What The Heck, Fintech

Rob Sarnie
  • 5.0 (8)
  • Business
  • Updated Weekly

This podcast brings the full fintech ecosystem together so you can fully experience and learn that "Fintech is FinLife". Join the host, Rob Sarnie, with his Fantastic Fintech Friends, each episode, and have a fun and fabulous fintech time.

  1. 4h ago

    Viktor Popovics: From Yugoslavia to E-Commerce Exit and Avendo's Payment Revolution

    SEASON 2 - EPISODE 40 🚀 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐘𝐮𝐠𝐨𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝟐𝟏-𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐞-𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐀𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐨, 𝐕𝐢𝐤𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭. After leaving Yugoslavia as a teenager and starting over in new countries before ultimately building a life in the United States, Viktor turned resilience, determination, and a willingness to embrace change into entrepreneurial success. He built Ultimate Washer into a nationally recognized e-commerce business, navigated the evolution of online commerce, survived major technology shifts, expanded through Amazon, and successfully exited the company after 21 years. Today, Viktor is bringing those hard-earned lessons into fintech as President of Avendo, a company on a mission to create real-time competition among payment processors and help merchants reduce payment costs while improving profitability. 💡 𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞, 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬: 📖 Building and scaling a business over two decades 🌎 How immigration, adaptability, and perseverance shaped Viktor's entrepreneurial mindset 🛒 The evolution of e-commerce from its early days to today's digital marketplace 📉 Surviving major Google algorithm changes and pivoting to new growth channels 💳 How Avendo is transforming payment processing through real-time transaction routing 📈 Helping merchants increase profits by reducing payment processing fees ⚡ Why competition and transparency are the future of payments 🤖 AI, analytics, and technology's role in building the next generation of fintech solutions 🚀 Launching a fintech startup after a successful business exit 🎯 Leadership, decision-making, resilience, and entrepreneurial lessons learned along the way This episode is a perfect example of why 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞. Viktor's journey reminds us that fintech isn't just about technology, payments, or innovation. It's about people, experiences, challenges, and the lessons that shape us. From leaving Yugoslavia and rebuilding his life, to creating a successful e-commerce company, to launching a fintech startup designed to help merchants thrive, Viktor demonstrates how life experiences can become the foundation for meaningful innovation. 🌐 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐀𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐨: https://avendo.tech 🔗 𝐓𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐕𝐢𝐤𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐬, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝𝐈𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐞: https://www.linkedin.com/in/viktor-popovic-b8a6b416/ 🎙️ 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐜𝐤, 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡Because 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞. 💙 #Fintech #Payments #PaymentProcessing #Avendo #Entrepreneurship #Ecommerce #Startups #AI #MerchantServices #SmallBusiness #Innovation #FintechIsFinLife #WhatTheHeckFintech

    Viktor Popovics: From Yugoslavia to E-Commerce Exit and Avendo's Payment Revolution

  2. Sep 29

    Martin Mejia: From Colombia Tennis to Babson, Fintech & Building LendPilot

    SEASON 2 - EPISODE 39 🚀 𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 "𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐜𝐤, 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡," 𝐑𝐨𝐛 𝐒𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐞𝐣𝐢𝐚, 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐁𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩 𝐏𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐇𝐮𝐛 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐏𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 🌎 Martin shares his incredible journey from Colombia to the United States as a young tennis player pursuing a dream, eventually becoming captain of Babson's nationally ranked tennis team, a fintech entrepreneur, and the founder of LendPilot.💡 This conversation perfectly illustrates why 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐈𝐬 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞. Martin's story blends entrepreneurship, athletics, AI, leadership, finance, technology, and personal growth—demonstrating how fintech touches every aspect of our lives, careers, and communities. 🔥 𝐖𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬: 🎾 Moving from Colombia to the United States to pursue competitive tennis 🏆 Winning both the Babson Fintech Pitch Competition and the Mass Fintech Hub Pitch Battle 🚀 Building LendPilot and helping small businesses access capital and credit opportunities 🧠 How Babson develops entrepreneurial thinking, leadership, and innovation 🤖 AI, Claude, ChatGPT, and the future of work 🎤 Public speaking, pitching, and preparing for high-pressure moments 📚 Lessons from Atomic Habits, Shoe Dog, and other books that shaped Martin's mindset 💪 Why resilience, failure, preparation, and continuous improvement matter 🌍 Why fintech is becoming part of every industry, profession, and entrepreneurial journey 🎓 Life as a student-athlete at Babson and how sports helped shape Martin's leadership style ✨ Martin brings an incredible combination of humility, discipline, curiosity, and entrepreneurial drive. Whether you're a student, founder, athlete, fintech professional, or aspiring entrepreneur, you'll walk away with valuable insights on leadership, preparation, innovation, and building something meaningful. 💬 One of Martin's most powerful messages is that there are no truly bad days—only opportunities to learn, improve, and become 1% better. His journey from Colombia to Babson, from tennis courts to fintech competitions, and from student to startup founder is a testament to the power of perseverance and continuous learning. 🔗 𝐓𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐞𝐣𝐢𝐚: 💼 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝𝐈𝐧:https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-mejiao/ 📧 𝐄𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥:martinmejiao80@gmail.com #Fintech #FintechIsFinLife #Entrepreneurship #BabsonCollege #CutlerCenter #LendPilot #AI #Startups #Leadership #PitchCompetition #StudentFounder #FinancialTechnology #Innovation #FounderJourney #WhatTheHeckFintech

    Martin Mejia: From Colombia Tennis to Babson, Fintech & Building LendPilot

  3. Sep 22

    Pamela Draper & Paul Twigg on AI, Stablecoins, APIs, Modern Banking & Payment Rails (Part 2)

    SEASON 2 - EPISODE 38 - PART 2 🚀 𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝟐-𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐏𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐚 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫, 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐥 𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐠𝐠, 𝐂𝐓𝐎 (“𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐆𝐞𝐞𝐤”) 𝐚𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩, 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐨𝐛 𝐒𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 🤖 𝐀𝐈, 💵 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐬, 🔗 𝐀𝐏𝐈𝐬, 🏦 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 🚆 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬. Pamela brings the business and banking perspective from her investment banking and fintech leadership background, while Paul shares the technology and CTO perspective on building scalable payment systems, APIs, fraud detection engines, and AI-enabled infrastructure. 💡 Across these episodes, they discuss: ✦ How payment rails and banking infrastructure are evolving ✦ Why APIs are replacing legacy banking file-transfer systems ✦ Stablecoins, digital assets, and cross-border payments ✦ AI-driven fraud detection and anomaly monitoring ✦ Human oversight, compliance, and AI guardrails ✦ Real-time money movement and the future of banking ✦ The “build vs. buy” fintech technology strategy ✦ Why transparency and visibility are critical in modern payments One of the most interesting parts of this conversation is how Pamela and Paul bridge both the business and technical sides of fintech innovation. They explain how financial institutions are balancing speed, security, compliance, customer experience, and AI adoption while modernizing decades-old banking systems. 🌎 These episodes truly show why “Fintech is FinLife” — because payments, AI, digital assets, fraud prevention, and money movement now impact nearly every person, company, and financial interaction in the modern economy. 🔗 To connect and learn even more from - Pamela Draper, please go to her LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamela-draper-3b39017/ - Paul Twigg, please go to his LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paultwigg/ 🌐 To learn more about Digital Commerce Group, please visit:https://dc-payments.ca/

    Pamela Draper & Paul Twigg on AI, Stablecoins, APIs, Modern Banking & Payment Rails (Part 2)

  4. Sep 15

    Pamela Draper & Paul Twigg on AI, Stablecoins, APIs, Modern Banking & Payment Rails (Part 1)

    SEASON 2 - EPISODE 37 - PART 1 🚀 𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝟐-𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐏𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐚 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫, 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐥 𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐠𝐠, 𝐂𝐓𝐎 (“𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐆𝐞𝐞𝐤”) 𝐚𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩, 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐨𝐛 𝐒𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 🤖 𝐀𝐈, 💵 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐬, 🔗 𝐀𝐏𝐈𝐬, 🏦 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 🚆 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬. Pamela brings the business and banking perspective from her investment banking and fintech leadership background, while Paul shares the technology and CTO perspective on building scalable payment systems, APIs, fraud detection engines, and AI-enabled infrastructure. 💡 Across these episodes, they discuss: ✦ How payment rails and banking infrastructure are evolving ✦ Why APIs are replacing legacy banking file-transfer systems ✦ Stablecoins, digital assets, and cross-border payments ✦ AI-driven fraud detection and anomaly monitoring ✦ Human oversight, compliance, and AI guardrails ✦ Real-time money movement and the future of banking ✦ The “build vs. buy” fintech technology strategy ✦ Why transparency and visibility are critical in modern payments One of the most interesting parts of this conversation is how Pamela and Paul bridge both the business and technical sides of fintech innovation. They explain how financial institutions are balancing speed, security, compliance, customer experience, and AI adoption while modernizing decades-old banking systems. 🌎 These episodes truly show why “Fintech is FinLife” — because payments, AI, digital assets, fraud prevention, and money movement now impact nearly every person, company, and financial interaction in the modern economy. 🔗 To connect and learn even more from - Pamela Draper, please go to her LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamela-draper-3b39017/ - Paul Twigg, please go to his LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paultwigg/ 🌐 To learn more about Digital Commerce Group, please visit:https://dc-payments.ca/

    Pamela Draper & Paul Twigg on AI, Stablecoins, APIs, Modern Banking & Payment Rails (Part 1)

  5. Sep 8

    Building a Future Fintech-Ready Community Bank with Julie Thurlow (Part 2)

    SEASON 2 - EPISODE 36 - PART 2 🎙️ 𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐜𝐤, 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡, 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥-𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝, 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭-𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡. Julie shares how community and cooperative banks can embrace innovation without losing what matters most — 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭, 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭. From leadership lessons to technology adoption, this episode highlights why 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 — not just for startups, but for the communities banks serve every day. 💡 𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞, 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫: • 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞-𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 & 𝐜𝐨-𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤 • 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 — 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 — 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 • 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭, 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 • 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 Whether you work in banking, fintech, or are passionate about the future of finance, this conversation delivers 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥-𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞. 🔗 𝐓𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐰, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝𝐈𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐞:https://www.linkedin.com/in/julieann-thurlow-readingcooperativebank/

    Building a Future Fintech-Ready Community Bank with Julie Thurlow (Part 2)

  6. Sep 1

    Building a Future Fintech-Ready Community Bank with Julie Thurlow (Part 1)

    SEASON 2 - EPISODE 35 - PART 1 🎙️ 𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐜𝐤, 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡, 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥-𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝, 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭-𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡. Julie shares how community and cooperative banks can embrace innovation without losing what matters most — 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭, 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭. From leadership lessons to technology adoption, this episode highlights why 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 — not just for startups, but for the communities banks serve every day. 💡 𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞, 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫: • 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞-𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 & 𝐜𝐨-𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤 • 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 — 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 — 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 • 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭, 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 • 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 Whether you work in banking, fintech, or are passionate about the future of finance, this conversation delivers 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥-𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞. 🔗 𝐓𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐰, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝𝐈𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐞:https://www.linkedin.com/in/julieann-thurlow-readingcooperativebank/

    Building a Future Fintech-Ready Community Bank with Julie Thurlow (Part 1)

  7. Aug 25

    Liz Thomas: Why Tech Banking Is a Strategic Edge in Fintech (Part 2)

    SEASON 2 - EPISODE 34 - PART 2 ✨ 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝟮-𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗟𝗶𝘇 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘀, 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹-𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴. 🌍 In this 2-part conversation, Liz shares her journey from navigating the financial crisis and building her own financial foundation, to working across the UK, Australia, and the U.S., and now helping high-growth companies scale through technology banking. 🚀 From building the Massachusetts fintech ecosystem to advising startups from $2M to $2B, Liz brings a unique perspective across every layer of fintech—government, ecosystem, and operator. 💡 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲—it’s in how we build, scale, transact, and live every day… often without even realizing it. 🔥 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨’𝗟𝗟 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗡 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗘 𝗘𝗣𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗗𝗘𝗦: ◆ How Liz turned the 2008 financial crisis into her fintech origin story ◆ What global fintech looks like across the US, UK, and Australia ◆ Why fintech is a “team sport” (and how sports shaped her mindset) ◆ How Mass Fintech Hub helped build a leading fintech ecosystem ◆ When tech banking shifts from a commodity to a strategic advantage ◆ How tech banking supports startups across fundraising, treasury, and growth ◆ Why focus is the #1 trait of successful founders ◆ How fintech quietly powers everyday life (Fintech is FinLife in action) 🔗 𝗧𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗟𝗶𝘇 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘀, 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗴𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲:https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeththomas8/

    Liz Thomas: Why Tech Banking Is a Strategic Edge in Fintech (Part 2)

  8. Aug 18

    Liz Thomas: Why Tech Banking Is a Strategic Edge in Fintech (Part 1)

    SEASON 2 - EPISODE 33 - PART 1 ✨ 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝟮-𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗟𝗶𝘇 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘀, 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹-𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴. 🌍 In this 2-part conversation, Liz shares her journey from navigating the financial crisis and building her own financial foundation, to working across the UK, Australia, and the U.S., and now helping high-growth companies scale through technology banking. 🚀 From building the Massachusetts fintech ecosystem to advising startups from $2M to $2B, Liz brings a unique perspective across every layer of fintech—government, ecosystem, and operator. 💡 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲—it’s in how we build, scale, transact, and live every day… often without even realizing it. 🔥 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨’𝗟𝗟 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗡 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗘 𝗘𝗣𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗗𝗘𝗦: ◆ How Liz turned the 2008 financial crisis into her fintech origin story ◆ What global fintech looks like across the US, UK, and Australia ◆ Why fintech is a “team sport” (and how sports shaped her mindset) ◆ How Mass Fintech Hub helped build a leading fintech ecosystem ◆ When tech banking shifts from a commodity to a strategic advantage ◆ How tech banking supports startups across fundraising, treasury, and growth ◆ Why focus is the #1 trait of successful founders ◆ How fintech quietly powers everyday life (Fintech is FinLife in action) 🔗 𝗧𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗟𝗶𝘇 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘀, 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗴𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲:https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeththomas8/

    Liz Thomas: Why Tech Banking Is a Strategic Edge in Fintech (Part 1)
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About

This podcast brings the full fintech ecosystem together so you can fully experience and learn that "Fintech is FinLife". Join the host, Rob Sarnie, with his Fantastic Fintech Friends, each episode, and have a fun and fabulous fintech time.

Information

  • Creator
    Rob Sarnie
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    67
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Rob Sarnie
  • Show Website
    What The Heck, Fintech