STAY IN THE LOOP ON EVERYTHING FINTECH
Empire Startups is the largest community of FinTech entrepreneurs, investors, and bank innovators in the world. Every 2 weeks we'll deliver interviews with top thought-leaders, venture funding news, curated podcasts, events, and more.
HIGHLIGHTING FINTECH LEADERS
OUR INTERVIEW WITH PEGGY MANGOT
In a modern-day reversal, the big banking Goliaths have taken to a second round with the Davids of digital challenger banks. We see subscription banking as not only the ultimate test of product-market-fit, but a trend that benefits the challenger. This is because consumers are allergic to banking fees, but appear to greet FinTech “software” with open arms.
Surveying the road ahead from her mountaintop peak is Peggy Mangot, now at PayPal Ventures, but with a storied past on both sides of the institutional-challenger divide, including a Y Combinator-backed micro-investing platform called SparkGift.
In need of a vision? Peggy has seen and done it all. Her most recent guru-view points the way to a next trend: family banking – mobile banking for families. When she’s not carving the slopes or basking in the alpenglow, Peggy is crushing internal and FinTech-related investments at PayPal Ventures.
Toss another log on the fire and warm your mittens at our Q&A firepit with our friend Peggy...
FINTECH NEWS
FinTech Ranking
Varo Bank Raises $63M From NBA All-Star Russell Westbrook
Varo Bank, which last year became the first U.S. neobank to be granted a national bank charter, announced it’s raised another $63 million in new...
BetaKit
Shopify hits record revenue, profits amid massive year of growth
Shopify’s fourth-quarter and full-year financial results for 2020 list record revenues and profits for the e-commerce retailer, following a year of COVID-fueled growth.
Forbes
Reddit Trader Roaring Kitty Accused Of Fraud In The Latest Wild Lawsuit Coming Out Of GameStop Saga
One of the most outspoken retail traders on Reddit's WallStreetBets discussion board has been targeted in a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging the 34-year-old securities broker...
Payments Source
Marqeta branches into digital credit card issuing and processing
Marqeta reached a $4 billion valuation over the last decade focusing only on prepaid and debit card issuing, and now it’s retooled its digital platform...
FINTECH VENTURE FUNDING
Kalshi, an exchange that lets investors trade on event outcomes raises $30M in Series A
Our latest funding report includes 30+ FinTech deals, but we also want to take a peek at deals not yet on your radar. Venture funding may be a leading indicator of future partnerships or hiring, but it’s a lagging indicator of sub-sectors and trends.
The venture capital machine Techstars recently invested in a staggering 120 startups, of which 18 are working in FinTech.
Demo day is a lagging indicator. Get 'em while they're hot 
Q4 FinTech Deals
Q4 Capital Raised (M)
2020 FinTech Deals
2020 Capital Raised (M)
FINTECH PODCASTS
What's one of the easiest ways to stay up on FinTech trends? Here's a short list of a few of close friends of Empire who just happen to have 🔥 podcasts.
Join The Future Farm's Vladi and Nektarios, in a “naked” conversation with the people who have been through it all. We’ll talk to business founders, investors, life partners and other ecosystem players about the personal challenges that business builders face when pursuing their dreams and passions.
LATEST EPISODE
For Fintech’s Sake is a broad look at the world of fintech. Host, Zach Anderson Pettet, explores the stories at the intersection of finance and technology from the perspectives of Founders, Investors, and Incumbents.
LATEST EPISODE
Fintech Insider is a bi-weekly podcast dedicated to all things fintech, banking, technology and financial services. Hosted by a rotation of experts and joined weekly by fantastic guests, they discuss the latest news within the industry.