How to Lend Money to Strangers – Details, episodes & analysis

I've been busy with the kids' end-of-year activities, with a bit of camping, with a bit of drinking in Belfast, with a bit of planning for a trip to Paris for the Olympics, with a bit of everything except podcast editing 😉 So, to fill the gap until next week, here's a taste of my other show: hAIghtened senses.

From drones scanning the forests of Sweden looking for early signs of pest infestations to artificial noses detecting spoiled milk or the presence of mildew to innovators building businesses on top of this fast-changing tech, our podcast uncovers the innovative ways AI-empowered machines are enhancing our understanding of the world around us.

You can email us at haightenedsenses@gmail.com or message us on LinkedIn

Images of spruce bark beetle infestations can be sent to barkbeetletracker@gmail.com

Christo and Brendan are both active on LinkedIn and open to all genuine new connections, you can find them at https://www.linkedin.com/in/christo-van-zyl-innovator/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrange/ respectively

You can find more of Christo at chaos-out-of-order.com

Brendan's other podcast is www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show

Show art is created with Dall-E, show music is created with suno.ai

Website: https://www.haightenedsenses.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/haightened-senses

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@hAIghtenedsenses

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557906028730

Instagram: @haightened.senses

TikTok: haightened.senses

#Innovation, #Entrepreneurship, #AIRevolution, #BusinessGrowth, #FutureTech, #DisruptiveInnovation, #InnovativeIdeas, #AIInBusiness #machinelearning #tech #hitech

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Adrian Pllay has an unusually deep understanding of some of the world's more interesting markets. We've heard a lot about the US and the UK on this show but today, Adrian takes us off the beaten path: having been based at times in Africa and at times in the Middle East, he now oversees both of those regions as well as a little in-between! We talk about what he's learnt along the way, we get teased with the possibility of a future book, and we hear how Provenir is helping banks, fintechs, and other financial services providers make smarter decisions faster with their AI-Powered Risk Decisioning Platform.

Provenir is online at https://www.provenir.com/ (or jump straight to their excellent resources page for their latest thought leadership)

Adrian is on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrianpillay/ (and last I saw, he was hiring)

You can seek me out on LinkedIn, too, where I'm open to all genuine new connections - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrange - and follow the show's page while you're there.

Meanwhile, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is discussed at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24

And since you like podcasts, I'm also co-create hAIghtened senses with Christo van Zyl, in which will look at the intersection between human senses and technology, especially AI-powered technology. You can already start to follow it wherever you're listening to this one - there's only a trailer there at the moment, but we've recorded some of the early episodes and it's going to be a fun ride!

Keep well, Brendan

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Last time the research was done in England, 1.1 million people were borrowing from illegal lenders... and that was two years ago, before the cost of living crisis which has surely pushed that number higher, so we're looking at somewhere between 1 in 30 and 1 in 40 adults. Those borrowers are facing a combination of threats and extortionate rates, and you're losing directly, too, because "if one of your customers is paying the loan shark, they won't pay your loan because the loan shall be the priority". 

Stop Loan Sharks is at home online at https://www.stoploansharks.co.uk/

But it also just happens to be one of their bi-annual social media weeks, so why don't you also engage with their posts on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/stoploansharksengland/

I am on LinkedIn, too, and open to new genuine connections - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrange - please also follow the show's page while you're there.

Meanwhile, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is discussed at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24

And finally, I'm also co-creating a new podcast called hAIghtened senses which will look at the intersection between human senses and technology, especially AI-powered technology. You can already start to follow it wherever you're listening to this one - there's only a trailer there at the moment, but we've recorded some of the early episodes and it's going to be a fun ride!

Keep well, Brendan

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Which is handy, because we’ve all heard it, most of us have even said it ourselves, the world is very volatile at the moment. So when Evan Chrapko of Trust Science told me how their models embrace volatility, I knew we were onto something interesting. Even more so, because I spent a decade working in the credit bureaus myself, and that’s the industry that Trust Science is disrupting right now with its volatility-eating models.

As mentioned in our chat, your first port of call for further information is https://www.trustscience.com/ (though they are also on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/trust-science/)

Or you can jump straight to the news articles about their work https://www.trustscience.com/articles-page (including the Mail and Globe article we spoke about)

Evan was also recently at LendIt USA, and you catch a video clip behind the scenes here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34PrP7Ak4aw

You can learn more about myself, Brendan le Grange, on my LinkedIn page (feel free to connect), my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24

If you have any feedback or questions, if you would like to participate in the show, or if you'd like to find full written transcripts with timestamps head on over to HowtoLendMoneytoStrangers.Show

Regards,

Brendan

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Not all bankers wear suits - some, like Todd Kleperis, are built for frontier markets. It has been a decade since Washington and Colorado legalised the use of cannabis, and 17 States have followed suit, but with federal legalisation not yet on the books, most banks in the United States remain wary of the £33 billion industry. This, in turn, leaves the fast-growing recession-resilient sector starved for credit.

Forged out of frustration with this status quo, Todd and his team built Payzel to fix this, and are offering banking and funding to cannabis businesses, both startup and established. More on Payzel can be found at https://payzel.com/ or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/river-florida/

And it turns out, cannabis isn't the only industry considered too risky to touch, so Payzel have expanded into other frontier market spaces. The Sea Pods we spoke about have just been launched this week, so head over to https://oceanbuilders.com/ for some modern living design inspiration

You can learn more about myself, Brendan le Grange, on my LinkedIn page (feel free to connect), my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24

If you have any feedback or questions, if you would like to participate in the show, or if you'd like to find full written transcripts with timestamps head on over to HowtoLendMoneytoStrangers.Show

Regards,

Brendan

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Open Banking is a proven technology with proven use cases, and in the UK, perhaps its spiritual home, user numbers continue to rocket - there are now more than 6 million active Open Banking customers there.

However, some other markets are looking on and wondering what the fuss is about.

This was surprising to me. And it was surprising to today’s guest, Nick Tuttelberg of DirectID. After all, there’s not a business alive today that wouldn’t want better data, and Open Banking provides some unique ways to generate and leverage data. But it seems the concept is still misunderstood in some sectors, so Nick and I take a step back and look at how a market like South Africa could benefit from encouraging Open Banking.

As we mention in our chat, this is the second time I have interviewed someone from DirectID, so if you’d like to deeper dive into the company and its mission, you can listen to my chat with its founder, James Varga, in episode 36 of this show: https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-36

But you can learn more about DirectID on their (recently redesigned and now looking very lovely) homepage https://www.direct.id/ or via LinkedIn

LinkedIn is also a good place to find Nick if you’d like to start your own Open Banking journey, he’s here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-tuttelberg-87bb0628/

You can learn more about myself, Brendan le Grange, on my LinkedIn page (feel free to connect), my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24

If you have any feedback or questions, if you would like to participate in the show, or if you'd like to find full written transcripts with timestamps head on over to HowtoLendMoneytoStrangers.Show

Regards,

Brendan

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BNPL is usually spoken about in terms of it being a more convenient payment tool for people in option-rich credit markets, but a revenue model that doesn’t require interest resonates with Middle Eastern customers for even more reasons.

So in this episode I speak to Ziyaad Ahmed, co-founder and COO at Spotii, a Dubai-based BNPL now in the ZipPay stable.

You can learn more about Spotii at https://www.spotii.com/

Their social tag is @spotiime ala https://instagram.com/spotiime?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

You can learn more about myself, Brendan le Grange, on my LinkedIn page (feel free to connect), my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24

If you have any feedback, questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the HTLMTS.show page

Regards,

Brendan

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More than 200 million formal and informal micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in emerging markets lack adequate financing to thrive and grow; and the majority cite the lack of collateral and credit history and business informality as barriers to that financing. Today's guest, Sabelo Sibanda, has built CreditAis to solve this by providing explainable deep learning models that use alternative data to accurately score small businesses that don't fit the incumbent scoring criteria.

You can learn more about CreditAIs on their website at https://www.creditais.com (or follow them on LinkedIn)

We also mentioned Tuse, an earlier venture by the same pair. If that sounds interesting, learn more at https://tuseapp.com/

You can learn more about myself, Brendan le Grange, on my LinkedIn page (feel free to connect), my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24

If you have any feedback or questions, if you would like to participate in the show, or if you'd like to find full written transcripts with timestamps head on over to HowtoLendMoneytoStrangers.Show

Regards,

Brendan

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Nicole Lapin, Host of Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin, is “the only financial expert you don't need a dictionary to understand”.

And sure, you may not need a dictionary to understand lending anymore, but that’s because you work in the industry. I’m going to guess that most of your borrowers don’t. And I’m also going to guess that most of your borrowers don’t want to spend their days reading dictionaries, which is why Nicole is where they are going to learn and to vent about their credit troubles.

As lenders, even with our best intentions we sometimes talk past our borrowers, we describe products in confusing terms or build them in ways that may allow customers to work against their own best interests.

That is why I think it is so important to have a channel to those grassroots experiences. With a new episode out every weekday, a handful of New York Times best-selling books, and her own experience of being in debt and out of control, there is no better channel today than Nicole Lapin - so I was absolutely delighted to have her on my show, talking about how and where consumers are feeling the pinch, and how and where consumers are going astray with their credit products.

You can, and really should, find Nicole’s books, courses, and other insights on https://nicolelapin.com/. You can even follow Nicole on LinkedIn

While Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin can be found wherever fine podcasts are followed, or via its home on iHeart

You can learn more about myself, Brendan le Grange, on my LinkedIn page (feel free to connect), my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24

If you have any feedback or questions, if you would like to participate in the show, or if you'd like to find full written transcripts with timestamps head on over to HowtoLendMoneytoStrangers.Show

Regards,

Brendan

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South Africa has an awkward history with payday lending and payday adjacent lending, so I was a touch concerned when I first heard that a fresh pair of South African entrepreneurs were looking to shake up the industry. Luckily, all my concerns were misplaced, because SmartWage is not looking to rethink payday lending, they're looking to make it redundant.

You can read more about SmartWage, now re-branded as Jem at https://www.jemhr.com/

In today’s episode, we talk about digitising communication between employers and employees, removing trucks’ worth of paperwork, and providing access to earned wages.

Follow Carolyn van der Merwe on LinkedIn for news on SmartWage but also updates from the Yale Africa Startup Review (or just head there directly at https://www.yasr.org/)

Follow Simon Ellis on LinkedIn for news on SmartWage but also his thoughts on leadership and his podcast hot tips - including The Knowledge Project and The Tim Ferris Show which were mentioned.

Follow Simon Ellis on LinkedIn for news on SmartWage but also his thoughts on leadership and his podcast hot tips - including The Knowledge Project and The Tim Ferris Show which were mentioned.

You can learn more about myself, Brendan le Grange, on my LinkedIn page (feel free to connect), my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24

If you have any feedback or questions, if you would like to participate in the show, or if you'd like to find full written transcripts with timestamps head on over to HowtoLendMoneytoStrangers.Show

Regards,

Brendan

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