Hi all, Julie here.
Sitting in a chair at my friend’s house in Michigan getting my hair done. She's actually starting her own business in the next couple of months and will be using Square, so we were talking about all the things they offer their small business customers (lending, website building, appointment scheduling). Fintech is everywhere ;)
Also important: I got a new puppy! She's gonna be sad when she finds out her brother has a podcast and she doesn't though.
The News
Marqeta S1
Another Fintech IPO! Will be super interested to see if/when Marqeta debuts given the markets have cooled off (especially for companies that went public in the past year). FTT Expert Charley Ma will be diving into the S1 for premium subscribers on Thursday, but the big thing that caught my eye was that roughly 2/3rds of Marqeta’s revenue comes from Square. That's a big risk that I'm sure investors will be asking about. Otherwise it seems like the business has been doing quite well. Great breakdown in this Twitter thread.
Flutterwave Partnership
The Basketball Africa League (BAL) today announced a multiyear partnership with Flutterwave that makes the payments technology company an associate partner of the BAL. The inaugural BAL season tipped off yesterday at the Kigali Arena in Kigali, Rwanda, with 12 teams from across Africa competing in the new professional league. Flutterwave, which was founded in 2016 and recently named among Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential Companies, provides innovative payment solutions to more than 290,000 businesses and has an infrastructure reach in more 33 African countries, including Rwanda, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The partnership will leverage the BAL and Flutterwave’s shared commitment to driving economic growth across the continent through the launch of a digital campaign that will provide select African entrepreneurs and small businesses with the opportunity to travel, connect and engage with other African markets.
“As a lifelong Basketball fan, I am excited that we are able to team up with the BAL as it tips off its inaugural season,” said Flutterwave Chief Commercial Officer Ifeoluwa Orioke. “There’s progress going on in Africa, and this is the time to tap into the enthusiasm of young people to unite the continent and open doors for young Africans through sports.”
Biden Found On Venmo
I've never been a fan of the public feed or even just the friend feed on Venmo and I know the company has discussed getting rid of it. Maybe President Biden getting found will be the last string. Does anyone even use the public feed really? I feel like at least narrowing it down to a friend feed keeps the social element while getting rid of a lot of privacy concerns.
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Career Corner
Head of Partnerships at Long Game: Long Game is looking for a talented Head of Partnerships to join its team. This is a high-impact, high-ownership opportunity for a motivated, self-starter with passion for, and experience in sales who resonates with its mission to help people save by making personal finance and banking fun.
Long Game partners with Banks to deliver a new gamified financial app that helps Millenials and Gen Z better manage their personal finances. It achieves this through behavioral finance techniques that drive user engagement and positive financial outcomes. It is seeking to grow its US client base by developing relationships with banking, fintech and financial services providers. Successful candidates for this role will be tech-forward, highly motivated, results-driven, joyful individuals who love developing client relationships.
Community Highlights
In honor of selling his company, Carbon Zero founder Scott Hickle decided to surprise me in my Equinox cycling class for a nice butt kicking ;)
Julie VerHage-Greenberg is the co-founder of Fintech Today, where she focuses on editorial content and brand. Prior to joining, she was Bloomberg’s first fintech reporter, covering Robinhood from before it was a billion dollar company, breaking the news that Plaid was acquiring Quovo, and interviewing executives on Bloomberg TV and at several large conferences.
