Intentionally FinTech

Beholst

🎙 Intentionally FinTech Where founders build with meaning, not just metrics. In a world of neobanks, compliance tools, and payment rails, it’s easy to get lost in the noise. This podcast cuts through it. Hosted by Michael Phillips, Intentionally FinTech dives beneath the surface of fast-growing startups to uncover the real reason they were built. Not the valuation. Not the buzzwords. The why. Each week, we sit down with FinTech founders who chose to build on purpose and stayed the course through regulation, investor pressure, and scarcity. These aren’t product demos. They’re conversations about conviction. From early trade-offs to long-term legacies, we explore the tension between vision and reality and why purpose might be the most underrated asset in FinTech. Because when you build with intention, people don’t just buy what you do. They believe in why you do it.

  1. The Bigger Picture: Making Blockchain Simple for Everyone

    11/11/2025

    The Bigger Picture: Making Blockchain Simple for Everyone

    In this episode of Intentionally FinTech, Michael Phillips, CEO & Founder of Beholst, sits down with Lior Schwartz, Co-Founder of Fidara, to unpack how complexity has held blockchain back from mass adoption — and how virtualisation could finally change that. For years, Web3 promised revolution, yet most people still find blockchain too complicated to use or trust. Lior and his team saw that gap and decided to close it — not by adding features, but by making blockchain simple, modular, and human-centred. Out of that mission, Fidara was born: a platform that virtualises the entire blockchain ecosystem, allowing businesses to build their own secure, flexible blockchains without the heavy cost or complexity. In this episode: • Why most users still don’t understand blockchain — and why that’s okay • How Fidara is creating the “AWS of Blockchain” through virtualisation • What post-quantum security really means for the future of finance • The role of purpose and simplicity in driving real adoption • Why clarity, not complexity, is the key to trust in FinTech Listen in to discover how simplifying the complicated may just shape the next era of finance. Fidara: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liorsch/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/fidara-capital/ https://www.fidara.ai

    35 min
  2. Leaving the Rat Race: How DFR Found Purpose in FinTech

    11/11/2025

    Leaving the Rat Race: How DFR Found Purpose in FinTech

    Intentionally FinTech with Michael Phillips and Jonty Mulholland, Founder of Dominion Financial Review (DFR) — exploring how purpose, not pedigree, can redefine what it means to build in FinTech. After leaving a conventional internship and the “graduate rat race,” Jonty realised how few opportunities truly teach financial skills or prepare students for real-world decision-making. Out of that frustration, DFR was born — a purpose-driven platform that blends AI, financial education, and meaningful work experience to help students learn by doing. In this episode, we unpack: • How Jonty turned a failed internship into a purpose-driven FinTech mission • Why clarity of purpose attracts both investors and authentic audiences • The future of AI-powered financial learning and employability • How DFR is redefining efficiency and accessibility in finance • The power of grit, authenticity, and staying true to your “why” If you’ve ever wondered how purpose can turn frustration into innovation, this conversation will remind you why FinTech needs founders who believe before they build. DFR: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dfr25/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonty-mulholland-3b0107226/ https://www.dominionfinancialreview.com

    43 min
  3. Latin Soul, Swiss Execution: How SulPayments Connects People

    22/10/2025

    Latin Soul, Swiss Execution: How SulPayments Connects People

    Intentionally FinTech with host Michael Phillips sits down with Christian Ribeiro and Tilmar Goos, co-founders of SulPayments, to unpack how a company with Latin soul and Swiss execution is breaking borders in Latin America through purpose-driven payments. Christian, a serial entrepreneur from Brazil, saw first-hand how outdated banking rails excluded everyday people from global commerce. Tilmar, a blockchain expert from Switzerland, brought the technology and precision to solve it. Together, they built SulPayments — a cross-border FinTech bridging Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and beyond through stablecoin settlements and instant remittances. In this episode: • Why connecting people, not just payments, fuels SulPayments’ mission • How purpose and trust lower barriers in FinTech adoption • The real story behind Brazil’s payment revolution • Navigating regulation and compliance in emerging markets • What “Latin soul, Swiss execution” truly means in practice 🎧 If you believe FinTech should be more human — and borders shouldn’t block opportunity — this episode is for you. Sulpayments: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sulpayments/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/christianribeiro/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/tilmarwgoos/ https://sulpayments.ch

    45 min
  4. Simplify to Move: How Colfi Is Making Collateral Instant

    22/10/2025

    Simplify to Move: How Colfi Is Making Collateral Instant

    Intentionally FinTech with host Michael Phillips and guest Noha Berrada (CEO & Founder, Colfi) dives into the silent bottleneck of finance: slow, fragmented collateral movement. An ex-quant and Cambridge MBA, Noha has lived the pain of manual, costly, multi-day settlement across market infrastructure. Regulatory pressure is pushing to T+0/T+1, but operations and governance still lag. Out of that gap, Colfi was born—to simplify and make collateral mobility instant. Think real-time, straight-through movement of cash and securities so institutions save time, reduce risk, and unlock liquidity. Topics • Why purpose (not features) builds durable trust in FinTech • From “do everything” to “do the one thing”: focusing on instant mobility • Infinite vs. finite thinking when choosing investors • FCA pathways, compliance as an enabler (not a brake) • The Golden Circle & the Celery Test: communicating clarity to markets If you’re building a FinTech that stands for more than a feature set, subscribe and share this episode with a founder who needs real-time clarity. Colfi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noha-berrada-426958102/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/collateral-management-fintech-colfi/ https://www.colfi.io

    46 min
  5. Purpose Isn’t a Slide Deck: Why Fintelect AI Builds With Heart

    14/10/2025

    Purpose Isn’t a Slide Deck: Why Fintelect AI Builds With Heart

    Intentionally FinTech with Zhivka Nedelkova, Founder & CEO of Fintelect AI, to unpack how trust, diversity, and data clarity can coexist inside one purpose-driven fintech. The pain: Finance teams lose millions every year to fragmented data, manual reconciliations, and outdated systems — all while female founders still face systemic bias and limited access to capital. The origin: After 20 years in senior finance roles, Zhivka saw the same inefficiencies repeat — and the same under-representation persist. Out of that frustration and vision, Fintelect AI was born. The solution: An AI-driven CFO assistant built on trust, clarity, and explainability — helping companies move beyond spreadsheets while championing diversity and compliance. We'll touch on: – The $13 M cost of poor data quality – Why regulation is part of the purpose – Diversity as a competitive advantage – The Golden Circle & the Celery Test live – What it means to build with heart If you believe purpose belongs at the core of finance, subscribe to Intentionally FinTech and share what purpose means in your journey. Fintellect AI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zhivkaatanasovanedyalkova/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintellect-ai/ https://www.fintellectai.com

    44 min
  6. Inverting the 80/20: How Zyplow Frees Claims Teams to Do Real Work

    29/09/2025

    Inverting the 80/20: How Zyplow Frees Claims Teams to Do Real Work

    Intentionally FinTech with host Michael Phillips and guest Omar Douiri, Founder & CEO of Zyplow, unpacks how AI can restore trust and time in insurance. Omar brings both a family background in insurance and a tech obsession to the fraud problem draining insurers’ resources. With 20% of fraudulent or complex claims consuming 80% of adjusters’ time, the industry has been stuck in inefficiency and distrust. Out of that gap, Zyplow was born — an AI-driven insurtech that detects fraud, validates images, and matches claims to damage — helping insurers cut noise, protect customers, and reclaim time for real work. We cover: • Why fraud consumes disproportionate energy — and how to flip the ratio. • Omar’s personal journey from Casablanca brokerage summers to Paris insurtech founder. • The Golden Circle exercise that shaped Zyplow’s “why.” • How regulation can be a blessing in disguise when baked into product design. • The role of trust and purpose in both investor relations and customer adoption. Tune in to hear how clarity of purpose, obsession with progress, and smart use of AI can reshape insurance from the inside out. Zyplow: https://www.linkedin.com/in/omar-douiri-135865236/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/zyplow/ https://www.zyplow.com

    40 min
  7. Purpose Before Product: Building Paypercut in Eastern Europe

    15/09/2025

    Purpose Before Product: Building Paypercut in Eastern Europe

    On this episode of Intentionally FinTech, host Michael Phillips sits down with Stoil Vasilev, Co-founder & CEO of Paypercut, to unpack what it really takes to build a purposeful FinTech in Central and Eastern Europe. After a decade at SumUp, Stoil realised that growth without learning had lost its spark. Out of that need for change—and a reunion with like-minded co-founders—Paypercut was born. Their mission? To make merchants’ lives easier through BNPL aggregation, smoother payments, and merchant-funded installment plans. In this conversation, we explore: • Why team and culture outweighed the market gap in founding Papercut. • How purpose evolves from people first, product second. • The role of signalling and trust when customers are wary of new FinTechs. • Balancing compliance outsourcing with long-term licensing goals. • Why legacy for Stoil isn’t about an exit—but about staying true to purpose. If you’ve ever wondered how purpose shapes trust, resilience, and growth in FinTech, this episode is a masterclass in staying clear, grounded, and true to your why. Paypercut: https://www.linkedin.com/company/paypercut/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/stoil-vasilev-7388606/ https://paypercut.co/

    38 min
  8. Beyond Spreadsheets: The TO-Ca$h Way to Treasury

    02/09/2025

    Beyond Spreadsheets: The TO-Ca$h Way to Treasury

    In this episode of Intentionally FinTech, host Michael Phillips sits down with Andrea Vanara, CEO of TO-Ca$h, to unpack moving treasury beyond spreadsheets. Over 25 years in treasury and banking, Andrea saw firms slowed by manual workflows, fragmented tools and decisions no human can optimise fast—eroding margin and growth. Out of that gap, TO-Ca$h was born: a treasury co-pilot that forecasts cash, sets the daily position, executes FX/payments, and generates dynamic reporting—compressing a seven-hour routine to ~45 minutes so people focus on judgement, not data. Topics we cover: • Why spreadsheets + gut feel fail • TO-Ca$h’s day: forecast → position → execute → report • Partnering to cover regulated steps • Framing treasury so investors get it • Purpose tools: Golden Circle, Celery Test If you’re ready to go beyond spreadsheets, this episode shows how. TO-Ca$h: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-vanara/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/to-cash/ https://www.tocash.ai

    51 min
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About

🎙 Intentionally FinTech Where founders build with meaning, not just metrics. In a world of neobanks, compliance tools, and payment rails, it’s easy to get lost in the noise. This podcast cuts through it. Hosted by Michael Phillips, Intentionally FinTech dives beneath the surface of fast-growing startups to uncover the real reason they were built. Not the valuation. Not the buzzwords. The why. Each week, we sit down with FinTech founders who chose to build on purpose and stayed the course through regulation, investor pressure, and scarcity. These aren’t product demos. They’re conversations about conviction. From early trade-offs to long-term legacies, we explore the tension between vision and reality and why purpose might be the most underrated asset in FinTech. Because when you build with intention, people don’t just buy what you do. They believe in why you do it.

Information

  • Creator
    Beholst
  • Years Active
    2k
  • Episodes
    16