Squashing the Market with Bill Ullman

In this latest episode, Squashing the Markets host Bill Ullman talks to Matt Burton, Partner at QED Investors, one of the most important FinTech Venture Capital firms globally.  The podcast was recorded live on June 10 from the Coindesk Podcast Studio in the Main Exhibition Hall at the Consensus 2022 Conference in Austin, Texas - a conference which drew more than 15,000 attendees from over 120 countries.  The level of interest in Bitcoin, crypto and blockchain technologies remains vibrant and growing.  Cryptocurrencies have undergone a rather severe market correction recently.  Matt Burton shares his insights and experience regarding investing in crypto and crypto companies on this podcast, discussing its global appeal and what it takes to be a successful player in this dynamic industry.  Edited by Sam Swanson. Music by Alex Atchley.

 "Squashing the Market" welcomes Jean Chatzky, one of America's leading voices in personal finance.  Jean is the CEO and co-founder of HerMoney, is the financial editor of NBC’s “Today” show, the best-selling author of 11 books, an award-winning magazine columnist and the host of the HerMoney podcast. She was also an English major in college. Through decades of reporting on personal finance - at Forbes, SmartMoney and NBC's "Today" show - Jean has developed a keen understanding of the financial and media industries.  She has built a huge following by taking complex financial issues and making them understandable to ordinary Americans.  Our discussion covers Jean's journey from her start in journalism to her current role as entrepreneur, CEO and financial media maven.  Along the way, Jean provides insightful commentary on investing, choosing information sources carefully and starting a business.  With the HerMoney team, Jean is on a mission to help you find financial success. Find her at @JeanChatzky on Twitter or at www.HerMoney.com. Produced, engineered, and edited by Sam Swanson. Music by Alex Atchley.

From the home studio in Brooklyn, Bill Ullman talks with David Klein, Founder and CEO of CommonBond, one of the leading financial technology and student lending companies in America in this latest “Squashing the Market” podcast.  Bill and David discuss a wide range of topics including how and why David started this student lending company while still an MBA candidate at Wharton, how he grew CommonBond into one of the largest student lenders with over $4 billion of loans originated, how he has managed a large and complex organization through the Covid-19 pandemic and the current crises in student debt and exorbitant college tuition levels.  David is a thoughtful entrepreneur and visionary FinTech leader.  CommonBond has helped tens of thousands of students, saving them hundreds of millions of dollars of interest expense annually.  Recently, the Company was ranked #1 Most Innovative Company in Education by FastCompany.  David earned his MBA from the Wharton School and is a graduate of Brandeis University.  He is a Trustee of the Bronx Charter School for the Arts and member of the Forbes Finance Council. Produced, engineered, and edited by Sam Swanson. Music by Alex Atchley.

Re-starting the Squashing the Market podcast series from his home studio in Brooklyn, NY, Bill talks investment management with Bruce Cameron, co-founder of Berkshire Global Advisors, one of the leading firms in the specialized world of advising money managers on mergers and acquisitions and corporate strategy.  Bill serves as a Senior Advisor to the firm.  Founded in 1983, Berkshire today has a global presence with offices across the US and in Australia and the UK.  Bruce’s experience in the investment industry spans nearly 4 decades.  In addition to providing expert advice to his clients, Bruce is helping to lead and navigate Berkshire Global through volatile markets and the global pandemic.  In this podcast, Bill and Bruce discuss the trends, the issues and the challenges of the investment management industry and managing a successful advisory firm through Covid.  Bruce is a graduate of Trinity College and Harvard Business School. Produced, engineered, and edited by Sam Swanson. Music by Alex Atchley.

Bill invites “rocket scientist” Jeff Glickman to the studio for this latest episode of “Squashing the Market." Bill and Jeff explore one of the most complex and intriguing topics in finance and technology today: the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its use in the investment world. Jeff is uniquely positioned to explain this topic.  An information systems guru, Jeff built his first computer at age nine. At age sixteen, he taught semiconductor physics at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaigne. He has delivered advanced technology and services to a range of organizations including The Department of Defense, Ford Motor Company, The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery and NASA, among many others. Most of Jeff’s work has been in artificial and machine intelligence, image processing and pattern recognition. He holds approximately 50 patents in multiple disciplines including machine intelligence, computer architecture, communications and pattern recognition. Jeff is the founder and CEO of J4 Capital, a Registered Investment Advisor that uses AI and machine learning to implement its investment strategy. Produced, engineered, and edited by Sam Swanson. Music by Alex Atchley.

“Squashing the Market” welcomes Rhian Horgan to the studio in this special podcast episode. Bill and Rhian explore one of the most pressing and important problems facing tens of millions of Americans today: saving for retirement. Rhian also shares the key moments of her journey into entrepreneurship and running a company after 16 years of serving in a variety of senior roles in JP Morgan's Wealth Management business. Rhian is the founder and CEO of Kindur, a “Silicon Alley” (NYC) start-up that is focused on helping baby boomers embrace modern retirements by providing them with straightforward, digital financial advice. Rhian left JP Morgan to start Kindur in 2017. She is a graduate of the College of William and Mary, where she studied Finance and Public Policy and now serves as a Trustee of the William and Mary Foundation. Produced by Sam Swanson, music by Alex Atchley.

“Squashing the Market” brings Phil Bartow into the studio to discuss investing in loans originated by FinTech companies. The first institutional investor in this podcast series, Phil has emerged as an expert and leading player in FinTech loan and credit investing. Phil is the Head of FinTech and Marketplace Lending at Sound Point Capital in New York City, a firm with over $20 billion of assets under management and focused on credit strategies. Prior to joining Sound Point in 2019, Phil was a Portfolio Manager of RiverNorth Capital, where he helped to launch and manage the first SEC registered closed end fund to invest in loans originated by FinTech companies. Phil is a graduate of Williams College and Columbia Business School.  Produced by Sam Swanson, music by Alex Atchley.

In this episode of “Squashing the Market”, host Bill Ullman welcomes FinTech wunderkind Matt Burton to the studio for an animated discussion about start-ups, venture capital investing, the globalization of FinTech and entrepreneurship. Matt is currently a partner at leading FinTech VC firm QED Investors. Prior to joining QED, Matt was the co-founder and CEO of online lending analytics company Orchard Platform, which was recently sold to Kabbage (an online lender based in Atlanta). Matt’s career has been an astonishing rise through the AdTech and FinTech worlds - and now venture capital.  Prior to starting Orchard, Matt worked at AdTech pioneers Live Rail and AdMeld, which were sold to Facebook and Google, respectively. A graduate of Sewanee - The University of the South, Matt was a former Texas State tennis champion who now likes to play squash from time to time in NYC. Produced by Sam Swanson, music by Alex Atchley.

Bill Ullman welcomes Nick Williams to the “Squashing the Market” studio.  Nick is the co-founder and CEO of Sally, a technology and finance company that owns and operates a fleet of ride sharing vehicles (for Uber and Lyft drivers) and yellow taxis in the complicated, highly regulated and competitive New York City transportation market.  Sally has over 700 vehicles on the road today and allows drivers to access and utilize the vehicles with flexible, short term leases.  Nick’s experience in structured credit, which he gained at hedge funds before starting Sally 4 years ago, has helped him to build and rapidly grow this unique FinTech based in Long Island City, Queens, NY - the bustling hub of the NYC taxi and ride-sharing business. Produced by Sam Swanson, music by Alex Atchley.

In this episode of “Squashing the Market,” Bill Ullman welcomes FinTech CEO Margaret Hartigan to the studio. Margaret discusses her journey from top performing financial advisor at Merrill Lynch to Founder and CEO of Marstone, a New York City based financial technology company. Marstone provides software to financial institutions to help power their digital wealth solutions while enabling those companies to attract and retain clients and reduce costs. A member of the Milken FinTech Advisory Committee, Margaret is not only an expert in FinTech but a leading voice for women in technology and finance.Produced by Sam Swanson. Music by Alex Atchley.

In this episode of "Squashing the Market," Bill talks with Peter Renton, aka “Mr. FinTech.”   A widely acknowledged expert in financial technology, Peter has been interviewed by just about every major media company, including The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, The New York Times and CNBC to name a few. An expert yes - but Peter is an outstanding entrepreneur too. He founded Lend Academy, the leading news and educational resource for the online lending industry. Peter also co-founded the LendIt conference series, the largest and most important conferences dedicated to FinTech and digital lending. He also founded NSR Invest, an investment and analytics platform that provides access to digital lending marketplaces for individual and institutional investors. Bill and Peter discuss the latest trends and issues in financial technology, what’s gone right and wrong and what’s next in this dynamic and ever changing industry.  Produced by Sam Swanson. Music by Alex Atchley.

In this episode of "Squashing the Market," Bill talks with Phil Rosen, founder and CEO of Even Financial, a New York City based FinTech company.  In the four years since its founding, Even has grown to nearly 100 employees, raised capital from the most prestigious venture capitalists and strategic investors and works with many of the leading financial institutions in the US.  Phil has been involved in start-ups his entire career, is a software engineer and leader in the FinTech community.  Bill’s conversation with Phil covers a broad range of topics from the role of “APIs” (application programming interfaces) to running and growing one of “Silicon Alley’s” fastest growing companies. Produced by Sam Swanson. Music by Alex Atchley.

Bill sits down with Zac Prince, Founder and CEO of BlockFi, a FinTech company based in New York City that lends money against cryptocurrency assets and allows individuals to earn interest on their cryptocurrency deposits.  Zac was a nationally ranked tennis player (and now loves and plays squash), a graduate of Texas State University, a veteran of several start-up companies and an entrepreneur.  Bill and Zac discuss, bitcoin, digital currencies, the regulation of this new industry, and, in general, what the bitcoin craze is all about and what it's like to run a company in the middle of this rapidly growing and changing FinTech industry and market. Produced by Sam Swanson. Music by Alex Atchley.

Bill talks with Angela Ceresnie, CEO of Climb Credit, a FinTech company that seeks to provide affordable loans to students at schools offering the knowledge and skills for today's economy.  Bill and Angela discuss her journey into FinTech, the student debt crisis, and the issues impacting education finance today.  Angela also discusses her perspective on being a female CEO in the historically male dominated worlds of finance and FinTech. Produced by Sam Swanson. Music by Alex Atchley. 

Bill talks with Ian Rosen (CEO,Stocktwits) about being a CEO, the success of Stocktwits, and what skills are most important when running a fintech.Produced by Sam Swanson. Music by Alex Atchley.

In the second half of their discussion, Bill and Ron discuss venture capitalism, the gig economy, and how fintechs can work with US and international regulators.Produced by Sam Swanson. Music by Alex Atchley.

In our inaugural episode (and a two-parter, to boot!), Bill talks to investor Ron Suber about the role of fintech in the financial lending market.