Podcast
The
Modern FI
A podcast that highlights how financial institutions are adapting to the digital age. This podcast shares the stories of the most prominent companies and leaders in fintech, tracks the trends of the industries and provides guidance on how financial institutions can better serve their digital customers.
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The Modern FI Episodes
Season 2 Finale
The Modern FI: Season 2 Finale Episode
Today, you are going to get an inside look at Finotta’s first major public launch. On Tuesday, November 8, at 10:00 a.m., about 4 years after Finotta’s Founder and CEO Parker Graham started this journey, the Personified Platform went live with First United Bank.
Episode: 005
The Fintech Cookout: Joseph Akintolayo, Founder & CEO, Deposits- How to Build a Bank in 7 Minutes
On this episode, Quincy sits down with Joseph Akintolayo, live and in person, at Finovate Fall, a conference that showcases cutting-edge banking and financial technology. Joseph is the Founder of Philanthrolab, the founder and executive chairman of Renaissance Innovation Labs, and the Founder and CEO of Deposits.
Episode: 004
Finclusive: Ariam Sium, VP of Product, FinGoal- How to Build Products for Your End User
On this episode of Finclusive, Kelsey sits down with Ariam Sium at Finovate Fall, a conference that showcases cutting-edge banking and financial technology. Ariam is currently the VP of Product for FinGoal, who we have featured on this podcast network before.
Episode: 004
The Fintech Cookout: Rodney Williams, Co-Founder, SoLo Funds- How to Build Real Community Finance
On today’s episode, Quincy sits down with Rodney Williams, Co-Founder & Chairman of SoLo Funds. SoLo Funds is a financial service provider enabling a marketplace where members can request and fund emergency needs.
Episode: 003
Finclusive: Laura Kornhauser, Co-Founder & CEO, Stratyfy- How Technology Can Reduce Bias
On this episode of Finclusive, Kelsey sits down with Laura Kornhauser at Finovate Fall, a conference that showcases cutting-edge banking and financial technology. Laura is the Co-Founder and CEO of Stratyfy, a fintech company that is on a mission to accelerate financial inclusion by providing greater transparency and less bias to critical financial decisions that impact millions of people.
Episode: 003
The Fintech Cookout: Uday Akkaraju, Founder & CEO, BOND.AI- Increasing Empathy through Technology
On this episode, Quincy sits down with Uday Akkaraju, live and in person, at Finovate Fall, a conference that showcases cutting-edge banking and financial technology. Uday is the founder and CEO of BOND.AI, a human centered AI platform for financial institutions.
Episode: 003
The Founder Experience: Jason Henrichs, CEO, Alloy Labs Alliance- The Future of Digital Banking
On this episode of The Founder Experience, Parker Graham sits down with Jason Henrichs, live and in person, at Finovate Fall, a conference that showcases cutting-edge banking and financial technology. Jason is currently the CEO of Alloy Labs, a consortium of leading community banks working together to operationalize innovation through partnerships and strategic investments.
Episode: 002
Finclusive: Patty Brewer, CPO, Linqto- Developing Products for a Better Financial Future
In this episode of Finclusive, Kelsey sits down with Patty Brewer at Finovate Fall, a conference that showcases cutting-edge banking and financial technology. Patty Brewer is the CPO of Linqto, a fintech company that makes private investing similar.
Episode: 002
The Founder Experience: David Nohe, Co-Founder & CEO, FinGoal- Helping Your Employees Be the Best Versions of Themselves
In this episode of The Founder Experience, Parker sits down with David Nohe, Co-Founder, and CEO of FinGoal, live and in person at Finovate Fall. David and Parker talk about everything from being a founder and a father to the biggest surprises they have had during their founder experience.
Episode: 002
The Fintech Cookout: Derrius Quarles & Ras Asan, Co-Founders, BREAUX Capital- Bringing Capital to the Black Community
On today’s episode, we have the founders of BREAUX Capital, Ras Asan and Derrius Quarles. BREAUX Capital is a financial technology company that is helping Black Men pool their funds in community with one another to invest collectively and create intergenerational wealth.
Episode: 003
Startup School: How to Lead a Marketing Team with Destinee Day-Cassidy
In this Startup School episode, we will talk about marketing with Finotta’s Head of Marketing, Destinee Day-Cassidy. This episode is broken down into three parts: how to get started in marketing, how to become a leader of a small team or even just a team of one. And finally, we will talk about how to scale and grow your marketing team. This is a jam-packed episode with lots of valuable information, so if you are a marketing leader looking to gain some quality insights, grab a pen and paper.
Episode: 001
Finclusive: Scarlett Sieber, Chief Strategy and Growth Officer at Money 20/20- How Embedded Finance is Changing Banking
In the first episode of Finclusive, we have Scarlet Sieber, Chief Strategy & Growth Officer at Money 20/20, one of the largest fintech conferences in the world. Scarlett has had an incredible career as an international speaker, innovator, and influencer.
Episode: 002
Startup School: How to Lead a Sales Team with Cory Miller
In this Startup School episode, we will talk about sales with Finotta’s Head of Sales, Cory Miller. We are going to break this episode into three parts. The first part will be about getting started in sales and how to find success from the get-go. Then, we will discuss how to become a leader of a small sales team and set yourself apart from your peers. Finally, we will close with how to hire employees, lead a full-sized team, and scale. Please enjoy this episode of Startup School.
Episode: 001
The Fintech Cookout: Marcus Cobb, Founder & CEO at Mozaic- How Tech is Making Financial Industries More Equitable
The first episode of The Fintech Cookout features Marcus Cobb, Founder & CEO of Mozaic, a fintech company built for the creator economy that makes it easy to collaborate with and pay creators anywhere and at scale. Quincy and Marcus dive deep into Marcus’ upbringing, how he rid himself of a victim mentality, turned weaknesses into strengths, got hired by Microsoft out of high school, and ultimately turned himself into a world-renowned entrepreneur. This episode is absolutely incredible and Marcus is a true inspiration.
Episode: 001
Startup School: How to Lead a Customer Success Team with Quincy Kennedy
In the first episode of Startup School, we are going to talk about customer success with Finotta’s Head of Customer Success, Quincy Kennedy. This episode discusses the rise of customer success within businesses, why it is important, how it differs from customer support, how to create playbooks and strategies for your customer success team, the importance of goal setting and habit stacking, and much more.
Episode: 001
The Founder Experience:
George Youmans, Co-Founder and CRO of Hiyo
In the first episode of The Founder Experience, Parker talked with George Youmans, Co-Founder & CEO of Hiyo, a stress-relieving social tonic mindfully crafted with natural adaptogens, nootropics, and functional botanicals to be a better-than-alcohol alternative. Parker met George at the start of his entrepreneurial career. He was going around the country looking for potential cities to start his business in, and when he was in California, he happened to message George, who was working at SnackNation at the time. Since then, they have both launched their own businesses and found incredible success. This episode contains conversations about the pressures of hiring employees, the isolation that founders go through, finding fulfillment as a founder, and much more.
Episode: 001
Behind the Vault: First United Bank- Creating a Powerful Culture and Leading with Love
This episode of Behind the Vault features a conversation with Greg Massey and Melissa Perrin, the CEO and CCO of First United Bank. First United is Finotta’s first major investor and customer and one of the largest privately owned banks in the country. We sat down with Greg and Melissa to find out more about them, their organization, and the relationship between First United and Finotta.
Episode: 006
Best of Guests:
Donald Hawkins - Knowing When to Pivot and the Importance of Customer Conversations
Donald Hawkins is the Founder and CEO of Kinly, a modern neo-bank helping black America create generational wealth. Donald has had a serious impact on Finotta. Donald talked about discovering when to pivot your startup, how to do so, and the overall importance of customer conversations.
Episode: 005
Best of Guests: Joni Cobb- How to Build the Best Possible Team
Joni Cobb is the founding CEO of Pipeline Entrepreneurs and the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Center for American Entrepreneurship. Joni has seen the formation of hundreds of teams throughout her career, so she shared her thoughts on how to build the best possible team. We discussed the importance of making sure employees fit the culture of the company and leading by example.
Episode: 004
Best of Guests:
Mario Ruiz - How to Pitch to Venture Capitalists
Mario Ruiz is the Co-Founder & CEO of Infinity Ventures, an early-stage venture firm investing in global fin-tech infrastructure and commerce enablement. In this episode of Best of Guests, Mario Ruiz provides advice on how to pitch to venture capitalists. When listening to an investment pitch, he breaks down everything he wants to hear and walks through some strategies to improve on these areas. We discuss the importance of storytelling, hiring the right people, and being in the right market size.
Episode: 003
Best of Guests: Sandy Kemper - How to Create a Quality Company Culture and Lead by Example
Sandy Kemper is the Founder & CEO of C2F0, the largest working capital marketplace in the world. Sandy talks about how to build a great company culture, and more importantly, how to do it at scale. We ask and answer the question, "Is there a correlation between your company's growth and your culture's degradation?" We also discuss the overall importance of leading by example.
Episode: 002
Best of Guests:
Zach Pettet - Investing in Founders and Attributes of Great Entrepreneurs
Zach Pettet is the Head of Content for Money 20/20 (one of the largest fin-tech conferences in the world) host of For Fintech's Sake, and founder of Fountain City Fintech, an accelerator program that Parker joined way back in episode one. Zach discusses investing in the founder versus the idea, the attributes of great entrepreneurs, and how to develop these attributes yourself.
Episode: 001
Best of Guests: Trent Bigelow - Combating Imposter Syndrome and Finding Mentors
Trent Bigelow is the Co-founder and CEO of Abound. Trent was originally introduced to Finotta at the Fountain City Fintech accelerator and was a valuable mentor for Parker early on in his entrepreneurial career. Trent talks about the imposter syndrome that early entrepreneurs can often have, how to combat this, and how to learn from people who have been down the entrepreneurial path before.
Episode: 010
Once Upon a Startup:
The Biggest Test Yet
SEASON 1 FINALE of Once Upon a Startup! We talk about founder and CEO Parker Graham winning Innovator of the Year by Pipeline, and the astounding progress that Finotta has made on its objectives & key results (OKRs). We also look forward to season two, and the team prepares to roll out amazing new features to the next group of 2,000 users. This will be Finotta’s biggest test yet, and will determine where this company goes in the future.
Episode: 009
Once Upon a Startup: People Buy People
This episode is about CEO Parker Graham’s trip to Finovate, former CTO Brenden Smith’s trip to Q2, and Head of Marketing Destinee Day-Cassidy’s lessons about marketing. Finovate is a conference that showcases cutting-edge banking and financial technology. Parker talks about his experience, and explains how to make the most out of an industry conference. While Parker was at the conference, the tech team took a trip to Q2, the digital banking provider for First United Bank. Brenden explains the importance of this relationship, and Parker discusses how this relationship has created $30 million in revenue opportunity. Lastly, Destinee hires a PR agency, and then discusses her vision for the Finotta brand.
Episode: 008
Once Upon a Startup:
We Are Live!
Episode eight of Once Upon a Startup tells the story of Finotta finally being live with real users. The first group of 26 test users are now able to use the application, input data, and provide feedback to the team. This is a major milestone. This episode also talks about the most recent company all-hands meeting, the implementation of new paid parental leave policies, the formation of the employee handbook, and the promotion of Kelsey Houghton to Chief Product Officer.
Episode: 007
Once Upon a Startup: Hello and Goodbye
Episode seven of Once Upon a Startup explains three personal changes that Finotta has experienced. Natalee Wilhite joined Finotta’s marketing department back in episode three, but in this episode, she joins the product team. Tori Franco becomes the newest member of the Finotta team, filling the gap that Natalee left in the marketing department. Finally, employee number four, Joshua Blew, leaves Finotta for his own startup.
Episode: 006
Once Upon a Startup:
Top of the Roller Coaster
This week’s episode of Once Upon a Startup tells the story of Finotta finally getting its code into the production environment (PROD) of First United Bank’s mobile application. This marks a major milestone for the team because real users are now able to use the app, input data, and provide feedback. However, the delay to getting in the environment came with some negative side effects as well. Luckily, the team made it into PROD, started chipping away at the backlog, and is now back on track. The team is sitting at the metaphorical top of the roller coaster, and things are about to speed up.
Episode: 005
Once Upon a Startup: Changing the Game
Episode Five of Once Upon a Startup details the compliance and regulation issues that slowed down Finotta in January of 2022. The long, detailed compliance processes that plague the banking world have seriously slowed down innovation in recent years. B2C fintech companies have forced banks to begin thinking about innovation. What is the solution? Partnerships between massive financial institutions and small agile startups. Finotta and First United Bank are living examples of what collaboration can do for innovation. Finotta's tech team implements their code into First United's production environment.
Episode: 004
Once Upon a Startup:
Hitting Roadblocks
This Week’s Episode of Once Upon a Startup is about the roadblocks and setbacks that the Finotta team experienced back in December of 2021. The original goal was to go live with Finotta’s first launch partner on December 1st. However, the tech team continued to experience setbacks that were largely out of their control. This cycle of taking two steps forward only to take one step back was having a major impact on the team. We cover a wide range of topics, including burnout, the importance of taking breaks, company culture, how to lead by example, the inevitability of setbacks, and how to fail forward.
Episode: 003
Once Upon a Startup: Avengers Assemble
This week on Once Upon a Startup, you meet three new team members. Destinee Day-Cassidy joined the team as Head of Marketing. Immediately after being hired (literally 20 seconds after), she interviewed Natalee Wilhite. Frank Luse left his job at a university and came on the team as a software engineer. Despite not having formal schooling in engineering, he has accomplished incredible things with the tech team. The episode ends with a look into Finotta’s first company all-hands meeting with all the new members, and the goal for the team is simple. $1 million in 7 months.
Episode: 002
Once Upon a Startup:
It Takes a Village
On Once Upon a Startup this week, we meet the first five Finotta team members. Joshua Blew joined Finotta as a high schooler and worked as a programming intern until he came on full-time. Kelsey Houghton, Head of Product for Finotta, reached out to Parker after hearing him on a podcast. Brenden Smith was a highly sought-after programmer, but when he and Parker connected, he decided to join Finotta as CTO. Quincy Kennedy, Head of Customer Success, was expressing his distaste with his current job to Parker when he received a job offer from Finotta. The culture was a major force behind every team member’s decision to join, and every individual at Finotta contributed to the company culture. Sandy Kemper, founder, and CEO of C2F0, shares his thoughts on the importance of company culture in episode two of Once Upon a Startup.
Episode: 001
Once Upon a Startup: Birth, Death, and Resurrection of a Startup
Welcome to Once Upon a Startup, a podcast telling the story of a startup through the eyes of those creating it. The startup is Finotta, a fintech company that embeds financial technology into mobile applications for banks and credit unions. This podcast is tracking the creation and growth of Finotta, and listeners will gain a unique look into the formation of a fin-tech startup in real-time. Episode One tells the story of Finotta’s founder and CEO, Parker Graham, how he pivoted from Finotta’s precursor to Finotta, lost his co-founders in the process, and how he rose from the ashes to secure $3 million in funding.