POPULARITY
41 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
32 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
32 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
12 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
16 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
19 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
19 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
13 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
11 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
16 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
11 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
16 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
9 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
8 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
16 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
23 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
13 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
11 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
8 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
11 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
12 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
10 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
10 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
10 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
9 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
8 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
8 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
11 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
13 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
6 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
8 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
8 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
8 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
8 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
10 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
10 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
6 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
8 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
10 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
6 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
11 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
23 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
10 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
12 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
12 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
8 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
10 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
8 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
6 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
9 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
7 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
7 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
10 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
8 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
12 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
6 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
7 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
7 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
6 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
11 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
7 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
2 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
6 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
2 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
2 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
6 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
6 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
6 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
2 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
8 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
2 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
7 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
9 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
7 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
2 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
2 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
2 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
4 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
6 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
7 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
2 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
5 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
6 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
3 episodes with Silicon Valley Bank
Bitcoin's breakout may be signaling the start of a new bull phase, with the setup looking similar to the 2023 move that followed the Silicon Valley Bank crisis. Ran Neuner argues that compressed volatility, Bitcoin's bounce from long-term technical levels, renewed ETF inflows and improving macro conditions all support the idea that the bear market may be over. The conversation also covers potential tension between Kevin Warsh and Scott Bessent, why the Clarity Act may still fail, and what that could mean for crypto regulation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What does it actually take to decarbonize one of the world's most carbon-intensive industries, and how do you build, fund, and scale the company that bets on it? The scale and urgency of the transformation required to fight climate change has never been more clear. Building hardware and software products, acquiring the funding and creating a diverse community to enhance talent capacity and to drive innovation, is essential to tackling this global environmental crisis. In this podcast, host Silicon Valley Bank (a division of First Citizens Bank) Climate Tech & Sustainability SVP Maggie Wong will be interviewing Queens Carbon CEO & Co-Founder Daniel Kopp to discuss enabling built environment decarbonization through cement and concrete that requires lower energy and water usage, optimizing various financing structures to scale the company, leveraging AI and diverse team to build a full product system.
Keith breaks down why global crises, geopolitical shocks, and nonstop "doom" headlines haven't stopped stocks and real estate from reaching near all-time highs, and what that means for investors focused on inflation-resistant assets. He also discusses Memphis as a surprising cash-flow market poised to benefit from the AI boom, sharing details on an upcoming webinar with Mid South Homebuyers. Keith is joined by real estate investor and educator Jared Garfield to unpack the "Seven-Figure Solution," a strategy that combines cash-flowing rentals with tax-advantaged life insurance to create liquidity, reduce risk, and support long-term retirement income. Together, they explore how disciplined portfolio growth, smart leverage, and coordinated tax planning can help real estate investors better align their assets with their long-term financial goals. Episode Page: GetRichEducation.com/619 For access to properties or free help with a GRE Investment Coach, start here: GREmarketplace.com GRE Free Investment Coaching: GREinvestmentcoach.com Get mortgage loans for investment property: RidgeLendingGroup.com or call 855-74-RIDGE or e-mail: info@RidgeLendingGroup.com Invest with Freedom Family Investments. For predictable 10-12% quarterly returns, visit FreedomFamilyInvestments.com/GRE or text FAMILY to 66866 Join Mid South Home Buyers' one-time, free live webinar featuring Keith Weinhold on September 30 at GetRichEducation.com/MidSouth to learn how Memphis' economic expansion could create new real estate investment opportunities, and have your questions answered in real time. Will you please leave a review for the show? I'd be grateful. Search "how to leave an Apple Podcasts review" For advertising inquiries, visit: GetRichEducation.com/ad Best Financial Education: GetRichEducation.com Get our wealth-building newsletter free— GREletter.com Our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/c/GetRichEducation Follow us on Instagram: @getricheducation Complete episode transcript: Keith Weinhold 0:02 Welcome to GRE. I'm your host Keith Weinhold. The world is about to end again. It's the economic disaster that never arrives. I'll break it down. Then you've been earning money and investing well all these years. How does it all go together? It can culminate in the seven-figure solution, it's about seeing your future today on Get Rich Education. What if I told you that one of America's strongest cash flow real estate markets is also becoming the new brains and brawn behind AI? That city is Memphis, believe it or not. And September 30th, we're going to show you why the smart money is paying attention now, along with an investing opportunity you won't want to miss. Join me, Terry Kerr and Matthew Van Horn of Mid South Homebuyers, the largest turnkey company in Memphis with more than 6,000 homes under management, for a free live webinar, the likes of which I've never done before, we're going to look at what billions in new investment could mean for jobs, housing demand, neighborhood appreciation, and your portfolio. Everyone who attends live will also get exclusive access to the best deal terms Mid South has ever offered. Reserve your free seat at getricheducation.com/midsouth again that september 30. Don't say we didn't tell you. Save your spot at getricheducation.com/midsouth. Speaker 1 1:39 You're listening to the show that has created more financial freedom than nearly any show in the world. This is Get Rich Education. Keith Weinhold 1:55 Welcome to GRE from Kankakee, Illinois, to Cherokee, Iowa, and across 188 nations worldwide. I'm Keith Weinhold. This is Get Recid Education, and the world is about to end. Even if you survive, your portfolio surely won't. Oh, jeez. At least that's the impression you get from mass media and what I'll call the Doom Scroll Industrial Complex. Fear creates urgency. Urgency attracts eyeballs. Eyeballs attract ad dollars. And I guess that using a slogan like "everything will probably be fine" well, that's never been a great ratings strategy. Now, can what has happened since 2020. Just this cheery little sequence: COVID, then Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, tariffs, and then the war in Iran. All that just since 2020. I mean, that right there sounds less like an economic timeline and more like a movie plot, or that the world is repeatedly spinning the wheel of misfortune. Yet after all of that, what is the result? Both stocks and residential real estate are near all-time highs. Apparently, the apocalypse has been postponed yet again-at least economically speaking. Now let's zoom out and break down these threats and a few more, all just since 2020, because 2020 is the year where, of course, you had the COVID-19 pandemic, economic shutdowns, the fastest major stock bear market in history, supply chain breakdown. You saw empty shelves, and there was unprecedented government intervention from the Paycheck Protection Program to stimulus checks to mortgage loan forbearance. Then, in 2021 and 2022, you had post-COVID inflation and supply shortages. Now, this was more of a result, not strictly geopolitical, but a major investment threat, and that led to aggressive interest rate hikes. From 2022 to the present, you have Russia's invasion of Ukraine, energy and food shocks came from that, sanctions, instability over in Europe, and really a heightened nuclear risk in 2023. You had the U.S. regional banking crisis. Remember SVB, yes, Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, First Republic. They raised fears of a financial contagion that would spread like fat. Than a secret in a small town, it actually made me buy some gold. From 2023 to the present, you had the Israel-Hamas war and this broad Middle East instability, Hezbollah attacks, Houthi attacks, Red Sea shipping disruptions. It's almost like a geopolitical group project. And then from 2025 to the present, you have renewed U.S. tariffs and a global trade war, and this year you have the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and the Strait of Hormuz disruption. That is the biggest current geopolitical investment threat because it combines all of these things: war, oil disruption, inflation, higher interest rates, and a recession risk. So it's a lot like this particularly unpleasant smoothie that's been blended together. Keith Weinhold 5:55 All right. Well, all of that-that is just an absurd amount of uncertainty and disruption only since 2020, and though major markets are at all-time highs in the face of this, let's acknowledge that some were hurt here, like apartment building owners vulnerable to interest rate resets, and certain commercial sectors like office. Even worse, let's be sensitive to the fact that COVID in wars have resulted in a real loss of life. GRE's enduring strategy of primarily owning long-term residential rentals with fixed-rate debt has been comparatively really resilient. In fact, these calamities-they probably made you better off from the inflation that it has spurred. More people work from home. Well, that means that they're consuming our product while higher inflation debased our debt and jacked up our property values and our rents. And you know somehow every. single generation thinks that their collection of crises is uniquely terrifying, and it is not. And what do I mean by this? Well, in the 1980s, people feared war with the Soviet Union, the Cold War. A global population explosion so bad that millions or billions of people would surely die from hunger. You had the AIDS crisis. You had a hole in the ozone layer. Well, all those things. Virtually zero investors make decisions based on that stuff: an imminent Soviet attack or mass starvation from overpopulation. There is one thing that is 100% certain here, and that is that more shocks are coming. In case you don't want to sleep well, you can get worked up over the certainty of future calamities, artificial intelligence is making cyber attacks faster and more scalable. AI has even created entirely novel viruses. A confrontation between China and Taiwan that could create risk in the semiconductor space. Keith Weinhold 8:18 A blockade that might disrupt the world's advanced chip supply, creating more inflation and more uncertainty. Here is what's changed, though, for what investors care about. You know what has changed with today's set of calamities versus those of the 1980s and earlier, because there is something, and it's a big deal for investors. Here's what's changed: recent history shows that the government does more to intervene during disasters, stimulus checks, liquidity programs where they're printing trillions, bailouts, pushing interest rates down to almost zero, quantitative easing. How about a foreclosure moratorium? Anything you know during COVID, it was a lot of these things, and it was the CARES Act, and it was a student loan payment pause. I mean, the Federal Reserve even set up emergency credit facilities. We now know that when the economic building catches fire, policymakers they rarely stand around admiring the flames. They just flood the place with currency. So the best investors they keep prudently building real estate portfolios in the face of risk, not the absence of risk, because the latter does not exist. This incessant government intervention, whether you agree with it or not, it gives you more safety cushions the next time that things fall apart. That's why what appears risk. Is still risky, but less so. So there is more incentive to take on prudent risk than I've ever seen. You know, no politician wants America to fall apart under their watch. So increasingly, they'll just paper over the problem by printing, printing, printing, and then, therefore, the resultant inflation, the consequence of this, that can be dealt with under the next president's watch, not theirs. In fact, future calamities they almost make you want to own scarce real assets that benefit from inflation, not a hedge, a benefit. Trying to time every war, election, banking crisis, tariff announcement, virus, and Fed decision. Trying to time all of those things-that is usually ineffective. You either own more assets, or you get left behind in everything that's happened since 2020. That just underscores this. In fact, Berkshire Hathaway, the closely watched company that Warren Buffett ran for a long time, but he still has influence in. Keith Weinhold 11:16 You know, they recently began moving out of cash and into assets, they ended their long net selling stretch. In fact, in the latest quarter ended, they've now done the most buying that they've done since early 2022. They have jumped back in the game. It appears that Berkshire Hathaway got tired of sitting on the sidelines and seeing others make gains, and they're pretty bullish on housing too. They bought a home builder. The bottom line here is that shocks are going to keep arriving, and yet productive assets and well-financed residential real estate has repeatedly survived them and just continued appreciating. Don't wait for a risk-free world because you'll wait forever. When you evaluate all these calamities, just since 2020, again, COVID, Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, tariffs, and war in Iran, and then you realize that both real estate and stocks are near all-time highs anyway, and the government keeps backstopping asset owners like never before. This is just a fresh angle on how much better off you are when you prudently own more inflation-benefiting assets sooner. I want to tell you about something called the seven-figure solution. You've been here listening to me weekly since 2014. You've been earning money. You've been investing well, and now you're going to see how it all goes together. It's about making sure that your real estate and your other assets appropriately fund your retirement in a way that gives you protection against market downturns, a tax advantage pool of liquidity, the death benefit of a life insurance policy, and actually introduces you to a new form of leverage all at the same time. Now the liquidity here is key because this is where a 401(k) or IRA limit you, they have taxes and penalties if you want to use those funds early. This doesn't, but the seven-figure solution-it's not just for retirees. In fact, our own in-house investment coach Narayish uses something like this, and he is in his 30s. Let's discuss it, and then you'll see where I have an invitation for you, where you can get involved. I'd like to welcome in a guest we last had on the show a few years ago. Keith Weinhold 13:54 He's a frequent guest on popular shows, including our friends over at the Real Estate Guys Radio Show, and this guest has also been a terrestrial radio show host himself. He's a long-time real estate educator and an active investor, just like you and I. So he speaks from experience and not a textbook. He's the creator of what we'll discuss today, called the Seven Figure Solution. Welcome back to the show, Jared Garfield. Jared Garfield 14:21 Hey, it's great to be with you again. Thanks for having me. Keith Weinhold 14:25 It's so good. Now you're with the Haven Bridge Group, and you help people, especially real estate investors, with what's called the seven-figure solution. Tell us about it. Jared Garfield 14:37 it. Well, Haven Bridge, we get the name for that because people are really looking for a haven of safety, and the bridge is kind of what crosses the gaps that could kind of destroy your wealth, and it's the path to get there. So we want to take people on a path to safety, and the seven-figure solution is the idea that if you're going to be drawing out even 4% per year to not outlive your money, because people are living now. To 8590, 95 years old, and so that means you could have 35 years in retirement. And with inflation and different things like that, you really have to have a lot bigger nest egg than what most people realize. So a seven-figure solution is how to get to more than a million dollars liquid that you can draw on in a tax advantaged manner for the rest of your life, while also having living benefits. And we pull real estate in with it because we want people to have 10 or 15 or 20 rental properties by the time they retired. That they 1031 exchange regularly, so that they're always keeping tax advantages. So that even in retirement you have strong tax advantages, and ultimately we think that when you're 65 or 70, you might want to go from 30 single-family houses to 1031 exchange into one institutional asset that's a little bit less management intensive. Keith Weinhold 15:57 Okay, so this is a tax advantage vehicle that real estate investors can use during their investing career, and those tax advantages then really convert into something that you can use in retirement as well. Jared Garfield 16:11 Yes, what it does is it's a vehicle that instead of saving the money from your cash flow from your rental properties in the bank, we say, well, why wouldn't you rather invest in something where it grows tax-free, number one, and then number two, you don't have the penalties like you would with a 401k, where you get taxed and you get penalized 10% if you pull it out. It's liquid, usually about 80 to 90% liquid, so you can pull from it whenever you like, and you can use it for down payments to grow your real estate portfolio. But you can earn sometimes between five and even seven or 8% in a tax advantaged manner where you're not taxed on it, but you're earning a much higher return than if you put the cash flow into a bank. Keith Weinhold 16:51 All right, so you're building this tax advantage pool of capital that grows over time, and this is important to have some liquidity. You know, Jared, I've often talked to our audience, about three to 5% of your portfolio value ought to be kept liquid. Maybe with a vehicle like this, you would want to put in more of that because real estate investors we have expenses, so you have this liquidity to cover things like vacancies and major repairs, or perhaps you could even use this account for future down payments on additional investment properties. Is that how it's utilized? Jared Garfield 17:27 Yeah, absolutely. And I get it partially this way because in my early 20s, I got up to where I had about six rentals, and at the time, I also owned a real estate brokerage, and I was doing very well. I was making a six-figure income and things. And what happened is, I back when a Keith Weinhold 17:41 six-figure income was a big deal. Jared Garfield 17:43 Yeah, back in the early 2000s, it was a little bit better money. But the funny thing was, I had four rental properties that all went vacant at the same exact time, and so now all of a sudden, I was paying like 4500 bucks a month in mortgages, not counting the house I lived in, but I had to cover four mortgages on four of my rental properties all at the same time, and I hadn't saved the cash flow, so I didn't have a huge emergency fund. All my liquid capital went into down payments and into renovation money to rehab the properties. Okay, and so it put me in a real bind, and I was out driving a Volvo S80 around throwing two paper routes in the mornings, and then going to my real estate brokerage after my paper routes to cover those rental properties. And so this was basically meant as a way to say, okay, this is a way that I have the liquidity. I'm getting a higher return, but now my tenants are not only buying me the houses, but they're also giving me a couple million dollars in life insurance, and they're wrapping my investment component or the cash value of that, the cash value part of the policy. They're wrapping that in a way that it grows tax-free, so it just accomplishes a lot of things. But the other thing that's a beautiful thing about it is there's a lot of things that we call living benefits. Keith Weinhold 19:02 All right, so you have the living benefits and the tax advantages, and I know how you have pointed out that this can save an investor 10s of 1000s of dollars in taxes per year and hundreds of 1000s or more over time. Can you tell us more about that? Jared Garfield 19:20 Yeah, because what happens is the money that goes in is growing tax-free, so you don't get taxed on any of the growth. But what we really like about it is, let's say that you're cash-flowing $2,000 a month off your rental properties, and you're putting 2000 a month into this policy. Usually, after the first year, if you're max funding, 80 to 90% of that's liquid. So if you've got 24,000 sitting in there, you've got access to 89 to 90% of the money. So it's pretty liquid. But what happens is over a 20 or 30 year period, that money could turn into three or 400,000 a year that you can pull out in the form of policy loans. And by doing that, it's not taxed. And you can pull that out throughout your retirement tax-free. So if you were paying 25% in taxes and you're pulling out 200 grand a year, that's $50,000 a year in retirement that you're saving in taxes. But that could be over a 20 or 30-year period. So over 20 years, that 50,000 could end up being a lot of money. I mean, 500,000 over 10 years, a million over 20, and so that means you don't have to accumulate as much. But a lot of our investors love it because they'll save it up with discipline, and then that way it's there if the furnace blows. So it makes your real estate safer, but it also becomes your down payment funds to expand your portfolio. Keith Weinhold 20:40 Okay, the seven-figure solution is the vehicle that we're talking about here, and what part of the IRS code, just briefly, is it that gives this tax advantage? Jared Garfield 20:51 It's Internal Revenue Code Section 79 that allows it to grow tax-free. In the 1980 s, doctors and a lot of very wealthy people were using this to the point that IRS changed the laws. They went and sued the insurance companies because doctors would go in and dump $2 million in, and they would buy a $2 million life insurance policy. So they were self-insured, which meant that they didn't have any cost of mortality on it. So they basically got all the benefits of the tax-free growth and the tax-free pullout. And the IRS said, "Wait a minute! We think you're doing tax evasion. So what they did is they came around and they said, "We're not going to let you use this loophole anymore for the very wealthiest people to have this. So they came to a compromise, and the compromise was that if you wanted to put in 2 million, you had to maintain a corridor where there had to be a little bit higher amount of life insurance. So you might have to buy a $2.3 million policy, but then you could still dump, say, $2 million in and have all the tax advantages. It's a strategy that's been used for over 100 years by families like the Rockefellers and the Hunts and J.P. Morgan. The very wealthiest families have always used these strategies to grow and protect their wealth. Keith Weinhold 21:59 Okay, so it's a part of the tax code that allows cash value to accumulate within and be withdrawn from a life insurance policy tax-free. Jared Garfield 22:11 Correct, and it gives you living benefits, which I alluded to a minute ago. And the living benefits are if if you end up having to go through things like long-term care, disability, if you can't perform, you know certain functions for a certain period of time, chronic illness, critical illness, terminal illness. If any of those things happen to you, you can borrow against the policy and have access to money during those things that would normally decimate your wealth, because you can actually access the death benefit in advance. Keith Weinhold 22:42 Now I know a little about the six risks. Tell us about that. Jared Garfield 22:47 Well, Keith, there are six risks that all investors face regularly. The first one is inflation erosion, and that means that your purchasing power often ends up leaking out of your balance. And the balance might look fine, but inflation can eat away at it. So even if you've raised a lot of money, if inflation means that you can buy half as much five or 10 years from now, then you know your wealth isn't as big as you thought. The second is the volatility setback, and that's sequence of return risk. That means that if you retire on a bad year where things really bad, stock market drops, you could end up using your money at a time where it really weakens your wealth because it may have dropped by 50% So if you had a million, now you have a half a million, and you're spending 100,000 a year. At the end of year one, you might only have 400,000 left. So sequence of of return risks from volatility setback, tax drain. That's just the compounding cost of an uncoordinated tax picture can really be a problem, and then the next one is liquidity. If you don't have liquidity and you've locked up all your money and you can't access it until you're 59 and a half without significant taxation and 10% penalties, the liquidity lock is a problem. There's the longevity paradox. What happens if you outlive your money, you know. So living longer is a benefit, but it exposes you to where you might not have enough money to live on in your latter years. The last two are care avalanche, and that is if an unexpected health event happens at the wrong time, it could really destroy your wealth because medical costs have spiraled out of control, and then the last one is the line to land, and that's only one of the six that's really about growth. Keith Weinhold 24:28 Right, only one of the six of those was about growth. I can't stand the longevity paradox. Yeah, we think we all want to live a long time, but then it's more difficult to fund living a long time, and if you outlive everybody, nobody shows up at your funeral either. The longevity paradox-one of the six risks that the seven-figure solution can really help you with. Now, tell us more about funding it, so you can get a good cash value balance in. There, I know that one way you do it is actually with short-term rentals instead of a paycheck. Jared Garfield 25:06 We love short-term rentals, especially for our highest net worth clients, because the reason is is the bonus depreciation of the big beautiful bill. Oh, right! You could take up to like 150 or even $200,000 in year one, they take that depreciation that they used to spread out over a whole lot of years, and they make it to where if you get with your CPA and you analyze your short-term rental, you could potentially take all of the furnishings, all of the artwork, all of the dishes and things that are in the property. Sometimes they'll let you take components like the appliances, the air conditioning unit, the furnace, and they'll let you take it all in year one instead of having to line item it and spread it out over you know 27 and a half years. So what this means is, if you have a short term rental, then you you might get like 150 to 200,000 tax break in the first year on the right property, but it's better than that because instead of having to have like 750 hours to hit full-time real estate professional status, it cuts the hours that you have to have significantly down. I think it's more like 150 hours or something like that, or 300. It's like half the hours, and so you can hit the benefits of taking unlimited passive loss much easier if you have a couple of short-term rentals. Keith Weinhold 26:24 You're listening to Get Rich Education. We're talking with Jared Garfield about the seven-figure solution, something that takes some time to understand, but it can give you a tax-advantaged pool of capital that grows over time, and it also creates this overall tailwind, not just during your investor life, but then it provides tax advantaged retirement income at the same time. More on this when we come back. You're listening to Get Rich Education. I'm your host Keith Weinhold. What if you got your mortgage loans the same place I get mine? You sure can at Ridge Lending Group and MLS 42056. They provided GRE listeners with more loans than anyone because Ridge specializes in investment property. They'll help you build a long-term plan for growing your real estate empire with leverage. Start your prequal and even chat directly with President Caeli Ridge while it's on your mind. Start at ridgelendinggroup.com, that's ridgelendinggroup.com. Keith Weinhold 27:25 Let me ask you something: If you've worked hard to build wealth, is your money positioned to actually support your goals? A lot of accredited investors leave capital sitting in cash because it feels safe, but inflation and missed income opportunities can quietly erode its value. Freedom Family Investments offers freedom notes for investors seeking structured income backed by real estate. It's a straightforward approach built on real assets, not speculation. And full disclosure, I'm an investor myself. What I like is that their team walks you through how it all works, so you can decide if it aligns with your portfolio and income goals. Every investment carries risk, and nothing is guaranteed. But with a track record of consistent, on-time investor payouts, they built real credibility. Go to freedomfamilyinvestments.com to book a clarity call, or text family to 66866. That's family 266866. This is the Speaker 2 28:28 Real Wealth Network's Kathy Betke, and you are listening to the Always Valuable Get Rich Education with Keith Weinhold. Keith Weinhold 28:46 Welcome back to Get Rich Education. I'm your host Keith Weinhold. We're talking about the seven-figure solution with Jared Garfield. Something that can be a particular benefit to real estate investors both during your investing career and then once you're in retirement as well, and this can take the form of either an indexed universal life policy or a whole life policy. There are a lot of wrong ways to do this and wrong things to get into. We're talking about the right way. Part of that is funding it as best you can. Can you tell us more about that? Jared Garfield 29:20 Well, there's a lot of different ways to fund it. A lot of our clients will come in. We have some people who will use rollovers if they're nearing the end of retirement. Some people will roll over a 401k into a cash value life insurance policy because they can do it over a five or seven year period, and they pay the taxes when they roll it over, so their taxes go up a little bit for five or seven years of retirement, but then what happens is that means that during their retirement they're not taxed on the income all the way through retirement, so that can save really significantly. But a lot of our clients will do a flip and dump 40 or 50,000 a year in by just saying I'm going to do one flip a year and use that to. Fund the whole thing, or they'll take the cash flow and dump the cash flow into here instead of the bank, just so that they get the living benefits and they get the much higher return with still 80 to 90% liquidity. So could be cash flow from rentals, could be money from a flip, or sometimes some of these short-term rentals can make 20 to $30,000 a year, and if you get $100,000 tax break, you have more money that's not going to Uncle Sam, and then because that's your discretionary income now, because of the tax break, you could use that money to for down payments to grow your portfolio or to do a flip. Keith Weinhold 30:35 Now, Jared, I sort of think of the cash value that you're accumulating in this policy as safe money that grows at a slow to moderate steady rate, but if it rarely or ever loses value, can you tell us more about that and the rate of return expected in the policy? Jared Garfield 30:52 Yeah, absolutely. With the IULs, it's going to depend a little bit upon the carriers and stuff like that, and whether you go with a mutual company and stuff like that. It can vary, but a lot of times people are going with things that are what we call indexed. So you can actually index it to the S and p5 100 if you think that we're going to have a bull market and the market's going to really go up strongly. You can index it to the market, and sometimes they'll have a participation rate where they'll say, "Okay, you can participate up to 12% So if the stock market does 17% the most you can make is 12% So you're giving up a little bit of upside, but that's still not nothing. I mean, that's not three or 4% You can still make you know 10 or 12% that year, but you're giving up the part above the participation rate. And the reason that you do that is if the market tanks and drops by 30 or 40% The worst you can do is 0% return. Zero is my hero because you didn't lose anything. So if you had a half a million sitting there, you don't go down to 250 and then wait eight years to get back to break even. Instead, you're still at half a million. And if the market goes up next year by 20% and you had a 10% cap. Then your half a million, you know, is now at 550,000. When everybody else, if it went up by 10% they're at half the amount that they had. Keith Weinhold 32:13 You have a story or example of how you've helped somebody with this, because I know a lot of investors that are passionate about utilizing the cash value inside an insurance policy tell us. Jared Garfield 32:28 Well, I've got one friend who's a developer, and he did like a $5 million policy. And every time he flip a subdivision or flip a house, and let's back Keith Weinhold 32:36 up. Does a $5 million policy mean that's the death benefit? Jared Garfield 32:40 Yeah, that's the death benefit. Thanks for catching that. That's the death benefit, but that also has a correlation to how much money you can dump into it. So if you have a $5 million policy, you can dump a lot more money in for the tax free growth. And the quicker you hit that death benefit amount, at that point you're self-insured, and so at that point you really don't have cost of insurance on administering the policy hardly at all, and so at that point, when you're what we call self-insured, the return on the investment becomes a lot better. But this particular developer was able to use this policy because he had so much cash value in, and if he sold a house, he'd take 40,000. If he sold 10 a year, he might take you know 400,000 and dump it into this policy, and so it made him bankable. And he was able to use the money to go out and do new subdivision developments because the bank would actually use the policy as the collateral to be able to give him loans at much lower interest rates. Keith Weinhold 33:38 That's valuable. Tell us about that. I don't want to use the wrong words here, but then effectively with this example, are you borrowing against the funds in the policy? So therefore, you can get those dollars working for you somewhere else, all while simultaneously the cash value continues to compound and grow. Sort of another form of leverage. Jared Garfield 34:01 Correct. What they basically do is they basically freeze part of the amount and say, okay, we're using this as the collateral and stuff like that to be able to do the loan. But if it grows and and makes 7% you're still making the money off of the money that's sitting in there. It's just collateralized as part of the loan. And some people will even use it to like go buy a car, like instead of buying a car and going getting a bank loan and paying 7% to the bank, they might borrow money out, go pay cash for the car from the life insurance policy loan, and pay 2% instead of 7% But they're paying it to themselves, and as long as they're paying the interest to themselves, if the money that they borrow out could potentially still earn the same money and earn 7% even though you had borrowed out. So it's doing two things for you at the same time, as long as you're paying that loan interest. But and that depends on the option that you take when you do your loan. Keith Weinhold 34:54 We love leverage around here. Leverage trumps compound interest. In so many ways. Oh, I'm really glad that you told us some more about that using the funds in more than one way at the same time. Tell us more about what it costs for the investor, the costs of setting this up, and then what some of those trade-offs are, Jared. Jared Garfield 35:18 Well, that really depends on the individual. I mean, everybody has to sit down and be able to decide what is acceptable for them. You know, a lot of times people will want to max fund the 401k that they're doing at least just to the amount that's matched. But then after that, this could be a great place instead of putting a whole bunch more money into a 401k. Some people will elect to say, "I'm going to put the matching portion into my 401k, but then I'm going to take my cash flow from my real estate and money that I could have contributed to other alternatives and put it into this because I want the liquidity. I want to be able to leverage this money and pull it out without any restrictions. That as long as I can pull out 80 to 90 percent, I could go buy a car wash, or I could invest in a business, or I could, you know, do whatever I wanted to. I could loan it to my kids for their college and make them pay me loans back to my policy. There gives you a lot of flexibility to do it. But the thing that we love about it is we'll do what's called an illustration, and it may end up if you start at the right time, it could be a six-figure passive income stream at retirement, and then if you have the real estate, because this helped you grow your portfolio, where without doing the strategy, you might have ended up with say 10 properties. We might be able to get you to 20 or 30 properties working together as a team with your real estate coaches and stuff like that. Then we can potentially grow your real estate portfolio, and what we want to do is 1031 exchange every seven to eight years. I don't believe in holding properties for 30 years. Jared Garfield 36:47 I believe in exchanging them every seven to eight years because when the tax benefits have been used up, if you exchange to twice the size portfolio, you have better appreciation on a portfolio worth twice as much. But that new value, you still get the depreciation advantages, where the old value that was half, you know, the depreciation is used up. So you're you're getting new depreciation on the higher value assets, and then our goal would be that by the time you don't want to be involved in managing the property managers, that at some point you're going to have a 200 unit apartment complex with on-site management, and at that point you don't have any financial worries really because you're 1031 exchanging into those apartment complexes, but you have so much equity that you're still maintaining depreciation during your retirement years. When most people who have lesser plans don't have the tax advantages, Keith Weinhold 37:41 I love that you said so much of that, and to you, the listener, Jared is licensed to do this, and our own in-house investment coach. You mentioned coaching. Naresh has the proper licensing as well to holistically help integrate this into your investor life. And for example, yes, we are rarely of the mindset that you would hold a property for all 30 years because after seven to 10 years, your leverage ratio gets worn down, and then additionally, if you're buying turnkey properties, oftentimes that's when capex expenditures start to enter into the picture. So yes, oftentimes we do these seven to 10 year holds. Jared Garfield 38:23 I love that. Yeah, that's a really really good strategy, and and it always makes it to where you can grow so much bigger portfolio by not being taxed through that exchange. And you know, believe it or not, there's actually even ways when you have extra cash boot, they do allow if you notify them in advance. Sometimes you can take some of the cash boot on the exchange and roll it into some of the products that we utilize. Keith Weinhold 38:47 For more specifics, I know you said it's based on one's individual situation, but how much does it cost to set up a policy? And then, are there any ongoing maintenance fees? Can you give us more specifics there? Jared Garfield 38:59 So, there's small fees to administer the policy because you have people who are trading and doing different things and working within the policy for the funds. But usually, you can set policies up as low as 100 or even $200 a month. We don't usually recommend that because you want to max fund it. Usually, when you're doing these strategies, if you're just doing $100 or $200 a month, you're basically buying life insurance, but you're missing a lot of the benefits because what you want to do is to be able to max fund it. So what we like people to do is get as minimum life insurance. That's not in our advantage because we get paid based on the premium of the amount of life insurance you get. But you get the smallest amount of life insurance for the amount that you can max fund. I would much rather have somebody get a $500 a month policy that, let's say, they could put you know a thousanmd a month in or something like that, than to have somebody get $1,000 a month policy where they're paying a thousand a month but they can't max fund it because by max funding it you're maximizing the growth component of the cash. Value, and so it depends on how much you want. But you can go anywhere from $100 or $200 a month to we have clients that will dump $20,000 a month in because they really want to shield as much money as they can from tax growth. Keith Weinhold 40:15 Tell us more about who the seven-figure solution is for and who it's not for. Jared Garfield 40:20 Well, if you're living month to month and you don't have discretionary income, it's probably not a good solution. In that situation, you probably want to get term insurance and just make sure that you cover catastrophic things. But if you've got discretionary income and you've got an extra four to $500 a month that you could use to max fund, we figure most people need life insurance anyway, and the way that we teach it, when you mix it with real estate, rather than pulling it from your monthly budget, doesn't it make a lot more sense to let your tenants buy the houses for you, but also pay for a half a million or a million dollar life insurance policy for you, where the tenants are covering the savings for anything that happens at the property with capex or vacancy or damage, and at the same time covering life insurance and potentially a six-figure passive income that's tax advantaged at retirement. So I pull the money out from other assets and let the assets cover this asset. Keith Weinhold 41:18 Oh well, Jared, this has been great. Before I ask you if you have any last things to tell the audience about the seven-figure solution, I invite you, the audience, to join us. It's going to be Jared and our own in-house investment coach, Nareesh, bringing you a live online event that you can join from the comfort of your own home next Thursday, the 27th at 8 PM Eastern. You can register now; it's free at grewebinars.com because there are a lot of moving parts, and it does take some time to wrap your head around this, benefiting from the cash value of an insurance policy. And this way you can have a Q and A, and you can get answers in real time at this event. It's called the Seven Figure Solution: Build wealth, reduce risk, and create tax advantage retirement income through real estate. Again, it is next Thursday, the 27th at 8p.m. Eastern, you probably have generated some questions inside your head while you're listening to this, and you can sure have them answered there as you're going to learn a whole lot more about it next Thursday. This could help a lot of people. Jared, do you have any last thoughts? Jared Garfield 42:38 I think the only thing is that we like to work with the team. We like to work with your CPA. We like to work with your real estate investment coach. I used to be a coach and trainer for Robert Kiyosaki, who wrote Rich Dad Poor Dad, and he always talked about power teams. And so we want to be able to be a part of your power team and work with your other advisors to help you implement something. We're not here to give you tax advice. We want you to be able to work with your investment advisors and your CPAs, and just be a part of the team. But I would point out that over my career, I've owned hundreds and hundreds of single-family cash flow rentals, duplexes, fourplexes, apartment complexes. I've done some land development, and I implement these strategies myself. I had 17 Airbnbs, and so these are the strategies that I implemented as a full-time real estate professional. I felt like that this strategy of having a seven-figure solution could help you to avoid some of the pitfalls that I experienced in my 20s. Keith Weinhold 43:32 So much all comes together for one pretty comprehensive solution. It's the intersection of growing your portfolio, getting tax advantages and having the death benefits of insurance and more all coming together next Thursday, so that you can learn more. Jared, it's been great having you back on the show. Jared Garfield 43:52 Thanks, Keith. Always glad to join you. Keith Weinhold 44:00 Integrate the seven-figure solution the GRE way, where we have this conscientiousness about leverage and cash flow. In this case, it's how to prudently leverage a life insurance policy. When it's time to tap your cash value, you take what is a policy loan, not a withdrawal, because you're borrowing against your cash value, hence using the funds in more than one place, and the IRS does not tax loan proceeds. This reminds me of a billionaire and how they borrow against the value of their stock. That way, they don't have to sell their assets. This is similar to what you can do with this. Another thing is that you know real estate investors are not used to a volatile ride because our asset values stay stable. You heard Jared mention the acronym IUL there. That's an indexed universal life policy. It's a real benefit. That says you tie yours to the S and P five hundred. Well, that index was down 18% in 2022, and that your cash value can have an upside ceiling and loss protection on the downside-an option that you'll care more about as you get toward retirement. In 2008, the S&P was down 37% so the math is cruel on value losses. In fact, it's even worse than it sounds because if you're down 30%, then you need a 43% gain just to get back to even. That is just math. Keith Weinhold 45:39 There are some mistakes to avoid here, and you don't just want to set up your seven-figure solution off of a website. And it is based on products that you might have heard of from companies like Nationwide and Mass Mutual. I strongly encourage you learn more, see how it all goes together, learn how the seven-figure solution compares to other vehicles like a Roth IRA, 401k, 721 exchange, and 1031 exchange. This is very much about seeing your future. You've been listening to me here every week for almost 12 years, earning money from your day job, building your real estate portfolio, either from our investment coaching or on your own. This is how it all goes together. Next week with Jared and GRE investment coach Naresh. By attending live, you can have your questions answered in real time. One last time, you can sign up for the event for next Thursday, the 27th at 8 PM. Eastern, 5 PM. Pacific. Learn about something that's potentially really valuable to you: the seven-figure solution at grewebinars.com. Until next week, I'm your host Keith Weinhold. Don't quit your daydream. Speaker 2 46:59 Nothing on this show should be considered specific, personal, or professional advice. Please consult an appropriate tax, legal, real estate, financial, or business professional for individualized advice. Opinions of guests are their own. Information is not guaranteed. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. The host is operating on behalf of Get Rich Education LLC exclusively. Keith Weinhold 47:26 The preceding program was brought to you by your home for wealth building, getricheducation.com
Bill Nelson is chief research officer and chief economist at the Bank Policy Institute and a former deputy director of the Division of Monetary Affairs at the Federal Reserve Board. In Bill's 11th appearance on the show, he discusses how central banks are rethinking their operating systems, the case for a smaller Fed balance sheet and more routine discount window borrowing, the revival of interbank markets, lessons from Silicon Valley Bank, and much more. Watch the full length video on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links. Recorded on July 20th, 2026 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:29 - Bill's Work with Central Banks Abroad 00:11:03 - Reducing the Fed's Balance Sheet 00:30:28 - Fed's Use of a Demand-Driven System 00:40:40 - Voluntary Reserve Target 00:54:31 - Outro
Cory's argument about narratives. Journalists and bankers keep asking what the catalyst will be, but narrative follows price rather than causing it. Something moves because sellers are exhausted, and the reason gets fitted afterward. The only narrative that matters is Bitcoin being better money for eight billion people. Larry Lepard on what actually moved. The debasement trade began in earnest last year, and it showed up first in gold and silver rather than Bitcoin because those are more widely understood. Silver quadrupling is the kind of thing that has essentially never happened before. Japan is the seminal event. With Japan holding roughly $1.2 trillion in Treasuries, the US offered swap lines and rotated euro reserves into yen. What shook the gold market was the Treasury Secretary suggesting the existing facility should be larger. As Larry put it, a swap line is printing money, full stop. A guest correcting his own AI. Larry noted the press had the facility's usage wrong and that AI had misled him too, so he went and read the Fed's own statements to establish it had not actually been drawn on. Worth noting as a method, not just a detail. The 1992 parallel, corrected live. It was Warsh, not Bessent, who worked for Soros attacking the Bank of England. Thirty-four years later he is on the other side of that trade, in the Bank of England's role. Larry's thesis for the year is the unmasking of Warsh as a hawk, because the math will not let him be one. The Fed has exactly two tools. It can mislead about inflation, and it can print. Larry's read is that we are currently in the first phase and last week signalled a move toward the second. He also explained yield curve control as what governments do when the bond market stops cooperating, with the post-war precedent as the template. His own record is the caveat he volunteers. He expected massive inflation out of 2008 and a cascade from Silicon Valley Bank, and was wrong both times. The people running the system are good at kicking the can, so the honest position is direction with no date. The two-tier system he expects. The dollar remains the unit everyone transacts in, gold displaces Treasuries as the reserve asset, and Bitcoin sits alongside before eventually supplanting gold over years, not days. It is already visible in oil sold for yuan and immediately swapped into physical gold. Greg Foss on where trouble announces itself. Every recent crisis began in credit rather than equities, and private credit is where he is watching now. His trader's version: equity investors ask how much they can make, credit investors ask how much they can lose. Credit is the first smoke in the theatre. And his structural objection about treasury companies. He takes issue with perpetual preferred shares being described as credit, because a perpetual has no maturity and no principal repayment, so its running yield cannot be compared to a bond's yield to maturity. Retiring that stack at scale would mean selling Bitcoin, which was never the strategy.
Negenennegentig procent van al het stablecoinvolume en van de reserves daarachter is in dollars. Wie in Europa met stablecoins werkt, kan de Amerikaanse regels dus niet negeren. Sinds vorig jaar heeft de Verenigde Staten die regels: de GENIUS Act, de eerste federale wet voor stablecoins. Daarvoor was er niets wat voor heel Amerika gold. Gast Mauro Halve liet zich certificeren als GENIUS Act Specialist en legt de wet in deze aflevering naast onze eigen cryptowet MiCA. De opzet verschilt meteen. Europa maakte een breed kader voor de hele cryptomarkt; Amerika pakte alleen de stablecoin aan die bedoeld is om mee te betalen. En waar een Europese vergunning in heel Europa geldt, kent de GENIUS Act drie routes: een route voor bankdochters, een federale route voor de cryptobedrijven en een route via een Amerikaanse staat. Boven de tien miljard dollar aan uitgifte moet je verplicht over naar federaal toezicht. Het grootste verschil zit in de kluis. Onder MiCA moet minstens dertig procent van de dekking als bankdeposito worden aangehouden en de rest in kortlopende, risicovrije alternatieven. De GENIUS Act werkt met een gesloten lijst: contant geld, tegoeden bij de centrale bank, verzekerde deposito's, staatsobligaties met een looptijd onder 93 dagen, repo's en geldmarktfondsen. Die geldmarktfondsen mogen ook getokeniseerd zijn, en dat verklaart waarom BlackRock er zoveel van uitgeeft. Precies daarop wees Paolo Ardoino van Tether toen hij weigerde de Europese route te nemen. Hij wil zijn reserves niet bij een bank parkeren maar in staatsobligaties, en verwees daarbij naar het omvallen van Silicon Valley Bank. Tegenover die ruimte staat een strenge achterkant: wie als bestuurder zijn handtekening onder een verkeerde rapportage zet, kan in de Verenigde Staten vijf jaar de gevangenis in. Voor een Europese uitgever is de deur niet dicht, maar wel smal. De Amerikaanse minister van Financiën moet dan eerst vaststellen dat het toezicht in het thuisland vergelijkbaar is. Kim Schneider ziet in haar werk dat de grootste uitdaging voor Europese partijen ergens anders ligt: je kunt een stablecoin uitgeven, maar dan moet er ook een netwerk zijn dat hem gebruikt. Tot slot de andere grote cryptowet, CLARITY, die over de hele marktstructuur gaat. Die blijft in de Senaat hangen, terwijl de GENIUS Act er soepel doorheen ging. En Halve noemt een detail waar Europa iets van kan leren: heeft de Amerikaanse toezichthouder een vergunningsaanvraag na 120 dagen niet behandeld, dan is die automatisch goedgekeurd. Vertraging is daar het probleem van de toezichthouder. Co-host is Kim Schneider. Over de podcast Cryptocurrency are here to stay. In deze wekelijkse podcast gidst Daniël Mol je door het belangrijkste cryptonieuws, langs hypes en trends, voor- en tegenstanders en winst en verlies. In het A-deel bespreken we het laatste nieuws en in het B-deel gaan we in gesprek met een gast. Van cypherpunkpioneers tot grootbanken die aan de haal gaan met stablecoins, van Bitcoin tot Ethereum tot CBDC's. Alles passeert de revue.Reageren? Stuur dan een mail naar cryptocast@bnr.nl Gasten Mauro Halve is voorzitter van de branchevereniging voor cryptodienstverleners VBNL. Kim Schneider is web3 enterprise lead bij Deloitte. Host Daniël Mol is presentator en redacteur van de Cryptocast. Hij is sinds 2017 met Bitcoin bezig en kwam in 2021 bij het team van de Cryptocast. Redactie Daniël Mol See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Side hustles have gone mainstream. More employees than ever are starting businesses of their own—sometimes to earn extra income, sometimes as insurance against layoffs, and sometimes because they dream of becoming entrepreneurs themselves. But what does that mean for the businesses they already work for? If you invest months in training an employee, isn't it fair to expect that person to devote their best energy to helping your company grow? That's not an immediate concern for Lena McGuire, who's still a solopreneur. But as she prepares to hire and train her first employees, she worries about investing in people who ultimately may see her business as a stepping stone. Sarah Segal isn't as concerned, but she does want her employees to view their jobs as careers, not placeholders. And then there's Channon Kennedy. While working full time at Silicon Valley Bank, Channon invented a woodworking tool, got it manufactured, landed national distribution, and traveled the country to trade shows—all, she says, without letting her day job suffer. And that's what she expects from her employees with side hustles.Meanwhile, both Lena and Sarah are wrestling with another challenge: finding the right home for their growing businesses. Lena needs a showroom but doesn't want to sink money into leased space—and she can't find a building to buy. "I'm missing out on growth," she says. "I feel like I'm stalled." Sarah has opened a second office in Silicon Valley, but she's wondering whether it's time to leave her quirky “starter” office in San Francisco for something that better reflects where her business is headed. Buying would be ideal, but that's easier said than done in San Francisco these days.Plus: Sarah recently did something she hadn't done in almost a decade as a business owner—she turned on an out-of-office message and actually unplugged for a vacation. Spoiler alert: there was only one real crisis.
Episode 437 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Nick LaRovere, CEO & Co-Founder of Pryzm. It seems obvious that selling to the U.S. federal government is complex, especially if you aren't one of the traditional defense prime contractors… but it doesn't have to be that way. Pryzm is out to help companies level the playing field. As I was preparing for this podcast, I learned about things like “J-Books” – the massive justification documents that outline the federal spending budget. While this budget information is public, these documents are notoriously long, dense, and difficult to navigate. This seems like a logical use case for AI. But while many AI tools attempt to simply wrap public data to write proposals, Pryzm goes far deeper. Founded by a team of Colby alumni with backgrounds at Palantir and Lockheed Martin, Pryzm has built an AI-powered command center. The platform unifies market intelligence, relationship insights, and real-time program awareness into a single, actionable view, making it the operating system for federal capture and acquisition. The company recently closed a $12.2M seed funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) through its American Dynamism fund, with participation from XYZ Venture Capital, Amplify.LA, and Forum Ventures. Armed with IL5 and FedRAMP High authorizations, Pryzm is actively modernizing the federal procurement industry. In this episode, we cover: 00:00 Introducing Nick LaRovere, CEO & Co-Founder of Pryzm 04:23 Advice for Building a Startup in the DefenceTech sector 08:55 Nick's Background, Early Influences, & Attending Colby 15:36 Getting his career started 20:06 Early Experiences, including Tesla and Palantir 26:48 Founding Prysm and Its Mission 33:42 Details on the Prysm Platform 36:50 Growth and Scaling of Prysm 40:47 Raising funding from Andreessen Horowitz 45:23 The Importance of Storytelling in Entrepreneurship 46:54 Future Growth and Hiring Plans 47:50 3 Essential Apps 50:25 Book / Podcast Recommendations for Entrepreneurs 52:28 Nick's Hobbies Outside of Work Podcast Sponsor: This podcast is brought to you by one of the strongest longtime supporters of the local startup ecosystem, Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank. With more than 1,500 bankers and relationship advisors and $44B in loans as of Q4 2025 – SVB delivers expert guidance, specialized products and a team that knows the innovation economy inside and out. Learn more at SVB.com.
Today, we are talking interest rates. The rate of interest, or the price of money, has a profound impact on the energy and commodities sector, influencing the cost of carry, the price of assets and investment decisions. The story we're about to tell is what happens to economies and societies and the energy and commodities sector when interest rates are unnaturally low, as after the global financial crisis. In this episode, recorded just prior to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse in 2023, financial historian Edward Chancellor, joined us to discuss his book “The Price of Time”. He's noted for his prescient warnings on major economic bubbles, has many awards and accolades, and described by Fortune magazine as one of the greatest financial historians alive. For related content and to find out more about HC Group, a search firm dedicated to the energy & commodities sector, visit https://www.hcgroup.global
Episode summary: Five Pacific Northwest climate tech investors — recorded live at Pacific Northwest Climate Week 2026 — break down where climate tech venture capital is actually flowing this year, why Seattle still trails Silicon Valley on VC dollars, and what they're really evaluating when a founder walks into the room. The conversation applies directly to anyone raising capital, building a company, or job searching in a market where AI has made it easy to look good on paper and harder to stand out. Guest bios: Gabriel Scheer is Senior Director, Investments and Innovation, at Elemental Impact. Gabriel leads the transportation, energy, built environment and water portfolios - supporting 76 companies across those verticals. In addition to pipeline development and due diligence, he has directly overseen over 40 new and follow-on investments, deploying more than $30M in catalytic capital. He serves as a board observer for Artyc PBC, Mythos AI, Dimensional Energy, and Found Energy and has helped to co-design and manage more than 30 first-of-a-kind and early commercial projects in communities in Africa, Europe, and North America. Previously, Gabriel was on the founding team of Lime, where he led global data policy and transit partnerships and developed go-to-market strategies in North America. As the founder of two companies, he also contributed to the book "Smart Cities, Smart Mobility." Ben Shwab Eidelson is a co-founder and partner at Stepchange Ventures, an early-stage venture fund backing companies building software to accelerate energy abundance and upgrade critical infrastructure. Ben also co-hosts the Stepchange Show, a long-form podcast that tells the stories of human progress through the lens of transformative technologies, systems, and infrastructure. The Stepchange Show recently covered the history of data centers and the power grid, and has had over 250,000 downloads. Prior to Stepchange, Ben was a product leader and repeat founder, building two software companies—one acquired by Google and the second by Stripe. When not nerding out on infrastructure, Ben can be found with his wife chasing their 3 kids around local Seattle playgrounds. Susan Su is a climate tech investor and capital formation advisor to companies and funds across the energy transition. She built Toba Capital's climate investment practice from the ground up, spanning direct deals, fund-of-funds commitments, and co-investments, and currently serves as an advisor to the fund. She is a founding board member of the Carbon Business Council and serves on the Mission Alignment Committee at Prime Coalition, where she reviews catalytic capital investments for mission integrity. Susan is also the founder of Climate Money, a newsletter and podcast covering the business of decarbonization. Jonathan Azoff spent 20 years in silicon valley building rapid growth startups, including multiple exits to the likes of Zillow and Disney. He served as a fractional CTO to public companies (TNY.AX), and formerly led engineering teams at growth stage fintechs like Carta, Cardless and Pomelo. In his second act, he transitioned to the investor side of the table, joining the board of climate tech incubator Sweet Farm, and starting the deep tech venture firm SNØCAP with his two founding partners. He is one of the main individual investors behind The 9Zero Climate Innovation Hub, and is responsible for bringing the club to Seattle, where he lives now. He's an uncompromising advocate of great storytelling, having fun while doing good, and not taking himself seriously. Dr. Christine E. Boyle is General Partner at Burnt Island Ventures, a water-specialist venture capital fund, where she works with innovators to bring the next generation of water technologies to market. She was the CEO and founder of Valor Water, which sold to Xylem in 2018. At Xylem she served as VP of Digital Product Development following the acquisition. She serves on the boards of Aclarity Water, Subeca, Previsico, EPOCH Blue, and Waterly. Dr. Boyle is also a member of the Cal-Nevada American Water Works Association Board and a trustee of the American Water Works Association Management and Leadership Division. In Dr. Boyle's free time she plays league tennis, boats, and travels to post-socialist nations. What you'll learn: How the 2026 climate tech VC numbers break down nationally — and why concentration in a handful of mega-deals is squeezing the middle of the funding stack Why Seattle ranks #6 nationally in VC dollars despite sitting on some of the country's deepest personal wealth What investors are actually screening for beyond the pitch deck, from response time to how a founder treats their own team How the hyperscaler-driven data center and energy boom is reshaping where capital flows, and what history (the 1970s WPPSS nuclear default) suggests about the risk Why human referral has become the deciding factor in both fundraising and hiring now that AI has made outreach nearly free What's missing from the Pacific Northwest climate tech ecosystem, according to the people funding it Key moments: The panel debates whether nuclear, batteries, and data centers are "sucking up" regional capital or building a foundation the rest of the ecosystem can draw from Susan Su asks the other panelists to describe how their investment committees actually make decisions, not what they tell founders in a rejection email Christine Boyle and Ben Eidelson describe the informal signals — professionalism, stress response, pace of learning — that shape a funding decision The group discusses AI-generated pitch decks and why differentiation now matters more than polish Resources mentioned: CTVC/Currence H1 2026 funding report Silicon Valley Bank, 2025 climate tech report PNW Battery Collaborative E8 Angels 9Zero (Seattle climate tech community hub) and its "Give, Get, Get" investor-list program Elemental Impact's Data Center Innovation Initiative (with Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft) Climate Surge, an initiative from Climate Solutions "Climate Money" podcast (Susan Su) The Stepchange Show podcast (Ben Eidelson)
Episode 435 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Kojo Osei, Partner at Matrix. The venture capital industry originated back in 1946 in the Boston area, when The American Research and Development Corporation was founded by MIT president Karl Compton and Harvard professor Georges Doriot. From that point, an industry was born, and firms were created, but very few have had the lasting impact and track record as Matrix, one of the OG firms that helped institutionalize this industry. The firm has a tremendous track record through the years making investments in legendary companies like Apple and FedEx… plus category creators like HubSpot, Zendesk, and Oculus… or current investments like Canva, Suno, GOAT, and Flock Safety. Matrix is investing out of its 12th fund, an $800M fund for seed and Series A investments, and the firm continues to have a strong presence on both coasts. Kojo is a Stanford grad, who was the Head of Product at Sirona Medical, the AI operating system for radiologists, before becoming a VC. Now based in NYC, Kojo has been an investor with Matrix for over five years. Some areas of interest these days for investments include agent-driven commerce, how the software infrastructure is getting rebuilt for agents, and model application integrated companies. His investments include companies like Channel3, BoldVoice, Ampersand, and LM Studios. Chapters: 00:00 Introducing Kojo Osei, Partner at Matrix 03:24 What is Agent Driven Commerce 09:45 Koji's background & Early Career 13:20 Joining Matrix as a VC 14:37 Advice for Aspiring Venture Capitalists 17:05 The First Year in Venture Capital 20:26 Details about Matrix's 25:01 Investment Areas of Interest for Kojo 27:48 The Art of the Cold Email to a VC 34:17 Exploring the 'Why Now' Philosophy 37:59 AI: Current State and Predictions 42:06 Common Mistakes Founders Make 44:23 GTM for Developer Products 48:11 Leveraging AI in Daily Workflow 49:23 Kojo's Recommendation & Personal Interests Podcast Sponsor: This podcast is brought to you by one of the strongest longtime supporters of the local startup ecosystem, Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank. With more than 1,500 bankers and relationship advisors and $44B in loans as of Q4 2025 – SVB delivers expert guidance, specialized products and a team that knows the innovation economy inside and out. Learn more at SVB.com.
www.marktreichel.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-treichel/For the first time in 30 years, the CAMELS rating system is being rewritten. In this episode, Mark Treichel is joined by Todd Miller and Steve Farrar — all former NCUA — to break down the proposal moving through the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) and what it means for credit unions.The headline change: Management (the “M”) loses the special status that let it override the other five components. The agency's own data showed Management was the most influential factor in composite ratings; under the proposal, it's weighed alongside Capital, Asset quality, Earnings, Liquidity, and Sensitivity — not above them.Mark, Todd, and Steve dig into the new “material financial risk” threshold that must now be met to downgrade Management to a 3 or worse; the removal of judgment-heavy language like “resiliency” and “size and complexity”; the push toward fewer, sharper Documents of Resolution; and the compliance carve-outs that keep the system from being toothless. They also weigh the trade-off at the heart of the proposal — more objective, consistent ratings versus the loss of a forward-looking early warning system — with Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank as cautionary examples.The practical bottom line: most credit unions won't see their composite change, but those sitting right at a rating boundary should pay close attention. Comments are open, and the notice doubles as a useful primer for boards and senior staff.
What separates companies that recover from a crisis from those that collapse overnight?In this episode of Corporate Finance Explained, we explore the role of crisis management, corporate trust, and crisis communication in protecting shareholder value and long-term business success. Through real-world case studies, we examine why communication during a crisis is far more than public relations. It is a strategic financial asset that can determine whether a company survives or fails.Using examples including Silicon Valley Bank, Credit Suisse, Johnson & Johnson's Tylenol crisis, and Starbucks' 2008 turnaround, we break down how trust influences investor confidence, customer loyalty, liquidity, and corporate resilience.
What happens when two people who spend their careers thinking about human behaviour meet in a London pub and start complaining about conferences? Apparently, they decide to organise one.Episode SummaryIn this episode I'm joined by David Grosse, founder of behavioural risk advisory firm Behavor, to talk about The Unconvention, an event we're creating together that aims to rethink how conversations about risk, culture and human behaviour actually happen. But this isn't just an episode about an event.David and I explore why organisations continue to treat behavioural risk as a niche topic, despite human decision-making sitting at the heart of almost every organisational failure. We discuss why so many conferences on culture and conduct feel formulaic, why measuring culture through board packs can miss the point entirely, and why stories often reveal far more than statistics ever can.Along the way we touch on Silicon Valley Bank, Plato's Cave, behavioural science, organisational culture, productive discomfort, and why the best events might leave you with fewer certainties than when you arrived.If you're curious about The Unconvention, or simply interested in why we think there has to be a better way to have these conversations, I hope you'll enjoy listening.LinksDavid on LinkedIn David's company Behavor The Unconvention Website and ticketing site.AI-Generated Timestamped summary00:00 – Christian introduces the episode and explains how a conversation in a London pub led to the creation of The Unconvention.02:20 – David shares his journey from chartered accountant and banker to behavioural risk specialist, and explains why human behaviour became the focus of his work.05:30 – Why behavioural risk still isn't taken as seriously as other forms of risk, despite sitting behind so many organisational failures.11:30 – Christian and David discuss what's wrong with many industry conferences, from scripted panels to sponsor-led agendas, and why they rarely change anyone's thinking.18:00 – The conversation turns to culture, governance and why dashboards and board packs can never fully capture human behaviour.24:30 – Stories, rather than statistics alone, often provide the richest insights into how organisations really work.29:00 – The origins of The Unconvention and the principles behind creating an event that deliberately breaks with conference convention35:30 – Why attendees are being invited to help shape the event, and how behavioural thinking has influenced everything from the format to the ticketing model.42:00 – Christian and David discuss what they hope participants will take away: curiosity, productive discomfort and conversations that continue long after the event ends.48:45 – Final details on The Unconvention, where to find David, and the unexpectedly simple story behind the name "Behavor".
This week, I'm tackling a question that's on the minds of many investors: How safe is your money with major brokerage firms like Fidelity and Charles Schwab? In light of recent high-profile bank collapses and widespread concerns about financial security, I discuss how banks and brokerage firms operate differently, what protections exist for your investments, and what would happen if a major brokerage firm were to collapse. Whether you're considering how best to safeguard your assets or wondering about the real risks of brokerage failures, this episode will provide the clarity and peace of mind you need for your retirement planning. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... 00:00 Bank failures and investor concerns 05:58 Protecting your money in banks 09:18 Discussing investment safeguards 12:08 Brokerage account safety reassurance 13:08 Should you consolidate your broker accounts? Why Investors Worry It's natural for investors to worry about the safety of their money, especially after the events of 2023, when several banks—Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, First Republic Bank, and Citizens Bank—collapsed, shaking public confidence in U.S. financial institutions. Even rumors and social media speculation about potential trouble at a major brokerage like Schwab can fuel anxiety among clients and investors. How Banks Actually Work: Your Money Becomes the Bank's Money When you deposit money in a bank, you're essentially lending money to that institution. The bank can then use those deposits to fund loans, mortgages, and other investments. This works well—until poor investments or insufficient collateral put depositor money at risk, which is exactly what happened with Silicon Valley Bank following its risky bets on long-term treasuries. If a bank collapses, customers may lose deposits above the FDIC insurance limit, which is $250,000 per account owner. Brokerage Accounts: A Different—and Safer—Model Brokerage firms like Charles Schwab and Fidelity operate under a different structure that provides a stronger layer of legal protection for client assets. Here's the key distinction: The assets in your brokerage account—stocks, bonds, mutual funds—are not the brokerage firm's property. They are held in custody, separate from company assets, and protected by a legal firewall. If Schwab or Fidelity collapsed, only the company's assets—like buildings and offices—would be at risk, not the assets in client brokerage accounts. Those client assets are held in separate custodial accounts and cannot be used to pay the firm's creditors. It's a little like using a storage facility: you lock up your investments, and nobody (including the brokerage firm) can access those contents for its own purposes. What Happens During a Brokerage Collapse? If a major brokerage like Schwab were to fail, the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) would step in. SIPC protection covers up to $500,000 per customer, including up to $250,000 in cash. However, most brokerages, including Schwab and Fidelity, carry additional insurance beyond SIPC requirements. The SIPC acts much like a disaster relief agency: it verifies customer assets, ensures funds have not been misappropriated, and arranges to transfer accounts to another brokerage within days. The customer receives uninterrupted access to all their investments and holdings at the new firm. Your Money Is Safer Than You Think The legal and operational structure of brokerage firms offers significant protection. Even in the unlikely event of a collapse, your investments would transfer intact to another brokerage. The only real risk would be investment market performance—not insolvency of the brokerage firm. It's even unnecessary to split your assets between brokerages purely out of safety concerns—it might simply make your finances harder to manage. Investor protections for brokerage accounts are robust. With legal safeguards, insurance protection, and established practices for handling firm failures, you can rest assured that your assets at firms like Schwab and Fidelity are secure—even in a worst-case scenario. Resources Mentioned Retirement Readiness Review Subscribe to the Retire with Ryan YouTube Channel Download my entire book for FREE Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Fidelity Charles Schwab Connect With Morrissey Wealth Management www.MorrisseyWealthManagement.com/contact Subscribe to Retire With Ryan
In this episode, we sit down with entrepreneur, investor, and fintech innovator Joshua Summers to discuss startups, venture capital, private credit, artificial intelligence, and what founders need to know to survive today's fundraising environment. Josh is a serial entrepreneur with successful exits to PayPal and AT&T, and the co-founder of EnFi, a company modernizing credit risk assessment for the rapidly growing $2+ trillion private credit market. He is also the co-founder of TBD Angels, an angel investing community that has grown to more than 300 members and invested in over 80 startups. The conversation explores lessons learned from multiple exits, the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, the evolution of fintech, how AI is changing startup economics, and what separates companies that survive difficult markets from those that disappear. In This Episode From Startup Founder to Multiple Successful Exits Josh reflects on his entrepreneurial journey and the major lessons learned from building and scaling companies that were ultimately acquired by PayPal and AT&T. The discussion covers: What changes after a successful exit Common founder mistakes during growth phases Building teams that scale Why culture matters more than most founders realize The Silicon Valley Bank Collapse and the Birth of EnFi During the SVB crisis, Josh worked directly with startups attempting to move funds and navigate uncertainty in real time. What he discovered exposed a major weakness in modern lending infrastructure: Opaque credit monitoring Manual underwriting processes Covenant complexity Limited real-time portfolio visibility These insights ultimately led to the creation of EnFi, which is focused on transforming risk analysis and monitoring in private credit markets. Building an Angel Investing Community As co-founder of TBD Angels, Josh shares insights into what it takes to build and sustain a successful angel investing organization. Topics include: How to start an angel group Why most angel groups fail Creating long-term engagement and trust The benefits founders gain from becoming investors themselves Building a high-quality investment community Fundraising in a Difficult Market The episode dives into the realities founders face when capital markets tighten. Josh discusses: How founders can "manufacture momentum" during fundraising The psychology of investors in difficult markets Managing down rounds and flat rounds Maintaining team morale during capital pressure The KPIs investors now consider mandatory Investment Bankers: Advisors or Expensive Middlemen? Many founders question whether investment bankers truly add value during fundraising or M&A processes. Josh offers a candid perspective on: The real role of an investment banker What bankers do behind the scenes Why process management matters How founders should evaluate potential banking partners The difference between a transactional banker and a strategic advisor The Future of Fintech The conversation explores how financial technology continues to evolve and why many businesses are increasingly becoming fintech-enabled companies. Topics include: Embedded finance Infrastructure APIs Lending technology Risk management AI-driven financial products The convergence of software and financial services AI-Enabled vs AI-First Companies One of the most important discussions in the episode focuses on the difference between: Companies adding AI features to existing products Businesses fundamentally built around AI from day one Josh explains: Why the distinction matters Which companies may have defensible advantages The risks of superficial AI positioning What investors are really looking for Key Themes Entrepreneurship • Venture Capital • Angel Investing • Private Credit • Fintech • Artificial Intelligence • Startup Fundraising • Silicon Valley Bank • Investment Banking • Company Building • Leadership • Risk Management About Joshua Summers Joshua Summers is a serial entrepreneur, fintech founder, and angel investor with successful exits to PayPal and AT&T. He is the co-founder of EnFi, a company focused on modernizing credit risk assessment and monitoring for private credit markets, and co-founder of TBD Angels, a 300+ member angel investing network that has invested in more than 80 startups. Josh is passionate about combining technical excellence with human insight to build companies that create meaningful impact. #Fintech #ArtificialIntelligence #PrivateCredit #Startups #VentureCapital #AngelInvesting #Entrepreneurship #JoshuaSummers #InvestmentBanking #Fundraising #AI #FintechInnovation Disclaimer: The views expressed in this podcast are for informational purposes only. They do not constitute financial or legal advice, nor do they necessarily reflect the views of Finalis Inc. or Finalis Securities LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC.
Episode 431 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Cathy Lewenberg, CEO of Bevi. When most people think of a beverage company, they immediately think of a traditional consumer brand fighting for shelf space at the grocery store. But the real magic behind Bevi is its highly defensible B2B business model and it's brilliant. Bevi has made the old corporate water cooler cool again with its high quality platform which combines smart hardware, software, data, and customized flavors & enhancements to create a delightful experience. Oh, and its units are directly installed into your office, gym, hotel, or elsewhere. On top of their success, Bevi is also helping out our planet. The company recently hit a historic milestone, officially surpassing 1 billion single-use bottles and cans saved from ending up in landfills. Cathy stepped in as Bevi's CEO almost two years ago to lead the company's next phase of growth. As you'll hear, she is uniquely qualified to scale this business. She spent years driving digital transformation and healthy convenience initiatives at CVS Health, before serving as Chief Operating Officer and then CEO at Drizly, where she helped lead this hypergrowth company to a $1.1B acquisition by Uber. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * Cathy's advice on joining a founder-led company as CEO. * Her background growing up in upstate New York and her competitive experience rowing crew at Princeton. * Her impactful tenure at CVS Health, where she ran the food and beverage business, led the shift toward healthy convenience retail, and helped play a key role in the decision to exit the tobacco category. * Why she joined Drizly and the dramatic “COVID moment” that triggered rocketship growth for alcohol delivery, leading all the way up to the Uber acquisition. * All the details about Bevi, what's next, and the company's culture. * The burning question: Is a residential Bevi machine coming to our homes anytime soon? * Cathy's advice to the next generation of women aspiring to step into the CEO seat. * And, so much more! Podcast Sponsor: This podcast is brought to you by one of the strongest longtime supporters of the local startup ecosystem, Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank. With more than 1,500 bankers and relationship advisors and $44B in loans as of Q4 2025 – SVB delivers expert guidance, specialized products and a team that knows the innovation economy inside and out. Learn more at SVB.com.
What does it actually take to decarbonize the built environment, and can construction be reimagined fast enough to matter? The scale and urgency of the transformation required to fight climate change has never been more clear. Building hardware and software products, acquiring the funding and creating a diverse community to enhance talent capacity and to drive innovation, is essential to tackling this global environmental crisis. In this podcast, host Silicon Valley Bank (a division of First Citizens Bank) Climate Tech & Sustainability SVP Maggie Wong will be interviewing Armelle Coutant, CEO & Co-Founder of Kit Switch, to discuss enabling decarbonization through electrified and low-waste interior systems, productizing construction for speed and scalability, as well as navigating a complex, slow-moving industry through strategic pilots and ecosystem partnerships.
Every day, billions of transactions settle between strangers who have no idea which bank the other uses. That lack of friction is not automatic. Nine-tenths of the money in daily circulation has been created by commercial banks, but it stays trustworthy only because central banks stand behind it, and keep the system in balance.In this week's episode Tim Phillips talks to Stephen Cecchetti (Brandeis University, CEPR) about what happens when new forms of digital money test that architecture. Cecchetti is one of the authors of the eighth Barcelona Report in The Future of Banking series, part of the Banking Initiative at IESE Business School, just published by CEPR as a free download.Will retail central bank digital currencies, tokenised deposits, and stablecoins upset the delicate balance of system that has been running for decades? Stablecoins, for example, do not create money, but they claim the status of money without the institutional guarantee that makes money trustworthy. Three jurisdictions — the US, the EU, and the UK — are each resolving the same underlying contradiction in different ways. None has fully resolved it.The research behind this episode:Niepelt, Dirk, Stephen G. Cecchetti, Hélène Rey, and Xavier Vives. 2026. Digital Money: The Future of Banking 8. London: CEPR Press. Available as a free download from CEPR.To cite this episode:Phillips, Tim, and Stephen G. Cecchetti. 2026. “The digital money supply.” VoxTalks Economics (podcast). Assign this as extra listening. The citation above is formatted and ready for a reading list or VLE.About the guestStephen Cecchetti is the Rosen Family Chair in International Finance at Brandeis University, a Research Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), and a Research Associate at the NBER. He was previously Economic Adviser and Head of the Monetary and Economic Department at the Bank for International Settlements, and Director of Research at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. His research spanning monetary policy, financial stability, and banking regulation has shaped both academic and policy debate over three decades. He blogs at moneyandbanking.com.Research cited in this episodeWalter Bagehot's lender of last resort doctrine. In Lombard Street: A Description of the Money Market (1873), Bagehot argued that a central bank under stress should lend freely against good collateral at a penalty rate. The prescription remains the intellectual foundation for how central banks manage runs and systemic crises. Cecchetti invokes it to make the point that no private substitute for a central bank backstop has ever proved durable, and that the doctrine is now, one hundred and fifty years on, being tested by instruments its author could not have imagined.Monetary uniformity, mobility, and elasticity. The three institutional conditions underpinning general acceptance of money, developed in analysis by the Bank for International Settlements and discussed extensively in the report. Uniformity means a pound is a pound regardless of which bank holds it. Mobility means claims move between users and institutions at low cost and settle with finality. Elasticity means the supply of money can expand when it is under stress. Together they explain why we accept a deposit at face value without doing any analysis of the bank that issued it; and together they identify exactly where new forms of digital money create institutional gaps.Silicon Valley Bank failure, March 2023. SVB's collapse illustrates both the lender of last resort functioning and the limits of no-bailout commitments. Cecchetti notes that SVB's liabilities were still trading at par on the Thursday before its Friday failure because the Federal Reserve stood behind them. He also notes that Circle, the issuer of USDC, held $3.3 billion of its reserves at SVB and was effectively bailed out in the resolution. The episode is one of two occasions in the past twenty years where money market fund-like instruments have been backstopped by the Federal Reserve under stress.Genius Act (United States). Principle-based stablecoin regulation expected to come into effect in the US around 2027. Under its provisions, only stablecoins issued by bank-affiliated issuers will have access to the Federal Reserve; only those will therefore have the institutional backing needed to function as money. Stablecoins issued by non-bank entities will not.Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA), European Union. The EU framework for crypto assets, which entered into force in 2024. For stablecoins, MiCA requires issuers to hold 30 to 60% of their reserves in bank deposits, with no provision for central bank backing. The stated rationale is to keep deposits within the banking system; Cecchetti notes this creates a different category of vulnerability and leaves the question of what happens under stress unresolved.Bank of England stablecoin proposal (United Kingdom). The Bank of England's approach differs from both US and EU frameworks by explicitly requiring large stablecoin issuers to hold significant reserve deposits at the Bank of England, making them in effect narrow banks with a direct central bank backstop. Cecchetti regards this as the most coherent of the three approaches in terms of institutional logic, though the same fundamental question applies: whether holding to that design under stress would be politically sustainable.Tether and the jurisdictional challenge. Tether, the largest stablecoin issuer, is registered in El Salvador having previously operated out of the British Virgin Islands. Its tokens are held by users in multiple countries, traded on exchanges in multiple jurisdictions, and backed by US Treasury securities. Cecchetti uses this to illustrate why local regulation, however well-designed, is necessary but not sufficient; effective oversight of instruments that are genuinely global requires international standards and coordination.Fractional reserve banking and the goldsmith model. The institutional structure described in the episode has roots in mid-seventeenth century England, when goldsmiths began issuing more paper receipts than they had gold in their vaults. The goldsmiths became bankers; the paper became money; the vulnerability to runs became a structural feature of private money creation that persists today. Cecchetti uses the history to make the point that while technology changes how we store and transmit information, the underlying architecture of trust in private money is as old as Newtonian physics.More VoxTalks Economics episodesMaking banking safe, Stephen Cecchetti and Kermit Schoenholtz. Our financial system is supposed to be more resilient than before the global financial crisis, but that didn't save Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank or First Republic. So what went wrong?Related reading on VoxEUNew coins on the block: Digital currencies and the financial system. The authors of the Barcelona Report warn that “Digital money will be reliable only where sound institutions and robust technology come together.”
Eric Ries is an author, podcaster, and founder of The Lean Startup. He hosts The Eric Ries Show and his notable books Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad... and How Great Companies Stay Great, The Lean Startup, Farther, Faster, and Far Less Drama, The Leader's Guide, and The Startup Way. Greg and Eric discuss why startups and corporations lose their mission through shifts from founder-to investor-control, changing from long-term focus to short-term focus, and purpose-driven to profit-driven behavior. Eric argues governance is “organizational soul craft” and critiques shareholder primacy as a recent, judge-and-academic-driven ideology that creates unaccountable short-term pressure, metric surrogation, and value destruction, even for shareholders. Eric also explains how markets reward short-term cost-cutting (e.g. reduced R&D), and why mission-driven companies can outperform. He outlines practical protections such as writing mission primacy into charters, converting to Public Benefit Corporations, and stronger structures like foundation ownership (e.g. Novo Nordisk and Patagonia). *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Episode Quotes: Mission-driven or mission-hopeful? 12:39: So I think for companies, we're seeing this world now where we have a divergence between the mission statement and the actual mission or purpose of the organization. So the mission statement is lofty. I tell the story in the book of Silicon Valley Bank before it collapsed. Its mission statement was something like, “To advance the innovation economy,” or whatever. But its actual legal purpose was just maximize shareholder value. So this divergence caused the collapse of the bank. And so, first of all, if you have a mission statement, but your purpose says “any lawful act or activity,” you're lying. Just so you know, you are lying to your customers. You are lying to your employees. You're lying to everyone you say that mission to because, according to current legal theory, you could be replaced at a moment's notice by your investors, who will then can change the mission to whatever they want. I call that not being mission-driven. You are mission-hopeful. You're hoping nobody will do this to you in the future. Governance is organizational soul craft Governance sounds really boring, but it's really the art of organizational soul craft. It's actually really interesting. And if we can get leaders and founders to pay more attention to it, they can have a much higher probability of their organization enduring. The age of temporary organizations 27:46: I say we've entered an era of temporary managers running temporary organizations for the benefit of temporary owners because executive tenure, company lifespan, and average holding period of stocks have all collapsed in the last, especially the last twenty-five years, let alone the last forty years. So, I don't think it's possible to really have—it's very difficult to build a value-creating organization in that span, and the markets will punish you for doing so. Show Links: Recommended Resources: Governance Shareholder Primacy Overlapping Consensus Silicon Valley Bank Andy Rachleff Environmental, Social, and Governance Mark Zuckerberg Guest Profile: LinkedIn Profile Wikipedia Page The Lean Startup Social Profile on X Guest Work: The Eric Ries Show YouTube Channel Amazon Author Page Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad... and How Great Companies Stay Great The Lean Startup by Eric Ries – How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Build Successful Businesses The Leader's Guide The Startup Way: How Modern Companies Use Entrepreneurial Management to Transform Culture and Drive Long-Term Growth Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Eric Ries is the entrepreneur and author of The Lean Startup, whose work helped software founders validate ideas faster and build companies without making huge bets upfront. After years helping startups, large companies, and governments apply Lean Startup principles, Eric built the Long-Term Stock Exchange and turned his attention to a bigger question: Why do so many successful companies lose their way? In our conversation, Eric explains the idea of "financial gravity"—the hidden force that pushes companies toward short-term financial thinking as they grow. He shares cautionary stories of companies like Whole Foods, Johnson & Johnson, Silicon Valley Bank, and Costco to show how scaling, investors, boards, and even employees can gradually erode trust, mission, and long-term value. Eric's new book, Incorruptible Why Good Companies Go Bad…and How Great Companies Stay Great, offers practical ways founders can protect the soul of their companies before it's too late--even when they don't have big outside investors. He explains why founders should explicitly codify their mission into governance structures, why trust is the most underrated asset in business, and how practical founders can retain optionality while building valuable companies that endure. Drawing on two decades of work with founders, CEOs, and investors, Eric Ries reveals the forces that make companies vulnerable to destruction from within and without. Then he offers solutions that safeguard against them for the long-term. Incorruptible is the blueprint for companies that will prosper and endure without losing their soul. Key Takeaways Financial Gravity - Every growing company faces pressure toward short-term financial thinking—even without outside investors. Trust Compounds - Companies that earn trust with customers and employees often outperform financially over the long term. Founder Regret - Many founders regret selling because the mission, culture, and soul of the company disappear. Mission Protection - Values on a wall aren't enough—founders need legal and governance structures to preserve mission. Question Best Practices - Many accepted business practices optimize short-term profits while destroying long-term value. Think Long-Term - Practical founders have more optionality when they intentionally design companies to endure. Quote from Eric Ries, Author of the Lean Startup "People have woken up to this reality. Given where we're at, if you can create a bootstrap company, if you can maintain control, it doesn't make you completely safe. The problem is actually not investors, but financial thinking. "So I tell a bunch of stories in my book (Incorruptible) of companies where the issue wasn't investors, but their own employees. You start to bring in professional managers. You start to bring in a CFO, and the CFO has that extractive mindset, or even worse. "Financial gravity is one of the most underrated concepts in business. It is like trying to direct our attention away from the surface characteristics of an organization to the deeper forces that act on it. Your business model, strategy, vision, culture, these things are very important, but they are the things that we have control over. Financial gravity is a force." Links Eric Ries on LinkedIn Eric Ries on Twitter Eric Ries Podcast Incorruptible book on Amazon Podcast Sponsor – Lighter Capital This podcast is sponsored by Lighter Capital. In the last 15 years, Lighter Capital has helped over 600 software and SaaS founders secure simple, non-dilutive financing to grow a little faster—without giving up any precious equity or board seats to investors. Simple debt funding from Lighter Capital can range from $50K to $10 million, with straightforward terms, no personal guarantees or covenants, and up to a 4-year payback period. Go to LighterCapital.com to apply and get a quick pre-qualification. Then talk with their experienced team to create a practical funding plan to achieve your goals. The Practical Founders Podcast Tune into the Practical Founders Podcast for weekly in-depth interviews with founders who have built valuable software companies without big funding. Subscribe to the Practical Founders Podcast using your favorite podcast app or view on our YouTube channel. Get the weekly Practical Founders newsletter and podcast updates at practicalfounders.com. Practical Founders CEO Peer Groups Be part of a committed and confidential group of practical founders creating valuable software companies without big VC funding. A Practical Founders Peer Group is a committed and confidential group of founders/CEOs who want to help you succeed on your terms. Each Practical Founders Peer Group is personally curated and moderated by Greg Head.
Episode 429 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Lior Div, CEO & Co-Founder of 7AI. One of the most exciting parts of this platform shift to AI is watching elite, repeat founders get back into the arena. It's often these experienced builders who have the appetite and the playbook to swing for the fences and create a truly category-defining company. Lior is exactly one of those entrepreneurs. Along with his co-founder, Yonatan Striem-Amit, this duo is uniquely qualified to build the leading agentic AI security platform. They have deep expertise in the cybersecurity industry and… by the way, they've done this before with their prior unicorn, Cybereason. 7AI empowers enterprises to shift security tasks to AI agents. The company recently made waves across the entire tech ecosystem by announcing a massive $130 million Series A round of funding led by Index Ventures, with participation from Blackstone Innovations Investments, Greylock, CRV, and Spark Capital. To put that into perspective: a $130 million Series A is the largest Series A round in the history of the cybersecurity industry. It is exactly that type of aggressive funding, along with blue-chip investors, that creates market leaders. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: A discussion around the rapidly changing landscape of AI and how that affects cybersecurity. Lior's background story, including being part of Israel's elite Unit 8200 intelligence group and how he got involved in the cybersecurity industry. Scaling Cybereason, plus why he chose to build his companies in Boston. The background story of 7AI and all the details on the company & platform. The distinct operational differences between building a traditional software business versus building a native AI company. 7AI's aggressive growth plans ahead, a look inside their company culture, and what it takes to build a trusted brand in security. The most important skills someone needs to be a successful CEO. And more! This podcast is brought to you by one of the strongest longtime supporters of the local startup ecosystem, Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank. With more than 1,500 bankers and relationship advisors and $44B in loans as of Q4 2025 – SVB delivers expert guidance, specialized products and a team that knows the innovation economy inside and out. Learn more at SVB.com.
Six men boarded a private train under fake names in 1910, traveled to a private island, and secretly designed the most powerful financial institution on the planet. The banks that the Fed is supposed to regulate are its legal shareholders and collected $186 billion last year just for parking money there. The man who was in the room during the largest backdoor bailout in American history just got sworn in as the new Fed chair. I walk you through the entire story - from Jekyll Island to Silicon Valley Bank - and explain why Bitcoin is the only exit from a system that was never built for you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
VLOG May 20: Unsealing Uber, after Kirkland gets doc disappeared: https://matthewrussellleeicp.substack.com/p/uber-gate-uber-demands-and-gets-removal US v. Jay LucasFirst-Citizens as Silicon Valley Bank sued Patriot Bank https://innercitypress.com/sdny232rakofffirstcitizensicp051326.html @RafaelMGrossi conflict, no answer on UN censorship https://innercitypress.com/iran1usunimficp041926.html
Episode 428 of The VentureFizz #podcast features Mike Pappas, CEO & Co-Founder of Modulate. Is Boston the best place to build a voice AI company? Based on its rich history in this category, I would have to say 1000%. From the early days of ScanSoft and Dragon to SpeechWorks and Vlingo—all of which eventually fell under the voice juggernaut Nuance, which worked on the early days of Siri and was acquired by Microsoft—the pedigree in this city is unmatched. Add in players like Bose, Vivox, and the sizable presence of Amazon Alexa in the area, and it's clear: Boston is the voice capital of the world. Mike Pappas and his co-founder Carter Huffman are adding a massive new chapter to that legacy and thatis Modulate, a venture-backed voice intelligence company building AI models and APIs designed to understand real-world conversational audio at scale. Modulate is the company behind ToxMod, the world's most advanced proactive voice moderation platform. If you've played Call of Duty lately, you've likely interacted with their tech. And, the company recently launched a new product called Velma, the leading AI-platform for real-world voice intelligence. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: Mike's perspective on the shift from license-based to usage-based pricing models. Mike's background story—from his physics studies at MIT to his early career at Bridgewater Associates. Entering "startup land" at Lola and the critical hiring lessons he learned while working alongside Paul English. The founding of Modulate and the pivotal moment when they realized the tech they built was actually the solution to a massive safety problem in gaming which led to a relationship with Activision. All the details about ToxMod and Velma, including customer examples and use cases. Why their dataset is a "moat" that makes their technology uniquely defensible in the age of generic LLMs. Mike's advice for first-time founders on raising capital and building a high-performance culture. Plus, so much more! This podcast is brought to you by one of the strongest longtime supporters of the local startup ecosystem, Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank. With more than 1,500 bankers and relationship advisors and $44B in loans as of Q4 2025 – SVB delivers expert guidance, specialized products and a team that knows the innovation economy inside and out. Learn more at SVB.com.
For four years, investors have been told the next crash was right around the corner. Russia-Ukraine, inflation at 9%, Fed rate hikes, Silicon Valley Bank, tariffs, AI fears, Iran tensions, and endless recession warnings all fueled bearish headlines. Yet despite every crisis narrative, the market has doubled from the October 2022 lows. This morning, we break down why markets continue to climb in the face of nonstop fear narratives, and what actually matters for long-term market direction: earnings growth and forward expectations. We also review the technical backdrop, including the MACD momentum indicator, buy and sell signals, overbought conditions, moving average deviations, and how technical analysis can help investors manage emotions, reduce risk, and improve portfolio discipline. Markets are never risk-free, but understanding trend, momentum, and earnings can help investors avoid costly emotional decisions. Hosted by RIA Chief Investment Strategist, Lance Roberts, CIO Produced by Brent Clanton, Executive Producer --- Watch the Video version of this report on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/1BrnxwNgzeY --- Get more info & commentary: https://realinvestmentadvice.com/insights/real-investment-daily/ --- Do you enjoy our content? Rate us on Google: https://bit.ly/4b9JtEo --- Visit our Site: https://www.realinvestmentadvice.com Contact Us: 1-855-RIA-PLAN --- Subscribe to SimpleVisor : https://www.simplevisor.com/register-new --- Connect with us on social: https://twitter.com/RealInvAdvice https://twitter.com/LanceRoberts https://www.facebook.com/RealInvestmentAdvice/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/realinvestmentadvice/ #StockMarket #Investing #SP500 #MarketOutlook #TechnicalAnalysis
The market keeps bouncing back from everything. COVID. 9% inflation. Silicon Valley Bank. Liberation Day. And every time, investors learned the same lesson: it always works itself out. But what if this time it doesn't? Jim Bianco, President and CEO of Bianco Research joins Jim Iuorio and Bob Iaccino to break down the one macro risk nobody is pricing in right now. And why if it stays unresolved longer than expected, stocks could draw down 15 to 20%. What you'll take away: - The #1 macro risk the stock market is completely ignoring - Why tech keeps hitting all-time highs despite uncertainty - Semis vs. software: how AI is splitting the market in two - What agentic AI really means for jobs and your portfolio - Gold vs. Bitcoin: which wins the dollar debasement trade - Which AI tool to pay for: Claude, ChatGPT, Grok or Perplexity - Why private credit could become the next big problem
How can nuclear energy be deployed at software speed to meet the urgency of climate change? The scale and urgency of the transformation required to fight climate change has never been more clear. Building hardware and software products, acquiring the funding and creating a diverse community to enhance talent capacity and to drive innovation, is essential to tackling this global environmental crisis. In this podcast, host Silicon Valley Bank (a division of First Citizens Bank) Climate Tech & Sustainability SVP Maggie Wong will be interviewing Everstar Founder & CEO Kevin Kong to discuss leveraging AI and software to deploy nuclear power, building the right product with the right people, and the importance of grit and empathy in product development.
Episode 426 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Natan Linder, CEO & Co-Founder of Tulip. There are very few entrepreneurs in Boston who have built multiple tech companies to a billion+ valuation (Tulip & Formlabs), but Natan is one of them. He is a “builder” in the truest sense of the word, focusing on building what he calls “important things” rather than just the latest “shiny object.” In our conversation, we have a discussion about Physical AI, meaning AI that lives outside of the digital domain in things like robotics and self-driving cars. Natan believes we are hitting a “ChatGPT moment” for the physical world, so it was interesting to hear his perspective on this trend. Tulip is the leader in frontline operations. They help companies of all sizes and industries equip their workforces with connected, composable, and intelligent tools. With Tulip's no-code platform, manufacturers can digitize processes, collect real-time data, and drive continuous improvement by using AI and without writing a line of code. The company recently announced a $120M Series D round of funding at a $1.3B valuation. In this episode of our podcast, we also cover: Chapters: 00:00 Intro - Natan Linder, Co-Founder & CEO, Tulip 03:30 The Physical-AI Moment 10:56 Natan Linder's Early Life and Curiosity 14:58 Early leadership role with Samsung 19:07 Getting involved with Rethink Robotics 25:34 Natan's thoughts on humanoid robots 28:55 Revolutionizing 3D Printing at Formlabs 33:49 Landing Mitch Kapor as an Investor in Formlabs & The "Elevator" Pitch Story 39:38 The Genesis of Tulip & Details of the Platform 50:31 Customer Use Cases 57:11 Tulip's Growth and Future Direction 01:04:30 Why Now Is a Good Time to Join Tulip 01:07:28 Boston is an Epicenter of Advanced Technology This podcast is brought to you by one of the strongest longtime supporters of the local startup ecosystem, Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank. With more than 1,500 bankers and relationship advisors and $44B in loans as of Q4 2025 – SVB delivers expert guidance, specialized products and a team that knows the innovation economy inside and out. Learn more at SVB.com.
From setting interest rates to keeping inflation in check, the Federal Reserve sits at the center of some of the most important economic decisions shaping our daily lives. As the Fed prepares for new leadership, following the tenure of Jerome Powell, many are wondering: What's next for the Fed, especially when it comes to their financial decisions and their independence? We spoke with Prof. Douglas Diamond, the Nobel Prize-winning economist of the University of Chicago, in order to explain the Fed's crucial role in our financial system—and why it matters so much for our future. Renowned as one of the founders of modern banking theory, Diamond has conducted groundbreaking research on banking, particularly during financial crises. He described the lessons we can learn from past bank runs, including the 2023 collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, and warns that we must remain on guard to help prevent the next financial crisis from happening. Follow Big Brains: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/big-brains-podcast/ X: https://x.com/BigBrainsUC Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
In this episode, Michael explores one of the most overlooked risks in crypto today: Are stablecoins actually safe? As billions flow into stablecoins, most users don't realize the hidden layers of risk from custodians and intermediaries to complex yield strategies happening behind the scenes. This conversation breaks down the difference between centralized vs decentralized stablecoins, and why that distinction matters more than ever. From early Ethereum days to building in DeFi, Michael shares how crypto unlocks true financial sovereignty giving individuals the ability to opt out of fragile systems. Topics covered: • What inspired Michael to build in Ethereum • Peer-to-peer finance & financial sovereignty • What "resilience" and "anti-fragility" really mean • Stablecoins explained (simple breakdown) • Centralized vs decentralized stablecoins • Hidden risks in yield farming ("trust me bro" zone) • Why your stablecoin is "traveling" behind the scenes • Counterparty risk vs code-based trust • Silicon Valley Bank & real-world failures • Why optionality is the key to financial freedom • Liquity, BOLD & decentralized stablecoin design • The future of money, regulation & crypto systems The core idea: Not all dollars are equal. Not all stablecoins are safe. If you don't understand where your money is going, you're taking risks you didn't sign up for. Greenpill isn't just about building new systems. It's about building systems you can actually trust. greenpill.network vdao.org https://x.com/JoinVDAO https://x.com/greenpillnet https://x.com/svobodamichael https://x.com/LiquityProtocol Timestamps 00:00 – Introduction 00:11 – Michael's "why" & discovering Ethereum 01:36 – Peer-to-peer finance & removing intermediaries 02:29 – Journey into crypto & early DAO era 03:31 – Early crypto vs traditional finance mindset 04:22 – Ethereum community & early DeFi innovation 05:28 – Resilience, sovereignty & optionality 08:27 – Why financial independence matters 10:16 – Introduction to stablecoins 10:58 – What is a stablecoin (simple explanation) 12:00 – Centralized vs decentralized stablecoins 13:25 – The "trust me bro" risk zone 14:09 – On-chain vs off-chain backing explained 15:04 – Why decentralization matters in stablecoins 16:28 – Stablecoins for payments vs savings 17:04 – Risk comparison: CeFi vs DeFi 19:17 – Sovereignty, control & censorship resistance 21:05 – Why most stablecoins don't give real claims 21:29 – Human systems vs code-based systems 21:56 – Risks in centralized finance (SVB example) 23:05 – Optionality & monetary systems 25:25 – Regulatory risks & future scenarios 26:58 – Why decentralized stablecoins matter 27:47 – Pegging to the dollar explained 30:39 – Scalability limits of crypto-backed stablecoins 31:24 – Stablecoins as "last resort" money 32:12 – Risk & resilience in DeFi systems 33:14 – How to earn yield on stablecoins 35:39 – The "journey" your stablecoin takes 37:46 – Why chasing yield increases risk 38:32 – Terra Luna & unsustainable yields 39:48 – Where yield actually comes from 40:20 – Risk vs reward in DeFi 42:45 – Regulation vs code-based trust 43:11 – Understanding hidden dependencies 44:19 – Rehypothecation & hidden risks 47:34 – Who should use decentralized stablecoins 49:00 – Network states & financial systems 50:23 – Why stablecoin adoption is hard 52:38 – The idea of an "Ethereum-native dollar" 53:48 – Future of stablecoins & regulation 56:43 – Risks of over-regulation 59:08 – Why decentralized systems need support 01:00:03 – Stablecoins & Ethereum security 01:00:58 – Why this matters for Ethereum's future 01:01:46 – Aligning with crypto values 01:03:40 – The need for stronger community voice 01:05:24 – Final thoughts & closing
Is the private credit market heading toward a systemic crisis? Join us as we sit down with Scott Weller, CTO and co-founder of EnFi, to discuss how AI is bridging the gap between hidden document data and real-time risk assessment. Learn how lenders can avoid being blindsided by the next wave of defaults by upgrading their digital infrastructure. In this episode of the Risk Management Show, Scott shares insights from the front lines of the Silicon Valley Bank collapse and explains why the current blind spot in private credit poses a major threat to the industry. We explore the limitations of traditional data rooms and how information trapped in manual documents leads to slow response times during global shocks. Scott explains the concept of a private credit stress index and why the industry must move beyond manual financial spreading to survive modern volatility. We also dive into the role of agentic AI and Large Language Models in risk management. Scott clears up common misconceptions about data digitization projects and explains how organizations can unlock the value of their existing documents today without waiting for years-long consolidation projects to finish. Whether you are a lender, an executive, or a risk professional, this conversation provides a roadmap for using technology to build institutional memory and maintain a competitive edge in an increasingly unpredictable market. Want to stay ahead of the latest trends in risk and security? Subscribe to our channel for more expert interviews and leadership strategies.
La gestora española reafirma su método basado en el análisis fundamental y el valor real de las compañías por encima de los titulares de prensa. El ruido en los mercados financieros no es una anomalía; es la norma. Bajo esta premisa, el pro-grama Tu Dinero Nunca Duerme reunió recientemente a los analistas Domingo Soriano, Manuel Llamas y Antonio San José para conversar con Javier Sáenz de Cenzano, socio y responsable de Azvalor Managers. La conclusión del encuentro fue clara: en un mundo que parece "acabarse" cada año, la única protección real para el inversor es el análisis riguroso y la paciencia.Un decenio de sobresaltos Desde las declaraciones de Donald Trump que mueven las bolsas en minutos hasta la volatilidad extrema del crudo (West Texas y Brent), el entorno actual exige una atención constante que, a me-nudo, resulta contraproducente para el inversor particular. Sáenz de Cenzano fue tajante al respecto: "Muchas veces, centrarse demasiado en la parte macro o en las noticias lleva a tomar decisiones erróneas". Para ilustrarlo, el gestor de Azvalor hizo un re-paso de la "cronología del pánico" que ha vivido el mercado en la última década. Desde el Brexit en 2016, pasando por la primera guerra comercial de Trump en 2018, el shock del COVID-19 en 2020 y la debilidad financiera de 2022, el sentimiento de crisis ha sido permanente.2022-2026: El valor frente al caos Uno de los puntos más destacados de la tertulia fue el extraordinario desempeño de Azvalor en mo-mentos de máxima tensión. Mientras que 2022 fue recordado como uno de los peores años de la his-toria reciente tanto para la renta fija como para la renta variable, el fondo Azvalor Internacional logró rentabilidades situadas entre el 45% y el 47%. Este éxito no fue un hecho aislado, sino el resultado de ignorar los titulares y centrarse en el valor intrínseco de los negocios. Según Sáenz de Cenzano, la historia se ha repetido en los años sucesi-vos: la quiebra de Silicon Valley Bank en 2023, los datos económicos débiles de 2024, la segunda guerra comercial en 2025 y, más recientemente en este 2026, el conflicto en Irán. "El mundo parece que se acaba cada año, pero nuestra respuesta es aislarnos de ese pánico y seguir aplicando el método Azvalor, como lo hemos hecho durante 25 años", afirmó el gestor.La receta: Compañías, no titulares Manuel Llamas recordó que a este escenario hay que sumar la persistente guerra de Ucrania, que desde 2022 ha generado turbulencias y una volatilidad sin precedentes. Sin embargo, a pesar de este entorno hostil, los fondos de Azvalor se encuentran actualmente en niveles máximos. El "Método Azvalor", según explicó Sáenz de Cenzano, se resume en tres pilares fundamentales: 1. Conocer a fondo las compañías: Entender el negocio más allá de su cotización diaria. 2. Analizar a los equipos directivos: Evaluar si sus intereses están alineados con los de los accionistas. 3. Valoración estricta: Comprar solo cuando el precio ofrece un margen de seguridad sufi-ciente. Al cierre de la charla, los analistas coincidieron en que el arranque de este 2026, tras cuatro meses de actividad, vuelve a dar la razón a quienes miran al largo plazo. En un mercado donde el petróleo se dispara y la prensa proyecta escenarios apocalípticos, los "gestores de valor" demuestran que la rentabilidad no se encuentra en predecir el próximo tuit de un político, sino en la solidez de los acti-vos que se tienen en cartera.
CEOWorld Magazine, Medium André Stewart is nominee for Los Angeles Times CFO & CEO Leadership Award in 2021.His latest Book: Epitome of the Mind: Unlock Your Full Potential for Better Health, Prosperity and Happiness, April 15.2023André Stewart is the founder and CEO of InvestFar Capital, Residual Roads Business Institute, and InvestFar, the first mobile app that lets you purchase, renovate, sell, or manage an investment property remotely globally. Have you ever felt overwhelmed or depressed? Been homeless, unemployed, or on government assistance? That was André's life path before entering the world of finance.Previously a commercial banker at Wells Fargo, Silicon Valley Bank and a private bank named OneWest Bank as an advisor to CEOs of startups, major tech companies, and high net worth individuals, everything changed when at the age of thirty-three, his doctor ordered him to quit. The stress was literally killing him, leaving André on the brink of cardiac arrest. André then discovered the knowledge of real estate investing and was able to achieve financial independence in less than seven months in that industry. Residing in Los Angeles, California, André is now on a mission to help others from all walks of life discover mental awareness and financial independence.His book, The Real Estate Investing Diet: Harnessing Health Strategies to Build Wealth in Ninety Days(August 2, 2022; Amplify Publishing) André shares practical tools and techniques for gaining financial independence and generating long-term wealth through real estate investing―without using your own personal credit or up front capital.Whether you have a bank account in the negative or a million dollars to invest, this book will not be like any other real estate guide you've read before. André not only gives you every single tool to make money in any real estate economic climate, but he also does so while navigating an unprecedented modern economy. If you want to be financially free in an unparalleled time in the history of any country, this is the book for you.© 2026 All Rights Reserved© 2026 BuildingAbundantSuccess!!Join Me on ~ iHeart Media @ https://tinyurl.com/iHeartBASSpot Me on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/yxuy23baAmazon Music ~ https://tinyurl.com/AmzBASAudacy: https://tinyurl.com/BASAud
How can sustainable feedstock materials reshape manufacturing while accelerating climate progress? The scale and urgency of the transformation required to fight climate change has never been more clear. Building hardware and software products, acquiring the funding and creating a diverse community to enhance talent capacity and to drive innovation, is essential to tackling this global environmental crisis. In this podcast, host Silicon Valley Bank (a division of First Citizens Bank) Climate Tech & Sustainability SVP Maggie Wong will be interviewing Mothership Materials CEO & Co-Founder Jo Marini to discuss producing sustainable feedstock materials, the importance of customer discovery and building stakeholder relationships and finding joy in product development.
Episode 423 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Sasha Hoffman, Partner at Remus Capital. I first met Sasha over ten years ago, when she was the Chief Operating Officer at Piaggio Fast Forward. VentureFizz helped cover the launch of Gita, the cargo carrying robot named Gita. Thus, this interview was long overdue and I was excited to interview Sasha as her career has been so prolific. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 02:46 Tips For Creating High Impact, Curated Events 17:33 Sasha's Background 20:59 Career Path: From Finance to Startups 22:09 Experience at Goldman Sachs 22:14 Joining Startup - Plastiq 26:03 Sasha's Time at Piaggio Fast Forward 29:09 Navigating Challenges During COVID at Uber 33:05 Insights on Loyalty Programs and User Retention 37:27 Transitioning to Venture Capital and Investing 40:42 The Future of AI and committing to Voice AI 44:02 Remus' "Say, See, Do" Thesis 45:14 Thoughts on OpenClaw and AI 49:19 EquipmentShare IPO and the Overall Market 51:00 Angel Investing 53:14 How to Get Started as an Angel Investor? 56:06 Balancing Work and Having Fun Traveling 01:01:01 Resources for travel deals and incentives This podcast is brought to you by one of the strongest longtime supporters of the local startup ecosystem, Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank. With more than 1,500 bankers and relationship advisors and $44B in loans as of Q4 2025 – SVB delivers expert guidance, specialized products and a team that knows the innovation economy inside and out. Learn more at SVB.com.
Patrick McKenzie (patio11) reads his classic Bits About Money essay on why your bank deposit is not what you think it is. He explains the capital stack that makes deposits appear riskless while funding genuinely risky businesses, and why the "no questions asked" property of money took the United States roughly a hundred years to engineer.Patrick updates the essay with commentary on SVB's collapse, the Voyager collapse and emergency injunctions about the finer points of ACH plumbing, and the GENIUS Act's stablecoin interest ban. He argues that crypto keeps rediscovering the same hard truth: things that behave like deposits without being deposits eventually break. When they break, they will break other structures they have wormed into, and they will tend to have wormed into a lot, because deposits are extremely useful and are perceived to never break.–Full transcript available here: www.complexsystemspodcast.com/your-bank-balance-isnt-in-the-bank/–Presenting Sponsors: Mercury, Meter, & GranolaComplex Systems is presented by Mercury—radically better banking for founders. Mercury offers the best wire experience anywhere: fast, reliable, and free for domestic U.S. wires, so you can stay focused on growing your business. Apply online in minutes at mercury.com.Networking infrastructure has a way of accumulating technical debt faster than almost anything else in IT. Meter handles the full stack (wired, wireless, and cellular) as a single integrated solution: designed, deployed, and managed end-to-end so there's only one vendor to call when something goes wrong. Visit meter.com/complexsystems to book a demo. If meetings consistently leave you with hazy action items and lost context, Granola handles the transcription so you can actually participate and gives you searchable notes afterward. Try it free at granola.ai/complexsystems with code COMPLEXSYSTEMS–Links:The alchemy of deposits: https://www.bitsaboutmoney.com/archive/the-alchemy-of-deposits/ Deposit Insurance: https://www.bitsaboutmoney.com/archive/deposit-insurance/ Gift Cards: https://www.bitsaboutmoney.com/archive/gift-card-accountability-sink/ Debanking (and Debunking?) https://www.bitsaboutmoney.com/archive/debanking-and-debunking/ –Timestamps:(00:00) Intro(00:20) Why revisit this essay now(02:03) Deposits are money(06:53) Heavily engineered structured products pretending to be simple(09:11) Credit card charge-offs as an underappreciated welfare program(10:16) Deposits as pink slime(13:08) Silicon Valley Bank and information sensitivity in the real world(19:06) Many things are quasi-deposits(20:00) Sponsors: Mercury | Meter(23:13) Many things are quasi-deposits (cont'd)(25:10) Voyager bankruptcy(32:29) How the FDIC resolves bank failures over weekends(34:49) Making the magic happen(35:13) The GENIUS Act and the stablecoin interest debate(40:31) Sponsor: Granola(47:45) Wrap
Venture debt might be the most misunderstood tool in startup finance. Ask ten founders to explain it, and you will get ten different answers, most of them wrong.In this episode of Tank Talks, Matt Cohen sits down with Marshall Hawks, a 16-year Silicon Valley Bank veteran who structured hundreds of venture debt deals, including for Airbnb, Twitch, and Fitbit. After SVB's collapse in 2023, Marshall stepped away to write the playbook founders had been missing: Venture Debt Deals: How to Fund Growth with Less Dilution.He breaks down what is actually happening in the 2026 venture debt market, including bigger facilities, new players in private credit, and what terms really look like today. They also get into when debt actually makes sense and when it does not, the biggest mistakes founders make on term sheets, and why the right lending partner matters more than squeezing out the lowest rate.If you want to grow faster without giving up more equity, or just understand how the full capital stack really works, this one is worth your time.Marshall's Early Lessons in Finance and Entrepreneurship (02:30)* Learning secured lending basics in his grandfather's Arkansas pawn shop* Reading people, judging value, and knowing what you don't know, including the cubic zirconia story* Growing up with a venture-backed CEO father who later became a VC, building empathy for foundersLife at SVB and the 2023 Collapse (08:24)* 16+ years, nine roles, including helping build SVB Canada* Inside the third-largest bank failure in U.S. history* The power of simply answering the phone during a crisisVenture Debt vs. Private Credit (15:58)* The key differences: venture banking (customer acquisition model) vs. private credit (deployed capital seeking returns)* Why banks offer smaller deals tied to revenue multiples, while private credit writes $50M–$150M+ checks* The role of warrants (equity kickers) in almost every venture debt dealWhat Lenders Actually Underwrite (20:58)* Why the cap table and investor syndicate matter more than financial models (models are always wrong)* How lenders assess whether a company can raise its next equity roundKey Case Studies and Lessons (23:53)* Airbnb: The energy you could feel walking into the office* Subtle signals Marshall looks for: office vibe, founder energy, and the “Airbnb Rhode Island office” effectClearco: A Cautionary Tale (28:03)* How Clearco used venture debt to scale rapidly and how over-leveraging nearly broke the company* The surprising role SVB's own failure played in saving Clearco* Why revenue-based financing models can become burdensome when revenue becomes less predictableThe State of the Venture Debt Market in 2026 (35:30)* Recorded $62 billion in volumes, recovered faster than expected* More choices than ever, including Stifel, HSBC, J.P. Morgan, BlackRock, Apollo, KKR, and Blue Owl* AI companies largely do not need debt right nowBreaking Down Venture Debt Term Sheets for Founders (40:47)* Founders do not understand what motivates venture banks vs. private credit firms* Getting the right partner trumps any term sheet detail* Price and economics matter, but choosing the wrong lender is a disaster* The right lender can be meaningfully impactful as a company ramps up* Most founders think about terms first. They should think about their partner first.When to Start Building Lender Relationships (47:05)* It's never too early, meet lenders 6–12 months before you need capital* Most venture debt deals happen after an equity round closes (serial, not parallel)* Send regular updates to lenders just like you would to investorsHybrid Rounds: Will Venture Debt and Equity Merge? (49:37)* Traditional SaaS players are stuck. They need to incorporate AI to survive.* Inside rounds with debt and equity stapled together feel like bridge rounds to buy time.* Marshall's view: this will not become the norm.* Timing is wonky. Getting equity investors and lenders to work together is cumbersome.* Separate events work better: raise equity first, then raise debt.Marshall's Closing Advice for First-Time Founders (51:22)* Treat venture debt as a tool, not a silver bullet* Prioritize finding the right long-term partner over optimizing every last termAbout Marshall HawksMarshall Hawks spent 16 years at Silicon Valley Bank, where he originated and closed hundreds of venture debt deals with companies like Airbnb, Twitch, and Fitbit. Following SVB's collapse in 2023, he left banking to write Venture Debt Deals: How to Fund Growth with Less Dilution, the practical guide he wished every founder had before opening a term sheet. He now serves as an independent voice on venture debt, helping founders navigate the post-SVB landscape of banks, private credit, and alternative financing.Connect with Marshall Hawks on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marshallhawks/Buy Venture Debt Deals: https://www.amazon.com/Venture-Debt-Deals-Growth-Dilution/dp/B0FZYQ53MWConnect with Matt Cohen on LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/matt-cohen1Visit the Ripple Ventures website: https://www.rippleventures.com/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tanktalks.substack.com
Episode 422 of The VentureFizz Podcast features David Fialkow, Co-Founder & Managing Director of General Catalyst. Entrepreneur, venture capitalist, philanthropist, and Oscar winner - those are just a few of the words that describe David's legendary career. As you'll hear from this interview, he emphasizes the importance of storytelling, which he originally learned from filmmaking, but it goes beyond making a compelling documentary. It is an often-overlooked but essential skill for every entrepreneur. Whether you are hiring, winning over customers, or raising capital, being able to align everyone with your mission through a powerful narrative is critical for success. Most of you are likely familiar with General Catalyst. They are one of the top VC firms in the world, having backed a "Who's Who" of tech giants including Stripe, Anduril, Circle, Airbnb, HubSpot, Snap, Canva, and Discord - just to name a few. In this interview, we cover a lot of ground, plus David shares lots of stories and interesting advice along the way, such as: What it's like to win an Oscar and making impactful documentary films. David's thoughts on the Boston tech scene. His long standing partnership with Joel Cutler (which I didn't know they met when they were seven years old) and the details on their entrepreneurial initiatives in the travel industry including building the largest tour & cruise business in the U.S. The story of how a donation to Children's Hospital led him to compete in the Ironman triathlon with just 90 days to train. How General Catalyst got started during the 2001 VC winter after dot-com bubble burst. The firm's myopic focus on founders and their approach to building a firm with long term, intergenerational value. Investing in pillar Boston companies like HubSpot, Circle, ITA Software, KAYAK, and others… and their thought process around expanding the firm to the West Coast. The importance of surrounding yourself with people who know more than you do. And so much more! Podcast Sponsor: This podcast is brought to you by one of the strongest longtime supporters of the local startup ecosystem, Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank. With more than 1,500 bankers and relationship advisors and $44B in loans as of Q4 2025 – SVB delivers expert guidance, specialized products and a team that knows the innovation economy inside and out. Learn more at SVB.com.
What happens when a company can't access its own cash?In March 2023, billion-dollar startups suddenly found themselves unable to make payroll. Not because their business failed, but because their money was trapped inside a single banking relationship. In this episode, we break down the hidden infrastructure behind corporate finance: the banking and treasury systems that quietly determine whether a company survives a crisis or collapses overnight.We explore why corporate banking is far more than just holding cash. For treasury teams, these relationships act as strategic lifelines, providing access to credit, liquidity, and risk management tools when markets turn volatile. When conditions are stable, this system is invisible. But when liquidity tightens, it becomes the single most important factor in a company's survival.Using real-world case studies, we contrast Boeing's ability to secure billions in funding during the COVID-19 crisis with the rapid collapse of startups tied to Silicon Valley Bank. The difference comes down to one concept: diversification. Companies with access to syndicated banking networks and capital markets gain time and flexibility. Those relying on a single institution face immediate and catastrophic risk.We also unpack how treasury teams manage credit facilities, move cash globally, and hedge against financial volatility. From interest rate swaps to foreign exchange risk, these tools allow companies to stabilize operations even when external conditions shift rapidly. At the same time, we examine the hidden risks buried in debt agreements, including covenants that can trigger a crisis long before a company runs out of cash.The key takeaway is simple: corporate finance is not just about revenue and profitability. It is about access, flexibility, and resilience. Strong banking relationships create optionality. Weak ones create fragility.If you want to understand how companies truly operate under pressure, you need to look beyond the income statement and into the financial infrastructure supporting it.
"When you look at the world now, does it look more uncertain or less uncertain?" In December 2025, the Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee (FPC) answered that question by cutting the equity capital requirement for UK banks. David Aikman (NIESR) and John Vickers (University of Oxford), two former senior Bank insiders who helped to design the regulatory framework post-GFC, think the committee got it wrong.The FPC lowered the benchmark capital requirement from 14% to 13% of risk-weighted assets, a move that could free up roughly £30 billion of capital across the UK banking system. Aikman and Vickers see no compelling economic reason for the change. They argue that the 2015 benchmark was already set too low, built on questionable assumptions about how well resolution frameworks would work. Since 2015, Brexit, the pandemic, and a sharply stretched fiscal position have all increased the likely cost of a future crisis. The practical effect of the loosening may not even be more lending, but higher dividends and share buybacks. And the December decision may signal a weakening of the leverage ratio backstop, the constraint that limits bank borrowing regardless of how risk weights are applied.The research behind this episode:Aikman, David, and John Vickers. 2026. "The Bank of England's Capital Mistake." VoxEU, 15 January 2026. To cite this episode:Phillips, Tim, David Aikman, and John Vickers. 2026. "The Bank of England's Capital Mistake." VoxTalks Economics (podcast). Assign this as extra listening. The citation above is formatted and ready for a reading list or VLE.About the guestsDavid Aikman is Director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR). He worked at the Bank of England from 2003 to 2020, where he served as Technical Head of Division in Financial Stability and was centrally involved in the creation of the Financial Policy Committee. His research spanning macroprudential regulation, systemic risk, and the macroeconomics of financial crises has made him one of the leading academic voices on bank capital policy in the UK.Sir John Vickers is Warden of All Souls College and Professor of Economics at the University of Oxford. He served as Chief Economist and a member of the Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England, and chaired the Independent Commission on Banking from 2010 to 2011, which recommended substantially higher capital requirements than those subsequently adopted. His research spanning industrial economics, competition policy, and financial regulation has shaped UK banking policy for two decades.Research cited in this episodeEquity capital requirements specify the minimum proportion of a bank's assets that must be funded by shareholders' equity rather than borrowed money. Equity is the only form of funding that can absorb losses without triggering insolvency: if a bank suffers unexpected losses, its shareholders bear them first. In the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis, some large institutions held equity equivalent to as little as two or three percent of their total exposures, implying leverage of up to forty times; a small shock was enough to render them insolvent. The post-crisis repair effort was designed to ensure that could not happen again.Risk-weighted assets (RWAs) are the denominator against which capital requirements are measured. Rather than applying the capital ratio to the raw value of all assets, the framework deflates each asset by an estimated risk factor: a mortgage backed by collateral is treated as less risky than an unsecured corporate loan, for example. Capital requirements are then expressed as a percentage of this risk-adjusted total. The approach creates significant complexity and depends heavily on the accuracy of the risk weights; much of the story of 2008 was that regulators allowed banks to attach implausibly low risk weights to their exposures, understating the true leverage in the system.The Financial Policy Committee (FPC) is the Bank of England body responsible for macroprudential oversight of the UK financial system. Created in 2013, it sits above the individual regulators to take a system-wide view of whether risks are building and whether the financial system as a whole has adequate resilience. One of its primary tools is setting the overall capital requirement benchmark for UK banks. In 2015 it set that benchmark at 14% of risk-weighted assets; in December 2025 it reduced it to 13%.The leverage ratio is an alternative measure of bank capitalisation that does not apply risk weights. It expresses equity as a simple percentage of total assets, regardless of what those assets are. The UK leverage ratio backstop currently stands at around 3 to 4%, implying maximum leverage of roughly twenty-five to thirty times for systemically important banks. Vickers and Aikman note that for some UK banks the backstop has become the binding constraint, which they regard as a warning sign: it suggests that risk-weighted measures are understating actual leverage, not that the backstop should be relaxed.Resolution frameworks are the legal and operational mechanisms that allow regulators to manage the failure of a bank without a taxpayer bailout, by imposing losses on shareholders and creditors in an orderly way. A central assumption in the FPC's 2015 capital benchmark was that resolution would work effectively in a future crisis, which justified a lower capital requirement. Vickers and Aikman are sceptical: the experience of Credit Suisse in 2023, which required a state-assisted rescue despite the existence of resolution plans, illustrates that orderly resolution of a major institution cannot be taken for granted.Basel 3.1 is the latest package of international banking regulatory standards agreed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, designed to address weaknesses in how risk weights are calculated. Its implementation in the UK is scheduled for 2027, nineteen years after the 2008 crisis. The FPC's December 2025 decision is partly contingent on Basel 3.1 being implemented as planned; Aikman notes that there have been repeated international delays and rollbacks, and that the UK's ability to move ahead unilaterally is constrained by what other major jurisdictions do.The 2023 banking stress saw three US regional banks (Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and First Republic) fail in quick succession in March 2023, followed by the forced rescue of Credit Suisse by UBS. These events occurred in what was, by historical standards, a relatively stable macroeconomic environment. Vickers cites them as evidence that banking sector vulnerabilities have not been eliminated by post-2008 reforms, and as a caution against complacency about the effectiveness of current safeguards.More VoxTalks EconomicsMaking banking safe Our financial system is supposed to be more resilient than before the global financial crisis, but that didn't save Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank or First Republic. So what went wrong, and can we fix it? Steve Cecchetti and Kim Schoenholtz suggest how regulators can make banking safer.
Mentioned in this Episode Connect with the Podcast: Facebook: @texaswinepod Instagram: @texaswinepod Email: texaswinepod@gmail.com Show notes and more: www.thisistexaswine.com Help the Show: Subscribe to the newsletter. Donate virtual Texas wine or join the podcast membership at the Gold Medal, Silver Medal, or Bronze Medal Level! Leave a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts! Thanks to our sponsors: Vintage2: Contact Tim at weinheimergroup.com for more information about enhancing your winery's AI visibility. Bending Branch Winery: Contact Jen at bendingbranchwinery.com for all of your custom crush winemaking needs. Brunch Agency: Contact charlotte@brunchagency.com and say you heard it on This Is Texas Wine podcast to get actionable tips for improving your website and digital sales strategy. Mentioned in this Episode 6 Texas Wines Named to World's Best Sommelier Selections John Harvey for Texas Wine Lover: “Bob Landon: All In” Take the Silicon Valley Bank DTC Survey! or view the survey HERE Rootstock on March 28 in Waco! Use code SHELLY for a discount! TICKETS Rhone Rangers Visit Texas! Tickets for event in Houston HERE, for the luncheon at William Chris HERE and the walkaround tasting at William Chris HERE. 4R Ranch for sale in Meunster Texas Hill Country Wineries announces Houston Road Show on May 8! Link to TICKETS Texas Wine Auction on May 1–2 in Johnson City! Early Bird Tickets available through February 19 with code DRINKTX. TICKETS Drink North Texas on May 30 in Dallas. Early Bird Tickets available through April 30! TICKETS Featured Interview Janet and Mark Miertschin of Portree Cellars Demerit and Gold Star DEMERIT: St Paddy's Day freeze! GOLD STARS: none this episode Special Thanks Need lodging in Fredericksburg? Check out Cork + Cactus! Find Cork + Cactus and many more great rentals at Heavenly Hosts.com! Thanks to Texas Wine Lover for promotional help! For the latest information on Texas wineries and vineyards, visit Texas Wine Lover. Don't forget to download the Texas Wine Lover app too! Podcast music is by Landon Lloyd Miller. Check out this music on Spotify HERE
Can design thinking and partnerships accelerate climate solutions at the pace the world now demands? The scale and urgency of the transformation required to fight climate change has never been more clear. Building hardware and software products, acquiring the funding and creating a diverse community to enhance talent capacity and to drive innovation, is essential to tackling this global environmental crisis. In this podcast, host Silicon Valley Bank (a division of First Citizens Bank) Climate Tech & Sustainability SVP Maggie Wong will be interviewing PolyGone Systems CEO & Co-Founder Nathaniel Banks to discuss the use of design thinking and partnerships to remove and recover microplastics across bodies of water, the balance of product iteration and customer testing, and and importance of education of a problem and relevant solutions to facilitate adoption
Episode 419 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Chip Hazard, General Partner at Flybridge. Before we get into the details of Chip's career, I have to call out a random fun fact: Chip is the only VC with his own action figure, yes – it's true. There's a DreamWorks animated movie called Small Soldiers. The lead character is named Chip Hazard, voiced by Tommy Lee Jones. As you'll hear in this episode, there's a great story suggesting that the character's name was actually inspired by Chip himself, which absolutely makes sense once you hear the story. But beyond the fun facts, as you'll hear, Chip has a major leg up on most investors because he's successfully navigated multiple platform shifts – from the internet and mobile to the cloud and now AI. What's impressive is that Chip and the team at Flybridge saw this latest AI shift coming long before the hype. For proof, you just have to look at his blog post titled “Applied AI: Beyond the Algorithms” which he published all the way back in 2019. Chip has backed some of the most impactful companies in tech, like MongoDB back when it was still called 10Gen. Today, it's a public company with a $20B+ dollar market cap, and Chip still serves on the board. His portfolio also includes Nasuni which was valued at $1.2 billion following a strategic investment led by Vista Equity Partners in 2024. If you aren't familiar with Flybridge, they are a seed-stage firm investing in ambitious founders leveraging the power of AI. Last September, they announced their latest fund, a $100M seventh fund. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 04:15 A movie character named after Chip in Small Soldiers 05:39 The Current AI Platform Shift & Patterns he has seen 09:48 Decades of blogging experience and how they stayed ahead of the curve 11:23 Chip's background 12:49 Stanford and Athletics 14:00 How Chip got his career started 15:29 Discovering Venture Capital and Landing at Greylock 19:27 A Walk Through His Investments at Greylock 24:50 Starting Flybridge 28:18 The Details about Flybridge 29:46 What gets you to the point of saying YES to entrepreneurs 32:20 Company storytelling at the seed stage 34:11 Investing in MongoDB 36:46 Key Decisions for MongoDB 42:38 Investing in Nasuni 43:41 Other company investments 46:05 Why They Invested in VoiceRun 48:38 Details on xfactor ventures 51:12 Advice for Entrepreneurs on Conducting Due Diligence on Investors 53:01 How VCs Handle an Investment Post-IPO 55:12 Three apps Chip can't live without 57:08 Podcast Recommendations Podcast Sponsor: This podcast is brought to you by one of the strongest longtime supporters of the local startup ecosystem, Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank. With more than 1,500 bankers and relationship advisors and $44B in loans as of Q4 2025 – SVB delivers expert guidance, specialized products and a team that knows the innovation economy inside and out. Learn more at SVB.com.
Story of the Week (DR):WarSaudi Aramco CEO issues stark warning: Iran war could bring ‘catastrophic' shock to global oilPrediction markets face questions on Iran war bets, from regime change to nuclear detonationThe Maduro Capture (Jan 2026): Just hours before the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a new Polymarket account wagered $30,000 on his removalIsraeli Military Indictments (Feb 2026): At least two individuals in the Israeli defense forces were reportedly indicted for using classified intelligence to place winning bets on the specific dates of military strikes in IranNational Security Risk: A recent report by Responsible Statecraft warns that officials with the power to influence military timing could alter operations to maximize their payout The Atlantic Council recently warned that foreign adversaries can "weaponize the odds" by dumping money into a thinly traded market to create a false narrative that a country is about to collapse, potentially triggering a real-world panic or bank run.Kalshi (private)1/13/25: Kalshi names Donald Trump Jr. as strategic advisorPolymarket (college dropout Shayne Coplan)8/26/25: Kalshi Advisor Donald Trump Jr. Joins Rival Polymarket BoardTrump Jr.'s 1789 Capital is making an eight-figure investment in the controversial prediction-market company.AI JobsAnthropic just mapped out which jobs AI could potentially replace. A ‘Great Recession for white-collar workers' is absolutely possibleThe most AI-exposed group is 16 percentage points more likely to be female, earns 47% more on average, and is nearly four times as likely to hold a graduate degree compared to the least exposed group.Sam Altman admits AI is killing the labor-capital balance—and says nobody knows what to do about itOracle expected to slash thousands of jobs as massive AI spending creates financial cash crisisLayoffs are feeling awfully tempting for a lot of companies right nowCEOs are using one number in the AI age to decide how many people they still needRevenue per employeePatreon's CEO says AI will be a 'bloodbath for the world's creative people' unless tech companies pay upAtlassian slashes 10% of workforce to 'self-fund' investments in AI and enterprise salesThe unexpected 92,000 drop in payrolls is a clue we might be reading the AI jobs narrative all wrongWorker painAI Is Forcing Employees to Work Harder Than EverAI Job Loss Is Breaking the Psyche of Workers, Psychiatrist Warns‘AI brain fry' is real — and it's making workers more exhausted, not more productive, new study findsEconomist Dambisa Moyo says CEOs must play a role in sustaining the consumer class as AI eliminates jobsThis could only happen if we weren't controlled by the TechBro Dropout GangCII‘Not a goodbye…': What Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen told employees after announcing decision to step downShantanu Narayen, CEO of Adobe for 18 years, will step down once a successor is appointed, while continuing as board chairman.Google Hands Sundar Pichai $692M Package Tied to AI BetsPackage uniquely ties executive pay to Waymo autonomous vehicle and Wing drone delivery venture performanceCompensation structure sets precedent for linking CEO pay to specific AI business unit success rather than overall company metricsSo now CEOs can either game their bonus by obsessively focusing on one thing or doom the rest of the company by obsessively focusing on one thing or bothAs You Sow Files Lawsuit Challenging Chubb's Refusal to Put Shareholder Proposal Addressing Climate-Driven Insurance Crisis on Company ProxyThe proposal asks shareholders to vote on whether Chubb should commission a report assessing whether pursuing subrogation claims against parties responsible for climate change could reduce losses, benefit shareholders, and help preserve affordable homeowners insurance.This lawsuit follows the SEC's decision to abandon its longstanding role as a neutral arbiter in the shareholder proposal process. In November 2025, the SEC announced that it would no longer review corporate no-action requests under Rule 14a-8, effectively forcing these matters into court—an expensive and lengthy process.Sen. Elizabeth Warren Slams SEC As 'Lap Dog For Trump's Billionaire Buddies' After It Dismisses Another Crypto Case"The SEC should not be a lap dog for Trump's billionaire buddies"Live Nation, Ticketmaster's Owner, Settles Antitrust Case With Justice DeptThat was fastLive Nation Entertainment board includes Trump administration bro Richard Grenell 2 of 12 are womenGrenell is somehow the president of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts despite no background in anything resembling “the Arts.”He replaced a woman, Deborah Rutter. The chair is President Trump. Of course. And the board now is down to only one woman: 2 years ago it was 60% female.Glass Lewis recommends voting against Starbucks director over ‘board-level E&S oversight'New York State Comptroller, New York City Comptroller, SOC Investment Group, Canadian responsible investment association SHARE, Merseyside Pension Fund, and Trillium oppose the re-election of lead independent director Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, as well as Beth Ford, chair of Starbucks' Nominating and Corporate Governance (NCG) committee.Ford was chair of the EPCI committee and now leads the NCG committee, which assumed some of the responsibilities of the EPCI when it was disbanded.In its benchmark policy proxy paper, Glass Lewis has recommended investors vote against Ford.Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR:Uber rolls out women-only option in the USDR: CEOs of failed banks would have to surrender pay under bipartisan planSenate legislation would mandate “clawbacks” of executive pay, three years after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.MM: 24 states, Nintendo sue Trump over tariffs as refund fight growsCostco CEO Ron Vachris Pledges to Return Tariff Refunds to ShoppersMM: Andrew Yang says we should stop taxing workers — and start taxing AIAssholiest of the Week (MM):War on Women: part 1Alex KarpPalantir CEO Makes Shocking Confession on Disrupting Democratic PowerPalantir CEO Alex Karp thinks his AI technology will lessen the power of “highly educated, often female voters, who vote mostly Democrat” while increasing the power of working-class men.“This technology disrupts humanities-trained—largely Democratic—voters, and makes their economic power less. And increases the economic power of vocationally trained, working-class, often male, working-class voters,” Karp said in a CNBC interview Thursday. “And so these disruptions are gonna disrupt every aspect of our society. And to make this work, we have to come to an agreement of what it is we're going to do with the technology; how are we gonna explain to people who are likely gonna have less good, and less interesting jobs.”To Alexandra Schiff, ex WSJ reporter and daughter of Tom Wolfe, who wrote a semi adoring Silicon Valley book in 2017 holding Peter Thiel as a god (and now sits on this board with Thiel), and to Lauren Friedman Stat, who only seems to post Palantir sizzle reels and as best I can tell is married to a “David Stat” who is the name of a “Director” (not on the board?) of Palantir who is in a Form 4 for selling stock:What the fuck are you doing. Do you read what this dude says? Are you that cucked to the tech bro elite you can't stop and say, “Hey, Alex, maybe tone down the suggestion you're trying to stop female Democrats from voting?”War on Women: part 2Glass Lewis recommends voting against Starbucks director over ‘board-level E&S oversight'Because Starbucks disbanded the Environmental, Partner and Community Impact committee of the board - launched in 2023, dissolved in November 2025Committee launched after majority supported SHP to focus on labor issuesJorgen Knudstorp and Daniel Servitje, the OTHER committee members, somehow escape entirelyKnudstorp is the Lead independent director, Niccol is the CEO and chair of the board (yes, chair)But instead of targeting Niccol or even Knudstorp, Glass Lewis targeted the female chair of the committee… ONLYIf the CEO gets to be chair - doesn't the CEO have to take responsibility for board overall? If you have an LID, are they accountable?? Why would the chair of a committee be target without the chair of the board or LID? Can a committee chair dissolve their own committee??Cracker Barrel - the scapegoat was the person of color who had “diversity” in their job description, not the longest tenured director who was also chair of the board but was a white guy - and Glass Lewis suggested voting out the brown dudeWar on Women: part 3 speed roundDOGE, DEI, and climate changeBlack women were disproportionately impacted by DOGE cuts. A year later, they're rebuilding careers for themselves and each otherI Watched 6 Hours of DOGE Bro Testimony. Here's What They Had to Say For ThemselvesOver the course of a six hour long or so deposition, Justin Fox, a former investment banker turned DOGE bro, refused to define what he believes counts as DEI; admitted he used ChatGPT to scan government contracts for terms such as “Black” and “homosexual” but not “white” or “caucasian;” and said that one of the grants he helped slash was “not for the benefit of humankind” before walking that claim back.Why ‘bringing your whole self to work' is a trap, especially for womenFormer Goldman Sachs CEO says DEI programs are ‘counterproductive,' arguing ‘you're branding the people in that program'Climate change: Women face worst impacts as funding support falls shortIn 2025, a UN women report warned that under a worst-case climate scenario, up to 158.3 million more women and girls may live in extreme poverty globally as a result of climate change by 2050Headliniest of the WeekDR: Shell CEO's Pay Jumps 60% Despite Profit Drop and Fatal AccidentsDR: Jack Dorsey Defends Wearing “Love” Hat While Firing 4,000 Employees in Pivot to AI: "I wanted to approach the whole situation with love."MM: Ozempic mania has even Olive Garden and The Cheesecake Factory cutting back on portion sizesMM: Cracker Barrel sales, traffic continue to slump months after failed rebrandWho Won the Week?DR: National Museum of the American Indian and the coffee at CII, was actually pretty not grossMM: The Council for Institutional Investors Spring Conference, who got to witness Proxy Countdown livePredictionsDR: CII loses our phone numberMM: The women start the uprising now:
Over the last three decades, the U.S. wine industry was one of agriculture's biggest premiumization success stories.Demand grew steadily. Vineyards expanded. Wineries multiplied. Capital flowed in. Valuations rose.But today the industry is facing something very different.Consumer demographics are shifting, younger generations drink differently than boomers, new lifestyle trends are emerging, and excess supply is forcing the industry into a painful market correction.In this episode, Paul sits down with Rob McMillan — one of the most respected analysts of the U.S. wine industry and the author of Silicon Valley Bank's widely followed State of the Wine Industry Report.Rob has spent over three decades analyzing the economics, capital cycles, and structural forces shaping wine. His insights have become essential reading for winery owners, investors, and operators across the world.But this conversation goes far beyond wine.It explores what happens when a premium agricultural sector built on long production timelines collides with changing consumer demand.The lessons apply across agriculture — from specialty crops to premium food brands.MEET THE GUESTRob McMillanRob McMillan is Executive Vice President and founder of the Silicon Valley Bank Wine Division and one of the most influential analysts in the U.S. wine industry.For more than three decades, Rob has studied the financial health, demand patterns, and structural shifts shaping the wine business.He is the author of Silicon Valley Bank's annual State of the Wine Industry Report, described by the New York Times as “probably the most influential analysis of its kind.”Rob's insights are widely used by winery owners, investors, journalists, and industry leaders seeking to understand the evolving dynamics of premium wine markets.ABOUT THE PODCASTDiscover the world of agriculture with the Ag Culture Podcast.This podcast explores the global forces shaping agriculture — from emerging technologies and investment trends to shifting consumer behavior and industry innovation.Join Paul Windemuller as he shares conversations with leading thinkers, entrepreneurs, and operators across agriculture.
Jenn Lueke, aka Jenn Eats Good, is a culinary creator, recipe developer, and newly anointed cookbook author. She started her now-famous Instagram account while she was in college studying business, finance, and entrepreneurship. During her undergrad, she interned in several related fields that gave her a three-dimensional view of how to bootstrap a business—from market research to angel investing. She pursued a career in finance post-grad, working at the Silicon Valley Bank, where she learned crucial administrative skills in a corporate setting, all while posting original recipes she'd developed while navigating her personal journey with food and nutrition. Lueke finally decided to pursue content creation full-time shortly after she went viral for her “budget grocery” series. Her understanding of finance and money paired well with her simple approach to nutrition, making her a great resource for beginner chefs looking to improve their diets on a budget. Now, she's taken the next step in her culinary career with her debut cookbook, Don't Think About Dinner.
How can product leaders turn today's climate urgency into scalable hardware and software solutions that attract capital, unlock long-term energy storage, and build the diverse teams needed to make it all work? The scale and urgency of the transformation required to fight climate change has never been more clear. Building hardware and software products, acquiring the funding and creating a diverse community to enhance talent capacity and to drive innovation, is essential to tackling this global environmental crisis. In this podcast, host Silicon Valley Bank (a division of First Citizens Bank) Climate Tech & Sustainability SVP Maggie Wong will be interviewing Terrament Co-Founder & COO Eric Chaves to discuss leveraging existing technologies to generate sustainable energy and enable a long-term storage solution, as well as the importance of diverse experiences to identify a co-founder and future hires.
Gilts rebounded from earlier losses on Monday afternoon, and Novo Nordisk is suing US telehealth company Hims & Hers over ‘knock-off' versions of its weight-loss drugs. Plus, France's central bank chief is stepping down early, and US senators are pushing proposals to lift bank deposit insurance limits to avoid another Silicon Valley Bank debacle. Mentioned in this podcast:Gilts stabilise after cabinet voices support for Keir StarmerNovo Nordisk sues Hims & Hers over copycat weight-loss drugsNovo Nordisk faces more gloom from price cuts in crowded anti-obesity drugs marketFrench central bank governor to step down earlyCan the US crack the formula for ending bank runs?Note: The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts Today's FT News Briefing was hosted and produced by Sonja Hutson. Our show was mixed by Kelly Garry. Additional help from Gavin Kallmann, Michael Lello and David da Silva. Our executive producer is Topher Forhecz. Cheryl Brumley is the FT's Global Head of Audio. The show's theme music is by Metaphor Music.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Today we're going to connect two stories that, on the surface, look very different. One is Japan, where government bond yields have been rising, and the commentary on financial social media is busy declaring Japan is “blowing up.”The other is the spring of 2023 in the United States, when Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and First Republic, all failed within weeks of each other. These events rhyme because the underlying physics is the same. Duration risk plus leverage plus flighty funding can turn a paper loss into a real loss in about a weekend.Let's start with the basic math. When interest rates rise, bond prices fall. That's not an opinion, that's bond arithmetic.--------------**Real Estate Espresso Podcast:** Spotify: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/3GvtwRmTq4r3es8cbw8jW0?si=c75ea506a6694ef1) iTunes: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-real-estate-espresso-podcast/id1340482613) Website: [www.victorjm.com](http://www.victorjm.com) LinkedIn: [Victor Menasce](http://www.linkedin.com/in/vmenasce) YouTube: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](http://www.youtube.com/@victorjmenasce6734) Facebook: [www.facebook.com/realestateespresso](http://www.facebook.com/realestateespresso) Email: [podcast@victorjm.com](mailto:podcast@victorjm.com) **Y Street Capital:** Website: [www.ystreetcapital.com](http://www.ystreetcapital.com) Facebook: [www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital](https://www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital) Instagram: [@ystreetcapital](http://www.instagram.com/ystreetcapital)
© 2020-2026 Ivy Podcast Discovery LLC
