What The Heck, Fintech

⚡ 𝗧𝗶𝗻𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹. 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹. 𝗔 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴.What the heck does graphene have to do with fintech? More than you might think.Brad Larschan, CEO of Avadain, joins me on What the Heck Fintech to connect materials innovation, equity crowdfunding, and the infrastructure powering our digital lives. From international law and royal warrants to commercializing inventions, Brad’s journey is as fascinating as the material he’s working to bring to the world.🎯 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲:🔬 What graphene is—and why choosing the right type matters.🔥 Where Brad sees potential to reduce heat and energy waste in electronics and AI infrastructure.🤝 How equity crowdfunding helped finance Avadain’s vision and opened participation to everyday investors.🏭 Why Avadain licenses its technology to manufacturers—and what it takes to move beyond the lab.🌍 How graphene could help reduce reliance on critical minerals and improve everyday products.💡 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲—and Brad brings that connection to life: finance helps fund innovation, and innovation can improve how we live. His vision links broader access to capital with more efficient technology, longer-lasting products, and a happier, healthier, more prosperous world.𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴:🌐 Explore Avadain’s technology, applications, and updates:https://avadaingraphene.com/💬 Follow Avadain on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/avadain-inc/🤝 To connect and learn even more from Brad Larschan, please go to his LinkedIn profile:https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradley-larschan-a7736175/#WhatTheHeckFintech #FintechIsFinLife #BradLarschan #Avadain #Graphene #Fintech #EquityCrowdfunding #AdvancedMaterials #Innovation #FintechPodcast

🧠 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝘆𝗽𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿. 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁. 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 Making money doesn’t prove you know what you’re doing. Simon Mach, founder and CEO of MyCryptoParadise, joins me on What the Heck Fintech to explore the mindset behind disciplined crypto trading—and why your emotions deserve as much attention as your charts.🎯 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲:🛡️ Why Simon puts protecting capital ahead of chasing profits.🎲 How to recognize the difference between trading skill, good luck, and a dopamine rush.📊 Why buying different coins isn’t the same as diversifying your trading strategies.🔐 The wallet scam that caught Simon out—and the lesson he wants everyone to hear.🌍 How access, trust, and regulation shape crypto’s next chapter.💡 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲—and Simon brings that to life through learning from mistakes, managing emotions, and thinking long-term. These lessons reach beyond the trading screen into business, everyday decisions, and our relationship with money.𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴:🌐 My Crypto Paradise—explore the community and resources:https://mycryptoparadise.com/▶️ YouTube—Bitcoin analysis every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday:https://www.youtube.com/@MyCryptoParadise💬 Follow Simon on X:https://x.com/simonmachcrypto🤝 To connect and learn even more from Simon Mach, please go to his LinkedIn profile:https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonmachcrypto/#WhatTheHeckFintech #FintechIsFinLife #SimonMach #MyCryptoParadise #Fintech #Crypto #TradingPsychology #RiskManagement #Bitcoin #FintechPodcast

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 wayThis 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

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:[email protected]#Fintech #FintechIsFinLife #Entrepreneurship #BabsonCollege #CutlerCenter #LendPilot #AI #Startups #Leadership #PitchCompetition #StudentFounder #FinancialTechnology #Innovation #FounderJourney #WhatTheHeckFintech

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 paymentsOne 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/