LendAPI Podcast

Timothy Li

We dedicate this podcast to the hard working men and women from members on LendAPI's Marketplace.

  1. LendAPI Partner Podcast with Carlos Caro, Managing Partner & Founder of New Market Growth

    1D AGO

    LendAPI Partner Podcast with Carlos Caro, Managing Partner & Founder of New Market Growth

    In this episode of the LendAPI Partner Podcast, host Timothy Li, Founder & CEO of LendAPI, sits down with Carlos Caro, Founder of New Market Growth, to discuss the complex and rapidly evolving landscape of consumer lending. Carlos shares his deep industry expertise, detailing how lenders can successfully navigate the challenges of listing on popular affiliate platforms, the critical importance of balancing lead quality with volume, and the significance of building a strong professional network. What You'll Learn The real challenge of getting listed on major platforms like LendingTree or Credit Karma, and why Carlos often has to turn down 85% of lenders who approach him for placement. Why striking a balance between acquiring a high volume of leads and ensuring those leads are of top quality is essential, especially as platforms prioritize customer welfare and competitive rates. The importance of "Market Fit" and understanding the specific requirements of each platform, tailoring your offerings to match traditional products like mortgages or personal loans. How embracing innovation—such as leveraging blockchain technology for new, high-reward credit cards—can help differentiate your products in a crowded market. Actionable strategies for success, including focusing on customer needs, attending industry events, collaborating with other businesses, and staying ahead of market trends and regulatory shifts. About New Market Growth New Market Growth is a specialized consulting firm that helps lenders connect with powerful affiliate marketing channels to drive customer acquisition. Founded by Carlos Caro, who brings a rich background in lending and marketing from his time working with major financial institutions, the firm assists lenders in navigating the highly competitive consumer finance space. They focus on bridging the gap between innovative lending products and key acquisition platforms, ensuring lenders can effectively reach and serve their target markets. 📢 Explore more on the ⁠LendAPI Marketplace⁠ Listen now on ⁠YouTube⁠, ⁠Spotify⁠, or ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠.

    45 min
  2. LendAPI Partner Podcast with Dan Niemiec, Chief Credit & Analytics Officer at 1st Franklin Financial Corporation

    4D AGO

    LendAPI Partner Podcast with Dan Niemiec, Chief Credit & Analytics Officer at 1st Franklin Financial Corporation

    In this episode of the LendAPI Partner Podcast, host Timothy Li, Founder & CEO of LendAPI, sits down with Dan Neimiec, Chief Credit Risk and Analytics Officer at 1sr Franklin Financial, to discuss the company's unique approach to consumer lending. Dan shares how his team is using internal performance data and AI tools to enhance predictive modeling, while still ensuring the human element and personal branch-customer relationships remain the core of their operation. What You’ll Learn: Dan’s experience managing risk at JP Morgan Chase during the 2008-2009 housing downturn, which highlighted the limitations of "backwards looking" credit models.How an 85-year-old company like First Franklin strategically shifted to making data-driven decisions while maintaining its crucial community and branch-based customer relationships.Why the company uses their lending models as "guard rails and guidelines" rather than a fully automated decision engine, emphasizing that humans make the ultimate lending decisions.The primary product offerings and how the company uses direct mail models to target new customers.How First Franklin uses "live checks" (or convenience checks) via direct mail to pre-qualified customers, followed by personal branch outreach to solidify the customer relationship.Advice for aspiring credit risk analysts: focus on "business knowledge and the business intuition" because artificial intelligence now handles much of the data assembly and manipulation. About First Franklin Financial First Franklin Financial is an 85-year-old, privately owned financial services company that started in the early 1940s. The company operates nearly 400 branches and serves almost 400,000 customers, with approximately $1.2 billion in receivables. First Franklin primarily serves subprime consumers with credit scores in the 550 to 700 range. While maintaining a strong community presence with personal branch relationships, the company has recently implemented a strategic initiative to incorporate data-driven decisions and modern analytic models. 📢 Explore more on the LendAPI Marketplace Listen now on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

    28 min
  3. LendAPI Partner Podcast with Debra LeJeune, Founder & CEO at Integrity Payments Group

    5D AGO

    LendAPI Partner Podcast with Debra LeJeune, Founder & CEO at Integrity Payments Group

    In this episode of the LendAPI Partner Podcast, host Timothy Li, Co-Founder and CEO of LendAPI, sits down with Debra LeJeune, a special friend of LendAPI. Debra, whose background originated in banking, is a former commercial banking officer. She discusses the formation of her company, Integrity, and how it focuses on a payment strategy to improve the lending and payment process.What You’ll Learn:- How Debra's background in banking and as president of multiple companies led her to found Integrity.- Why Integrity was formed to combat the payments industry missing the mark on putting the customer first, locking clients into long-term contracts, and not having the customer's best interest in mind.- How Integrity provides agnostic advice and representation, ensuring the recommended technology stack is specific to the client and focused on their integrity.- Integrity's approach to payments, which involves taking the payment process across the entire life cycle, including infrastructure, onboarding new borrowers, and payment success.- How Integrity might set up a client with five, six, or seven different solutions to create the perfect waterfall, minimize issuer declines, and achieve a 10% to 30% lift in authorization approvals.- The importance of clients owning their payment data, utilizing network or universal tokens for validation, and having the infrastructure to waterfall onto other solutions with no downtime.- How a forensic analysis of a client's payment and authorization data can lead to advice on qualifying for lower interchange and having fewer false declines.About Integrity Payments Group (IPG):Integrity Payments Group (IPG) positions itself as more of a payment strategy firm than a payment placement or bank-pushing firm. They focus on putting the client's needs first across the life cycle, which contrasts with traditional payments companies that might focus on locking people into a singular payment provider. Integrity uses its strategy to help clients with everything from infrastructure to collection 📢 Explore more on the LendAPI Marketplace Listen now on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

    30 min
  4. LendAPI Partner Podcast with Steven Ma, Founder & CEO at Pony Money

    MAR 2

    LendAPI Partner Podcast with Steven Ma, Founder & CEO at Pony Money

    In this episode of the LendAPI Partner Podcast, host Timothy Li, Founder & CEO of LendAPI, sits down with Steven Ma, Founder & CEO of PonyMoney, a Texas‑based personal lending company focused on delivering fast, hassle‑free installment loans. Steven shares how PonyMoney built a modern lending operation around flexibility, rapid experimentation, and borrower‑friendly experiences—and why they chose LendAPI as their core lending technology partner.What You’ll Learn:- Why Steven founded PonyMoney and the specific gaps he saw in traditional personal lending around speed, transparency, and product flexibility.- The challenges PonyMoney faced with legacy loan origination systems and decision engines, from rigid integrations to limited control over underwriting rules and pricing.​- How PonyMoney uses LendAPI’s flexible, API‑driven platform to run A/B tests on underwriting strategies, plug into cash‑flow data providers, and update rules in real time—without vendor tickets or long release cycles.- The impact of this setup on approval rates, portfolio performance, and operational efficiency, including faster launch of new products and smoother borrower journeys.About PonyMoneyPonyMoney is a consumer lending operator dedicated to providing individuals with simple, transparent, and quickly funded installment loans. By combining data‑driven underwriting with a digital‑first experience, PonyMoney helps borrowers access credit with less friction while giving its team full control over product design, risk strategies, and pricing. Powered by LendAPI’s integrated LOS and decision engine, PonyMoney can test, iterate, and scale new lending programs at startup speed without sacrificing compliance or control.

    25 min
  5. LendAPI Partner Podcast with Mor Milo CEO at Relli

    FEB 26

    LendAPI Partner Podcast with Mor Milo CEO at Relli

    LendAPI Partner Podcast with Mor Milo, CEO at Relli features an insightful discussion on revolutionizing real estate investing through technology. Mor Milo shares his expertise in building a platform that democratizes access to high-yield, passive real estate opportunitiesKey Topics Discussed- Democratizing real estate investing: Mor explains how Relli transforms family rental lessons into a tech platform, opening vetted deals to passive investors beyond traditional networks.​- Platform for accredited investors: Current offerings include diverse assets like retail, self-storage, and debt, with flexible investments starting at $10k and improved liquidity/yields (e.g., 15% structured returns).​- Future vision and marketplace model: Aims to create a "stock market for real estate" with fractional ownership for all; connects developers to educated investors via free marketplace, enhancing deal economics.​- LendAPI integration benefits: Automates KYC/KYB for seamless onboarding, ensuring compliance, reducing friction, and enabling scale for investors/sponsors—key for Relli's growth.- Success stories: An LA CEO shifted $100k from 8% multifamily returns to higher-yield, flexible deals on Relli, showcasing better economics and user experience.​​Mor's insights highlight partnership-driven innovation, like Relli's LendAPI collaboration, empowering fintechs to streamline operations and expand real estate access.📢 Explore more on the LendAPI MarketplaceListen now on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

    31 min
  6. LendAPI Partner Podcast with Jay Bhattacharya, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Veem

    10/11/2025

    LendAPI Partner Podcast with Jay Bhattacharya, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Veem

    In this episode of the LendAPI Partner Podcast, Jay Bhattacharya shares his journey in the world of payments and fintech. As the Head of Strategic Partnerships at Veem, Jay provides a deep dive into how fintech companies can simplify global payments and accelerate innovation through strategic alliances and API-driven solutions. Key Topics Discussed: Making cross-border payments frictionless:Jay explains how Veem’s platform was developed to remove pain points in international payments, delivering ease and speed for businesses operating globally. API-powered partnerships:The conversation highlights how integrating Veem’s payment APIs with platforms like LendAPI enables fintechs and lenders to automate payment workflows, reduce risk, and improve transparency. Scaling compliance & efficiency:Jay discusses the regulatory and operational challenges of cross-border payments and how Veem’s technology-first approach helps clients maintain compliance while streamlining vendor payments and customer payouts. Collaboration in fintech:The episode explores how ecosystem partnerships—like those between Veem and LendAPI—unlock new value for lenders, drive digital transformation, and empower businesses to expand into new markets confidently. Real-world success stories:Jay shares tangible examples where customers have benefited from smart, integrated payment experiences, resulting in faster settlements and better global reach. Jay’s story is a testament to finding opportunity in complexity and the power of partnership-led growth. Whether you’re a fintech product leader, operations executive, or innovator in global commerce, you’ll find actionable takeaways in how Veem and LendAPI are setting new standards for modern B2B payments. 📢 Explore more on the LendAPI Marketplace Tune in to discover how LendAPI and Veem are collaborating to advance the future of lending and payments technology. Listen now on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

    9 min
  7. LendAPI Partner Podcast with Brian Reshefsky, CEO & Founder of Edge

    09/30/2025

    LendAPI Partner Podcast with Brian Reshefsky, CEO & Founder of Edge

    In this episode of the LendAPI Partner Podcast, Brian Reshefsky, Founder and CEO of Edge, shares the origins of Edge and explores his journey in fintech, focusing on technology-driven lending and API transformation. He highlights how partnerships like Edge and LendAPI address digital onboarding, compliance, and integration pain points, spotlighting real-world benefits for lenders. Key Topics Discussed: Solving industry pain points: Brian explains how Edge was established to tackle inefficiencies in lending technology and streamline digital lending workflows. API automation & innovation: Edge emphasizes automation across onboarding, origination, and underwriting, enabling seamless API integration for fintechs and lenders. Partnership impact: Insights into Edge’s collaboration with LendAPI and the business results of integrating best-in-class API solutions. Compliance & customer experience: Brian discusses how Edge simplifies regulatory workflows and enhances lender and borrower experiences through smart tech. Actionable strategies: How lending institutions and fintechs can leverage API partnerships to unlock growth, efficiency, and flexibility. Customer success stories: Real-world examples illustrating improved operational efficiency and digital transformation through Edge and LendAPI integrations. Brian’s story is a testament to the power of solving root business challenges with technology, listening to partners and customers, and co-innovating in a rapidly changing digital lending market. The Edge journey shows the lasting impact of collaboration, automation, and relentless focus on operational efficiency. 📢 Explore more at the LendAPI Marketplace. Tune in to hear how platforms like Edge and LendAPI are shaping the future of lending technology and partnerships. Listen on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

    8 min

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

We dedicate this podcast to the hard working men and women from members on LendAPI's Marketplace.