Issue 2: October 2023

In this issue:

• Ex-Tidal Exec, Lior Tibon , on the Inspiration for his Music Fintech - Duetti
• The Unflappable Betsy Cohen via Bank Director Magazine
• Takeaways from SOCAP Global & Money20/20
• Portfolio Highlights: Nova Credit , H2O.ai, Curve , Instnt

5 Questions with FinTech Founders - Duetti

In this installment of 5 Questions with FinTech Founders, we sat down with Lior Tibon, CEO and Co-Founder of Duetti and former COO of TIDAL, to talk about why he created a financing platform that enables independent artists to sell catalogs and individual tracks. Read on to hear what inspired Lior to start Duetti and his advice for founders raising capital today.

What inspired you to start Duetti?

Duetti was founded to bring more opportunities for catalog monetization to a broad group of artists - not just to A-listers. By using transparent and sophisticated data analysis, we are able to offer clear and fair pricing for catalog tracks, providing many artists with additional financial options that previously were not available to them. We are not only expanding financial options for artists, but also investing heavily in maximizing reach for any song that we partner on - all driven by our extensive expertise in music streaming and new music formats.???

Duetti has quickly become an essential business tool for many dozens of independent artists including CVBZ, Sylvan LaCue, and Croosh partnering on deals across 100 tracks.

Read the full interview here.?

Feature: The Unflappable Betsy Cohen

You might recognize her as the visionary behind The Bancorp, but Betsy Cohen, with her extensive career spanning finance, law, and operational leadership, has truly made waves across multiple industries. Bank Director Magazine recently showcased Betsy's trailblazing career.

Excerpt

James “Jay” McEntee III, chairman of The Bancorp, remembers going on an investor roadshow in Manhattan about a decade ago with Betsy Cohen. Cohen, in her 70s, had recently had surgery on her ankle. She was on crutches, and it was storming outside. McEntee turned to her and said, “‘Let’s just get these people on our video chat. You can’t schlep yourself around New York City in this weather,’” he recalls. “And she’s like, ‘Jay, you know, you can get the video if you want to, but I’m going. You can come with me or not, but I’m going.’”

Cohen may be a bit of a dynamo. Her career has taken her many places, from law to banking and finance, driven by a special knack for finding the next opportunity.

"[The Bancorp], based on Cohen’s vision to create an internet bank that served the tech industry has become one of the most profitable in the country. Other banks have since embraced the banking as a service business model, but Cohen defined it."

After retiring as The Bancorp’s CEO in 2014, she became an early player in reverse mergers, where she took companies public through SPACs, or special purpose acquisition companies.

“When I introduce Betsy to someone who hasn’t heard of her, I tell them that she’s the most famous person in financial services you’ve never heard of,” jokes Amanda Abrams, CEO of Cohen Circle, the investment firm Cohen owns with her son Daniel. “She’s unflappable.”

Cohen’s drive was evident from an early age. Born Betsy Zubrow, she was one of only six women in a class of 200 to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania’s law school in 1966. As a student, she worked on the school’s prestigious law review. But it was a moment early in her career that put her on an entrepreneurial path. After interning at a law firm, she was informed that she wouldn’t be hired there. “My senior partner is not yet ready to have a woman as a professional colleague,” the hiring partner told her. She vowed never to work for anybody again. And she didn’t. “I’ve always created my own opportunities,” she says. “And my husband would confirm this — I’m not very good at taking direction from others.”

Read the full article here.

Money2020 & SOCAP Highlights

In October, our team headed west to attend the biggest fintech and impact conferences in the country. We share our team's learnings and biggest takeaways.

From Money2020

• Quality companies are showing stronger balance sheets and a clearer path to navigating a challenging environment than they did this time last year, positioning them to drive their next stage of growth.
• Many fintechs are adopting a "back-to-basics" approach, refining their GTM strategy and slashing burn.
• The general sentiment in the fintech arena among both startups and VCs has shifted from competition towards collaboration.
• Speaking of partnerships- banks and credit unions are increasingly looking to fintechs to enhance their offerings.

From SOCAP

• Unlocking DAF capital to invest in commercially viable impact businesses has massive potential to amplify social impact through the appreciation and re-deployment of this philanthropic capital over time.
• The focus on standardization for impact measurement is ever rising, and views on the topic continue to diverge, but increased transparency remains a critical near-term goal.
• SOCAP's diverse community of investors, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, academics, think-tanks, and government officials contributed their unique backgrounds and experiences to make for some truly amazing conversations! It's a testament to the power of diverse perspectives.

Portfolio Highlights

Nova Credit raised a $45M Series C round.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia partnered with H2O.ai to combat cybercrime.

All-in-one card app Curve has launched its first ever credit card in the UK.

CEO and Founder of Instnt, Sunil Madhu, joined the Money Pot podcast?? during Money20/20.

Stay in our circle. Subscribe here.