Moneyneversleeps

Referring to Colm Lyon as an Irish fintech ‘O.G.’ is just the tip of the iceberg, as at the core, he’s an entrepreneur who’s built indigenous Irish businesses into international players. Currently the CEO and Founder of Fire.com, we walk through Colm’s journey from the early days of banking IT to bootstrapping and scaling his first fintech Realex Payments before it was even called fintech, and building a great culture as an Irish company competing globally. We also talk through how successful exits aren’t really exits, what excites Colm about what fintech will become, what he looks for in startup founders…and the wonders of the antediluvial period! LINKS: Episode title inspired by 'Freedom' by The Gloaming and 'Freedom' by The Game. Check out the Fire.com website to learn more about Fire.com and Colm Lyon. Leave a review and subscribe on Podchaser| Apple Podcasts | Spotify| Google| Overcast Check out our MoneyNeverSleeps website Subscribe to our newsletter on Substack Follow us on Twitter Podcast| Twitter Pet

Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend dive headfirst into insights from the first AMA session on the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator, then look at Stripe’s re-entry into crypto and what they’d miss if they stayed on the sidelines, Pete shares some stories from the Token 2049 conference last week in London, and Eoin tees up some unique insights on embedded finance through the lens of NerdWallet’s IPO filing and Productfy’s $16mn Series A. MAIN STORIES COVERED: Highlights from 1st AMA (ask-me-anything) on the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator in Dublin (YouTube, 13-Oct-21) Stripe goes back to the crypto future (Charlie Taylor @ Irish Times, 13-Oct-21) Stories from Token 2049 in London last week (Business Insider, 11-Oct-21) NerdWallet’s IPO filing reveals high-margin content business, accelerating marketing spend (Techcrunch, 11-Oct-21) OTHER STORIES/REFERENCES: ‘Shopify of embedded finance’ startup Productfy grabs $16 million in funding (ITMunch, 10-Oct-21) Proposed Bank Jewel Wants to Become a Global St

Laura Walsh is the COO of Launchpool, a digital asset platform with a mantra of egalitarian investing in blockchain projects.  In this episode, we talk through how Laura’s incredibly unique foundation as a teacher of English as a second language, as an international development operative, and as someone with a deep interest in how things work, led to her entry point into the blockchain ecosystem in 2017. We also dive into the mission of Launchpool and Launchpool’s impact as a platform for investing in blockchain projects, and also where things are headed with the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator landing in Dublin in 2022. LINKS: Episode title inspired by ‘The Magic Number’ by De La Soul. Get in touch with Laura Walsh and check out Launchpool and the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator to learn more. Leave a review and subscribe on Podchaser| Apple Podcasts | Spotify| Google| Overcast Check out our MoneyNeverSleeps website Subscribe to our newsletter on Substack Follow us on Twitter Podcast| Twitte

157: Money Talks #42:  Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator in Ireland | Chase Goes UK | AngelList Gets Stacked Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend dive into the big news for Ireland’s startup ecosystem as Techstars come to Ireland with the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator, along with some news of how Pete will be leading the program, then we get into how we think Chase’s digital bank might fare in the UK, and also AngelList’s announcement of AngelList Stack and their opportunity to monetize their massive user base through fintech. MAIN STORIES COVERED: Techstars comes to Ireland with the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator Techstars to hold blockchain-focused accelerator in Dublin (Charlie Taylor, Irish Times, 27-Sep-21) 5 Questions with Pete Townsend, Managing Director of Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator(Techstars Blog, 30-Sep-21) Chase Launches UK Digital Bank JPMorgan Chase Launches New Digital Bank in the UK: What do the Industry Think? (Fintech Times, 21-Sep 21) AngelList launch AngelLis

Our guest this week is Gershie Vann, Founder and CEO of Magma Capital Funds, a Chicago-based quantitative hedge fund firm. We talk through the long iterative climb involved in launching a business, finding alternative skillsets outside of finance when building his team during the first pandemic lockdown in 2020, what’s at the core of his entrepreneurial mindset, quieting the always-on mind of the founder, an innovative approach to raising capital for new hedge funds, along with a shallow dive into crypto and sovereign currencies…and being the elder statesman in a family of 7 kids! LINKS: Episode title inspired by ‘Bring the Noise’ by Public Enemy and Anthrax Get in touch with Gershie Vann and check out Magma Capital Funds to learn more Leave a review and subscribe on Podchaser| Apple Podcasts | Spotify| Google| Overcast Check out our MoneyNeverSleeps website Subscribe to our newsletter on Substack Follow us on Twitter Podcast| Twitter Pete| Twitter Eoin Get in touch at info@moneyneversleeps.ie --- Support

Sophie Guibaud is the Chief Growth Officer at OpenPayd and she’s spent the last 10 years designing and executing the go-to-market of banking-as-a-service (BaaS) and embedded finance propositions in Europe, building teams and operations from scratch, and integrating financial services into customers’ existing products to create new revenue streams. We talk through Sophie’s entrepreneurial journey to date, some real-world applications of embedded finance, the benefits of her extracurricular activities with podcasts and advisory boards feeding her creativity….and her past life as a competitive boxer! LINKS: Episode title inspired by ‘Vision’ by Travis Scott Get in touch with Sophie Guibaud and check out OpenPayd to learn more Leave a review and subscribe on Podchaser| Apple Podcasts | Spotify| Google| Overcast Check out our MoneyNeverSleeps website Subscribe to our newsletter on Substack Follow us on Twitter Podcast| Twitter Pete| Twitter Eoin Get in touch at info@moneyneversleeps.ie --- Support this podcast:

Shane Monks O’Byrne, founder and CEO of Aikido Finance, joins the show this week to talk to Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend about the Aikido Finance mission of democratizing quant investing, how he went from a grad with a Computer Science degree to a fully empowered startup founder in less than two years, the similarities between a rules-based mind and the merits of quant investing, finding co-founders and building the A team, raising a $1mn seed round from angels and a US VC, and the parallels between investing and alpine climbing. LINKS: Episode title inspired by ‘My Parallel’ by Royce Da 5’9” Leave a review and subscribe on Podchaser| Apple Podcasts | Spotify| Google| Overcast Get in touch with Shane Monks O’Byrne and check out Aikido Finance to learn more Check out our MoneyNeverSleeps website Subscribe to our newsletter on Substack Follow us on Twitter Podcast| Twitter Pete| Twitter Eoin Get in touch at info@moneyneversleeps.ie --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/moneyneversleeps/support

Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend walk through Amazon’s new partnership with BNPL (buy-now-pay-later) player Affirm and what this means for the Amazon flywheel, and then answer the question ‘what’s a stablecoin?’ in the context of USD Coin and the Centre Consortium, before diving into the world of NFTs through Visa’s $150,000 purchase of a CryptoPunk NFT and the big opportunity for monetizing the metaverse. MAIN STORIES COVERED: Amazon-Affirm BNPL (buy-now-pay-later) Affirm shares soar nearly 47% after Amazon partnership that lets consumers buy expensive things in installments (CNBC, 30-Aug-21) Is Affirm's Amazon Deal Better Than Walmart? (Fintech Business Weekly/Jason Mikuda, 29-Aug-21) How does Affirm make money? (Finty, 21-Jun-21) USDC and Stablecoins Centre Consortium announces new team to create 'global network of stablecoins' (the Block (via Coindesk), 30-Aug-21) AID:Tech utilises Circle and USD Coin to provide fraud resistant disaster relief(Finextra, 30-Aug-21) Visa is now supporting settlement of car

Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend unpack the shiny new $24bn valuation for Chime in the context of the American neobank landscape, Ron Shevlin’s concept of neobank-driven deposit displacement through the lens of Bank of America, Facebook’s relaunch of their crypto project, the potential impact of Amazon hiring a crypto lead, the LendingClub turnaround and a sampling of Lex Sokolin’s poetic fintech prose. MAIN STORIES COVERED: Chime’s Big Raise Chime raises $750 million, earns big jump in valuation as another fintech moves closer to IPO (CNBC, 13-Aug-21) Bank of America and Deposit Displacement Bank Of America is losing its grip on millennials as fintechs reinvent the checking account (Ron Shevlin in Forbes, 16-Aug-21) Facebook’s Wallet Relaunch Will Facebook’s Relaunched Digital Wallet [Novi] Alter the Future of Payments? (The Financial Brand, 24-Aug-21) Amazon’s Crypto Journey Beyond the rumors: Amazon's likely direction in crypto (American Banker, 30-Jul-21) Lending Club Turnaround Buying a bank turned Lend

Recorded during the Finsight Series virtual event that Pete Townsend moderated recently hosted by Navirum and Salesforce, this episode features an all-star cast with Rory Galvin from Navirum, Bryan Clagett from Moven, Cory Haberkorn from Salesforce and Niall Twomey from Fenergo. The main theme we covered is this: The demand for digital financial services goes far beyond the domain of neobanks - how do we become truly digital upstream of consumer banking, especially in institutional banking and wealth management? GET IN TOUCH WITH SPEAKERS: Rory Galvin, Founder and CEO of Navirum Bryan Clagett, Chief Revenue Officer at Moven Cory Haberkorn, Senior Manager and Industry Advisor, Wealth and Asset Management at Salesforce Niall Twomey, CTO and Co-founder of Fenergo LINKS: Leave a review and subscribe on Podchaser| Apple Podcasts | Spotify| Google| Overcast Check out our MoneyNeverSleeps website Subscribe to our newsletter on Substack Follow us on Twitter Podcast| Twitter Pete| Twitter Eoin Get in touch at info@mon

Brian Kenny is the CEO and Founder of MiniCorp. Brian left the Lego behind at an early age and started building through code. We go deep into how Brian thinks about leading MiniCorp and what makes MiniCorp unique, how his modus operandi has evolved during his career in tech, the critical task of truly knowing your first ten customers, analogies between startups and marathons, and the importance of balance and human kindness. MiniCorp are based in Dublin and help companies create exceptional digital products and experiences. In short, MiniCorp are your ready-to-go product team. Through years of experience, MiniCorp have created world-class digital products together with their clients. Their digital experiences have touched millions of customers and allow MiniCorp to grow concepts into top startups. LINKS: Episode title inspired by Growing Up by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Leave a review and subscribe on Podchaser| Apple Podcasts | Spotify| Google| Overcast Follow Brian Kenny on Twitter and get in touch to lear

Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend dive deep into the annual results from UK neobanks Starling and Monzo and what’s next for both, before getting into Square’s deal for BNPL (buy now, pay later) player Afterpay and how the integration will lead to a ‘fintech flywheel’. They then dive even deeper into their developing fintech flywheel thesis with a look into how Amazon and Shopify built their flywheels around a B2C to B2B bridge and ‘doing one thing well’, before tying it all back together with a look at Revolut’s travel plans. MAIN STORIES COVERED: Starling’s Results Breaking down Starling’s 2020 financials (Sifted, 22-Jul-21) Monzo’s Results Monzo reports £114m annual loss and a second “going concern” warning (Sifted, 30-Jul-21) Square’s big move into BNPL with Afterpay Why Square is shelling out $29B to snag BNPL player Afterpay (TechCrunch, 2-Aug-21) When Fintech Meets Marketplaces (a16z Fintech Newsletter, July 2021) HONORABLE MENTIONS: Revolut, Europe’s $33 billion fintech giant, launches a travel booking

Gerard Tannam, Strategic Brand-Builder at Islandbridge, tells us all about the use of storytelling as a framework in bridging the gap between buyers and sellers, businesses and their markets. In this episode, we weave through Ger’s own story that takes him from Ireland to Hong Kong and back again, then into the lessons learned from marketing and strategy direction for big brands before launching the Islandbridge business, how building bridges between businesses and customers drives growth for businesses of all sizes….and almost becoming a priest! MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals. HIGHLIGHTS: On one of the earliest signs of what became Gerard’s modus operandi in building brands: “As part of our event management business in Hong Kong in the ‘90’s, we also set up an art gallery. The common thread was that I became used to walking into an empty space and looking on both sides and asking the question

Eoin and Pete mine a motherlode of fintech hotspots this week starting with insights into Revolut’s latest $33bn valuation, Square’s quest for crossover between creators, crypto and small businesses, then we dive deep into the upcoming Robinhood IPO and our developing thesis on fintech flywheels. MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals. MAIN STORIES COVERED: Revolut’s Big Raise Revolut confirms a fresh $800M in funding at a $33bn valuation to supercharge its financial services superapp (TechCrunch, 15-Jul-21) Revolut: required study for any student of disruptive innovation (Sifted, 21-Jul-21) Revolut vs. Nubank: Insight from Rally Cap Venture’s Juan Gabriel (Twitter, 16-Jul-21, thanks Lex Sokolin) Square’s Crossover Square to Create New Bitcoin Platform for Financial Services (CoinDesk, 15-Jul-21) Square to take on incumbents with business banking accounts (Finextra, 21-Jul-21) Robinhood IPO Robinhood

Ankur Mohan, Founder & CEO of MarketXLS joins the show to share his story on his entry point into Galway in the West of Ireland to launch MarketXLS, how a certain demographic just prefers the simplicity and control of Excel for managing personal and professional portfolios, closing the gap between the haves and the have-nots of the investing world, and the life-long lesson of the benefits of hard work. MarketXLS provide a leading Excel-based investment research platform with a belief that each investor and strategy is unique, and that building and executing a great investment strategy should not require a PhD or a million-dollar budget. MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals. LINKS: Episode title inspired by ‘Global Access’ by Wiz Khalifa Get in touch with Ankur Mohan and MarketXLS to learn more Leave a review and subscribe on Podchaser | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google | Overcast Check out our

Ernest Cantillon (CEO of DramEx) and Brian Elders (Founder of SORS Digital Assets and advisor to DramEx) join the show this week to talk about DramEx, a community governed digital whiskey marketplace. We get into the genesis of the DramEx business through Ernest’s life story as a hospitality entrepreneur and Brian’s path through finance and into digital assets, why the timing is right to bring DramEx into the $63bn global whiskey market, the bridge between whiskey and digital assets through NFTs…and training to be a chef and a mathematician! Across the trading lifecycle and around the world, DramEx will enable you to efficiently manage risk and capture opportunities previously unavailable in the digital whiskey marketplace. MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals. Episode title inspired by ‘Calling My Spirit’ by Kodak Black Get in touch with Ernest Cantillon and DramEx to learn more and follow DramEx o

In this Money Talks segment, Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend start with some insights on Visa’s deal for Tink and how the European context of Tink differs quite a bit from the US context of Visa’s dead deal with Plaid, then we look at Binance’s recent troubles before rounding out with Revolut’s recent reporting of their 2020 results and the potential to roll Revolut into a Rundle - the recurring revenue bundle. MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals. MAIN STORIES WE COVERED: Visa to buy Swedish fintech Tink for €1.8bn (Sifted, 24-Jun-21) Binance: Watchdog clamps down on cryptocurrency exchange (BBC, 28-Jun-21) Revolut’s 2020 Results (Lex Sokolin, The Fintech Blueprint, 28-Jun-21) LINKS: Leave a review and subscribe on Podchaser| Apple Podcasts | Spotify| Google| Overcast Check out our MoneyNeverSleeps website Subscribe to our newsletter on Substack Follow us on Twitter Podcast| Twitter Pete| Twitter

Achia Nila, Founder & CEO of Women in Digital, joins the show to share her story on Women in Digital, an all-star team of female technologists dedicated to bringing more Bangladeshi women into the digital economy. In this chat, we get into Nila’s earliest inspirations, proving herself and becoming a CTO before becoming an entrepreneur, the founding principles of Women in Digital, and how she has been able to train 10,000 women in 8 years. MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals. LINKS: Episode title inspired by ‘Freedom’ by Beyonce featuring Kendrick Lamar Get in touch with Achia Nila and Women in Digital to learn about their programs Leave a review and subscribe on Podchaser| Apple Podcasts | Spotify| Google| Overcast Check out our MoneyNeverSleeps website for all of the shownotes and highlights in the written word. Subscribe to our newsletter on Substack Follow us on Twitter Podcast| Twitter Pete

In this Money Talks segment, Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend start with their insights on what Stripe’s latest product could mean for their long-term plan, then they think through the next media flywheel with Netflix finally getting into merch, before heading south to Miami for the outtakes from Bitcoin 2021. MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals. MAIN STORIES WE COVERED: Stripe goes beyond payments with Stripe Identity (TechCrunch, 14-Jun-21) Overdue - Netflix does merch - the flywheel is spinning (Scott Galloway on Twitter, 11-Jun-21) Thousands of bitcoin believers descended on Miami to party and preach the gospel of ‘HODL’ (CNBC, 7-Jun-21) 5 Weirdest Moments at the Bitcoin 2021 Conference in Miami (Decrypt, 6-Jun-21) OTHER POINTS OF INTEREST: Stripe: Thinking Like a Civilization (The Generalist, 13-Jun-21) The Flywheel (Hubspot Blog) When Will Amazon Offer a Checking Account? (Ron Shevlin in For

Mark Boylan, CFO at Trustap, joins the show this week to share his story about his leap out of Big 4 and into startup life, finding the right distribution channels to get Trustap into the end users’ hands, the benefit of strong relationships with your early investors, what’s next for Trustap…and being sports mad! MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals. Trustap is a secure transaction platform that completely protects you from being scammed when you want to buy or sell with someone you don't know, either online or face to face. Mark Boylan on what makes Trustap work: “It's the people in the background that make it all tick, especially Sean Kelleher, our CTO, who is absolutely phenomenal. He solves every problem that comes his way. The answer is never, 'no, we can’t do that,' it's 'okay, how do we fix that?'” “The team are all doing great work, everyone's pulling their weight and driving it on as best t