Humans of Fintech

Nicole Casperson

Humans of Fintech with Nicole Casperson is where the people building the future of money get real about what it takes to create meaningful change. Hosted by award-winning journalist and Fintech Is Femme founder Nicole Casperson, the show goes beyond headlines, valuations, and product launches to uncover the decisions, setbacks, ambitions, and lived experiences shaping fintech, business, and AI. Each episode features candid conversations with the founders, operators, investors, executives, and culture-shapers reimagining how money moves—and who gets to build its future. You’ll hear the stories behind the companies, the lessons behind the leadership, and the human realities behind innovation. Come for the ideas transforming financial services. Stay for the people courageous enough to build what comes next. Humans of Fintech is a Fintech Is Femme Original show.

  1. 5d ago

    Can AI Make Financial Advice Available to Everyone? With Laurel Taylor

    Student debt in America isn’t just a balance sheet problem. It can delay investing, homeownership, entrepreneurship, starting a family, and decades of compound wealth creation. Few people understand that better than Laurel Taylor, Founder and CEO of Candidly. Laurel founded Candidly after living the problem herself. She grew up believing higher education was the path to economic mobility, but she and her mother also experienced the long-term cost of financing that dream: years spent paying down debt instead of building wealth. That experience eventually led Laurel to help create what she describes as the 401(k) for student debt, enabling workers to pay down qualifying student loans while still receiving employer retirement contributions. But student debt was only the beginning. In this episode of Humans of Fintech, Nicole Casperson sits down with Laurel as Candidly celebrates ten years and enters its next chapter: building personalized, AI-powered financial guidance across debt, retirement, savings, college planning, and wealth. They unpack why traditional financial wellness is too fragmented, how workplace-connected data can create a powerful advantage for financial guidance, why enterprise AI requires a much higher trust threshold than consumer AI, and what happens when technology can finally help answer one deceptively simple question: What should I do with my next dollar? Laurel also reflects on a decade of entrepreneurship, fundraising through difficult markets, leading with kindness, and why founders sometimes need an almost irrational level of conviction to keep going. This is a conversation about debt, wealth, AI, trust, and what it would take to make personalized financial guidance available to far more people. Subscribe to Humans of Fintech for more conversations with the people building the future of financial services. YouTube Chapters / Timestamps In this conversation, we dive into: 00:00 Why student debt is really a wealth problem00:51 Laurel Taylor and the $1.7T student debt challenge02:10 10 years of building Candidly02:42 The problem Laurel saw before the market did04:33 Why the name “Candidly”?05:24 Inventing the 401(k) for student debt06:23 Building wealth while paying down debt07:45 How AI changes financial guidance09:21 Why trust is becoming fintech’s defining advantage11:20 Candidly’s enterprise distribution model13:00 The “sacred truths” of enterprise AI14:58 Why financial institutions need customer-facing AI16:17 You don’t get to simply declare yourself AI-native17:25 Why fragmented financial wellness is broken18:00 Building personalized AI financial guidance20:40 Moving fast when the margin for error is zero22:25 Turning financial guidance into action24:55 What 10 years taught Laurel about leadership26:39 The irrational conviction founders need28:40 The responsibility of reaching millions of workers29:14 Why Laurel still defines success as kindness31:21 Kindness is not the same thing as being nice33:22 What’s next for Candidly 👇🏼 SUBSCRIBE + FOLLOW HUMANS OF FINTECH YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@humansoffintech Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/humans-of-fintech/id1600731457 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3zA6yUb3D7I5ZRbehlsdX7?si=42f10417f6e44983 For more fintech news, founder stories, and FTW updates: https://www.fintechisfemme.co/

  2. Aug 17

    AI Is Making Software Easier to Build. So What Still Creates a Moat?

    AI is making products easier to build. So what actually separates the companies that win? In this episode of Humans of Fintech, Nicole Casperson sits down with Drew Glover, Co-Founder of Fiat Growth and General Partner at Fiat Ventures, at the Golden Gate Bridge to unpack the next phase of fintech in the AI era. Drew argues that as software becomes easier to replicate, the strongest moats left are data, distribution, storytelling, and community. The conversation explores why fintech may be uniquely positioned in the AI economy, why every scaled technology company eventually starts looking like a fintech company, how founder-led marketing is replacing faceless B2B brands, and why the companies sitting on decades of proprietary financial data may become some of the most important players in AI. Nicole and Drew also go behind the scenes of FTW: San Francisco, September 29–October 1, and discuss why the next generation of fintech events should feel less like giant trade shows and more like curated rooms where executives, founders, investors, and operators can actually build together. Because in the AI era, technology may be easier to create. Trust, distribution, data, and community are not. Subscribe to Humans of Fintech for more conversations with the people building the future of financial services. In this conversation, we dive into: 00:00 What still creates a moat in the AI era? 00:54 Drew Glover returns to Humans of Fintech 01:13 Why fintech is missing from the AI narrative 01:59 Every fintech company is becoming an AI company 03:54 Why financial institutions have an AI data advantage 04:19 Build vs. partner: the legacy fintech dilemma 05:57 Is proprietary financial data the real moat? 07:11 Why fintech still struggles to look “sexy” 08:41 Drew’s unconventional path into fintech 10:48 Financial inclusion after the DEI boom 13:43 The B2B fintech storytelling problem 14:48 Why B2B brands now need mass-market storytelling 15:50 The rise of founder-led marketing 17:41 “Data and distribution are the only moats left” 18:43 Why storytelling still gets founders funded 18:53 What FTW: San Francisco is building 20:00 Big Tech × Fintech in San Francisco 21:06 Why curated rooms create better business 23:33 Fintech company Drew is watching 24:28 Why Drew joined FTW: San Francisco 24:48 Community as a moat 25:22 What’s broken about traditional conferences 27:57 Drew’s final takeaway: “I can’t do it alone” 👇🏼 SUBSCRIBE + FOLLOW HUMANS OF FINTECH YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@humansoffintech Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/humans-of-fintech/id1600731457 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3zA6yUb3D7I5ZRbehlsdX7?si=42f10417f6e44983 And for more fintech news, founder stories, and FTW updates: Fintech Is Femme: https://www.fintechisfemme.co/

  3. Jul 1

    Building Trust Into the Fintech Product with Current's Josh Stephens

    Live from New York: a special mini episode recorded at the Solo Resilience Summit Nicole Casperson sits down with Josh Arjuna Stephens, SVP of Product at Current, for a sharp, on-the-ground conversation about what it actually takes to build financial products people trust — and use — at scale. During this special live recording of Humans of Fintech at the Solo Resilience Summit in New York City, Josh and Nicole dig into the evolution of financial infrastructure, the role of agentic AI in product development, why trust has become part of the product itself, and what product teams are most underestimating right now. 🎧 Hit play to hear how today's builders are designing the next generation of financial products — with trust, speed, and compliance all in the same room.

  4. Jun 24

    Growing Global with Fundbox’s Rina Jariwala, Katy Ryan of Orrick, and Ontop’s Sergio Cordoba.

    Live from Las Vegas: the Fintech Penthouse is back! Nicole Casperson sits down with guests Rina Jariwala, Chief Operations Officer at Fundbox, ​Katy Ryan, Partner at Orrick, and Sergio Cordoba, Chief Acquisition Officer at Ontop. During this special live recording of Humans of Fintech at Fintech Meetup 2026, the group discusses’ what it takes to expand past your home market and how compliance, infrastructure, and trust play a role in it. 🎧 Hit play to learn how today’s leaders are scaling across borders and shaping a more connected financial future.

  5. Jun 17

    Bread Financial’s Jyoti Menon is Building Product to Change Consumer Habits

    From helping launch Apple Pay at Citi to leading product across servicing, engagement, rewards, and customer experience at Bread Financial, Jyoti Menon has had a front-row seat to how financial services actually evolve. Jyoti has spent her career building at the intersection of finance, payments, and product — long before “fintech” became the industry it is today. Nicole Casperson and Menon sit down live on the showroom floor of Fintech Meetup in the Humans of Fintech podcast booth to discuss her career path, product development strategies, and the evolving role of AI in fintech. 🎧 Hit play to learn how today’s leaders are scaling across borders and shaping a more connected financial future. SPONSORED BY FINTECH MEETUP Fintech Meetup brings together leaders from banks, fintechs, credit unions, and investing firms for 50,000+ one-to-one meetings designed to drive real partnerships and real ROI.

  6. Jun 10

    Orrick’s Katy Ryan Is Helping Fintechs Grow Through Regulation

    Katy Ryan is a Partner at Orrick, a global law firm focused on serving tech companies, but she’s also a builder, an operator, and someone who’s actually sat on both sides of the table as a founder herself. Filmed on the showroom floor of Fintech Meetup, Nicole Casperson sits down with Katy to discuss one of the most misunderstood — and most powerful — intersections in fintech: regulation and growth. 🎧 Hit play to learn how today’s leaders are scaling across borders and shaping a more connected financial future. SPONSORED BY FINTECH MEETUP Fintech Meetup brings together leaders from banks, fintechs, credit unions, and investing firms for 50,000+ one-to-one meetings designed to drive real partnerships and real ROI.

  7. Jun 4

    Building at the Intersection of Healthcare and Fintech with Danny Friday

    Danny Friday isn’t your traditional fintech founder. Originally a software engineer, Sail was born out of necessity to create accessibility in our healthcare system’s reimbursement process. Filmed at the Fintech Penthouse in Las Vegas during Fintech Meetup, Nicole Casperson sits down with Sail’s Founder and CEO to unpack one of the most complex, high-stakes, and misunderstood systems in our economy — and how Sail is building the infrastructure to fix it. 🎧 Hit play to learn how today’s leaders are scaling across borders and shaping a more connected financial future. SPONSORED BY FINTECH MEETUP Fintech Meetup brings together leaders from banks, fintechs, credit unions, and investing firms for 50,000+ one-to-one meetings designed to drive real partnerships and real ROI.

  8. Jun 3

    Emerald 360° Powered by FIS

    Everyone is talking about AI in banking. But the real question isn't whether the technology works. It's whether we can trust it to make decisions about money. That's a harder question. And this year, it moved from theoretical to operational. Filmed live at FIS Emerald in Orlando, Nicole Casperson goes inside the conversations, announcements, and leaders defining what AI actually looks like inside the financial system — including a backstage exclusive with FIS CEO & President Stephanie Ferris on what this moment really means for banks, for fintech, and for the infrastructure layer being built underneath the AI economy. This is the story behind the headlines. 🎧 Hit play. SPONSORED BY FIS Learn more: https://www.fisglobal.com/ Hosted by Nicole Casperson Founder & CEO, Fintech Is Femme Creative Direction by Anton Briones Head of Production Luke Hezekiah Walter Head of Digital Aubreyne Brizette Art Direction Francisca Civit Motion Graphics Elijah Rooney Styling for Nicole Casperson Keltoum Mazid

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About

Humans of Fintech with Nicole Casperson is where the people building the future of money get real about what it takes to create meaningful change. Hosted by award-winning journalist and Fintech Is Femme founder Nicole Casperson, the show goes beyond headlines, valuations, and product launches to uncover the decisions, setbacks, ambitions, and lived experiences shaping fintech, business, and AI. Each episode features candid conversations with the founders, operators, investors, executives, and culture-shapers reimagining how money moves—and who gets to build its future. You’ll hear the stories behind the companies, the lessons behind the leadership, and the human realities behind innovation. Come for the ideas transforming financial services. Stay for the people courageous enough to build what comes next. Humans of Fintech is a Fintech Is Femme Original show.

Information

  • Creator
    Nicole Casperson
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    144
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2024 Nicole Casperson, Fintech Is Femme Media LLC
  • Show Website
    Humans of Fintech

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