Moneyneversleeps

Matt McAllister from Mortgage Propeller joins the show to talk about bringing a new fintech to life in the middle of a pandemic, buying a house with a credit card, making lives easier for mortgage brokers and borrowers, talking to your customers way before they become your customers, life lessons from Bebo…and working through the night with The Good, the Bad and the Ugly on in the background! This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals. Matt is the founder and CEO of Mortgage Propeller, a UK-based fintech that makes mortgage brokers more efficient and their businesses more profitable, by addressing compliance and lead generation. He’s got a firm belief that the mortgage application process shouldn’t take the joy out of buying a home. Matt is an entrepreneur and a fintech veteran armed with an MBA, and his 20-year career has spanned financial derivatives, property, online gaming and retail e

Brian McDonald from Bay Advisory joins the show for Part 2 of a 2-part series on M&A and raising capital for entrepreneurs and talks through the logic of exit plans, focusing on outcomes rather than actions when taking money off the table, balancing your gut instinct with valuations, the tendencies of different kinds of buyers after the sale…and the potential for doing a deal in the Irish language! This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals. Brian is the Managing Director at Bay Advisory, a team of corporate finance specialists who apply their knowledge and expertise to the tech sector, helping these small and medium enterprises sell and fundraise at the best value. In Part 1 on episode 118, Brian talked through his origin story and the Bay Advisory approach, so check out that episode first. HIGHLIGHTS: On the importance of an entrepreneur’s long-term view: “If you’re starting a busine

Brian McDonald from Bay Advisory joins the show for Part 1 of a 2-part series on M&A and raising capital for SMEs and talks through the intersection of experiences that drove him to launch Bay Advisory, market trends impacting early-stage entrepreneurs in Europe, and helping entrepreneurs think about their options in taking money off the table. This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals. Brian is the Managing Director at Bay Advisory, a team of corporate finance specialists who apply their knowledge and expertise to the tech sector, helping these small and medium enterprises sell and fundraise at the best value. Continuing along the theme from recent episodes of looking at entrepreneurship downstream from where Eoin and Pete ply their respective trades, we thought it was a good idea to get seed-stage founders and other entrepreneurs in our audience thinking about their options down the

In this special year-end Money Talks segment, Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend wax lyrical on big valuations in the 'Fintech Year in Review', Stripe and the next stage of B2B financial services, the long-term economic impact of bitcoin, optimism for the next frontier of money...and of course, the Rundle! This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals. STORIES WE COVERED: Big Valuations and the Fintech Year in Review Tesla’s market cap tops the 9 largest automakers combined - CNBC - 14-Dec-20 2020: The year that shook fintech - Sifted - 30-Dec-20 Big Ideas Fintech Will Tackle in 2021 - a16z fintech team - Dec-20 Neobank numbers worldwide approach 300 - Finextra - 22-Dec-20 WhatsApp to rollout insurance and pension products on its platform in India soon – The Economic Times – 16-Dec-20 Stripe and the next stage of B2B financial services Stripe Treasury and embedding banking services via API int

Brian McNulty, founder and CEO of FundAdminChain (FAC), joins the show to talk about solving a real business problem with distributed ledger technology (DLT), how funding your business takes a team effort, enabling positive change for the investment funds industry and end investors…and his secret life as a qualified football coach! This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals. EPISODE OVERVIEW: FAC is a network for launching, distributing and trading digital investment funds, connecting investors, fund managers, and their service providers in a distributed digital ecosystem. Brian just completed the first half of raising FAC’s seed round, and although the fundraising round will stay open until February, Pete Townsend wanted to crystallize this moment in time by capturing it in this episode. For the sake of transparency, Pete is also an advisor to Brian and FAC. HIGHLIGHTS: On the core propos

Allan Boyle, founder of Saltwater Consulting, joins the show to talk about helping growth-stage companies scale, putting people at the center of digital transformation, how to get to the root of a problem…and his love-hate relationship with handwriting! This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals. EPISODE OVERVIEW: Saltwater Consulting is an Ireland-based strategic consulting firm specialising in providing businesses with experienced executive capacity and resources where needed during periods of transition and rapid growth. When Allan connected with Pete Townsend and Eoin Fitzgerald, what stood out is Allan’s diverse track record across geographies, industries and business stages, and the number of repetitions in problem-solving he’s had. Also, given his focus on growth-stage companies, the problems Allan is helping to solve are the problems that earlier stage startups will eventually face

Mick Sweeney, CEO of PineBridge Investments in Ireland, joins the show to talk about what triggered his early interest in the financial markets, the nascent opportunity to transform the fund management industry in Ireland, the outcome of his long-term commitment to diversity, thoughts on post-pandemic global markets, societal changes driving new leadership styles…and his labour of love as a Leeds United supporter! This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals. EPISODE OVERVIEW: PineBridge Investments is a private, global asset manager focused on active, high-conviction investing. A mutual friend introduced Pete Townsend and Mick back in 2018 through a mutual friend, and they got on famously right away through a shared appreciation for the merits of strategic change, restructuring and execution, and a similar look on life. Since then, they’ve done their best to be helpful to each other, and th

Elisabeth Dana from Infinity Circle joins the show to talk about how a career in wealth management inspired her to start all over again to build a business centered on client needs, how to be be both digital and transformational, first reflections on Infinity Circle’s crowdfunding campaign and the social side of wealth management. This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals. EPISODE OVERVIEW: We’ve got Elisabeth Dana on the show this week, who is the founder and CEO of Infinity Circle, launching in 2021 as a global digital and real-world platform that brings together like-minded entrepreneurs, investors and game changers, to improve your relationship with money and make investing a fun feature of your life. HIGHLIGHTS: On her inspiration: “The banking landscape changed a lot following the 2008-09 financial crisis, and I decided that I wanted to contribute to my industry and shape the practi

In this week’s Money Talks segment, Pete Townsend and Eoin Fitzgerald take a look at Druckenmiller vs. Dalio on Bitcoin, how angels invest in startups, Tinkoff Bank and the 'Rundle', and AirBnB vs. Ant Financial in the Battle of IPOs. This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals. THIS WEEK’S STORIES: What We’re Getting Wrong About Druckenmiller and Bitcoin (Noelle Acheson, Coindesk, 15-Nov-20) Pete on all of the bitcoin chatter this week: “The opinions expressed on bitcoin by big names in finance, whether they’re well informed or not, are just another notch in bitcoin’s belt holding up its big huge growing trousers of societal acceptance.” Fidelity Digital Assets’ response to Ray Dalio: Addressing Persisting Bitcoin Criticisms (13-Nov-20) Anthony “Pomp” Pompliano explaining bitcoin to Barstool Sports’ Dave Portnoy in episode #392 of the Pomp Podcast. How to Raise Funds with a Super Angel: An

Chris Burge from Spark Crowdfunding joins the show to talk about two-sided marketplaces, the differences between crowdfunding for B2C and B2B companies, his own transition from the life of an energy consultant to that of a crowdfunding platform operator….and the long-term benefits of stag weekends! This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals. EPISODE OVERVIEW: We’ve got Chris Burge on the show this week, who is the co-founder and CEO of Spark Crowdfunding here in Ireland. Spark is an equity crowdfunding platform helping Irish companies raise new funds from a vast pool of private investors. Pete first came across Spark when he was working on a crowdfunding platform project last year, and he thought he had it all figured out at that point through desktop research. However, a conversation with the founder of a business can make all the difference!  This may seem obvious, but with any busi

We’ve flipped the tables this week, with Ken Coyne from OpsTalent interviewing Pete Townsend on his own digital awakening, insights on the startups he’s working with, the origins of enterprise blockchain, the present and the future of digital assets…and who stole Pete’s car stereo in 1990! This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals. EPISODE OVERVIEW: Pete and Ken were introduced a couple of years ago by a friend from Pete’s time in Bermuda. As they got along so well from the start, Pete and Ken do what they can to be helpful to each other. Ken runs the Tech People podcast and is the Chief Technology Officer for Ops Talent, who are delivering technology and multi-lingual customer support services for some of the world’s most innovative companies.  Ken was intrigued by the initial hype around blockchain in the capital markets in 2015, but then he saw things go quiet. So, Ken asked Pete

Brian Mac Mahon, Head Honcho at Expert DOJO, joins us to riff on solving America’s entrepreneurship problem, his objective to scale those solutions globally, the Israeli model as best practice for a startup nation...and starting fires for the betterment of all! EPISODE OVERVIEW: Based in Santa Monica, California, Expert DOJO is a startup accelerator that improves the success rate of early-stage entrepreneurs with investment, foundation, influence, community, branding, marketing, communication and mindset. HIGHLIGHTS: On what’s in a name: “A dojo is a place of continual learning; you leave your ego outside. It’s about trying to understand the problem with as much brain power coming together to find a solution to that problem. It’s about everyone understanding that they’re not an expert, but that they’re reaching towards expertise based on learning more and more.” On the origins of Expert DOJO: "We’re an accelerator, and we’ll invest in 50 companies this year, and another 100 next year. We look at international

Emmett Kilduff, founder and CEO of Eagle Alpha, talks with Pete Townsend about alternative data, launching his first startup at the same time as the Lehman collapse, pairing his conviction on the ‘problem-to-solve’ with staying power while waiting for the market….and his secret life as a Montréalais! EPISODE OVERVIEW: Founded here in Ireland about 8 years ago, Eagle Alpha are Pioneers Connecting the Universe of Alternative Data. Pete first came across Eagle Alpha a few years ago following an intro from Enterprise Ireland, and they’ve stayed in touch ever since. With Eagle Alpha’s strong base of clients in the US hedge fund market, and Pete having a long history in this space, he has always been keenly interested in how Emmett and Eagle Alpha are progressing. In this conversation, we also get into Emmet’s initial inspirations for Eagle Alpha, the benefit of patience when you know you’re right but the market’s not on board yet, and the importance of creativity in responding to the unexpected. HIGHLIGHTS: On the

Sorcha Finucane, Founder of TrainedIn, talks with Pete and Eoin about her inspiration for the business, the network effects of the platform, the ‘platformification’ of trust and referrals, the fairness of SME access to training vs. that of big business, how experience with both sides of the problem increases network value….and her life in an alternate universe in the military! EPISODE OVERVIEW: TrainedIn is an online platform assisting training and consultancy providers in showcasing their business and services while connecting them with individuals and organisations in need of their services. When we learned about Sorcha and TrainedIn recently, our initial intrigue was driven by the network effects of professional training, where buyers bring more sellers and sellers bring more buyers. Also, as the whole world of professional training became virtual very quickly a few months ago, we wanted to know more about how those delivering training and those in need of training programs were keeping things moving. Pete

This week, Pete and Eoin take look at what to do about the condemnation of Big Tech’s alleged monopoly powers according to US lawmakers, the catch-22 of consumer fintech, Apple One and ‘Rundles’, getting something from VCs if not a check….and godspeed, Eddie Van Halen. THIS WEEK’S STORIES: House Lawmakers Condemn Big Tech’s ‘Monopoly Power’ (NY Times, 6-Oct-20) · Do you break up Big Tech (Google Amazon, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft) by geography or by product line? · Is financial services the Mr Burns-slash-Dr-Evil strategy for Big Tech? No, I think it was more about monetizing their user base. · By being so big, Big Tech create an exit strategy for tech startups – if Big Tech is broken up, will it significantly impact your eventual exit plan? How to design fintech for prime users? Embrace complexity (a16z Fintech Newsletter Sep-20, Anish Acharya) · How does fintech address the complicated financial lives of those with too much wealth for their financial life to be simple, but too little wealth to pay someone t

David Soden, Co-founder and CEO of Aptimyz, talks with Pete Townsend about early entrepreneurial influences, finding purpose in a move from pharmaceuticals to B2B SaaS, the end-all-be-all of delivering customer value….and doubling down during lockdown! For more episodes and our entire back catalog of show notes go to MoneyNeverSleeps.ie. For insights delivered to your inbox beyond the spoken word, subscribe to our MoneyNeverSleeps newsletter right here on Substack. EPISODE OVERVIEW: This week Pete talks to David Soden, co-founder and CEO of Aptimyz, an Irish tech startup delivering a complete and affordable EPOS (electronic point of sale) and back-office management solution providing stability for retail in challenging times. If David and Pete had recorded this right after they met pre-lockdown in February, this conversation would’ve been much different! Think about it this way - you build some hard-fought traction with your startup and climb right up to the edge of hitting the market in a big way. Then, the

This week, Pete and Eoin take another look at the TikTok deal as a bellwether for change in how entrepreneurs outside the US look at the American market, a peek inside the now-profitable fintech unicorn TransferWise, the Nikola scam, the Yandex-Tinkoff tie-up, YCombinator’s acid test….and Cobra Kai! This episode is kindly sponsored by Ireland’s fintech and financial services recruitment specialists, Top Tier Recruitment.  If you would like an intro to the team at Top Tier Recruitment, please click here. For more episodes and our entire back catalog of show notes go to MoneyNeverSleeps.ie. For insights delivered to your inbox beyond the spoken word, subscribe to our MoneyNeverSleeps newsletter right here on Substack. THIS WEEK’S STORIES: What the US and China’s tussle over TikTok means for Europe (Sifted, Nicolas Colin - 23-Sep-20) - Revisiting a story we covered on episode 97: Microsoft Goes Tik Tok and Monzo on the Clock.  But, Microsoft didn’t go TikTok, Oracle and Walmart did, and here’s a good

Jill Richmond, Co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer of Jewel, joins the show this week to talk about having agility at the core of everything they do, the relationship between regulations and problem solving…and backpacking solo through eastern Africa! This episode is kindly sponsored by Ireland’s fintech and financial services recruitment specialists, Top Tier Recruitment.  If you would like an intro to the team at Top Tier Recruitment, please click here. For more episodes and our entire back catalog of show notes go to MoneyNeverSleeps.ie. For insights delivered to your inbox beyond the spoken word, subscribe to our MoneyNeverSleeps newsletter right here on Substack. EPISODE OVERVIEW: Jewel is a proposed Bermudian Bank and technology firm building banking infrastructure for digital assets as a bridge to fiat banking. The Jewel team brings a deep set of experience in regulated financial businesses, has provided leadership and guidance on new banking and finance policy in the US and emerging markets, a

Jean Evans from the Venture Business Network in Ireland joins the show this week to share her insights on how to get started with professional networks, building your own board of advisors by developing your network, and being a master networker and a shy introvert at the same time. For more episodes and our entire back catalog of show notes go to MoneyNeverSleeps.ie. For insights delivered to your inbox beyond the spoken word, subscribe to our MoneyNeverSleeps newsletter right here on Substack. EPISODE OVERVIEW: The Venture Business Network is a dynamic community of business owners and leaders who share their knowledge and connections to support one another in the development of more successful businesses. We’ve been talking a lot about how the shift to mostly virtual or virtual-only interaction with customers and investors has impacted entrepreneurs in the last few months, and how everyone is adapting. So, we were thrilled to connect with Jean to dive into how important it is to keep your wider network enga

Ambre Soubiran, CEO of Kaiko, joins the show this week to talk about how the pioneers of crypto and blockchain laid the foundation for the transformation of capital markets, Kaiko’s role beyond crypto as a financial market data provider…and the best route for sailing across the Atlantic! This episode is kindly sponsored by Ireland’s fintech and financial services recruitment specialists, Top Tier Recruitment.  If you would like an intro to the team at Top Tier Recruitment, please click here. For more episodes and our entire back catalog of show notes go to MoneyNeverSleeps.ie. For insights delivered to your inbox beyond the spoken word, subscribe to our MoneyNeverSleeps newsletter right here on Substack. Check out our inclusion in FeedSpot’s Top 20 Entrepreneur Podcasts You Must Follow in 2020. EPISODE OVERVIEW: Kaiko was founded in 2014 and is now a market data provider in the blockchain-based digital assets space, providing institutional investors and market participants with enterprise-grade data inf