Building Real Startups with Purpose – Kanyi Maqubela
Episode Topic: Kanyi Maqubela, Managing Partner at Kindred Ventures, joins PayPod to discuss how values-led venture capital supports high-impact startups across fintech, climate, and more. Discover how Kindred identifies founders who move fast, think big, and adapt as they scale game-changing ideas into real-world solutions. Lessons You’ll Learn: Why startup success hinges on speed and altitude-shifting, how to think about funding vs. profitability, and the importance of empathetic market insight when serving underrepresented or global communities. About Our Guest: Kanyi Maqubela is the Managing Partner at Kindred Ventures, a firm backing mission-aligned startups that want to reshape industries. With investments across fintech, health, and frontier tech, Kanyi draws from years of founder-first investing and has a sharp lens on team-building, product-market fit, and scalable impact. Topics Covered: The role of velocity and quick iteration in startup success How VC can be a vehicle for real-world problem solving Startup risk frameworks and phases of survival The critical skill of "altitude shifting" in founders Diversity in startups: Empathy > Demographics Where fintech is heading—just-in-time lending, modular ledgers, and more Balancing profit and purpose in early-stage companies
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37:18
Avoid IRS Surprises with Year-Round Tax Planning Sohail Sadeghi
Episode Topic: Sohail Sadeghi, founder of Atlantis Tax Group, joins PayPod to explore how business owners, investors, and high-income earners can shift their mindset from tax compliance to tax strategy. Sohail shares his insights on the most common tax mistakes he’s seen, provides guidance on leveraging real estate for tax benefits, and explains how proactive tax planning can save thousands of dollars in the long run. Lessons You’ll Learn: Discover the importance of proactive tax planning throughout the year. Learn the tax deductions and credits specific to your business or industry. Understand how to reduce your taxable income using retirement accounts and real estate investments.Find out why you should consult with a tax professional beyond tax season. About Our Guest: Sohail Sadeghi is the founder of Atlantis Tax Group, a firm dedicated to helping clients with tax planning and strategy. With years of experience in navigating the tax system, Sohail helps individuals and businesses lower their tax liabilities while building long-term financial success. His client-focused approach sets him apart from traditional tax firms by providing personalized strategies and regular planning sessions throughout the year. Topics Covered: Tax planning for business owners and investors Maximizing deductions and credits based on your industry The importance of tax planning beyond tax season Tax strategies for real estate investors and short-term rental deductions
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22:24
How Alternative Data Transforms Credit Risk – with John Gordon
Episode Topic John Gordon, CEO of ValidiFI, joins PayPod to discuss how alternative data is revolutionizing credit risk assessment. Discover how using ACH history, bank account behavior, and fraud signals is giving lenders a clearer, fairer view of consumer creditworthiness in today’s fast-changing financial landscape. Lessons You’ll Learn Explore why credit scores are no longer enough, and how alternative data fills the gaps. Learn how fraud prevention is evolving, how underserved populations benefit from better data, and why ACH validation is becoming a fintech essential. About Our Guest John Gordon is the CEO of ValidiFI, a SaaS platform that helps financial institutions assess credit risk and fraud through alternative data. With over a billion consumer inquiries analyzed, ValidiFI helps lenders, processors, and service providers unlock the power of bank behavior, account validation, and predictive analytics to make smarter decisions. Topics Covered: Credit scores vs. alternative data ACH validation and fraud detection Bank account behavior as a risk indicator Financial inclusion and non-prime consumers Buy Now, Pay Later and missing data in bureaus Emerging trends in data consortiums and fintech regulation
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26:48
Blockchain Money Transfer Tools for Finance Leaders to Cut FX Costs Globally with Kevin Lehtiniitty
Episode Topic Today’s episode gets into the weeds into how stablecoins are transforming cross-border payments and financial access. Kevin Lehtiniitty, CEO of Borderless.xyz, reveals how his team is building the connective tissue for global stablecoin movement by partnering with licensed financial institutions. This episode uncovers the opportunities and challenges in building a compliant, scalable crypto payment network that thrives in both developed and emerging markets. Lessons You’ll Learn You’ll learn why stablecoins are reshaping how people save, spend, and move money globally, especially in inflation-stricken economies. Kevin breaks down the difference between fiat-backed and algorithmic stablecoins, explains how Borderless.xyz operates without holding custody of funds, and explores how compliance and innovation can coexist in crypto infrastructure. About Our Guest Kevin Lehtiniitty is the CEO of Borderless.xyz, a fintech startup building the world’s largest stablecoin orchestration network. Kevin’s journey began with a rejected Bitcoin transaction that led him to question the role of banks and the need for permissionless money. Before founding Borderless.xyz, he worked in regulated crypto custody and healthcare fintech. He’s a strong advocate for financial freedom, regulatory clarity, and building tech that levels the global playing field. Topics Covered: What stablecoins should be—and why algorithmic ones don’t qualify How Borderless.xyz connects local payment rails via a global network Dollarization and stablecoins as proxies for USD in emerging markets Regulatory challenges and why being non-custodial matters The rise of stablecoin-driven neobanks across Latin America and Africa CBDCs and the looming impact of forced conversions in authoritarian regimes Lessons from banking restrictions and the push for financial innovation
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33:39
DeFi Yield Strategy for Fintech Builders to Launch Scalable Crypto Products with Maxim Galash
Episode Topic Today’s conversation explores how decentralized finance (DeFi) has transformed the crypto landscape, especially for businesses in emerging markets. Maxim Galash, CEO of Coinchange, shares insights on building automated yield products, the role of stablecoins in global commerce, and how regulation is shaping the future of financial infrastructure in crypto. Lessons You’ll Learn You’ll learn how platforms like Coinchange offer passive income opportunities through a combination of staking, hedge funds, and DeFi protocols. Max explains why they pivoted to B2B after the collapse of Celsius and BlockFi, how stablecoins enable cross-border transactions, and what the future holds for regulation, innovation, and adoption in DeFi. About Our Guest Maxim Galash is the CEO of Coinchange, a fintech company offering automated crypto yield products tailored for fintechs and B2B platforms in emerging markets. Under his leadership, Coinchange has shifted from a retail-focused platform to a sophisticated infrastructure provider, enabling clients to earn yield via staking, hedge funds, and decentralized liquidity pools. Max is also closely involved with navigating international compliance, helping businesses provide regulated yield products globally. Topics Covered DeFi vs CeFi: What’s changed since the 2022 crypto crashes Why Coinchange moved from retail to B2B How stablecoins are used in cross-border payments Managing risk through diversified, automated strategies Regulatory challenges across the US, EU, and emerging markets The role of Telegram blockchain and the future of mini apps Tokenized T-bills and institutional DeFi adoption
Acerca de PayPod: The Payments and Fintech Podcast
Welcome to PayPod, a show that explores the fast-changing world of payments and fintech. The show features interviews with leaders and entrepreneurs in the payments and fintech industries.
Each episode, you’ll hear an interview directly with a leader of the payments industry. We talk with fintech entrepreneurs, security experts, mobile developers, eCommerce pros, and more...
From credit card processing to bitcoin... from retail point of sale systems to cutting edge digital payments software… merchant accounts. mobile checkout, lending marketplaces, and beyond… we cover it all!
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