur and my co-founder at Gilgamesh Ventures. Andrew is also the author of the recent book "Is Finance Technology?", a practical guide for founders, operators, and investors in financial services. The book covers everything. From the common mistakes that kill fintech companies, to how to think about risk, fraud, and regulation across verticals. I highly recommend picking up a copy. Few people have operated across as many roles and verticals as Andrew has. Having been a financial services lawyer, investment banker, entrepreneur, board member, and now investor, this book reflects that breadth. Timestamped Overview: 00:00 Finance origins and early technology 05:56 Necessity driving creativity 07:42 Solving everyday consumer challenges 13:49 Impact of emerging technologies 16:44 Fintech innovation and successful founders 19:30 Challenges of choosing customers and partners 21:39 Dealing with fraud challenges 26:00 First movers in payment industry 31:11 Writing the book and changing views 32:46 Fintech companies becoming banks 37:01 Venture capital trends and shifts 39:32 Writing process and challenges 42:27 Hoping to inspire future entrepreneurs 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 ~85,000+ 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: https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp

Send us Fan Mail I sat down with Ali Mazanderani, Chairman of Lesaka, a nasdaq traded, leading fintech in Southern Africa with over $400 million in revenue and 2 million active customers. Ali is a fintech veteran investor and builder, who’s been closely involved with several multi-billion dollar fintechs in emerging markets, including Stone, Pine Labs, Kushki, Thunes and is also a co-founder of Teya. ‌ We discussed why Southern Africa is one of the most exciting fintech opportunities in the world, how Lesaka is turning 120,000 merchants from cash-only to digital, the strategy behind acquiring Bank Zero, and why being a publicly traded company is a feature, not a bug. Timestamped Overview: 00:00 Intro & Ali’s Background 05:00 Creating positive impact through fintech 09:23 Founding Taya Joy in Building 10:32 Customer first approach to success 14:49 Benefits of Public Market Discipline 18:12 Fintech's Limited Impact in Africa 20:36 South Africa's business opportunities 25:45 Bank Zero Digital Advantage 27:46 Customer-First Mindset & Innovation 32:27 Key Focus Growth and ARPU Trends 33:41 Value Over Price Wins Customers 38:35 Driving Merchant Payment Efficiency 42:52 Digitizing Africa's Future 43:58 Ambition for global excellence 47:14 Authenticity and empathy drive success 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 ~85,000+ 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: https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp

Send us Fan Mail Miguel Armaza interviews George Robson, Partner at Sequoia Capital, one of the most legendary venture firms in the world. Founded in 1972 by Don Valentine, Sequoia has backed some of the most successful tech and fintech companies in history including Nvidia, Apple, Google, Nubank, and Stripe. Sequoia-backed companies make up over 25% of the Nasdaq's market cap, and add up to $13+ trillion in market cap. George is one of 19 investing partners at Sequoia and was previously a product manager at Revolut. We discuss how Revolut built a multi-product machine by treating every team like a startup, how Sequoia uses storytelling to calibrate its investors on what generational founders look like, and why the next wave of fintech winners will be full stack companies that internalize the technology instead of selling it to incumbents. Timestamped Overview 00:00 Intro & George’s Background 04:14 Finding My People at Revolut 07:37 Building Self Sufficient Cross Functional Teams 10:57 Focus on Growth and Profitability 14:45 Crucial Decision and Growth 17:49 High-Conviction Investment Strategy 19:07 Parth's Inspiring Entrepreneurial Path 23:38 Entrepreneur Growth and Resilience 28:19 Storytelling Key to Early Success 31:05 Effective Board Dynamics 34:14 Entrepreneurs Investors and Problem Discovery 36:42 Outsiders Tackling Big Markets 40:21 Rewriting Business Laws of Gravity 44:04 Humbling Reads and Insights 46:17 Doug Leone Fierce and Kind 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 80,000+ 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 Fan Mail Miguel Armaza sits down with Michael Calvey, one of the most successful and legendary emerging markets investors of our time. Mike moved to Moscow at age 27 in the early 90s and built Baring Vostok into a powerhouse with $10+ billion invested in Russia. They backed now-decacorns like Yandex, Revolut, Tinkoff, and Kaspi at their earliest stages. Yandex alone was a 450x return for the fund. Along the way, he survived a 98% market crash, was detained by Russia's secret service, and made billions of dollars for his investors. He's also incredibly thoughtful about the ingredients of great founders, what separates the ones who win from those just chasing money, how the best companies constantly stack new S curves, and why being a hands-on owner but never a hands-on manager is the key to a great investor-founder partnership. Timestamped Overview 00:00 From Oklahoma to Russia - Intro & Michael’s Background 10:32 Building an Elite Emerging Markets Team 14:36 Geopolitics, Economics, and Market Resilience 20:25 Fewer Investments, Better Focus 24:08 Successful Entrepreneurs Value Purpose 28:47 Management KPIs and Key Insights 33:45 3 Cs of Ownership Focus 42:53 Marketplace vs. Fintech Growth Dynamics 44:02 Marketplace Dominance and Financial Complexity 52:25 Emerging Markets: Talent vs. Geopolitics 54:51 Emerging Markets and Fintech Ventures 01:00:20 Medici Family: Banking and Intrigue 01:05:59 Starting Over as Entrepreneur  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 ~85,000+ 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: https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp

Send us Fan Mail Miguel Armaza welcomes Edward Woodford, founder and CEO of ZeroHash, to Fintech Leaders for a candid, insightful conversation on the future of blockchain infrastructure and the lessons learned from nearly a decade of building in crypto. Edward offers a unique perspective as a London-born, MIT-educated entrepreneur who’s seen ZeroHash grow into one of the most critical and least visible companies powering the global blockchain ecosystem. He shares his journey— from getting rejected by Oxford and taking the leap to the US, to building his first fintech business and discovering Bitcoin at the MIT bookstore. Join Miguel and Edward for a conversation packed with actionable insights for fintech founders, builders, and investors aiming to navigate the fast-evolving landscape at the intersection of crypto, infrastructure, and financial innovation. Timestamped Overview 00:00 Intro & Edward’s Background 05:49 Balancing Business and Personal Life 08:58 MIT Bitcoin and Career Exploration 13:14 Tech-Driven Market Shift Insights 16:07 Tokenization and Global Interoperability 20:08 Impact of the founding team 21:54 Founding team dynamics explored 26:32 Power versus influence in investing 29:25 Effective Infrastructure Pricing Strategy 33:44 Weighted performance-based churn metric 35:00 Founder Mode Intensity Defined 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 ~85,000+ 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: https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp