The Real Maxime Podcast: Recent Episodes
Raido
Welcome to The Real Maxime podcast. I am an economist, former tech entrepreneur, hedge fund founder and private investor. Tune in for limited series interviews and conversations at the intersection of economics, finance and technology entrepreneurship.
In this episode, we are joined by Kareem Saleh, Founder and CEO of FairPlay, the world's first Fairness-as-a-Service company. Financial institutions use FairPlay’s APIs to embed fairness considerations into their marketing, underwriting, pricing, and collections algorithms as well as to automate their fair lending compliance. In this insightful conversation, we discuss the challenges and triumphs of building a technology-driven solution to one of today's most pressing issues in financial services. Kareem's story is a compelling blend of personal experience and professional achievement. Tune in as we cover Kareem’s journey from growing up in the vibrant and diverse city of Chicago, to helping negotiate the Paris Climate Agreement serving in the Obama Administration, and before diving into AI and machine learning.
In this episode, we are joined by Anna Garcia, Founding Managing Partner of Altari Ventures, an exciting emerging venture capital manager specializing in enterprise financial technology at the earliest stages. Altari Ventures seeks to invest in B2B startups focused on data-driven enterprise intelligence, capital markets and asset management technology, CFO tech stack, embedded finance, and decentralized or centralized financial infrastructure convergence. In this insightful conversation, we learn about Anna’s unique international upbringing and education, discuss how her successful Wall Street career prepared and still educates her unique underwriting approach, and hear what meaningful enterprise trends in financial services have the potential to create substantial economic value for technology investors. Tune in as we cover Anna’s journey from working her way up on the trading floor at Merrill Lynch, to a successful foray into angel investing that encouraged her to pursue her entrepreneurial calling.
In this episode, we are joined by Michael Broughton, Thiel Fellow and Founder of Altro, a Y Combinator Class of 2020 startup backed by Pendulum, Marcy Ventures, Citi Ventures, Black Capital Fund, Concrete Rose Fund that uses recurring monthly expenses, including rent and subscriptions like Netflix or Spotify, to build one’s credit. While attending USC, Michael was denied a $10k loan needed to cover the remainder of his tuition due to family finances and a lack of credit history. This frustrating catch-22 inspired Michael to create Altro, a business focused on financial inclusion. In this insightful conversation, we discuss the potential of innovation to address financial inclusion, the importance of personal storytelling in pitching investors, the power of mentors and human capital scaling, and how to separate hype from execution in a new era of scarce capital. Tune in as we cover Michael’s journey from his upbringing in Korea and Japan growing up in a military household, his admission to USC and Altro’s initial breakthrough with Marcy Ventures that encouraged him to drop out to pursue his entrepreneurial calling.
In this episode, we are joined by Caleb Avery, Founder and CEO of Tilled, a PayFac-as-a-Service platform that allows B2B SaaS companies to monetize payments that pass through their platforms. Caleb is one of the most articulate thought leaders when it comes to deconstructing the mechanics of the payment industry. He founded Tilled in 2019, drawing on nearly a decade of experience advising merchants and software businesses on optimizing their payment processing. He believes in enabling Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) to retain the majority of revenue from payments, a principle that has shaped Tilled's development as a comprehensive payment solution that does not compromise on technology, user experience, or financial benefits. Tune in as we cover Caleb’s journey from an early entrepreneur with a passion for golf to a leader in the Fintech space. We'll discuss the influence of sports on leadership and team dynamics, the Fintech industry's response to changing customer demands and behaviors, and the future of payment methods, including cryptocurrencies.
In this episode, we are joined by Tanvi Lal, a member of the investment team at Intuit Ventures, the financial software leader’s Venture Capital group responsible for overseeing investment in startups around the world. Tanvi has been recognized as one of NYC Fintech Women’s 2023 Inspiring Fintech Females. She is a co-founder of VC Unleashed, a global nonprofit aimed at diversifying venture capital through education, resource sharing, and community building, particularly for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. In this insightful conversation, we discuss the skills required to be a VC, the power of the Intuit brand to open doors for sourcing and the potential to create value post-transaction as a corporate VC. Tune in as we delve into her outlook for 2024 and the areas she is particularly interested in deploying into, including vertical SaaS, HR Tech and how the high rates environment is shedding light onto treasury management and fixed income products.
In this episode, we are joined by Olya Caliujnaia, CEO and Co-Founder of Sanlo, a Fintech venture backed by Index Ventures and Konvoy that provides digital financial infrastructure and non-dilutive capital to game and app developers. The idea for Sanlo came from empathy for gaming studio owners, the sheer size of the market, and the pain point of managing their back-office operations. In this insightful conversation, Olya shares very valuable advice on what she believes to be three essential pillars of business building: starting and ending with the customer, setting a strong foundation within the team, and creating optionality to adapt to changing circumstances. Tune in as we delve into Olya’s journey, from her initial stint in venture capital and moving to operator roles in gaming and fintech at EA and SigFig, and eventually starting her own Fintech company with the backing of top-notch investors.
In this episode, we are joined by Michael “Max” Maxworthy, Co-Head Technology Investment Banking at D.A. Davidson. Max has 20 years of investment banking and private equity experience in advising middle market companies in sectors such as Financial Technology. In this insightful conversation, we discuss the wide variety and nuances of business models, capitalization and valuation multiples in Fintech, and the nuances in deal-making when different sets of stakeholders weigh on strategic decision making and outcomes. Tune in as we delve into Max’s successful career journey on Wall Street, from his early days as a research assistant at Morgan Stanley to co-founding Marlin & Associates, an investment bank focused on software, information technology and tech-enabled business services, which was eventually acquired by D.A. Davidson in 2021.
In this episode, we are joined by Paul Monasterio, CEO and Co-founder of Kalepa, a Fintech software startup backed by IA Ventures and Inspired Capital dedicated to enhancing underwriting performance and driving profitable premium growth for the commercial insurance industry. Kalepa’s AI-powered Copilot software enables underwriters to focus their time on high ROI opportunities and quickly evaluate and optimally select risk. Tune in as we delve into Paul’s entrepreneurial journey, from growing up in Venezuela to earning his PhD in nuclear science and computational physics at MIT and then honing his operating skills during the high growth days of APT and Meta before starting Kalepa.
In this episode, we are joined by Itzik Cohen, CEO and Co-founder of Payzen, a transformative healthcare Fintech lender backed by 7wireVentures and Viola. PayZen leverages AI, Machine Learning and highly proprietary data sources to offer healthcare patients a personalized payment plan so they can affordably pay for the care they need. In this insightful episode, we discuss key takeaways from two decades in Silicon Valley, management principles for high growth companies, and the nuances of consumer credit risk underwriting. Tune in as we delve into Itzik’s entrepreneurial journey, from starting his career as a professional basketball athlete and business development executive in the early days of Webex to making healthcare accessible and affordable.
In this episode, we are joined by Lloyd Roberts, leadership author and co-Founder of LoanPro, a leading cloud-based loan management software platform founded with his brothers Rhett and Ben to digitize the entire back office of loan servicing, resulting in lower costs, more efficiency and improved financial inclusion. Lloyd brings a unique blend of grassroots wisdom and effective go-to-market expertise in B2B Fintech software. Tune in as we delve into Lloyd’s entrepreneurial journey, from learning financial responsibility at a young age growing up in Utah, to successfully bootstrapping a Fintech software unicorn and launching a charity focused on increasing fulfillment and prosperity.
In this episode, we are joined by Naré Vardanyan, co-Founder and CEO of Ntropy, a B2B Fintech company backed by Lakestar, QED Investors and January Ventures that offers the most accurate financial data standardization and enrichment API, which uses Large Language Models (LLM) to reconcile transaction and payments data. Ntropy's goal is to help lenders understand their customers through financial transactions so that they can qualify anyone for credit much faster and fairly. Tune in as we delve into Naré’s journey to entrepreneurship, from growing up in war-torn Armenia and working on financial inclusion and poverty reduction at the United Nations, to investing in early-stage AI and machine-learning startups.
In this episode, we are joined by Eric Schneider, co-Founder and co-CEO of AKKO, a Fintech company backed by Fika Ventures, Mundi Ventures and Pear VC (the investors behind DoorDash, Gusto, and Policygenius) that offers straightforward, affordable electronic device insurance. Akko’s digital-first approach eliminates the need for cumbersome paperwork and lengthy resolution, providing customers with a hassle-free experience. They've revolutionized the device insurance workflow to prioritize a seamless end-user experience. Tune in as we delve into Eric’s journey from starting as a jet engine engineer at GE to venture investing, and discuss the specifics of device insurance underwriting and the importance of fully owning the claims experience while growing the business through effective channel distribution and white-labeling.
In this episode, we are joined by Steve Lockshin, Founder of AdvicePeriod and Vanilla, an estate advisory platform. Steve helped pioneer the independent advisory industry, building one of the largest independent RIAs in the nation. He also had a front-row seat to the advent of the Robo-Advisor era as an early investor and advisor to a number of Fintech firms. Tune in as we delve into Steve’s remarkable career journey, discuss the nuances of the wealth management industry and explore the burgeoning role of AI in serving the modern investor.
In this episode, we are joined by Paul Koullick, Co-Founder and CEO at Keeper, a company dedicated to aiding independent contractors in identifying work-related expenses, potentially qualifying them for tax deductions. What sets Keeper apart is its fresh approach to tax filing software – it's built around personalization, intelligence, and a seamless user experience. Tune in to hear more about Paul’s journey as a Fintech entrepreneur, from starting his first business while attending Harvard University to then joining payment leader Square and spearheading Stride Tax, an app dedicated to tracking mileage and expenses.
In this episode, we are joined by Jason Wenk, Founder and CEO of Altruist, a fully vertically-integrated one-stop custodial platform for RIAs. Altruist is on a mission to make investing fair for everyone. Jason has never wavered on his mission to empower more people to have access to better and more affordable financial planning and wealth management. Tune in to hear more about Jason’s journey as one of the leading Wealth Tech entrepreneurs in the world, from his scrappy days of bootstrapping an online retirement planner, to building the fastest growing RIA in the history of the industry.
In this episode, we are joined by Adam Guren, Founder and CIO of Hunting Hill Global Capital, an alternative asset manager specializing in identifying global arbitrage opportunities in complex and emerging asset classes, including cryptocurrencies. Its affiliate Hunting Hill Digital provides investors access to digital assets through a customizable and scalable multi-strat platform. Adam is unique in how he thinks about the design, implementation and risk-management of sophisticated trading strategies. Tune in to hear more about Adam’s journey as a hedge fund founder and exceptional trader, from competing on the US Men’s National Soccer Team to becoming his firm’s youngest partner.
In this episode, we are joined by Jean-Michel Pailhon, Co-Founder of Grail Capital, an investment firm that helps institutional investors and family offices navigate the on-chain digital art market. Jean-Michel and his co-founder Tim Salikhov believe digital art is the next $1 trillion asset class and their goal is to make it easy, profitable and safe for more collectors and investors to participate in the digital art market. Tune in to hear more about Jean-Michel’s journey as a digital art collector and crypto pioneer, from overseeing equity listing and research at NYSE Paris to helping build Paris-based Ledger into a cutting edge platform used by millions of individuals and hundreds of enterprises.
In this second part of the episode, recorded live from Cafe Bonvivant in the 5th Arrondissement of Paris at the ETHcc 2023 conference, we are joined again by Sandy Carter, Chief Operating Officer of Unstoppable Domains, the company that is returning the power of the Internet to the people. Tune in to hear us chat about the purpose-driven tone of the conference, adoption drivers for web3 and how brands can engage with users in the digital space.
In this episode, we are joined by Sandy Carter, Chief Operating Officer of Unstoppable Domains, the company that is returning the power of the internet to the people. Sandy has been consistently recognized by her peers as one of the most influential and powerful women in technology. Tune in to hear more about Sandy’s journey as an innovator, thought leader and operator, from growing up dreaming to be an astronaut to scaling massive technology brands at IBM or AWS, and now executing Unstoppable’s unwavering mission to deliver user-owned, digital identity for every person on the planet.
In this second part of the episode, we are joined again by Tim Grant, Head of EMEA for Galaxy, a diversified financial services and investment management company in the digital asset, cryptocurrency, and blockchain technology sectors. Tune in to hear our broad discussion on the state of crypto, with the benefit of Tim's vantage point and 8 years spent building and selling the technology to global financial institutions.
In this episode, we are joined by Tim Grant, formerly Head of EMEA for Galaxy, a diversified financial services and investment management company in the digital asset, cryptocurrency, and blockchain technology sectors. There is no better person to understand, formalize and evangelize, on a global scale, the rewards of re-platforming financial services infrastructure. Tune in to hear more about Tim's multi-talented journey, from his early days growing up on the outskirts of Glasgow in Scotland to rising as a financial technology executive at UBS, starting two cutting edge companies and trailblazing the digital asset era since 2015.
In this episode, we are joined by Martin Green, co-CIO and CEO of Cambrian Asset Management, a quantitative registered investment manager applying a data and software-driven approach to trading cryptocurrencies and digital assets. Cambrian’s investors include founders or principals from notable quantitative, hedge fund, venture capital, and technology firms. Tune in to hear more about Martin's journey on his way to becoming a digital fund manager, from his early days in technology investment banking at Morgan Stanley, to rising through the ranks of CNET at the height of the first Internet era and successfully selling Sequoia-backed Meebo to Google.
In this episode, we are joined by Joe McCann, Founder, CEO and CIO of Asymmetric, one of the most forward-thinking crypto-native investment firms in recent years. Joe is a true polymath, and is as comfortable discussing emerging technologies, Ethereum volatility surfaces or global macro dynamics. Tune in to hear more about Joe's entrepreneurial journey on his way to becoming a digital fund manager, from systematic trading at John Burbank's Passport Capital to emerging technologies strategy at Microsoft.
In this episode, we are joined by Balder Bomans, Chief Investment Officer of Maven11, one of the most respected venture capital firms in the digital asset and blockchain industry. Balder’s confidence and commitment to what he refers to as the digital renaissance remain undeterred. Tune in to hear more about Balder's journey on his way to becoming a leading crypto-native venture investor, from playing national-level field hockey in the Netherlands, to managing large equities flows on a high-octane trading floor.
In this episode, we are joined by Michael Schwartz, Founder, CEO and Co-CIO of Arena Digital Capital, a leading multi-strategy investment manager offering broad exposure across the growing digital asset and blockchain sector. Michael is a veteran public and private market investor who spent the bulk of his career in the hedge fund industry. He outlines one of the clearest, most thoughtful and comprehensive investment thesis for the digital space. Tune in to hear more about Michael's journey as a world class investor, from starting as an M&A attorney in his early career, to becoming a digital asset fund manager.
In this episode, we are joined by Joe Kelly, Co-Founder and CEO of Unchained Capital, the market leader and trusted partner in bitcoin-native financial services that offers comprehensive collaborative custody, trading and lending solutions for bitcoiners globally. Joe is a steadfast proponent of bitcoin's adoption and ability to create sovereign individuals. Tune in to hear more about Joe's journey as a formidable serial technology entrepreneur, from working the early morning hours on a tugboat along the Hudson river in his early career, to challenging the digital banking status-quo with undeterred grit.
In this episode, we are joined by Morgan McKenney, CEO of the Provenance Foundation, a public proof-of-stake blockchain designed specifically to enable regulated financial services firms to deploy digital assets. Morgan joined Provenance in 2022 to lead its ecosystem expansion. She is passionate about enabling the digital economy, harnessing emerging technology for business value and democratizing access to financial services to support economic growth. Tune in to hear more about Morgan's journey as a global Fintech and digital transformation leader.
In this episode, we are joined by Robert Alcorn, Co-Founder and CEO of Clearpool, a highly innovative and composable protocol that enables borrowers to raise unsecured liquidity directly from DeFi markets. Clearpool's founding goal was to solve the problem of over-collateralization, one of the most significant problems facing DeFi borrowers. Rob is an experienced founder with a 25-year career including operating a family business and building large fixed income sales and trading businesses. Tune in to hear more about Rob's journey as a DeFi entrepreneur.
In this episode, we are joined by Paul Saint Donat, Partner of dlab, a first check discovery venture capital firm providing capital and resources to web3 and crypto projects. Paul and his team are committed to helping founders at the time where they need it the most: the beginning. They share a core belief that web3 will usher in a more open, transparent and participatory world creating an Internet-sized impact. In our conversation, Paul opens up about his upbringing in New York City, finding purpose as an AmeriCorps volunteer before joining the buy-side. Tune in to hear more about Paul's journey as a digital fund entrepreneur.
In this episode, we are joined by Kyle Downey, CEO and co-founder of Cloudwall, a provider of state-of-the-art risk management infrastructure to a growing base of institutional traders and investors in digital assets. Kyle launched his venture after calling time on his leadership career at Morgan Stanley, where he was a Managing Director in the bank’s automated risk trading department. In our conversation, Kyle discusses his unconventional path to Wall Street, Cloudwall’s founding story and the challenges its platform is striving to solve. Tune in to hear more about Kyle's journey as a Fintech entrepreneur.
In this episode, we are joined by Marcus Leanos, founder and Chief Investment Officer of MJL Capital, a fundamentally-driven, research-focused crypto-native hedge fund. Marcus started his career investing in banks and emerging Fintech. He explains to us that what the Internet did for information-transfer, blockchain will do for value-transfer by making all units of value interoperable, programmable and composable. Tune in to hear more about Marcus' journey as an institutional investor and digital fund entrepreneur.
In this episode, we are joined by Aryan Sheikhalian, Head of Research & Investor at CMT Digital to discuss the main web3 infrastructure development threads going on at the moment and understand the path towards better scalability, abstraction & interoperability. A blockchain expert, Aryan is uniquely qualified to make sense of recent technology trends and philosophies in the space.
In this episode, we are joined by Sidney Powell, Co-Founder & CEO of Maple Finance who shares his journey from debt capital markets & institutional banking, to taking on the world of private credit by building a leading capital markets platform on the blockchain. He is one of the most impressive DeFi entrepreneurs we have met, with a keen sense for capital formation, organizational development & go-to market strategy.
In this episode, we sit down with Ash Ashmawy, CEO & Founder of Kemet Trading, who is leading the effort to provide institutional-grade infrastructure for digital asset derivative trading. Ash is a formidable entrepreneur and trading technologist who knows how to execute when he identifies a problem to solve. Tune in to hear his personal journey, and how he was able to secure funding from an impressive list of institutional investors in a challenging year for crypto markets.
In this episode we welcome Benoit Bosc, Managing Director and Global Head of Product at GSR, who is amongst a pioneering group of accomplished institutional traders and risk managers having made the move into crypto and web3. At GSR Benoit works daily to expand the crypto derivative market and provide innovative solutions to a growing franchise of token-issuing ventures. He brings a unique insight into the events of 2022 and the current state of the market.
In this episode we dive into Karl Cole-Fireman’s unconventional journey as both a lawyer and as an entrepreneur, and learn about the various facets of his cutting-edge fund practice. As the founder and Managing Partner of Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP, Karl is well-known in the crypto industry for his subject matter expertise and his innovative work with managers who invest in non-traditional asset classes.
Glyn Jones, founder and CEO of Icebreaker Finance, joins us to chat about on-chain lending to Bitcoin miners as a Maple Finance credit pool delegate. An expert in institutional credit risk management, Glyn founded Icebreaker Finance in 2022 with an ambition to leverage blockchain technology to improve the efficiency of capital markets.
Cedric Jeannot, Co-Founder of Be Financial Group, joins us to share his vision for achieving financial inclusion in Africa by launching a neo-bank using blockchain infrastructure and DeFi primitives for payments, savings and lending. Tune in to learn about the transformative power of Fintech to increase the standards of living and economic development.
Caroline Mauron, Co-Founder of Orbit Markets talks to us about building a crypto derivatives trading firm from the ground up in less than a year, and how her extensive experience developing and managing structured products and exotic options as a foreign exchange trader since 2005 prepared her and her team for success.
After a difficult 2022, the crypto industry faces heightened criticism and existential questions. Stephen Diehl, author of “Popping The Crypto Bubble” and vocal crypto skeptic joins us to share his views and arguments, as we deconstruct the various crypto narratives that form the industry’s belief system.
This is a limited podcast series focused on the entrepreneurial journey of crypto-native hedge fund founders. Shiliang Tang, Chief Investment Officer of LedgerPrime joins us to share his story and journey prior to setting up his own fund, how his business got started and how initial success was achieved. We also discuss how the current crypto winter is affecting this sector of the blockchain economy, and what the future holds.
This is a limited podcast series focused on the entrepreneurial journey of crypto-native hedge fund founders. Peter Kambolin, Chief Executive Officer of Systematic Alpha Management joins us to share his story and journey prior to setting up his own fund, how his business got started and how initial success was achieved. We also discuss how the current crypto winter is affecting this sector of the blockchain economy, and what the future holds.
This is a limited podcast series focused on the entrepreneurial journey of crypto-native hedge fund founders. Edmund McCormack, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of DChained Capital joins us to share his story and journey prior to setting up his own fund, how his business got started and how initial success was achieved. We also discuss how the current crypto winter is affecting this sector of the blockchain economy, and what the future holds.
This is a limited podcast series focused on the entrepreneurial journey of crypto-native hedge fund founders. Charles Hwang, Chief Investment Officer of Lightning Capital Partners joins us to share his story and journey prior to setting up his own fund, how his business got started and how initial success was achieved. We also discuss how the current crypto deep freeze is affecting this sector of the blockchain economy, and what the future holds.