2023 Numbers & Learnings, Top 10 Episodes, Future Goals

This article is part of?Fintech Leaders, a newsletter with over 60,000 builders, entrepreneurs, investors, regulators, and students of financial services. I invite you to share and?sign up! Also, if you enjoy this conversation, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your shows so more people can learn from it.

2023 was a year of reckoning for the fintech industry. The sector went through a significant period of adjustment, clearly delineating the superior business models from the less attractive ones. This year's 51 Fintech Leaders episodes reflected the wider industry sentiment and were consumed almost 2 million times by an audience from 175 countries. All interviews were exceptionally rich and varied, shedding light on the multifaceted nature of fintech. From strategic insights on go-to-market, fundraising lessons, and the innovative approaches to building productive, fast-shipping engineering teams, to the deeply and candid personal motivations driving today's fintech founders, these dialogues provide a treasure trove of wisdom. They not only reveal the dynamic evolution of the fintech sector but also offer a window into the resilient spirit of entrepreneurs.

I’m ready and excited to continue bringing you a weekly dose of fintech wisdom in 2024 and would like to check how I did against my 2023 goals and set some new ones for 2024.

2023 Old Goals

• Increase international guest representation to 50%. Grade: Fail. Unfortunately, we only had 23% of guests from outside the US. Some of the most innovative companies are being built outside the US and I aim to improve this in 2024.
• More founders, less investors. Grade: Pass. I was able to increase the percentage of Founders interviewed from 70% to 80%. It’s hard not to be inspired by the contagious energy and unbelievable stories of every fintech founder.
• Beef Up Written Version. Grade: Pass. I’ve put a lot of effort into writing a better summary of insights and lessons for every episode. Feedback indicates you like this. Read stories were the fastest growing method of consumption for fintech leaders in 2023.
• Launch “lessons learned” episodes. Grade: Pass. We published two special episodes featuring many guests talking about the same topic. (1) Managing your Board of Directors and (2) Raising Venture Capital. I would have liked to do more than just two, but I consider it a good start.

2024 New Goals

• Shine a light on more living legends. I’ve had the opportunity to interview almost 300 people and I’ve enjoyed every conversation (there might be 1-2 exceptions). But the ones I’ve enjoyed the most are those with industry titans WHO DON’T OFTEN GO ON PODCASTS and whose contributions have catalyzed the industry forward. I’m thinking of people like Howard Morgan, Jackie Reses, Martin Escobari, Bruno Balduccini, Renaud Laplanche, or Mike Cagney, just to name a few. I plan to bring on more of these guests in 2024 and I’ve already booked a few for January.
• Increase international guest representation. 50% international guests might be too ambitious, but I’ll be happy if I can get close to 40% non-US guests.
• Beef up video content. Our videos got half a million views in 2023 across LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube. There’s no doubt of the appetite for this format and I think we could do a lot more (maybe even launch in a new site). Subscribe now

Top 10 Most LISTENED Episodes

These episodes captured the audience's attention - check out the top 10 most listened-to shows of 2023 and add them to your playlist now!

1. Nilan Peiris, Chief Product Officer at Wise. Substack | Spotify | Apple
2. Peter Hazlehurst, CEO/Co-Founder of Synctera. Substack | Spotify | Apple
3. David Haber, General Partner at a16z. Substack | Spotify | Apple
4. Bruno Balduccini, Partner at Pinheiro Neto. Substack | Spotify | Apple
5. Prajit Nanu, CEO/Co-Founder of Nium. Substack | Spotify | Apple
6. Mercedes Bent, Partner at Lightspeed. Substack | Spotify | Apple
7. Tommy Nicholas, CEO/Co-Founder of Alloy. Substack | Spotify | Apple
8. Jorge Combe, CEO/Co-Founder of DD3. Substack | Spotify | Apple
9. Chris Pento, CEO/Co-Founder of Clear Street. Substack | Spotify | Apple
10. Itai Damti, CEO/Co-Founder of Unit. Substack | Spotify | Apple Share

Top 10 Most READ Episodes

Sometimes there’s no time for a 30-minute episode, but you can still catch a written summary on the go! Check out the top 10 most-read episodes of 2023.

1. Ricardo Josua, CEO/Co-Founder of Pismo. Substack | Spotify | Apple
2. Prajit Nanu, CEO/Co-Founder of Nium. Substack | Spotify | Apple
3. Ben Miller, CEO/Co-Founder of Fundrise. Substack | Spotify | Apple
4. Peter Hazlehurst, CEO/Co-Founder of Synctera. Substack | Spotify | Apple
5. Jorge Combe, CEO/Co-Founder of DD3. Substack | Spotify | Apple
6. Tommy Nicholas, CEO/Co-Founder of Alloy. Substack | Spotify | Apple
7. Josh Reeves, CEO/Co-Founder of Gusto. Substack | Spotify | Apple
8. Jason Guss, CEO/Co-Founder of Octane. Substack | Spotify | Apple
9. Colin Walsh, CEO/Co-Founder of Varo Bank. Substack | Spotify | Apple
10. Stuart Sopp, CEO/Co-Founder of Current. Substack | Spotify | Apple Share

2023 Fintech Leaders Books

Finally, here are the most interesting books shared by guests in 2023. Amazon links included - Enjoy!

• "The Discoverers" by Daniel Boorstin: Howard Morgan from B Capital recommended this book, which explores the history of human discovery across various fields, including science and geography. It's praised for its insights into how humans are driven to discover new things. Get it on Amazon: https://a.co/d/6ZuB4QW
• "High Output Management" by Andy Grove: Recommended by Itai Damti from Unit. This book was mentioned as one of the favorites and recommended for understanding how to manage people and increase team output effectively. It's especially highlighted for its relevance to those thinking about being effective managers and CEOs. Get it on Amazon: https://a.co/d/a7Vc5LN
• "Elon Musk" Biography by Walter Isaacson: Recommended by Maelle Gavet from Techstars. The book is fascinating to understand how Musk thinks and how certain decisions were made throughout his journey. Get it on Amazon: https://a.co/d/aJKxeLp
• "Measure What Matters" by John Doerr: recommended by Jason Guss from Octane. This book was recommended for its description of the OKR (Objectives and Key Results) framework through a series of stories, suggesting its influence on strategic planning and goal setting. Get it on Amazon: https://a.co/d/d8WChc4

Here’s to a great year ahead! ??

Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder and General Partner of Gilgamesh Ventures, a seed-stage investment fund focused on fintech in the Americas. He also hosts and writes the Fintech Leaders podcast and newsletter.