What does it take to scale a fintech company to millions of members without losing the personal touch that made it special in the first place?

In this episode of Humans of Fintech, Nicole Casperson sits down with Janelle Sallenave, Chief Operating Officer at Chime, to explore the leadership decisions, customer experiences and personal lessons behind one of fintech's most recognizable companies.

Janelle shares how Sunday afternoon financial lessons with her mother shaped her relationship with money, why she became fascinated with creating exceptional customer experiences, and what she learned during her career at Charles Schwab, Uber Eats and Chime.

They discuss Chime's evolution into a public, profitable company, the importance of staying close to members as a business scales, and why even the smallest customer frustrations deserve executive attention.

The conversation also turns to AI and the future of leadership. As technology takes on more tasks, Janelle explains why human judgment, taste and vulnerability are becoming increasingly valuable, and why leaders don't need to have all the answers.

It's a conversation about building companies that last, protecting what makes them special and remembering the real people behind every financial transaction.

This episode of Humans of Fintech is sponsored by Chime.

• How Janelle's mother taught her financial independence and the importance of understanding money
• The career path that took her from management consulting and Charles Schwab to Uber Eats and Chime
• Why scaling a fintech company requires protecting its culture and customer experience
• How Chime keeps its members at the center of decisions, from executive listening sessions to individual support escalations
• Why small details can have an outsized impact on consumer trust
• What established financial institutions and younger fintech companies can learn from each other
• How AI is shifting the value of work from completing tasks to exercising judgment and taste
• Why vulnerability, adaptability and reverse mentoring are essential leadership skills
• What Janelle hopes Chime's impact on financial health will look like in the years ahead

00:00 Highlights from the conversation

01:00 Meet Janelle Sallenave, COO of Chime

02:34 From consulting to building exceptional customer experiences

04:34 The financial lessons Janelle learned from her mother

07:54 Discovering your leadership superpower

10:32 How Chime has evolved as it scales

13:40 Keeping customer obsession and company culture alive

16:01 The responsibility of serving millions of members

18:18 Why leaders need to sweat the small stuff

20:53 How trust is built when something goes wrong

22:21 Fintech innovation versus legacy banking infrastructure

25:59 Why AI makes human judgment and taste more valuable

29:21 Vulnerability, change and the future of leadership

32:04 The impact Janelle hopes to leave behind

Humans of Fintech, hosted by Nicole Casperson, Founder and CEO of Fintech Is Femme, goes beyond the headlines to explore the people, personal stories and leadership lessons shaping the future of money.

Subscribe to Humans of Fintech on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts for more conversations with the people building the financial industry's future.

Sponsor disclosure: This episode is sponsored by Chime.