This week, we’re tapping into the intersection of hip-hop, technology, education and startups with a true pioneer—Arabian Prince.

If you know your rap history, you know Arabian Prince as one of the founding members of N.W.A, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame rap group that redefined music and culture. But what you might not know is that he’s also a lifelong technologist, entrepreneur and futurist—a kid from Compton who got his hands on a computer early and never looked back.

From songwriting, rapping and DJ-ing to producing electro-funk beats and Grammy-nominated #1 hit song Supersonic to leading innovation in 3D animation, video games, and blockchain, he’s been pushing the boundaries of technology for decades.

In this episode, we talk about how a chance encounter with an N.W.A-inspired crypto-merch baseball cap led to this conversation, and from there, we cover everything—his early love for tech, how music and technology shaped his career, and his mission as founder of INov8 Next Open Labs and co-founder of INov8 Capital to bring the next generation of kids into the world of tech.

Form beats to bytes, Arabian’s story is all about curiosity, hustle, creativity, and breaking boundaries—whether it’s in music, business, or technology, so this is one you don’t want to miss.

EPISODE LINKS

• Follow OGArabianPrince on social: Instagram | LinkedIn | X/Twitter

• Learn more about iNov8 Next Open Labs

• Learn about Arabian Prince’s music and past work here

• Check out Arabian Prince’s GGGOAT Golf and GGGOAT PC brands 

• Check out Swarm, the crypto real-world asset platform that started this conversation: www.swarm.com

QUOTES FROM THE EPISODE

• “I was just a kid with a computer in Compton. That changed everything for me.”

• “If you want to make real change, you have to give kids access—not just knowledge, but tools, networks, and opportunities.”

• “Most of the people running tech companies today grew up on our music. That connection helps me open doors to push innovation forward.”

SHOW NOTES 

01:45 – The backstory: A crypto merch cap leads to this conversation

04:10 – Growing up in Compton, discovering computers, and early influences

08:50 – Blending music and technology: from electro-funk to hip-hop

11:15 – The birth of N.W.A and leveraging tech in the studio

14:40 – Why Arabian Prince left N.W.A and pivoted into animation and video games

16:20 – Working on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Silver Surfer, and Casper

18:30 – Founding iNov8 Next Open Labs and building tech education initiatives

21:05 – The regional approach: Adapting tech education to different U.S. communities

24:15 – Leveraging relationships and hip-hop’s legacy to open doors in tech

27:40 – Thoughts on blockchain, AI, and the future of digital ownership

29:50 – The impact of teaching kids about technology and entrepreneurship

32:00 – Fun facts about Arabian Prince: his love for SpongeBob and video games

34:00 – Arabian’s connection to Ireland and plans for visiting soon

35:00 – Closing thoughts and where to find Arabian Prince online

Keywords: #arabianprince #nwa #rap #hiphop #tech #education #inov8next

Shout-outs and hat-tips: Amor Sexton, Philipp Pieper, Timo Lehes, Katie Evans, Kene Ezeji-Okoye

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Laura Walsh returns this week to help me unpack the whirlwind of events shaking up crypto, finance, and politics—from Trump’s memecoin antics to regulatory shifts and the ever-increasing adoption of crypto by institutional finance.

Laura Walsh is a Techstars All Star Mentor, advisor, founder, web3 OG and friend, and in this episode, we dive into:

• Trump’s Memecoin Playbook – How the former U.S. president’s memecoins raked in millions in fees and what it says about crypto speculation today.

• Gary Gensler’s Exit from the SEC – What his departure means for the regulatory landscape and whether this signals a new era for crypto.

• Institutional Finance Embracing Blockchain – The latest on Circle’s acquisition of Hashnote’s tokenized money market fund and why crypto natives, not TradFi, are fueling the real-world asset movement.

• Regulatory Clarity & Crypto Adoption – How the SEC’s new crypto task force led by Hester Peirce is changing the conversation around compliance and innovation.

• Lessons from the Irish Whiskey Trade Battle – A fascinating parallel between crypto lobbying and how the Irish whiskey industry successfully pushed for tariff exclusions in the U.S.

• Canada’s Response to Trump’s Trade Threats – The geopolitical implications of America’s shifting trade policies and how Canadians are rallying against expansionist rhetoric.

There’s no shortage of action in this episode—memecoins, market shifts, regulatory updates, and some fascinating history lessons all packed into one conversation!

Resources & Mentions:

Gary Gensler Leaves SEC, and Cryptocurrency-Friendly Mark Uyeda Is Appointed (Binance, 20-Jan-25)

SEC Forms New Crypto Task Force Spearheaded by Hester Peirce (CoinDesk, 21-Jan-25)

Trump’s meme coin is a reminder of crypto’s dumbest use case (CNN, 21-Jan-25)

Alternative viewpoint on memecoins from Kevin DeGods (X/Twitter, 20-Jan-25)

Canada has threatened ‘dollar for dollar’ retaliatory tariffs and ‘nothing is off the table’ (National Post, 21-Jan-25)

The Irish whiskey playbook: an insider’s guide to how firms must navigate Trump’s DC (Business Post, 20-Jan-25)

Dfns Raises $16 Million to Expand Crypto Wallet Infrastructure (Pymnts.com, 17-Jan-25)

Circle buys tokenized money market fund Hashnote-USYC (Finextra, 21-Jan-25)

Tornado Cash off OFAC List (Cointelegraph, 22-Jan-25)

Ross Ulbricht pardoned (X, 21-Jan-25)

Connect with Laura Walsh on social media:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauralwalsh/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheOGLauraWalsh

Keywords: Trump, memecoins, crypto, regulations, SEC, tokenized assets

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Niall Dennehy is an Irish entrepreneur and the co-founder and COO of AID:Tech, who are bringing traceability and transparency to the flow of funds for governments, NGOs and charities with their payments and digital identity infrastructure bridging web2 to web3. 

In this episode, Pete Townsend reconnects with Niall to explore the groundbreaking journey of their mission-driven company since Niall was last on MoneyNeverSleeps in 2018 (episode 11 linked here and below).

The conversation spans the company's digital identity and payments innovations, especially through their Kare Wallet which accelerates financial assistance to disaster survivors. Leveraging blockchain technology, the platform ensures transparent, traceable, and secure distribution of relief funds, partnering with entities like Walmart to prevent misuse.

Niall reflects on the emotional impact on both survivors and AID:Tech employees, underscoring the mission that deeply resonates with their team. The discussion delves into strategic approaches to funding, including securing non-dilutive grants, engaging with VCs, and the valuable experiences from accelerator programs like Techstars. 

Niall and Pete also touch upon the 'Five H's' of success - happy, hungry, humble, helpful, and healthy - emphasizing the importance of holistic wellbeing in driving sustained impact and growth for AID:Tech. Overall, this episode offers an insightful look into AID:Tech's ethos, their strategic growth, and the pivotal role of technology in enhancing disaster relief efforts.

The Techstars Web3 accelerator invests in entrepreneurs building in web3 and enabling the next wave of growth in the decentralized internet and in tokenized economies.  Applications are now open for the Spring 2025 class, so check out techstars.com/accelerators/web3 to apply.  

TIMESTAMPS:

00:36 Meet Niall Dennehy: Co-Founder of AID:Tech

01:48 AID:Tech's Impact and Innovations

03:19 The Evolution of AID:Tech 

04:22 The Core Mission: Identity and Payments

07:44 Real-World Applications and Success Stories

11:18 Challenges and Perseverance in the Startup World

13:08 Future of Payments and Digital Identity

14:19 The Kare Survivor Wallet in Action

20:02 Community Impact and Personal Stories

24:55 The Flywheel of a Mission-Driven Startup

26:02 Philosophical Insights and Team Alignment

27:36 Navigating Fundraising for Impact Ventures

30:56 The Importance of Non-Dilutive Capital

33:50 Personal Growth and Mindset

36:37 The Five H's for Founders

39:27 Final Thoughts and Gratitude

LINKS:

Follow Niall Dennehy

-X/(Twitter): https://twitter.com/dennehyniall

-LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/niall-dennehy-bb311016/

Learn more about:

-AID:Tech: https://www.aid.technology/

-Techstars Web3 Accelerator:  https://www.techstars.com/accelerators/web3

Links referenced in the episode:

Post on the Kare Survivor Wallet’s deployment for hurricane relief aid 

Episode 11 of MoneyNeverSleeps from August 2018: 

Matt Keller’s X/(Twitter) post on Algorand and the Kare Wallet

Leave a review and subscribe on 

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Jeff Donnelley and Colin Bracey are the co-founders of MegaFans, a mobile esports platform and community bridging web2 to web3 in a play-to-earn environment for gamers, collectors and developers.

This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by Philip Lee, one of Ireland’s fastest-growing corporate law firms and expert advisors at the heart of the Dublin and London start-up, fintech and crypto communities.

MegaFans are the sixth of ten founding teams forming the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator Class of 2022 that we’ve got on the show over the next two months.

In this episode, Pete Townsend talks to Jeff and Colin about:

- How their paths first converged with the predecessor to MegaFans after doing the first legal ICO (initial coin offering) in Canada.

- An inside look at the MegaFans platform

- ‘Mining’ the web2 market and building a web3 community

- The longer-term vision for MegaFans and the esports market overall

- How Jeff and Colin are approaching the big challenges in front of them right now

LINKS:

Connect with Jeff Donnelley and Colin Bracey and learn more about MegaFans

Episode title inspired by ‘Award Tour’ by A Tribe Called Quest

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On the show this week, we’ve got Will Martin and Laura Brkić from LiveDuel, a DeFi-powered digital sports market with live fan engagement. LiveDuel supports decentralized sports betting built on blockchain to give you a fairer deal than traditional sports betting sites.

This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by Philip Lee, one of Ireland’s fastest-growing corporate law firms and expert advisors at the heart of the Dublin and London start-up, fintech and crypto communities.

LiveDuel are the fifth of ten founding teams forming the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator Class of 2022 that we’ve got on the show over the next two months.

In this episode, Pete Townsend talks to Will and Laura about how they got together with Alex Luce to drive LiveDuel forward, what LiveDuel is and how it works, replacing ‘the house’ in sports betting markets with DeFi liquidity pools, and staying close to the long-term vision while executing in the short term.  

LINKS:

Connect with Will Martin and Laura Brkić and learn more about LiveDuel

Episode title inspired by ‘Hate It or Love’ It by the Game

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On the show this week, we’ve got Victor and Lee and Alvin Foo, co-founders of Securo Finance (formerly DAOventures) who are building a compliant, secure and easy to use DeFi (decentralized finance) investment platform for regular investors.

This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by Philip Lee, one of Ireland’s fastest-growing corporate law firms and expert advisors at the heart of the Dublin and London start-up, fintech and crypto communities.

Securo Finance are the fourth of ten founding teams forming the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator Class of 2022 that we’ve got on the show over the next two months.

In this episode, Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend talk to Victor and Alvin about how they got together with their CTO Soon Lai to bring the Securo Finance idea to life, what Securo Finance is and how it works, what really matters when you’re bridging web2 investors into the web3 world, and how Securo Finance are going to make a big splash into the market in and around Palm Beach and Miami at the upcoming Permissionless conference.

LINKS:

Connect with Victor Lee and Alvin Foo and learn more about Securo Finance (rebranding from DAOventures)

Episode title inspired by ‘Friends’ by Nas & Damian Marley and ‘Friend of Mine’ by Alan Tam

Victor Lee quoted in American Banker’s post: ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Centralized’

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On the show this week we have Filipe Pereira and Mario Frade from Crowdclass, a web3 protocol for online education using the power of blockchain, tokenization, composability and the metaverse to create new monetization models for online educators, and better learning environments for students to grow and develop.

Crowdclass are the third of ten founding teams forming the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator Class of 2022 that we’ve got on the show over the next few months.

In this episode, we talk to Filipe and Mario about how the crisscrossing of their lives and careers with that of their co-founder (and CTO) Bruno Costa has resulted in the funding of Crowdclass, In this episode, we talk to Filipe and Mario about how the crisscrossing of their lives and careers with that of their co-founder (and CTO) Bruno Costa has resulted in the funding of Crowdclass, the shortcomings of the online education experience today for learners, teachers and content creators, the longer-term vision for Crowdclass, and how Crowdclass will get to market in 2022.

This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by Philip Lee, one of Ireland’s fastest-growing corporate law firms and expert advisors at the heart of the Dublin and London start-up, fintech and crypto communities.

LINKS:

Connect with Filipe Pereira and Mario Frade and learn more about Crowdclass

Episode title inspired by ‘Reunited’ by Wu-Tang Clan

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Eugene O’Brien and Kurt Pittman from Ireland-based BigFan join Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend on the show this week. BigFan is reinventing sports collectibles through officially licensed NFTs that provide access to Metaverse-driven fan experiences

Eugene and Kurt from BigFan are the second of ten founding teams forming the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator Class of 2022 that we’ve got on the show over the next few months.

In this episode, we talk to Eugene and Kurt about how their paths converged into BigFan last year, why it makes so much sense for them to be working on BigFan together, the ‘art of the possible’ with building for the metaverse, and the challenges in front of them to tackle right now.

This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by Philip Lee, one of Ireland’s fastest-growing corporate law firms and expert advisors at the heart of the Dublin and London start-up, fintech and crypto communities.

LINKS:

Connect with Eugene O’Brien and Kurt Pittmanand learn more about BigFan

Episode title inspired by ‘Drop it Like it’s Hot’ by Snoop Dogg ft. Pharrell

Reference to Jasmine Maietta from Round21 on Web3 Breakdownspodcast

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Carla Rosenkranz, founder of Barterchain, riffs with Pete Townsend about how the Barterchain idea is rooted in her own experience of exchanging English lessons for yoga classes, the core of her conviction to start building Barterchain, the network effects from connecting local communities and virtual communities, how to keep pushing back against the blockchain and crypto naysayers….and her psychic storytelling superpowers!

This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by Philip Lee, one of Ireland’s fastest-growing corporate law firms and expert advisors at the heart of the Dublin and London start-up, fintech and crypto communities.

LINKS:

Connect with Carla Rosenkranzand learn more about Barterchain

Episode title inspired by ‘Get it Together’ by Drake, Black Coffee and Jorja Smith

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What a week! Techstars kicked off the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator this week in Dublin and they’re already moving at a breakneck pace. With that, we’re taking the opportunity to introduce our MoneyNeverSleeps community to the ten amazing founding teams that make up Techstars’ first chain-agnostic blockchain accelerator as well as Techstars’ very first accelerator program in Ireland.

This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by Philip Lee, one of Ireland’s fastest-growing corporate law firms and expert advisors at the heart of the Dublin and London start-up, fintech and crypto communities.

Here are the ten early-stage startups that form the inaugural class of the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator, all of whom introduce themselves and their vision in this episode recorded on March 16th, 2022, about two weeks before the program kicked off.

Meet the companies:

Barterchain -A peer-to-peer barterplace where members can swap or tokenize their skills and services

BigFan - Reinventing sports collectibles with officially licensed NFTs that provide access to Metaverse-driven fan experiences

CrowdClass - A web3 protocol for online teachers to better monetize their courses and reward student engagement

DAOventures - A secured, compliant and easy to use DeFi platform for crypto investors

Eczodex - Tokenized data assets for value investors

LiveDuel - DeFi-powered live fan engagement

MegaFans - Mobile esports platform bridging web2 to web3 for gamers and enabling game developers to increase their player lifetime value

Staxe - Enabling music and creative productions’ economies in web3

Vyper Protocol - Risk management for DeFi applications on Solana

Your Diamonds – Enabling the diamond industry to solve old world problems through digital technologies and web3

LINKS:

Episode title inspired by Scenario by Tribe Called Quest

Learn more about the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator

Read Pete Townsend’s Web3 Thesis 1.0

Check out our MoneyNeverSleeps website

Follow MoneyNeverSleeps on Twitter

Follow Eoin Fitzgerald on Twitter

Follow Pete Townsend on Twitter

Get in touch at info@moneyneversleeps.ie

This week, Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend return from a 2-week hiatus and look at what’s driving Ramp forward so quickly with their $8bn valuation, the JP Morgan deal for western Ireland-based fintech Global Shares, and the latest with ApeCoin, Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs and Yuga Labs.

This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by Philip Lee, one of Ireland’s fastest-growing corporate law firms and expert advisors at the heart of the Dublin and London start-up, fintech and crypto communities.

STORIES WE COVERED:

Ramp confirms new $8.1B valuation after ‘a nearly 10x’ YoY increase in revenue(Techcrunch, 21-Mar-22)

JP Morgan confirms €665m takeover of Cork's Global Shares (Irish Times, 15-Mar-22)

What Is ApeCoin and Who Is Behind It? (Coindesk, 21-Mar-22)

Apple snaps up UK open banking start-up Credit Kudos (Silicon Republic, 23-Mar-22)

LINKS:

Leave a review and subscribe on Podchaser| Apple Podcasts | Spotify| Google| Overcast

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Subscribe to our newsletter on Substack

Follow MoneyNeverSleeps on Twitter

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Get in touch at info@moneyneversleeps.ie

Nik Milanović is the founder of This Week in Fintech, a global digest of fintech news, and General Partner at The Fintech Fund, an early-stage venture capital fund. In this episode, Pete Townsend and Eoin Fitzgerald talk to Nik about what influenced his modus operandi, the big opportunity with fintech to provide financial services to even more people around the world, how Nik ramped up from a newsletter to a syndicate to a venture fund, the blurred lines between fintech and crypto…and how Nik managed to make the most of his love of music!

This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by Philip Lee, one of Ireland’s fastest-growing corporate law firms and expert advisors at the heart of the Dublin and London start-up, fintech and crypto communities.

LINKS:

Episode title inspired by My Philosophy by Boogie Down Productions

Follow Nik Milanovic, subscribe to This Week in Fintech, and learn more about The Fintech Fund

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Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend riff on what started out as a student lending platform in SoFi now becoming a full-service digital finance player, Circle’s new SPAC deal in the context of stablecoins, advertising and naming rights in crypto and a long-term view on what Apple could be up to with Stripe.

This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by Philip Lee, one of Ireland’s fastest-growing corporate law firms and expert advisors at the heart of the Dublin and London start-up, fintech and crypto communities.

STORIES WE COVERED:

SoFi Pays $1.1B For Banking Software Firm Technisys (Pymnts.com, 22-Feb-22)

Stablecoin Provider Circle Hits $9B Valuation After New SPAC Deal (Decrypt, 17-Feb-22)

Sporting Crypto - Super Bowl Crypto Takeover (Sporting Crypto, Pet Berisha, 14-Feb-22)

From Apple Pay To Apple Paid (Forbes, 10-Feb-22)

LINKS:

Interesting web3 music project we mentioned: Token||Traxx

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Luca Franchi is the CEO and a co-founder of Ambient, a decentralized network of air quality sensors.  Luca brings to Ambient over two decades of leading growth at several startups and large corporations in the US and Europe (O2 UK, Telefónica, Sky) across enterprise and consumer verticals. 

In this episode, Luca shares his fascinating journey from working in startups and corporates like Sky in Silicon Valley to leading a decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN). The conversation delves into Ambient's strategic pivot from Algorand to Solana, their $2 million seed round led by Borderless Capital, and the operational challenges of launching a decentralized network.

Luca elaborates on how Ambient’s air quality sensors and the AmbiGo! app aim to engage the community and commercialize data. We also discuss the importance of founder experience, particularly in recruiting industry experts to navigate enterprise sales and legal structuring in DePIN projects. The episode concludes with Luca reflecting on the importance of passion and perseverance in entrepreneurship, and what it takes to approach the founders’ journey with longevity in mind.

Ambient is a DePIN at the leading edge of decentralized environmental monitoring, harnessing the power of its vast sensor network to deliver real-time, hyper-local, actionable environmental data. By utilizing distributed technologies and a community-focused participation model, Ambient not only enhances environmental awareness but also drives impactful change across the globe.

The Techstars Web3 accelerator invests in entrepreneurs building in web3 and enabling the next wave of growth in the decentralized internet and in tokenized economies.  Applications are now open for the Spring 2025 class, so check out techstars.com/accelerators/web3 to apply.  

TIMESTAMPS:

02:03 Luca's Career Journey and Founding Ambient

08:21 Challenges and Strategies in Building Ambient

11:51 How Ambient Works and Future Plans

13:15 The AmbiGo! App: Enhancing User Experience

16:10 The Importance of Data in Decentralized Networks

19:12 The Importance of DePIN in Web3

22:44 Raising the $2 Million Seed Round

25:24 The Startup Journey: Moving Fast and Staying Passionate

28:43 Balancing Work and Life: Advice for Founders

33:42 Conclusion and Contact Information

TIMESTAMPS:

Follow Luca Franchi

-X/(Twitter): https://x.com/luckyluca

-LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucafranchi/

Learn more about:

-Ambient: https://ambient.network/

-Techstars Web3 Accelerator:  https://www.techstars.com/accelerators/web3

Leave a review and subscribe on 

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Adam Bialy is the founder and CEO of Fiat Republic, the compliance-first, API-driven and highly secure and scalable bridge between banks and crypto. In this episode, Adam and Pete Townsend talk through the Fiat Republic vision, the current state of play between banks and crypto platforms that make Fiat Republic such a strong proposition, Adam’s unique leadership style, raising a $3.5mn seed round…and a little something about Taylor Swift!

This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by Philip Lee, one of Ireland’s fastest-growing corporate law firms and expert advisors at the heart of the Dublin and London start-up, fintech and crypto communities.

LINKS:

Episode title inspired by Mainstream by OutKast

Learn more about Fiat Republic and connect with Adam Bialy

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Matthew Larby is the founder and CEO of Realm, a blockchain metaverse ecosystem where you can create and explore your own play to earn microverse. In this episode, Matthew and I talk through how the Realm experience works,  how to make the metaverse more accessible, transitions from a web2 founder to a web3 founder, building a seed round in advance of Realm’s IDO (initial DEX offering), and a little known fact about his love for competing.

This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by Philip Lee, one of Ireland’s fastest-growing corporate law firms and expert advisors at the heart of the Dublin and London start-up, fintech and crypto communities.

LINKS:

Episode title inspired by Step into the Realm by the Roots

Learn more about Realm and connect with Matthew Larby

Leave a review and subscribe on Podchaser| Apple Podcasts | Spotify| Google| Overcast

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Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend are back with the first Money Talks segment of 2022 with a big bump in consumers spending crypto on Visa cards, the UBS deal for Wealthfront, Walmart doubling down on their superapp strategy, the story of Ireland’s latest unicorn, Wayflyer, and the pummeling of PayPal’s stock price as a bellwether for the post-pandemic era.

This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by Philip Lee, one of Ireland’s fastest-growing corporate law firms and expert advisors at the heart of the Dublin and London start-up, fintech and crypto communities.

STORIES WE COVERED:

Visa Customers Made $2.5B in Crypto-Linked Payments in Fiscal Q1 (Coindesk, 28-Jan-22)

How UBS plans to leverage Wealthfront’s robo-adviser (Investment News, 28-Jan-22)

Walmart’s Fintech Arm Acquires Two Firms In Financial Services Super App Quest (Ron Shevlin, Forbes, 26-Jan-22)

Wayflyer becomes latest Irish tech unicorn after $150m fundraise (Charlie Taylor, Irish Times, 1-Feb-22)

PayPal stock gets pummeled, wiping out nearly all of its pandemic-era gains (Fast Company, 2-Feb-22)

LINKS:

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This episode is from the second edition of the Finsight Series virtual event that Pete Townsend moderated recently hosted by Navirum and Salesforce. In this conversation, we’ve got an all-star cast with Rory Galvin from Navirum, Kerry Ryan from Salesforce, Christian-Maynard Philipp from Pattern and Joe Parkin from BlackRock.

The key idea with this discussion is that so many pieces of the wealth management process have become digital, but many have not - how do we go beyond WealthTech to accelerate to the next level of truly digital wealth management? Or do we need to?

This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by Philip Lee, one of Ireland’s fastest-growing corporate law firms and expert advisors at the heart of the Dublin and London start-up, fintech and crypto communities.

LINKS:

Connect with Rory Galvin from Navirum

Connect with Kerry Ryan from Salesforce

Connect with Christian Maynard-Philipp from Pattern

Connect with Joe Parkin from BlackRock

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Joining the show this week is Tim Bos, founder and CEO of ShareRing, a blockchain-based company that's focused on changing the landscape of the fragmented sharing economy. In this chat, Tim and Pete Townsend talk through Tim’s crystal ball-like experiences in deep tech in the ’90s, how being a third-time founder has shaped his view of the blockchain space, adapting all of this incredible technology at our fingertips into real-world scenarios, and what makes a great Web3 project.

This episode was originally recorded as part of the Techstars Web3 Convo Series of fireside chats powered by the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator program in Ireland.

This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by Philip Lee, one of Ireland’s fastest-growing corporate law firms and expert advisors at the heart of the Dublin and London start-up, fintech and crypto communities.

LINKS:

Follow Tim Bos on Twitter and learn more about ShareRing

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Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend are back with their last Money Talks segment of the year with their review of their top stories for 2021.  From GameStop and Wallstreetbets, to Roblox and Coinbase going public, to Chamath and SPACs, to Charlie Munger on Bitcoin, to BNPL with Klarna, Square and Afterpay, to our spinning of the fintech flywheel, to CryptoPunks, stablecoins, the metaverse, Techstars in Ireland and Web3 and finally, Eoin’s new hope for Monzo, we’ve got it covered one last time for 2021.

This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by Philip Lee, one of Ireland’s fastest-growing corporate law firms and expert advisors at the heart of the Dublin and London start-up, fintech and crypto communities.

LINKS:

Episode title inspired by ‘What a Year’ by Big Sean featuring Pharrell and Detail

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Isaac Kato, who leads the Filecoin Techstars Accelerator program in Seattle joins Pete Townsend on this episode originally recorded as part of the Techstars Web3 Convo Series of fireside chats powered by the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator program in Ireland. In this chat, Isaac and Pete riff on the differences and similarities between Web2 and Web3 startups, the Lego blocks of Web3, defending your turf, incentivizing your users, keeping your community close, building your team, fundraising strategies ...and the Gaelic sport of hurling.

This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by Philip Lee, one of Ireland’s fastest-growing corporate law firms and expert advisors at the heart of the Dublin and London start-up, fintech and crypto communities.

LINKS:

Follow Isaac Kato on Twitter and learn more about the Filecoin Techstars Accelerator 

Follow Pete Townsend on Twitter and learn more about the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator

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Joey Krug is the Co-Chief Investment Officer, Pantera Capital, the first institutional investment firm focused exclusively on bitcoin, other digital currencies, and companies in the blockchain tech ecosystem. Joey joins Pete Townsend on this episode originally recorded as part of the Techstars Web3 Convo Series of fireside chats powered by the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator program in Ireland.

Joey and Pete riff on how being early in crypto impacts how Joey thinks about Web3, building the right founder-to-VC relationship from the start, and what makes a great Web3 project.

This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by Philip Lee, one of Ireland’s fastest-growing corporate law firms and expert advisors at the heart of the Dublin and London start-up, fintech and crypto communities.

LINKS:

Follow Joey Krug on Twitter and learn more about Pantera Capital

Apply for the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator on F6S

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Matthew Graham is the CEO of Sino Global Capital, who are providing strategic investment to best-in-class companies that are moving the blockchain and digital assets ecosystems forward, and then help them to thrive in the Asia market. Matthew joins Pete Townsend on this episode originally recorded as part of the Techstars Web3 Convo Series of fireside chats powered by the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator program in Ireland.

In this episode, Matthew shares insights on his first priority to help companies *before* investing in high conviction / high-quality projects, guiding founders into the unique yet massive markets of China and India, making his hobby his job, and what makes a great Web3 project.

This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by Philip Lee, one of Ireland’s fastest-growing corporate law firms and expert advisors at the heart of the Dublin and London start-up, fintech and crypto communities.

LINKS:

Follow Matthew Graham on Twitter and learn more about Sino Global Capital

Apply for the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator on F6S

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John Wu is president of Ava Labs, an a16z-backed technology company building the next-generation blockchain platform, Avalanche. John joins Pete Townsend on this episode originally recorded as part of the Techstars Web3 Convo Series of fireside chats powered by the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator program in Ireland. In this episode, John shares insights on bringing passion to projects, building teams and communities in Web3, the sheer joy of bringing hundreds of companies onto Avalanche this year, insights on opportunities and rapid growth areas in Web3, and what makes a great Web3 project.

This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by Philip Lee, one of Ireland’s fastest-growing corporate law firms and expert advisors at the heart of the Dublin and London start-up, fintech and crypto communities.

LINKS:

Follow John Wu on Twitter, check out his blog, and learn more about Ava Labs and Avalanche

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Luis Ramirez is the Founder and CEO of Mawari, a pioneer in cloud rendering and streaming technology.  The Mawari team got started in Tokyo in 2017, and since then, the team has effectively built the foundation for the 3D internet.

Mawari enables real-time 3D content streaming to spatial computing devices like the Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest 3 through a global network of GPUs, leveraging Web3 elements such as DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network) to overcome the limitations of traditional centralized networks.

Uniquely positioned to address one of the core challenges in the spatial computing industry, formerly known as XR (eXtended Reality), Mawari focuses on delivering scalable infrastructure for real-time 3D applications. Mawari has since launched the Mawari Network — a DePIN and the only full-stack spatial computing platform offering decentralized compute and storage resources optimized for AR/VR experiences. 

As a side note and in the spirit of transparency, Mawari recently announced the closing of their $10.8mn strategic funding round, and I’m thrilled to be part of the round as an angel investor. 

In this episode, Luis and I riff on his journey from music to technology, the inception of the Mawari vision, building the team and overcoming challenges, the role of decentralization in the Mawari Network, Luis’ lessons learned from raising $17.3mn across two rounds in 3 years, and the essence of persistence, creativity, and the strategic foresight required to scale a tech startup in the evolving landscape of AR, VR, and Web3.

TIMESTAMPS:

00:39 Meet Luis Ramirez: From Music to Technology

06:18 The Birth of Mawari and Its Vision

15:02 Challenges and Innovations in XR and Web3

21:40 Building and Scaling the Mawari Team

32:20 Fundraising Journey and Future Milestones

38:57 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Follow Luis Ramirez

-LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luismawari/

Learn more about:

-Mawari: https://mawari.net/

-Techstars Web3 Accelerator:  https://www.techstars.com/accelerators/web3

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-Apple Podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1455819294

-Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4F8uOLxiscYVWVGEfNxTnd

-Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvaaHrJjizUEd0-93mjCKsQ

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Teana Baker-Taylor is the Chief Policy Officer of the Chamber of Digital Commerce, the longest established trade body representing blockchain and digital assets. In this episode, Teana shares her story with Pete Townsend on her journey into blockchain and digital assets, her view on the critical focal points for the digital asset industry over the next few years, how she gives back as a mentor and advocate, and her view on what makes a great Web3 founder.

This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by Philip Lee, one of Ireland’s fastest-growing corporate law firms and expert advisors at the heart of the Dublin and London startup, fintech and crypto communities.

LINKS:

Episode title inspired by ‘Go’ by the Chemical Brothers featuring Q-Tip

Follow Teana Baker-Taylor on Twitter and learn more about the Chamber of Digital Commerce

Link to Chris Dixon and Naval Ravikant on the Tim Ferriss Show talking about Web3

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Suzanna Hayek from Irish Tech News interviews Pete Townsend on Pete Townsend on financial trends, digital finance and investing in startups. This interview was originally aired on Irish Tech News in early September, and they kindly gave us permission to share the content.  We also brought Rory Galvin from Navirum back onto the show to give us some quick insights on the next edition of the Finsight Series ‘Beyond WealthTech’ virtual event coming up on November 17th.

This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by Philip Lee, one of Ireland’s fastest-growing corporate law firms and expert advisors at the heart of the Dublin and London startup, fintech and crypto communities.

LINKS:

Register for the next edition of the Finsight Series hosted by Navirum and Salesforce

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Michelle Tsing joins Pete Townsend in a special segment from the Techstars Web3 Convo Series of fireside chats driven by the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator program kicking off in Dublin in March 2022. Michelle is based in the San Francisco Bay Area, and in addition to wearing many hats as a lawyer, artist, entrepreneur, startup advisor, and self-described futurist, she mentors founders through the Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator and Singularity University Ventures.  

Michelle talks about her entry point into blockchain, the links back to her career with PayPal that shape how she mentors founders today, some of her own eye-opening experiences as an entrepreneur, her experience with DAOs or decentralized autonomous organizations, what she looks for in founders and how she works with startup teams, and what it takes to be successful in the Web3 space.  

LINKS:

Learn more about the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator and the Techstars Web3 Convo Series

Connect with Michelle Tsing here and check out her Laptop Radio podcast

Check out Michelle’s Tsing’s suggested must-read book here: Games People Play by Eric Berne

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Referring to Colm Lyon as an Irish fintech ‘O.G.’ is just the tip of the iceberg, as at the core, he’s an entrepreneur who’s built indigenous Irish businesses into international players. Currently the CEO and Founder of Fire.com, we walk through Colm’s journey from the early days of banking IT to bootstrapping and scaling his first fintech Realex Payments before it was even called fintech, and building a great culture as an Irish company competing globally. We also talk through how successful exits aren’t really exits, what excites Colm about what fintech will become, what he looks for in startup founders…and the wonders of the antediluvial period!

LINKS:

Episode title inspired by 'Freedom' by The Gloaming and 'Freedom' by The Game.

Check out the Fire.com website to learn more about Fire.com and Colm Lyon.

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Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend dive headfirst into insights from the first AMA session on the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator, then look at Stripe’s re-entry into crypto and what they’d miss if they stayed on the sidelines, Pete shares some stories from the Token 2049 conference last week in London, and Eoin tees up some unique insights on embedded finance through the lens of NerdWallet’s IPO filing and Productfy’s $16mn Series A.

MAIN STORIES COVERED:

Highlights from 1st AMA (ask-me-anything) on the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator in Dublin (YouTube, 13-Oct-21)

Stripe goes back to the crypto future (Charlie Taylor @ Irish Times, 13-Oct-21)

Stories from Token 2049 in London last week (Business Insider, 11-Oct-21)

NerdWallet’s IPO filing reveals high-margin content business, accelerating marketing spend (Techcrunch, 11-Oct-21)

OTHER STORIES/REFERENCES:

‘Shopify of embedded finance’ startup Productfy grabs $16 million in funding (ITMunch, 10-Oct-21)

Proposed Bank Jewel Wants to Become a Global Stablecoin Issuer, With Bermuda’s OK (Coindesk, 13-Oct-21)

Plaid Report: The Fintech Effect - Fintech’s Mass Adoption Moment (Plaid Blog, 12-Oct-21)

LINKS:

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Get in touch at info@moneyneversleeps.ie

Laura Walsh is the COO of Launchpool, a digital asset platform with a mantra of egalitarian investing in blockchain projects.  In this episode, we talk through how Laura’s incredibly unique foundation as a teacher of English as a second language, as an international development operative, and as someone with a deep interest in how things work, led to her entry point into the blockchain ecosystem in 2017. We also dive into the mission of Launchpool and Launchpool’s impact as a platform for investing in blockchain projects, and also where things are headed with the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator landing in Dublin in 2022.

LINKS:

Episode title inspired by ‘The Magic Number’ by De La Soul.

Get in touch with Laura Walsh and check out Launchpool and the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator to learn more.

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157: Money Talks #42:  Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator in Ireland | Chase Goes UK | AngelList Gets Stacked

Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend dive into the big news for Ireland’s startup ecosystem as Techstars come to Ireland with the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator, along with some news of how Pete will be leading the program, then we get into how we think Chase’s digital bank might fare in the UK, and also AngelList’s announcement of AngelList Stack and their opportunity to monetize their massive user base through fintech.

MAIN STORIES COVERED:

Techstars comes to Ireland with the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator

Techstars to hold blockchain-focused accelerator in Dublin (Charlie Taylor, Irish Times, 27-Sep-21)

5 Questions with Pete Townsend, Managing Director of Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator(Techstars Blog, 30-Sep-21)

Chase Launches UK Digital Bank

JPMorgan Chase Launches New Digital Bank in the UK: What do the Industry Think? (Fintech Times, 21-Sep 21)

AngelList launch AngelList Stack

AngelList returns to its founder-focused roots, with a twist (Techcrunch, 28-Sep-21)

LINKS:

Leave a review and subscribe on Podchaser| Apple Podcasts| Spotify | Google | Overcast

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Our guest this week is Gershie Vann, Founder and CEO of Magma Capital Funds, a Chicago-based quantitative hedge fund firm. We talk through the long iterative climb involved in launching a business, finding alternative skillsets outside of finance when building his team during the first pandemic lockdown in 2020, what’s at the core of his entrepreneurial mindset, quieting the always-on mind of the founder, an innovative approach to raising capital for new hedge funds, along with a shallow dive into crypto and sovereign currencies…and being the elder statesman in a family of 7 kids!

LINKS:

Episode title inspired by ‘Bring the Noise’ by Public Enemy and Anthrax

Get in touch with Gershie Vann and check out Magma Capital Funds to learn more

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Sophie Guibaud is the Chief Growth Officer at OpenPayd and she’s spent the last 10 years designing and executing the go-to-market of banking-as-a-service (BaaS) and embedded finance propositions in Europe, building teams and operations from scratch, and integrating financial services into customers’ existing products to create new revenue streams. We talk through Sophie’s entrepreneurial journey to date, some real-world applications of embedded finance, the benefits of her extracurricular activities with podcasts and advisory boards feeding her creativity….and her past life as a competitive boxer!

LINKS:

Episode title inspired by ‘Vision’ by Travis Scott

Get in touch with Sophie Guibaud and check out OpenPayd to learn more

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Shane Monks O’Byrne, founder and CEO of Aikido Finance, joins the show this week to talk to Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend about the Aikido Finance mission of democratizing quant investing, how he went from a grad with a Computer Science degree to a fully empowered startup founder in less than two years, the similarities between a rules-based mind and the merits of quant investing, finding co-founders and building the A team, raising a $1mn seed round from angels and a US VC, and the parallels between investing and alpine climbing.

LINKS:

Episode title inspired by ‘My Parallel’ by Royce Da 5’9”

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Get in touch with Shane Monks O’Byrne and check out Aikido Finance to learn more

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Linda Jeng is the Founder and CEO of Digital Self Labs, and she joins me in exploring the evolving landscape of stablecoins. Our discussion focuses on our key takeaways from Castle Island Ventures' latest stablecoin report, 'Stablecoins: the Emerging Market Story'.

Linda shares her background in financial regulation, blockchain, and AI, and offers critical insights into how stablecoins are reshaping financial systems in emerging markets. Through a detailed analysis of the Castle Island Ventures report written with Brevan Howard Digital, the conversation reveals the growing use of stablecoins for cross-border payments, currency conversion, and as a stable store of value, reflecting their importance beyond crypto trading. We also touch on regulatory perspectives, why non-dollar stablecoin volumes are so meager, and the potential impact of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) on the stablecoin market.

Linda Jeng, is a trailblazing leader in the digital economy through ‘shaping a self-empowered future through blockchain and AI technologies’. Digital Self Labs is a regulatory and policy advisory firm combining blockchain expertise with policy and regulatory strategy. With over 15 years of government experience, she has held key roles at institutions like the U.S. Federal Reserve, US Treasury Department, the SEC and the Bank for International Settlements. Linda is also a Visiting Scholar at Georgetown Law, a Senior Lecturing Fellow at Duke Law School, and a Bank for International Settlements Research Fellow. Her deep expertise in financial systems and her advocacy for data transparency and decentralized technology make her a pivotal figure in shaping the future of finance.

TIMESTAMPS:

02:57 Linda Jeng's Career Journey

05:36 Castle Island Ventures and ‘Stablecoins: The Emerging Market Story’

09:59 Understanding Stablecoins in Emerging Markets

14:15 The Role of Stablecoins in Global Finance

19:38 Challenges and Opportunities for Stablecoins

20:59 The Future of Stablecoins and Digital Identity

46:23 Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways

48:50 Closing Remarks and Acknowledgements

REFERENCE LINKS:

Stablecoins: The Emerging Market Story (Castle Island Ventures & Brevan Howard Digital, 12-Sep-24) 

The Finternet: The financial system for the future (Bank for International Settlements, 19-Apr-24)

International Association of Deposit Insurers

Overview of the Bancor Proposal from Bretton Woods (Wikipedia)

Stablecoin companies now 16th largest holder of U.S. treasuries globally (CryptoSlate, 18-Oct-23)

Follow our guest co-host, Linda Jeng:

-X(Twitter):  https://x.com/LindaJeng1

-LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/linda-jeng-4682b3/

Learn more about:

-Digital Self Labs: https://www.digitalselflabs.com/

-Techstars Web3 Accelerator:  https://www.techstars.com/accelerators/web3

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-Apple Podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1455819294

-Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4F8uOLxiscYVWVGEfNxTnd

-Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvaaHrJjizUEd0-93mjCKsQ

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Email us at info@norioventures.com

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-Pete Townsend: https://twitter.com/petetownsendnv

-MoneyNeverSleeps: https://twitter.com/MNSshow  

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-Pete Townsend: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pete-townsend-1b18301a/

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Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend walk through Amazon’s new partnership with BNPL (buy-now-pay-later) player Affirm and what this means for the Amazon flywheel, and then answer the question ‘what’s a stablecoin?’ in the context of USD Coin and the Centre Consortium, before diving into the world of NFTs through Visa’s $150,000 purchase of a CryptoPunk NFT and the big opportunity for monetizing the metaverse.

MAIN STORIES COVERED:

Amazon-Affirm BNPL (buy-now-pay-later)

Affirm shares soar nearly 47% after Amazon partnership that lets consumers buy expensive things in installments (CNBC, 30-Aug-21)

Is Affirm's Amazon Deal Better Than Walmart? (Fintech Business Weekly/Jason Mikuda, 29-Aug-21)

How does Affirm make money? (Finty, 21-Jun-21)

USDC and Stablecoins

Centre Consortium announces new team to create 'global network of stablecoins' (the Block (via Coindesk), 30-Aug-21)

AID:Tech utilises Circle and USD Coin to provide fraud resistant disaster relief(Finextra, 30-Aug-21)

Visa is now supporting settlement of card transactions with USDC (Techcrunch, 29-Mar-21)

Visa gets into NFT space

Visa buys a CryptoPunk as it takes first steps into 'NFT commerce' (The Block, 23-Aug-21)

Nifty Corporates (Not Boring by Packy McCormick, 30-Aug-21)

LINKS:

Leave a review and subscribe on Podchaser | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google| Overcast

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Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend unpack the shiny new $24bn valuation for Chime in the context of the American neobank landscape, Ron Shevlin’s concept of neobank-driven deposit displacement through the lens of Bank of America, Facebook’s relaunch of their crypto project, the potential impact of Amazon hiring a crypto lead, the LendingClub turnaround and a sampling of Lex Sokolin’s poetic fintech prose.

MAIN STORIES COVERED:

Chime’s Big Raise

Chime raises $750 million, earns big jump in valuation as another fintech moves closer to IPO (CNBC, 13-Aug-21)

Bank of America and Deposit Displacement

Bank Of America is losing its grip on millennials as fintechs reinvent the checking account (Ron Shevlin in Forbes, 16-Aug-21)

Facebook’s Wallet Relaunch

Will Facebook’s Relaunched Digital Wallet [Novi] Alter the Future of Payments? (The Financial Brand, 24-Aug-21)

Amazon’s Crypto Journey

Beyond the rumors: Amazon's likely direction in crypto (American Banker, 30-Jul-21)

Lending Club Turnaround

Buying a bank turned LendingClub around. Now the fintech industry is watching (Protocol, 16-Aug-21)

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Creating, Transacting, and Storing Value in the Financial Metaverse of NFTs, DAOs, and DeFi (Lex Sokolin, Fintech Blueprint, 23-Aug-21)

Walmart is looking for a crypto product lead (The Block (via Arca) 15-Aug-21)

LINKS:

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Get in touch at info@moneyneversleeps.ie

Recorded during the Finsight Series virtual event that Pete Townsend moderated recently hosted by Navirum and Salesforce, this episode features an all-star cast with Rory Galvin from Navirum, Bryan Clagett from Moven, Cory Haberkorn from Salesforce and Niall Twomey from Fenergo. The main theme we covered is this: The demand for digital financial services goes far beyond the domain of neobanks - how do we become truly digital upstream of consumer banking, especially in institutional banking and wealth management?

GET IN TOUCH WITH SPEAKERS:

Rory Galvin, Founder and CEO of Navirum

Bryan Clagett, Chief Revenue Officer at Moven

Cory Haberkorn, Senior Manager and Industry Advisor, Wealth and Asset Management at Salesforce

Niall Twomey, CTO and Co-founder of Fenergo

LINKS:

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Brian Kenny is the CEO and Founder of MiniCorp. Brian left the Lego behind at an early age and started building through code. We go deep into how Brian thinks about leading MiniCorp and what makes MiniCorp unique, how his modus operandi has evolved during his career in tech, the critical task of truly knowing your first ten customers, analogies between startups and marathons, and the importance of balance and human kindness.

MiniCorp are based in Dublin and help companies create exceptional digital products and experiences. In short, MiniCorp are your ready-to-go product team. Through years of experience, MiniCorp have created world-class digital products together with their clients. Their digital experiences have touched millions of customers and allow MiniCorp to grow concepts into top startups.

LINKS:

Episode title inspired by Growing Up by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

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Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend dive deep into the annual results from UK neobanks Starling and Monzo and what’s next for both, before getting into Square’s deal for BNPL (buy now, pay later) player Afterpay and how the integration will lead to a ‘fintech flywheel’. They then dive even deeper into their developing fintech flywheel thesis with a look into how Amazon and Shopify built their flywheels around a B2C to B2B bridge and ‘doing one thing well’, before tying it all back together with a look at Revolut’s travel plans.

MAIN STORIES COVERED:

Starling’s Results

Breaking down Starling’s 2020 financials (Sifted, 22-Jul-21)

Monzo’s Results

Monzo reports £114m annual loss and a second “going concern” warning (Sifted, 30-Jul-21)

Square’s big move into BNPL with Afterpay

Why Square is shelling out $29B to snag BNPL player Afterpay (TechCrunch, 2-Aug-21)

When Fintech Meets Marketplaces (a16z Fintech Newsletter, July 2021)

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Revolut, Europe’s $33 billion fintech giant, launches a travel booking feature(CNBC, 20-Jul-21)

LINKS:

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Gerard Tannam, Strategic Brand-Builder at Islandbridge, tells us all about the use of storytelling as a framework in bridging the gap between buyers and sellers, businesses and their markets. In this episode, we weave through Ger’s own story that takes him from Ireland to Hong Kong and back again, then into the lessons learned from marketing and strategy direction for big brands before launching the Islandbridge business, how building bridges between businesses and customers drives growth for businesses of all sizes….and almost becoming a priest!

MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals.

HIGHLIGHTS:

On one of the earliest signs of what became Gerard’s modus operandi in building brands:

“As part of our event management business in Hong Kong in the ‘90’s, we also set up an art gallery. The common thread was that I became used to walking into an empty space and looking on both sides and asking the question, what do I need to do to fill this gap?”

“You're constantly being thrown into an environment where you're obliged to translate, to step into that space between and to determine how are we going to make this work?”

“Narrative and story are concerned with making sense of the world, of finding a language to describe the world. So when Alice goes down the rabbit hole into Wonderland, what Lewis Carroll is doing is he's describing another world. When we build brands, that's what we're doing.”

LINKS:

Episode title inspired by The Bridge by MC Shan

Get in touch with and to learn more about Gerard Tannam and Islandbridge.

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Eoin and Pete mine a motherlode of fintech hotspots this week starting with insights into Revolut’s latest $33bn valuation, Square’s quest for crossover between creators, crypto and small businesses, then we dive deep into the upcoming Robinhood IPO and our developing thesis on fintech flywheels.

MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals.

MAIN STORIES COVERED:

Revolut’s Big Raise

Revolut confirms a fresh $800M in funding at a $33bn valuation to supercharge its financial services superapp (TechCrunch, 15-Jul-21)

Revolut: required study for any student of disruptive innovation (Sifted, 21-Jul-21)

Revolut vs. Nubank: Insight from Rally Cap Venture’s Juan Gabriel (Twitter, 16-Jul-21, thanks Lex Sokolin)

Square’s Crossover

Square to Create New Bitcoin Platform for Financial Services (CoinDesk, 15-Jul-21)

Square to take on incumbents with business banking accounts (Finextra, 21-Jul-21)

Robinhood IPO

Robinhood IPO: Still A Bad Bet for Investors With Alarming Risk (David Trainer, Forbes, 20-Jul-21)

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Invest Like the Best with Patrick O’Shaughnessy: David Velez from Nubank (Apple Podcasts)

$1 out of every $5 in venture funding went to fintech in Q2 2021 (Morning Brew, 8-Jul-21)

LINKS:

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Ankur Mohan, Founder & CEO of MarketXLS joins the show to share his story on his entry point into Galway in the West of Ireland to launch MarketXLS, how a certain demographic just prefers the simplicity and control of Excel for managing personal and professional portfolios, closing the gap between the haves and the have-nots of the investing world, and the life-long lesson of the benefits of hard work.

MarketXLS provide a leading Excel-based investment research platform with a belief that each investor and strategy is unique, and that building and executing a great investment strategy should not require a PhD or a million-dollar budget.

MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals.

LINKS:

Episode title inspired by ‘Global Access’ by Wiz Khalifa

Get in touch with Ankur Mohan and MarketXLS to learn more

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Ernest Cantillon (CEO of DramEx) and Brian Elders (Founder of SORS Digital Assets and advisor to DramEx) join the show this week to talk about DramEx, a community governed digital whiskey marketplace. We get into the genesis of the DramEx business through Ernest’s life story as a hospitality entrepreneur and Brian’s path through finance and into digital assets, why the timing is right to bring DramEx into the $63bn global whiskey market, the bridge between whiskey and digital assets through NFTs…and training to be a chef and a mathematician!

Across the trading lifecycle and around the world, DramEx will enable you to efficiently manage risk and capture opportunities previously unavailable in the digital whiskey marketplace.

MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals.

Episode title inspired by ‘Calling My Spirit’ by Kodak Black

Get in touch with Ernest Cantillon and DramEx to learn more and follow DramEx on Twitter

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In this Money Talks segment, Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend start with some insights on Visa’s deal for Tink and how the European context of Tink differs quite a bit from the US context of Visa’s dead deal with Plaid, then we look at Binance’s recent troubles before rounding out with Revolut’s recent reporting of their 2020 results and the potential to roll Revolut into a Rundle - the recurring revenue bundle.

MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals.

MAIN STORIES WE COVERED:

Visa to buy Swedish fintech Tink for €1.8bn (Sifted, 24-Jun-21)

Binance: Watchdog clamps down on cryptocurrency exchange (BBC, 28-Jun-21)

Revolut’s 2020 Results (Lex Sokolin, The Fintech Blueprint, 28-Jun-21)

LINKS:

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Get in touch at info@moneyneversleeps.ie

Alejandro Gutierrez, CEO of npayme Labs and co-founder of ETH Dublin joins me again as guest co-host this week. In this episode, we recap our recent panel on ‘Finding Web3 Talent’ at Dogpatch Labs, touching on market sentiment, the cyclical nature of crypto investments, and strategies for early-stage startups. We delve into the concept of real-world asset tokenization, highlighting key initiatives by firms like Provenance, PayPal, Circle and Centrifuge. The conversation also covers the evolving landscape for content creators in Web3, emphasizing the use of tokenization for new revenue streams and the role of AI in content creation.

STORIES WE COVERED:

Recap of ‘Finding Talent in Web3’ last week at Dogpatch Labs (Owen Healy on LinkedIn, 15-Sep-24)

Friday Fund Tokenization Update (Eoin Motherway on Linkedin, 13-Sep-24)

Provenance Blockchain Labs launches Fund Issuance platform, to tokenize, list, & lend RWA funds on Figure Markets (Marketwatch, 20-Aug-24)

PayPal's stablecoin hits $1B market cap (Cointelegraph, 26-Aug-24)

MakerDAO, rebranded as SKY to roll out new stablecoin USDS (The Block, 27-Aug-24)

Circle's USDC in Brazil and Mexico Now Available to Businesses Via Banking System (CoinDesk, 17-Sep-24)

Stablecoins: The Emerging Market Story (Nic Carter @ Castle Island Ventures, 12-Sep-24)

Centrifuge launches a RWA lending market leveraging tokenized U.S. Treasury bills.(CoinDesk, 27-Aug-24) 

AAVE (Avara) onboards BUIDL Shares as Collateral for GHO stablecoin (The Defiant, 29-Aug-24)

Natixis launch €100M Digital Bond, secured by mortgage loan pools & operated by SC Ventures, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale & LBBW (Ledger Insights, 28-Aug-24).

Siemens issues €300M digital bond, as the largest bond issued under Germany’s eWpG. (Ledger Insights, 4-Sep-24) 

Creators’ content is a real-world asset (Alejandro Guterrez on X, 17-Sep-24)

TIMESTAMPS

01:40 Insights from the Web3 Talent Panel

04:11 Market Sentiment and Investment Strategies

07:02 The Role of Tokenization in Web3

14:31 Real-World Asset Tokenization

28:24 Content Creation in the Web3 Era

34:01 Closing Thoughts and Farewell

LINKS:

Follow our guest co-host Alejandro Gutierrez:

-X(Twitter):  https://twitter.com/A_gutierro

-LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alejandro-gutierrez-98979b43/

Learn more about:

-npayme Labs: https://npayme.com/

-ETH Dublin:  https://ethdublin.io/

-Techstars Web3 Accelerator:  https://www.techstars.com/accelerators/web3

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-Apple Podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1455819294

-Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4F8uOLxiscYVWVGEfNxTnd

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Email us: info@norioventures.com

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-Pete Townsend: https://twitter.com/petetownsendnv

-MoneyNeverSleeps: https://twitter.com/MNSshow  

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-Pete Townsend: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pete-townsend-1b18301a/

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Achia Nila, Founder & CEO of Women in Digital, joins the show to share her story on Women in Digital, an all-star team of female technologists dedicated to bringing more Bangladeshi women into the digital economy. In this chat, we get into Nila’s earliest inspirations, proving herself and becoming a CTO before becoming an entrepreneur, the founding principles of Women in Digital, and how she has been able to train 10,000 women in 8 years.

MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals.

LINKS:

Episode title inspired by ‘Freedom’ by Beyonce featuring Kendrick Lamar

Get in touch with Achia Nila and Women in Digital to learn about their programs

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Check out our MoneyNeverSleeps website for all of the shownotes and highlights in the written word.

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In this Money Talks segment, Eoin Fitzgerald and Pete Townsend start with their insights on what Stripe’s latest product could mean for their long-term plan, then they think through the next media flywheel with Netflix finally getting into merch, before heading south to Miami for the outtakes from Bitcoin 2021.

MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals.

MAIN STORIES WE COVERED:

Stripe goes beyond payments with Stripe Identity (TechCrunch, 14-Jun-21)

Overdue - Netflix does merch - the flywheel is spinning (Scott Galloway on Twitter, 11-Jun-21)

Thousands of bitcoin believers descended on Miami to party and preach the gospel of ‘HODL’ (CNBC, 7-Jun-21)

5 Weirdest Moments at the Bitcoin 2021 Conference in Miami (Decrypt, 6-Jun-21)

OTHER POINTS OF INTEREST:

Stripe: Thinking Like a Civilization (The Generalist, 13-Jun-21)

The Flywheel (Hubspot Blog)

When Will Amazon Offer a Checking Account? (Ron Shevlin in Forbes, 14-Jun-21)

Pipit Global’s crowdfunding campaign on Spark Crowdfunding - last few days!

LINKS:

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Get in touch at info@moneyneversleeps.ie

Mark Boylan, CFO at Trustap, joins the show this week to share his story about his leap out of Big 4 and into startup life, finding the right distribution channels to get Trustap into the end users’ hands, the benefit of strong relationships with your early investors, what’s next for Trustap…and being sports mad!

MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by PAT Fintech, the training partner that demystifies fintech and digital finance for financial services professionals.

Trustap is a secure transaction platform that completely protects you from being scammed when you want to buy or sell with someone you don't know, either online or face to face.

Mark Boylan on what makes Trustap work: “It's the people in the background that make it all tick, especially Sean Kelleher, our CTO, who is absolutely phenomenal. He solves every problem that comes his way. The answer is never, 'no, we can’t do that,' it's 'okay, how do we fix that?'”

“The team are all doing great work, everyone's pulling their weight and driving it on as best they can - that's what makes Trustap brilliant.”

LINKS:

Get in touch with Mark Boylan and the Trustap team to learn about becoming a Trustap partner

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Episode title inspired by Teamwork by Del the Funky Homosapien