In this episode, I sit down with Kristy Kim, CEO and founder of Tomo Credit.

TomoCredit, a San Francisco fintech company focused on expanding access to financial services through technology. Since launching the business in 2019, she has led its development and the introduction of TomoIQ, an AI-powered financial advisor designed to support consumers in managing their financial lives.

Before founding TomoCredit, Kristy worked in business development at Credit Sesame and held investment roles at Kenetic, Oasis Labs and Vault12. She previously founded and led a venture-backed e-commerce company and served as Head of Global Business Development at Com2us Corporation, where she worked on international growth initiatives. Earlier in her career, she advised technology companies on mergers and acquisitions at J. Moore Partners, which later merged with B. Riley Financial.

Kristy is also a member of the Forbes Finance Council, where she contributes perspectives on fintech and personal finance. She holds an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and has served as a lecturer at Haas, teaching entrepreneurship and blockchain. Her background brings together financial expertise, startup leadership and a strong understanding of emerging technologies.

With her, we will talk about credit scoring in the US, fintech services and the importance of being in San Francisco to build your fintech startup.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode, I sit down with Eridian Alpha, product strategy lead at ETHgas.

Eridian is the product strategy lead at ETHGas and an Ethereum builder focused on blockspace infrastructure, validator economics and the development of a real-time Ethereum network. At ETHGas, Eridian works on technology designed to transform Ethereum blockspace into a predictable and tradable commodity, supporting instant transaction settlement and applications that can shield users from volatile gas costs.

A long-standing participant in the Ethereum staking ecosystem, Eridian has operated solo validators and contributed educational resources for node operators, developers and community stakers. Eridian co-created the EthStaker Knowledge Base and maintains an extensive collection of open-source documentation covering Ethereum infrastructure, Solidity development, smart-contract security, MEV and decentralised finance.

Eridian has also built projects including High Signal, an engagement and reputation platform for Ethereum communities, and Pool Playground, an interactive tool for understanding decentralised exchange mechanics. Through technical development, education and ecosystem participation, Eridian works to make Ethereum faster, more accessible and easier to operate.

With him, we will talk about the current infrastructure behind many popular crypto projects, but about the future of the industry and the main trend in blockchain today.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

Amazon:https://podcasters.amazon.com/podcasts/a1f92635-a50e-4a0c-ac96-7daa09c4e853

In this episode, I sit down with Martina Weimert, CEO and founder of EPI company, the corporation behind popular payment infrastructure Wero.

Martina has been supporting and guiding European banks and acquirers to build the foundation of the EPI company since the initiative was established in 2020, aiming to build an independent European solution and connect Europe’s payment industry.

With 20 years of experience in international payment consulting, she has in-depth experience in payments and payment solution set up, fintech, blockchain and retail banking in Europe, the Americas and Middle East. Prior to joining EPI company, she was a partner in financial services at Oliver Wyman in Paris, leading the European payment practice, and previously holding the position of Senior VP at Capgemini consulting and sales director for Deutsche Bank in France.

With her, we will talk about the importance of having an European independent and sovereign payment infrastructure, the resilience of new payment methods and the future of payments in the EU.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

Amazon:https://podcasters.amazon.com/podcasts/a1f92635-a50e-4a0c-ac96-7daa09c4e853

In this episode, I sit down with Deniz Güven, CEO of Wamo.

Deniz Güven is a senior fintech and digital banking executive with extensive experience building financial services across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. He is currently Group CEO and Chair of the Board at wamo, and has held leadership and board roles at AKTech, Platform XIT, Colendi, Trust Bank, and Beşiktaş JK.

Previously, Deniz served as CEO of Mox Bank in Hong Kong, the virtual bank backed by Standard Chartered, and held senior digital leadership roles at Standard Chartered and Garanti BBVA. His career spans digital banking, fintech ventures, product innovation, and alternative revenue streams. Deniz has also mentored fintech start ups through Garanti Partners and brings a global perspective on how digital platforms are reshaping financial services.

With him, we will talk about SMEs banking in Europe, but also about his incredible careers in banking across APAC and MENA, and the future of banking.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

Amazon:https://podcasters.amazon.com/podcasts/a1f92635-a50e-4a0c-ac96-7daa09c4e853

In this episode, I sit down with Sander Janca-Jensen, CEO and co-founder of FlatPay

Sander is the CEO and cofounder of Flatpay, the Danish fintech company building payments, point of sale and financial services for small and medium sized physical merchants, including restaurants, cafés and independent shops.

Founded in 2022, Flatpay has quickly become one of Denmark’s fastest growing fintech scaleups, reaching unicorn status after a €145 million funding round that valued the company at around €1.5 billion, up from roughly $100 million in 2024.

Before launching the company, he spent almost six years at Verisure, where he held senior roles including Deputy Managing Director and Field Sales Director, managing more than 450 salespeople and overseeing around DKK 300 million in annual profit and loss responsibility. Earlier in his career, he held multiple sales leadership roles at Berlingske Media and cofounded SimplyJob, which reached more than 125,000 users within one year before its exit in 2018.

With him, we will talk about the importance of physical sales in payments, hiring in fast growing environments, and the fintech trends in the payment space in Europe.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB
Amazon:https://podcasters.amazon.com/podcasts/a1f92635-a50e-4a0c-ac96-7daa09c4e853

In this episode, I sit down with Bhavin Shah, founder and CEO of Sherlocq.

Bhavin is the Founder and CEO of Sherlocq, an AI-powered regulatory intelligence company helping compliance professionals, law firms, and regulators navigate complex global regulations with greater speed, accuracy, and security. With more than 20 years of experience across the U.S., UK, Middle East, and Asia, Bhavin has built a global reputation in financial crime, compliance, investigations, and governance.

Before launching Sherlocq, he held senior leadership roles at Deloitte, PwC, EY, Roland Berger, Forensic Risk Alliance, and Secretariat, advising global banks, sovereign institutions, private equity firms, and digital platforms on high-stakes regulatory matters. Bhavin is also a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, a recognised thought leader in AI and compliance, and an advisor on financial and regulatory innovation.

With him, we will talk about the fintech market in the MENA region, how regulations are shaping this market, but also the differences between investing in fintech in different parts of the world.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB
Amazon:https://podcasters.amazon.com/podcasts/a1f92635-a50e-4a0c-ac96-7daa09c4e853

In this episode, I sit down with Rabea Bader, co-founder and CTO of Quidkey.

Rabea is a fintech entrepreneur and CTO with a strong focus on payments infrastructure and account-to-account solutions. He is the Co-Founder and CTO of Quidkey, where he is building a secure, bank-integrated checkout experience that enables seamless domestic and cross-border A2A transactions while helping merchants reduce costs and banks unlock new revenue streams.

Prior to Quidkey, he served as CTO at REQPay Inc., where he co-invented a patented payments technology. His career also includes leadership roles as General Manager of Le Wagon in Israel and founding CEO of IZMUS. He began his professional journey as a backend developer at UBS, building a strong technical foundation in financial systems.

Rabea holds a degree in Computer Science and Economics from Tel Aviv University and brings a global perspective, with experience across the US, Israel, and Europe, and fluency in Arabic, English, and Hebrew.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB
Amazon:https://podcasters.amazon.com/podcasts/a1f92635-a50e-4a0c-ac96-7daa09c4e853

In this episode, I sit down with Camillo Werdich, CEO and founder of Sinpex.

Camillo is the CEO and Founder of Sinpex, an AI-driven compliance platform focused on transforming how financial institutions manage KYC, onboarding, and regulatory workflows. Since founding the company in 2019, he has led the development of solutions leveraging large language models to improve data accuracy, automate document analysis, and adapt quickly to evolving regulatory requirements.

He brings a strong blend of technical and financial expertise, with early experience in engineering roles at ZF Friedrichshafen and Transsolar, followed by consulting at Deloitte, where he gained exposure to complex business and regulatory environments.

Dr. Werdich holds a PhD in Economics from the University of St. Gallen, complemented by academic experience at the London School of Economics and a cum laude MSc in International Business. His work sits at the intersection of AI, compliance, and financial services innovation.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB
Amazon:https://podcasters.amazon.com/podcasts/a1f92635-a50e-4a0c-ac96-7daa09c4e853