by Brian Dainis
The Cache Flow podcast is built for high-growth tech-focused companies looking for creative and effective ways to solve their product development challenges. On our show we’ll discuss how to solve everything standing in the way of boosting the performance of your development team.
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March 24, 2025
<p>Meet Kent Landvatter, CEO of FinWise Bank, a financial haven for the fintech space. With 14 years at the helm, he shares intriguing insights from enabling FinTech platforms with API layers to navigating the complex web of regulation. Tune in for a deep dive into the symbiotic relationship between traditional banking and modern technology, from automated lending to combating money laundering and beyond.</p><p><br></p><p>Here are a few topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Cache Flow Podcast.</p><ul><li>Kent's journey from traditional banking to FinTech</li><li>Fin Wise's robust SBA lending and tech stack</li><li>How APIs streamline FinTech lending operations</li><li>The role of stable coins in modern banking</li><li>Kent discusses regulatory relationships and AI</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Resources:</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.finwise.bank/">FinWise Bank</a></li><li><a href="https://www.curotec.com/">Curotec</a> </li></ul><p><br></p><p>Connect with Kent Landvatter:</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kentlandvatter/">LinkedIn</a></li></ul><p><br></p><p>Connect with our host, Brian Dainis:</p><ul><li><a href="https://linktr.ee/cacheflow">Linktree</a></li></ul><p><br></p><p>Quotables:</p><ul><li>05:11 - The thing that's been interesting to watch in SBA land, because I've been there for many, many years, is a lot of administrations will cut back on the subsidy or will increase the subsidy, you know, to, to save money or to, you know, expand small business lending. But SPA, and I don't have the actual data, but SPA is one of the few government programs that I believe actually at least breaks, even if not makes money for the government, because when someone does an SBA loan, part of what they pay for that SB loan, SBA loan is a fee that helps, you know, support the subsidy. So the subsidies really there as a backstop if the, if too many loans go bad, but a lot of those fees were being paid by banks and customers that are participating in the program. </li><li>05:11 - The thing that's been interesting to watch in SBA land, because I've been there for many, many years, is a lot of administrations will cut back on the subsidy or will increase the subsidy, you know, to, to save money or to, you know, expand small business lending. But SPA, and I don't have the actual data, but SPA is one of the few government programs that I believe actually at least breaks, even if not makes money for the government, because when someone does an SBA loan, part of what they pay for that SB loan, SBA loan is a fee that helps, you know, support the subsidy. So the subsidies really there as a backstop if the, if too many loans go bad, but a lot of those fees were being paid by banks and customers that are participating in the program. </li><li>14:07 - For the larger banks, I think SBA lending is just a step for them to bring a customer who's not ready for a regular commercial loan into the fold. Right? And then they'll try and put 'em into a commercial loan as soon as they can and sometimes pay off the SBA loan where they make money, the bank makes money both on the, on the premium and then, yeah. 'cause they'll sell these out to the marketplace and then they can re write that into a commercial loan. And I think that's generally what you see. But there are a handful of banks, one of ours being ours, being one of those that really focuses on this as a core business. 'cause if you think of the total SBA volume that's produced each year, it's probably a rounding air for a bank like Citibank or what have you. For banks like ours, it can be very meaningful. And so we've got a very deep SBA program and SBA department and we pride ourselves on fast turn times and being able to get the data together in a right way that helps a customer gather and understand what's happening. And, and so we're not always going back for more and more and more. And I think you're a strong SBA lenders, you know, focusing just more and more on that would probably be similar to this.</li><li>15:32 - I think you might have more insight on this, but I think it, obviously the commercial lending terms typically are a little better than the SBA lending terms, but you know, then you have like covenants and stuff that you have to meet typically on the commercial side, whereas the SBA doesn't. And I think what I understand is, you know, it makes sense to look at commercial when you either have a strong collateral position that you can offer the bank or if you have, I don't like, I have a professional services firm, so there's like no collateral other than cash and ar. So I think what made sense there was to have like at least a few million in EBITDA to really take the commercial side more seriously.</li><li>40:42 - But if we build an API that's customize, customizable by the FinTech where they can go in and optimize all that, they can say, if it's up to this time and the customer wants it this fast, use these rails and they can optimize the use of the rails because it's all on our system. And so they can push the money or receive the money any way they want, but push the money which is optimal for the customer and at the lease cost for the FinTech. And then when you add that to the, the lending side, receiving payments and so forth, it really gives a FinTech a lot more options of one stop shopping on the movement of the money and support of their customers.</li></ul>
September 13, 2024
<p>In this riveting episode, Palash Soni, CEO of Gold Cast, shares his bold journey from an HBS dropout to tech startup success. His company, revolutionizing B2B marketing with AI video campaigns, thrived amid Covid uncertainty, defied odds with rapid growth, and now raises questions about the future of SaaS innovation. Tune in to dive into his riveting tales, fundraising adventures, and insights on crafting a venture that stands out in the saturated software market.</p><p><br></p><p>Here are a few topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Cache Flow Podcast.</p><p><br></p><ul><li>Palash details Gold Cast's emergence in 2020.</li><li>Harvard dropout bets big on AI video SaaS.</li><li>Growth hack: Calendar invites boost attendance.</li><li>Goldcast's branding edge over competitors.</li><li>Second product's success signifies an inflection.</li><li>Founders grapple with a saturated SaaS future.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Resources:</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.goldcast.io/">Goldcast</a></li><li><a href="https://www.curotec.com/">Curotec</a> </li></ul><p><br></p><p>Connect with Palash Soni:</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/palashsoni/">LinkedIn</a></li></ul><p><br></p><p>Connect with our host, Brian Dainis:</p><ul><li><a href="https://linktr.ee/cacheflow">Linktree</a></li></ul><p><br></p><p>Quotables:</p><ul><li>10:22 - We didn't have Visas to work with and it was, you know, 2020 May Republican government. So we had to get through visas and we also were kind of perceived as late to market even though the market was created two months back. But just because so many people had raised so much money, all of a sudden we were under a lot of scrutiny, like a lot of questions around why this company should exist. So, the other angle was that we had the stick-in-neck problem of we needed money or VCV money to get a visa. The only way we could get a visa is this visa called an O-1 visa. Some people like advertise it as Einstein Visa, which it is not called by the US government, but it's essentially for entrepreneurs or PhDs or people who are doing outstanding work in their fields.</li><li>13:07 - The equation for me and for everyone has flipped in the last two years to saying, okay, what, like, VC money is not a given and it should only be raised when there is a venture scale opportunity to go after. And we are still figuring that out. We have a very strong thesis around having an end-to-end video platform that can change the game for marketers and enterprises, but it's still early, like it's a decently complicated product piece that we are building. So we have early proof points that we can raise another round and justify that valuation. But yeah, we need proof stuff out before we race. So the short answer is we will, we are on that path, but it's not the only path we can take.</li><li>27:01 - So we actually preach the opposite, Brian, that you should not just have MQLs as the end goal of webinars. So what we say and what we do also in our own motion is that webinars are part of like a bigger content motion, right? So the, the most results from webinars is obtained when you do it, and then you let the content live in many other places and operationalize that content in ways where it can generate value. </li><li>24:00 - I do think that the chasm is starting to be crossed with AI B2B, AI products. I think, you know, businesses are starting to move from, you know, starting to move from early adopters to like early majority with AI products. So it might be, if my, you know, assumption there is correct, it might be a good time in the next couple of years to really sell it. </li><li>42:04 - Same thing is with software, right? It's all the obvious opportunities have been picked off in the last 10 years. Even the most non-obvious have been picked off. So as a result, I think two things are happening, which at least I see anecdotally and then probably data will verify it, is that it is also, it has become a lot more, it's a, it's become a lot harder for younger founders to succeed in SaaS because you genuinely need a lot of depth and, and tribal knowledge of having worked in an enterprise or having been super deep in some, some area to actually come up with an insight that can lead to a venture scale product. So that's one. And in general, I think that realization dawned on a little late on everyone including founders and venture community that this is not the 1960s, this is like the 1990s of cars, but the underwriting of everything in the Zera era was being done as if it's 1960s. So that led to all of this over-digestion of capital. I do think with AI there is a new pool of opportunities that is coming in.</li></ul>
July 26, 2024
<p>Dive into the dynamic world where corporate meets creativity with Amer, a serial entrepreneur with five startups and a vision for shaking up traditional business models. Explore the high-stakes thrills of entrepreneurship and discover how AI is revolutionizing video production—all in this invigorating chat loaded with lessons and laughter.</p><p><br></p><p>Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Cache Flow Podcast.</p><p><br></p><ul><li>The tough transition from corporate to founder</li><li>Building five companies with two successful exits</li><li>Pioneering short-form video content</li><li>Introducing AI to modern video production</li><li>The balance of tech and human touch in business</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Resources:</p><ul><li><a href="https://lucihub.com/">Lucihub</a></li><li><a href="https://www.curotec.com/">Curotec</a> </li></ul><p><br></p><p>Connect with Amer Tadayon:</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/amertadayon/">LinkedIn</a></li></ul><p><br></p><p>Connect with our host, Brian Dainis:</p><ul><li><a href="https://linktr.ee/cacheflow">Linktree</a></li></ul><p><br></p><p>Quotables:</p><ul><li>03:26 - Well, I think that you do one of two things. Either you realize you just can't do it and you move on and you go back into, you know, corporate America or you say, okay, let me see if I can do this again and not relive the same lessons. And that's the hard part, I think, is to remember the mistakes you made and not apply them a second or a third or a fourth time for me. I had to learn the same mistake a few times and then finally, finally not apply it. </li><li>16:38 - I think that's a really, I think that's the future of a lot of these SaaS companies because everyone's, you know, all the product categories that can be fully automated I think have already been done. It's hard to do things new that, you know, haven't been done before. And, you know, kind of taking human component, integrating humans into your product experience, but delivering it at a SaaS product, I've seen a lot of businesses do some really cool things.</li><li>15:46 - It's human. It's human editors. Now we leverage a ton of AI tools to accelerate it, but at the end of the day, you know, I always say, you know, design and what we do is subjective, and subjective is always gonna need a human touch. So, you know, there's a lot of hype around AI replacing editors and filmmakers and all of this stuff. And, you know, I think it's gonna accelerate things, but I just don't think, our who we are as people is, you know, you're not gonna let technology tell you what looks great. </li><li>27:40 - I don't think you can stop innovation and the progress. I think you're gonna have to figure out how to work with it, right? And that's what we're trying to do. We're saying, Hey, how do we do this? And, you know, we're not eliminating people by any means. We're actually just accelerating the work and being able to do more with less. And I think what's cool about being a startup in this day and age is AI is woven into the fabric and into the DNA of this business, right? We started AI at our core. And so, you know, we embrace all of this. </li><li>37:05 - I I think they're either gonna have to find a way to leverage technology to be more efficient, or they're just not gonna get business anymore. I mean, it's the reality of it you know when I had my production company, what is it, 10 years ago, 15 years ago, it was harder to do this. So you could justify charging a lot more for it. But the tech is really democratizing a lot of this, right?And so we talked to an agency last week in LA who said, our client will is willing to pay us one 10th of what they used to pay us two years ago to do this, these videos. And we stopped doing them because it just didn't make sense. </li></ul>
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