We're back!

I'm beyond excited to start sharing Season Two of our OG series with all of you. We're kicking it off with two incredible founders, Jason Gardner of Marqeta and Ken Lin of Credit Karma. From grilling massive steaks in backyard gatherings during Covid to getting just 30 minutes of sleep before announcing a major acquisition—or even telling a VC to quit staring at the desert and invest in your company—this conversation was full of standout moments.

I hope you enjoy listening as much as I loved recording it!

And don't forget to like and subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform :)

🎧The Fintech OG Series Season Two: Jason Gardner and Ken Lin

Welcome back for Season Two of the Fintech OG series! We’re kicking it off with fintech founders Jason Gardner and Ken Lin, who share their experiences buildi

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Episode Summary

5:00 – Backyard gatherings during Covid and bonding over shared experiences in Fintech.

7:00 – Ken and Jason’s origins in Fintech, including founding Credit Karma and Marqeta.

9:00 – Ken discusses the early days of Credit Karma, the challenges of working with credit bureaus, and a major high followed by the near death of the company.

13:00 – Jason recounts early struggles and partnerships while building Marqeta, including convincing Discover and Sutton Bank to work with them.

19:00 – Fundraising difficulties and overcoming setbacks, including losing a key team member days before funding.

23:00 – How Ken and Jason handled personal highs and lows during their startup journeys, focusing on building resilience.

26:00 – Industry-wide Fintech observations: Open operability and expectations not yet met.

28:00 – Surprises in Fintech: The rapid growth of the sector and the diverse opportunities that emerged.

32:00 – Exciting trends in Fintech, including developments in Asia and the potential of AI to reshape the industry.

35:00 – Rapid fire round

Transcript:

Jason: I mean, here's one of my superpowers, the night before I slept like a baby. I can sleep. I can shut my brain off in a way that is an absolute gift.

Julie: That's amazing. Do you have to take anything for I have like CBD sleep gummies

Jason: Now my wife takes all kinds of gummies and everything. And I just, I don't need anything. I literally just go right to sleep. I can just compartmentalize stuff and just put it away and turn my brain off.

Julie: Ken, how did you sleep the night before your big announcement?

Ken: Oh, literally for half an hour. I mean, it was a bit of an ordeal. We were literally trying to get signatures at the last minute and then announcing before the [00:03:00] market opened. 

Julie: So it wasn't entirely because you were a bad sleeper. Part of it is that you had to get some stuff finalized at the very last second.

Ken: Yes, but I'm also a terrible sleeper. So the combination of those two things involved.

Julie: So this is season two of the Fintech OG series. And I'm really excited to have these two guys on. I've known both of them for a while and they're both super down to earth, great humans, and I hear that you guys have crossed paths a number of times and stuff too, but I'd love to know how you guys had officially met in the Fintech space.