Welcome back – this week we have a podcast double-header for you, after Ryan's great interview with Adyen's Davi Strazza on Tuesday. We're sitting down today with Leif Abraham, the cofounder and Co-CEO of investing platform Public.com!

Public is an investing platform that lets members invest in stocks, ETFs, crypto, Treasury bills, and alternative assets – and recently launched fractional investing in corporate and Treasury bonds in response to the increasing demand for fixed-income products from the platform's 3 million+ active investors.

On this episode, Leif sits down and talks with us about founding Public almost 6 years ago, how running an international company is different from the first two startups he founded, what keeps him coming back to fintech, whether retail investors are ready to 'take the plunge' on AI, working with Tony Hawk, and how they managed to snag that Public.com domain name.

🎧 Public CEO & Co-Founder Leif Abraham: Fixed income, AI investing, and taking a gamble on the “Public.com” domain by This Week in Fintech’s Podcast

Welcome back – this week we’re sitting down today with Leif Abraham, the cofounder and Co-CEO of investing platform Public.com! Public is an investing platform that lets members invest in stocks, ETFs, crypto, Treasury bills, and alternative assets – and recently launched fractional investing in corporate and Treasury bonds in response to the increasing demand for fixed-income products from the platform’s 3 million+ active investors. On this episode, Leif sits down and talks with us about founding Public almost 6 years ago, how running an international company is different from the first two startups he founded, what keeps him coming back to fintech, whether retail investors are ready to ‘take the plunge’ on AI, working with Tony Hawk, and how they managed to snag that Public.com domain name.

Spotify for Podcasters

🎧 Public CEO & Co-Founder Leif Abraham: Fixed income, AI investing, and taking a gamble on the “Public.com” domain

Podcast Episode · This Week in Fintech’s Podcast · 10/23/2024 · 47m

Apple Podcasts

Outline

Leif's Early Career and Pay With A Tweet

• Nik introduces Leif, founder of Public, and sets the context for the discussion on FinTech and consumer investing.
• Leif shares his background, including his early days in Germany and his move to the US, where he worked in digital agencies.
• Leif describes the creation of PayWithATweet, a tool that allowed users to make a payment by tweeting about it, which went viral and was used by major record labels and political campaigns.
• The tool was eventually sold to Hanse Ventures, an incubator in Germany, which hired a CEO and grew the business before selling it again.

Transition to FinTech and Early FinTech Ventures

• Nik Milanovic asks Leif about his transition to FinTech and his previous ventures, including And.co, a freelancing software company.
• Leif discusses the evolution of his understanding of FinTech and how it was framed differently by investors.
• Nik highlights the broad scope of FinTech and its intersection with various sectors like e-commerce and the future of work.