Podcasts about Underwriting

Nathaniel Brimlow runs a nationwide land wholesaling business from Hawaii with a fully remote team of seven people. He walks through the buy box he uses to cut the entire country down to a workable list: two acres and up, $50,000 and up in value, owners over 65, and ten years of ownership or an inherited property. He also breaks down sell through rate, the metric he uses to throw out markets before he spends a dollar marketing to them, plus how his team disposes of land through realtors, neighbors, and local investor lists. KEY TALKING POINTS: 0:00 - Intro & Welcome 0:45 - An Overview Of Nathaniel Brimlow's Business 6:05 - Why Land Over Houses 6:51 - Underwriting & Deal Criteria 8:37 - Buying Remotely From Hawaii 9:24 - Pulling & Scrubbing Data 10:18 - Finding Buyers For Land 11:46 - Creative Title & Deal Stories 15:25 - Choosing Markets & Sell-Through 19:39 - Ideal Seller Profile 21:00 - VA Staffing & Where To Find Him 23:04 - Outro LINKS: Instagram: Nathaniel Brimlow https://www.instagram.com/nathaiel/ Website: Vita Talent Staffing https://www.vitatalentstaffing.com/ Instagram: David Lecko https://www.instagram.com/dlecko Website: DealMachine https://www.dealmachine.com/pod Instagram: Ryan Haywood https://www.instagram.com/heritage_home_investments Website: Heritage Home Investments https://www.heritagehomeinvestments.com/

René Saúl spent seven years running an offline agricultural lending business in Mexico before selling it and pouring the proceeds into Kapital, a bet that the future of B2B fintech in Latin America belonged to companies willing to become regulated banks. Today Kapital is the largest B2B fintech in the region, and René is the only founder in the space who has bought not one but two banks, one of the deals agreed to on a napkin.What We CoveredWhy the future of fintech is regulated, and why that was a contrarian call in 2021René's seven years running an offline agricultural lending business in MexicoThe founding thesis behind Kapital's one-stop B2B banking ecosystemHow Mexico's electronic invoicing system became Kapital's underwriting moatThe "red car theory" of spotting opportunities before they arriveBuying Banco Autofin on a napkin, and growing its deposits from $150 million to $400 million in three monthsAcquiring the banking, brokerage and payments assets of Grupo Financiero IntercamBuilding instant, 24/7 cross-border payment rails on top of SWIFTClosing the small business financing gap with AI-native underwritingWhy Mexico is becoming a cornerstone of America's AI manufacturing boomThe limits of banking an economy that still runs largely on cashKapital's growth numbers and its path to a dual listing in New York and MexicoKey TakeawaysMexico's electronic invoicing mandate hands Kapital more than 50,000 data points per customer, a seven-year head start on underwriting that competitors using third-party providers cannot easily close.For large enterprises and cash-strapped SMBs alike, a banking license, not a slicker app, is what earns the trust needed to hold their money and their cash flow.Opportunities have to be hunted, not waited for. Kapital tracked potential bank acquisitions for years so it could move in days when the Autofin deal appeared.Staying liquid and profitable before either acquisition is what let Kapital move fast when the opportunity came, rather than scrambling to raise capital under pressure.About René SaúlRené Saúl is the co-founder and CEO of Kapital, which he built after selling an offline agricultural lending business that financed berry and avocado exporters in Mexico and Peru. Under his leadership, Kapital has grown into a licensed financial group serving more than 300,000 customers across Latin America, with more than $5.3 billion in assets and two bank acquisitions behind it.Connect with Fintech One-on-One:Tweet me @PeterRentonConnect with me on LinkedInFind previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

On today's show, we're talking about a situation that confuses a lot of investors. How can the same property have two different underwriting models, and how can both of them be correct?The answer comes down to perspective.A lender is underwriting the property for one purpose. An investor is underwriting the property for a different purpose. Those two objectives overlap, but they are not identical.Let's use a real-world example.There are a number of state and local programs around the country that offer some form of property tax abatement for qualifying projects. Perhaps the property provides affordable housing, senior housing, or satisfies some other public policy objective.The economics can be very meaningful.Suppose the property would normally pay one million dollars a year in property taxes. Under the applicable program, the actual tax expense might be a $700,000 difference in net operating income.But there is a wrinkle.The tax abatement has to be approved each year. There is a small but non-zero risk that the property might not qualify one year. Should you assume the tax abatement in your underwriting?-------------**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)  

Private equity firms are under increasing pressure to create value in a tougher market, with longer hold times and evolving value creation theses. Leading funds are using re-underwriting as a repeatable discipline that supports better decisions across the hold period. Join AD Bhatia, Jason Phillips, Hassen Ahmed and Manuel Fernandez Angulo as they unpack the what, when and who of re-underwriting. They share how AI assistance, leaner teams and a systematic approach can help overcome resourcing restraints to place this practice in the reach of every fund. Related insights Unlocking full potential: Five practices reshaping PE value creation 2026 Global Private Markets Report: Private equity−clearer view, tougher terrain Beating the odds: How private equity firms can improve exit prospects How private equity is using M&A integrations to overcome headwinds Transforming value creation in private equity portfolio companies (podcast)Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Discover how insurance—often seen as dull—actually powers our world and is evolving at lightning speed thanks to artificial intelligence. What happens when an industry rooted in caution becomes a hotbed of technological innovation? On this episode of Thrive LouD, Lou Diamond welcomes Nick Lamparelli—the self-proclaimed "Insurance Nerd"—to explore the unexpected excitement, challenges, and opportunities in insurance as it enters the AI era.You'll learn how agentic AI is transforming underwriting, claims, and customer experience, what makes insurance a foundational yet underappreciated societal force, and how culture and regulation are just as crucial as tech when it comes to industry change. Nick Lamparelli also reveals why insurance professionals and non-professionals alike should care about these shifts, and what the future might hold for an industry that touches every facet of our lives.Plus: Make sure to check out the new podcast series hosted by Nick - The Agentic Insurer: The New Frontier of AI.00:00 Intro and Welcome00:41 Who is Nick Lamparelli?01:44 Nick's Unexpected Path into Insurance03:07 Building and Celebrating the Insurance Community05:07 Why Insurance is a Great Human Invention07:17 Insurance and Tech: Past and Present09:22 AI's “Hockey Stick” Moment in Insurance11:17 Agentic AI Explained13:18 Agentic AI's Impact on Industry Pros and Consumers15:10 What Happens to Underwriting—and Underwriters—Now?17:11 Speed and Efficiency for Policyholders18:54 The Claims Process: Fraud, AI, and What's Changing21:58 How AI is Used for Detecting—And Committing—Fraud23:07 “The Agentic Insurer” Program and What Listeners Gain27:27 Culture Change, Regulation, and Lessons for All Industries30:25 Where to Find Nick & Final Thoughts32:10 Fun Street: Nick's Favorites and Rapid-fire Q&A36:07 Closing

Steven Song is the founder and CEO of Diald, an AI-powered decision intelligence platform for commercial real estate. Before founding Diald, Steven worked on both the investing and development sides of real estate, and built his career across architecture and urban planning, training at Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pennsylvania. He was a founding principal at SCAAA, a global strategy, planning, and design firm, and is a partner at Axle Companies, a family office focused on real estate investment and social impact ventures. Steven is based in Los Angeles.(02:26) Why CRE Decisions Are Still Judgment-Driven (04:41) The Signal That Killed an Atlantic City Deal (07:44) Contextual Drift: The Risk Nobody Models(10:20) Diald's approach (11:59) AI Token Costs and Asking Better Questions (14:27) Tools vs. Workflows (15:52) Diald's Underwriting (17:58) Killing Bad Deals Earlier (19:18) How AI Upgrades the Analyst Role (20:44) Where General Purpose AI Fails at Underwriting (24:23) Does AI Make CRE More Efficient or More Competitive (26:02) What Underwriting Looks Like in 5 Years (27:14) Where Human Judgment Still Matters (29:06) The Local Signals Investors Miss (31:15) Collaboration Superpower: Denise Scott Brown and Reyner Banham

Jason Malabute is a CPA and MBA with experience in accounting, bookkeeping, tax planning, and real estate investing. He began investing in single-family real estate before transitioning into multifamily syndication and becoming a general partner in 342 units. In 2024, he launched an accounting firm focused on real estate investors, with approximately 99% of his clients coming from the real estate investment space.    Here's some of the topics we covered:   Jason's journey from growing up with cerebral palsy to becoming a CPA and MBA Discovering real estate after seeing the cash flow of an investor client Building a single family portfolio in Indianapolis and transitioning into multifamily syndications Underwriting over 100 deals before landing his first syndication and becoming a general partner Launching a real estate focused CPA firm and helping investors with strategic tax planning Unlocking tax benefits through cost segregation, bonus depreciation, 1031 exchanges, and short term rentals How passive investors can use timing and paper losses to offset gains from other real estate investments   To find out more about partnering or investing in a multifamily deal: Text Partner to 72345 or email Partner@RodKhleif.com    For more about Rod and his real estate investing journey go to www.rodkhleif.com   Please Review and Subscribe  

In this episode, Daniel Tsikata of DealWorthIt shares how his background in software engineering and real estate investing led to the creation of a powerful platform that leverages AI and data analysis to transform real estate investment decisions. Discover how technology is reshaping the industry, the opportunities it presents, and how investors can stay ahead of the curve.   Professional Real Estate Investors - How we can help you: Investor Fuel Mastermind:  Learn more about the Investor Fuel Mastermind, including 100% deal financing, massive discounts from vendors and sponsors you're already using, our world class community of over 150 members, and SO much more here: http://www.investorfuel.com/apply   Investor Machine Marketing Partnership:  Are you looking for consistent, high quality lead generation? Investor Machine is America's #1 lead generation service professional investors. Investor Machine provides true 'white glove' support to help you build the perfect marketing plan, then we'll execute it for you…talking and working together on an ongoing basis to help you hit YOUR goals! Learn more here: http://www.investormachine.com   Coaching with Mike Hambright:  Interested in 1 on 1 coaching with Mike Hambright? Mike coaches entrepreneurs looking to level up, build coaching or service based businesses (Mike runs multiple 7 and 8 figure a year businesses), building a coaching program and more. Learn more here: https://investorfuel.com/coachingwithmike   Attend a Vacation/Mastermind Retreat with Mike Hambright: Interested in joining a "mini-mastermind" with Mike and his private clients on an upcoming "Retreat", either at locations like Cabo San Lucas, Napa, Park City ski trip, Yellowstone, or even at Mike's East Texas "Big H Ranch"? Learn more here: http://www.investorfuel.com/retreat   Property Insurance: Join the largest and most investor friendly property insurance provider in 2 minutes. Free to join, and insure all your flips and rentals within minutes! There is NO easier insurance provider on the planet (turn insurance on or off in 1 minute without talking to anyone!), and there's no 15-30% agent mark up through this platform!  Register here: https://myinvestorinsurance.com/   New Real Estate Investors - How we can work together: Investor Fuel Club (Coaching and Deal Partner Community): Looking to kickstart your real estate investing career? Join our one of a kind Coaching Community, Investor Fuel Club, where you'll get trained by some of the best real estate investors in America, and partner with them on deals! You don't need $ for deals…we'll partner with you and hold your hand along the way! Learn More here: http://www.investorfuel.com/club   —--------------------

Don Goff shares his journey from biomedical engineering to real estate, emphasizing the importance of systems, relationships, and mindset in building a successful multifamily business. This episode offers practical insights on underwriting, capital raising, market strategies, and overcoming challenges in real estate. In this episode, Don Goff shares his journey through real estate, overcoming personal and market challenges, and strategies for scaling a multifamily investment business. Discover actionable insights on building systems, leveraging networks, and maintaining resilience in a fluctuating market.   Professional Real Estate Investors - How we can help you: Investor Fuel Mastermind:  Learn more about the Investor Fuel Mastermind, including 100% deal financing, massive discounts from vendors and sponsors you're already using, our world class community of over 150 members, and SO much more here: http://www.investorfuel.com/apply   Investor Machine Marketing Partnership:  Are you looking for consistent, high quality lead generation? Investor Machine is America's #1 lead generation service professional investors. Investor Machine provides true 'white glove' support to help you build the perfect marketing plan, then we'll execute it for you…talking and working together on an ongoing basis to help you hit YOUR goals! Learn more here: http://www.investormachine.com   Coaching with Mike Hambright:  Interested in 1 on 1 coaching with Mike Hambright? Mike coaches entrepreneurs looking to level up, build coaching or service based businesses (Mike runs multiple 7 and 8 figure a year businesses), building a coaching program and more. Learn more here: https://investorfuel.com/coachingwithmike   Attend a Vacation/Mastermind Retreat with Mike Hambright: Interested in joining a "mini-mastermind" with Mike and his private clients on an upcoming "Retreat", either at locations like Cabo San Lucas, Napa, Park City ski trip, Yellowstone, or even at Mike's East Texas "Big H Ranch"? Learn more here: http://www.investorfuel.com/retreat   Property Insurance: Join the largest and most investor friendly property insurance provider in 2 minutes. Free to join, and insure all your flips and rentals within minutes! There is NO easier insurance provider on the planet (turn insurance on or off in 1 minute without talking to anyone!), and there's no 15-30% agent mark up through this platform!  Register here: https://myinvestorinsurance.com/   New Real Estate Investors - How we can work together: Investor Fuel Club (Coaching and Deal Partner Community): Looking to kickstart your real estate investing career? Join our one of a kind Coaching Community, Investor Fuel Club, where you'll get trained by some of the best real estate investors in America, and partner with them on deals! You don't need $ for deals…we'll partner with you and hold your hand along the way! Learn More here: http://www.investorfuel.com/club   —--------------------

Rena Strohmeier is the Underwriting Manager at Wawanesa Insurance and a San Diego State University faculty lecturer, teaching insurance and risk management classes. She is a member of the Executive and Leadership Council of the CPCU Society, and holds CPCU, AIC, and AINS designations. Here, she joins Chris Hampshire on In The Know for a conversation about working for a California-only insurer, global insurance interests, and insurance careers for women and offerings for underserved communities.   Key Takeaways ● Rena's career path started in auto theft. ● Underwriting or claims? CPCU helped determine Rena's decision. ● Insights into personal lines. ● Why insurance? Rena shares her personal answer. ● Women In Leadership offerings. ● Rena's involvement with the CPCU Society. ● Rena's role as guest lecturer at San Diego State University. ● The current state of the California insurance industry. ● A five-year look to the future of the industry. ● Rena's advice to her early career self.   In the Know podcast theme music written and performed by James Jones, CPCU, and Kole Shuda of the band If-Then.   To learn more about the CPCU Society, its membership, and educational offerings, tools, and programs, please visit CPCUSociety.org.   Follow the CPCU Society on social media: X (Twitter): @CPCUSociety Facebook: @CPCUSociety LinkedIn: @The Institutes CPCU Society Instagram: @the_cpcu_society   Quotes ● "The partnership between underwriting and claims is a very good one that we should think about more in the industry." ● "Women — there is a space for you in this industry." ● "If you know what you're passionate about, reach out, and someone can help connect that to insurance." ● "The possibilities and probabilities of success and building generational wealth and creating a legacy, I'd say, are greater in insurance than any other industry out there."  

In this episode of Making Risk Flow, host Jake Harding brings together ten leaders from across insurance, data, and technology to explore how spatial intelligence, real-time data, and climate modeling are reshaping risk assessment and underwriting. Mark Varley, Simon De La Hoyde, Izik Lavy, Jacob Grob, Joan Saladich, Caroline Grey, Pierre-Henri Janssens, Bryan Falchuk, Jay Wallace, and Nick Franz examine why insurers need more than greater data volumes to gain an advantage. The discussion explores point-of-quote accumulation, property-level geospatial analysis, probabilistic climate intelligence, and the value of embedding spatial context early in underwriting workflows. The group also considers emerging opportunities in post-binding cyber intervention and agricultural risk data, while examining how integrated technology, proactive portfolio analysis, and clean-sheet thinking can improve risk selection, profitability, and long-term competitive advantage across insurance markets.Fan Mail: Got a challenge digitizing your intake? Share it with us, and we'll unpack solutions from our experience at Cytora.To receive a custom demo from Cytora, click here and use the code 'Making Risk Flow'.Our previous guests include: Bronek Masojada of PPL, Craig Knightly of Inigo, Andrew Horton of QBE Insurance, Simon McGinn of Allianz, Stephane Flaquet of Hiscox, Matthew Grant of InsTech, Paul Brand of Convex, Paolo Cuomo of Gallagher Re, and Thierry Daucourt of AXA.Check out the three most downloaded episodes:The Five Pillars of Data Analytics Strategy in Insurance | Craig Knightly, Inigo20 Years as CEO of Hiscox: Personal Reflections and the Evolution of PPL | Bronek MasojadaImplementing ESG in the Insurance and Underwriting Space | Simon Tighe, Chaucer, and Paul McCarney, Moody's

What if every door that ever opened for you started with a message you almost didn't send? In this episode, Susanne Sandler, SVP and GM of Fintech at Mews, a $2.5 billion global hotel technology company, shares how a bold application as a college sophomore led her into the office of the CFO of Merrill Lynch, and how a cold message to a keynote speaker years later led to six years working alongside the future CEO of Booking Holdings. Susanne runs the fintech division at Mews, which accounts for 75% of company revenue. But the principles that drive how she leads trace back to two men who saw her potential before she did, and to one simple belief: you miss 100% of the shots you don't take.   [00:03:48] What She Does and Who She Serves SVP and GM of Fintech at Mews, a $2.5 billion global vertical SaaS company Mews calls itself the operating system for modern hotels Runs the fintech business, which is about 75% of company revenue [00:04:30] Who Mews Serves Serves everything from small mom and pop hotels to large global chains Partnerships with Best Western, Choice, and the Asian American Hotel Owners Association AHOA members make up about 60% of US hotels [00:05:30] What Inspires Her Travel is where people have their most memorable experiences Most people name a trip when asked about their best moments of the year Mews removes the manual work so hotels can focus on the guest experience [00:06:48] How She Got Here Started her career in financial services and investing in financial companies Won her undergraduate business plan competition and launched a tech startup in New York The last 12 to 13 years have been focused on travel tech and fintech Says she feels lucky every day doing work that combines both passions [00:08:17] Client Impact: The Multi-Currency Win Launched a product letting hotels offer FX services to guests Guests can lock in their price in their own currency Hotels now earn markup revenue that previously went to banks and card networks Some hotels cover the full cost of all their Mews services from this product alone [00:10:52] AI at Mews: Thoughtful, Not Trendy Building a semantic data layer combining guest, property, and payments data The goal is better insights and experiences, not just cutting headcount Early results from the approach have been incredible [00:12:11] The Vision for Fintech at Mews Wants to build a holistic financial suite for hotels Expanding beyond payments into accounts, loans, and supplier payments Everything is deeply embedded and connected to hotel data [00:13:27] Why Hospitality Is Underserved Hotels have seasonal cash flow that banks struggle to understand Mews holds all bookings data plus a revenue management system That gives a full forward-looking picture of the business Underwriting becomes far easier than a bank reading old financial statements [00:15:08] The First Relationship That Changed Everything Saw an internship posting at NYU Stern for the CFO of Merrill Lynch Assumed it couldn't be the real CFO; applied anyway Walked in thinking worst case she meets someone impressive, best case she gets the job A short-term role became over two years with growing hours and responsibility [00:17:54] What She Learned from Him Finding people who believe in you and see your potential is everything Learned resilience by working under constant high-pressure stakes He was precise and held her fully accountable for her numbers People still compliment her composure; she credits that early training [00:20:24] Treating Every Human with Respect Watched him treat the person cleaning his office the same as a head of state He did it because it was right, not for gain That taught her the kind of person she wanted to become as she grew senior [00:21:31] How He Set Her Up After College He opened doors to meetings with teams across Merrill Lynch She still had to prove herself and work the grueling hours Landed a role investing in equity, debt, and early fintech companies That first role set the tone for the next 20 years [00:25:02] What Makes Mentorship Actually Work Both sides have to invest in the relationship Assigned mentorships often fail; organic ones tend to succeed Nobody owes you anything; it is all give and take [00:26:13] The Second Relationship: Glenn Fogel Saw Glenn deliver a keynote at a conference in 2013 and was blown away He told the story of rebuilding Priceline after the dot-com crash The company is now Booking Holdings with a $135 billion market cap [00:28:18] The Cold Message That Changed Her Career Reached out just to tell him the presentation was incredible He responded, they talked, and he ended up hiring her She worked with him and his team for over six years [00:29:08] What She Learned from Glenn Got a front row seat as he became CEO of Booking Holdings in 2017 Was handed some of the most critical projects for the business Learned what leadership looks like at the highest level Left only because she had learned enough to run a company at IAC [00:31:26] You Miss 100% of the Shots You Don't Take For every story that worked, there are hundreds that went nowhere She repeats the Gretzky line whenever imposter syndrome shows up There is almost no downside to taking the shot [00:33:10] Why Glenn Still Makes Time Even as a global CEO, he finds time for people who reach out He has never become overconfident or self-important He continues supporting people who did right by him Relationships become exponentially more valuable as both people grow   KEY QUOTES "Finding those people who believe in you and see potential in you, I would say, is so important." - Susanne Sandler "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. I say that to myself a lot when I'm like, well, what's the point?" - Susanne Sandler "That's how we all give back, and that's how we all create this great karma in the world and support each other." - Susanne Sandler CONNECT WITH SUSANNE SANDLER Website: https://www.mews.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susannegreenfield   Thanks for tuning in! If you liked my show, please LEAVE A 5-STAR REVIEW, like, and subscribe! Find me on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher

In this episode of Tank Talks, host Matt Cohen sits down with Wayne Pommen, Chief Revenue Officer at Affirm and founder of PayBright, Canada's first e-commerce buy now, pay later platform. Wayne shares his unlikely journey from competitive rowing, including the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race, to a PhD in international relations, Bain Consulting, and private equity at TorQuest, where a failed deal set him on the path to building a fintech unicorn.Wayne pulls back the curtain on PayBright's early days, from spinning out a tiny 5-person division called HealthSmart Financial Services to pivoting into e-commerce and landing Casper and Endy as launch partners. He offers a practical breakdown of running a successful M&A process, sharing the dos and don'ts that led to Affirm's acquisition of PayBright in 2020.Now a senior executive at a public fintech giant, Wayne reflects on what he's learned from working alongside Max Levchin, why Affirm refuses to charge late fees or deferred interest, and how AI is transforming everything from underwriting to go-to-market. He also shares his views on agentic commerce, the Canadian consumer credit landscape, and why “don't quit” is his favorite life lesson.Whether you're a founder navigating a pivot, an operator scaling through acquisition, or just curious about the future of payments and AI, Wayne Pommen delivers the kind of straight talk that comes from building and scaling one of Canada's most successful fintech stories.–A big thanks to our sponsor, Moomoo CanadaThis is the kind of tooling that used to live on a Bloomberg terminal, but now it is on your phone, just a few taps away. They offer real-time data, full options chains, and an AI assistant that actually explains trading strategies.Moomoo is the perfect place for people who want to take their money seriously. Open an account today at moomoo.caFrom Cambridge to Bain to Private Equity (03:10)* The Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race, a broken wrist, and a comeback story* Why he chose Bain over academia and how consulting shaped his career* Joining TorQuest and zeroing in on non-bank financial servicesFinding the Kernel: HealthSmart Financial Services (05:18)* The summer of 2013, losing a deal but falling in love with the point-of-sale lending model* Why banks ignored this niche and how technology was changing the game* Spinning out a tiny five-person division with no CEOThe Pivot to E-Commerce (10:14)* Doubling the health business in 2016 and realizing it would take forever* The epiphany: Canada had no point-of-sale financing for e-commerce* Mapping out the user experience over Christmas 2016 and pre-selling Casper and EndyBuilding PayBright: Scrappy, Fast, and Capital Efficient (15:00)* Running a “double-headed monster,” healthcare and e-commerce side by side* Advice for founders navigating platform shifts, from legacy platforms to AI-native products* The economics of buy now, pay later, merchant fees, interest rates, and cost of riskThe Affirm Acquisition (21:02)* Growing annual loan volume from $6 million to $220 million in five years* The COVID boom and inbound interest from Klarna, RBC, TD, and Affirm* Running a mini process, dos and don'ts for foundersStaying On: Becoming CRO at Affirm (27:34)* Why he stayed past the earnout and has now been there for more than three years* Lessons from Max Levchin and the “dog on a bone” approach to going deeper* How to stay focused across multiple products and jurisdictionsAgentic Commerce and the Future of Shopping (33:09)* What agentic commerce really means and what it doesn't* Why agents will read the fine print and guide consumers to better choices* The partnerships with Google, Stripe, and ShopifyBanning Deferred Interest and Late Fees (36:04)* Why deferred interest is “borderline abusive” and hard to defend* Affirm's no-late-fee, no-compounding, transaction-level underwriting model* Aligning lender and consumer interests, the Max Levchin insightFrom Private to Public: Lessons in Discipline (40:32)* How being public forces discipline without over-dictating the quarter* Advice for CROs on timing the public markets* Why Stripe staying private proves there's no one-size-fits-all pathAI at Affirm: Supercharging Revenue and Underwriting (44:11)* The proliferation of AI tools internally and the excitement of experimentation* How transformer-based models are improving underwriting* The future of work, querying Slack for tribal knowledge in secondsAbout Wayne PommenWayne Pommen is Chief Revenue Officer at Affirm, where he oversees the company's revenue-generating teams and products. He joined Affirm in January 2021 through its acquisition of PayBright, Canada's leading buy now, pay later provider, which he founded and led as President and CEO starting in 2015, growing it from 5 to 250 employees with retail partners including Apple, Hudson's Bay, Wayfair, Samsung, and Sephora. Before PayBright, Wayne was a Principal at TorQuest Partners and a consultant at Bain & Company. A former competitive rower for Canada's national team, he holds a degree from Harvard and a PhD from Cambridge.Connect with Wayne Pommen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wayne-pommen-8844021/Visit Affirm's website: https://www.affirm.com/Connect 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

Steve Kuppenheimer, Head of Private Investments, explains how experienced lenders price risk, evaluate borrowers, and prioritize downside protection in today's private credit market.

Contractors face environmental exposures that can lead to costly claims, coverage disputes, project delays, cleanup expenses, legal defense costs, and third-party liability. In this episode of the Environmental Strategist Podcast, presented in partnership with the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance, Brooks Bunbury is joined by Christopher Pell, Senior Underwriting Manager with Intact Insurance, Midwest and Eastern Environmental Division, to explore real-world contractor pollution liability claims and the environmental insurance solutions that can help protect businesses. The conversation examines current environmental insurance market conditions, growth in contractor pollution liability coverage, and the types of claims carriers are seeing across the construction and contracting space. Examples include mold from an improperly installed HVAC system, asbestos-contaminated demolition debris, underground utility strikes, fuel line leaks, stormwater runoff, liquid asphalt spills, illicit dumping, vapor intrusion, and aging underground storage tanks. Listeners will also learn how Contractors Pollution Liability (CPL), site pollution coverage, transportation pollution liability, underground storage tank coverage, and related environmental insurance products may respond to exposures that are often excluded or limited under general liability, commercial auto, or property policies. The episode also offers practical underwriting insights for agents and brokers, including why project lists, loss runs, financial stability, health and safety practices, and well-drafted contracts matter when placing environmental coverage. This episode is ideal for insurance agents, brokers, risk managers, contractors, and environmental insurance professionals who want to better understand contractor pollution exposures, coverage gaps, and the importance of environmental financial assurance. Key Topics Environmental liabilities facing contractors Current environmental insurance market conditions Growth trends in contractor pollution liability (CPL) Mold claims and water intrusion exposures Asbestos contamination and demolition risks Fuel spills, leaking tanks, and underground utility strikes Vapor intrusion, silica, PFAS, and stormwater runoff Contractor Pollution Liability (CPL) coverage Environmental Impairment Liability (EIL) and site pollution coverage Transportation Pollution Liability coverage Underground Storage Tank (UST) risks and insurance considerations Legal defense costs in environmental claims Contractual environmental insurance requirements Environmental financial assurance programs Underwriting best practices for contractors How pollution coverage can provide a competitive bidding advantage Key Takeaways Environmental exposures exist for nearly every contractor, not just environmental specialists. Excavation, demolition, HVAC, plumbing, utility installation, roofing, and transportation operations can all trigger costly pollution claims. Standard general liability policies often contain pollution exclusions that leave contractors uninsured for significant environmental losses. Contractor Pollution Liability (CPL) coverage can address cleanup costs, bodily injury, property damage, business interruption, natural resource damages, and legal defense costs. Mold continues to be a major source of environmental claims affecting contractors across multiple trades. Underground utility strikes, fuel releases, asbestos discoveries, and stormwater runoff can quickly generate six- and seven-figure losses. Transportation Pollution Liability fills important coverage gaps that may not be addressed by commercial auto policies. Aging underground storage tanks present increasing risk and may become more difficult and expensive to insure over time. Strong safety programs, favorable loss histories, stable finances, and well-written contracts can improve underwriting outcomes and pricing. Contractors can use pollution liability coverage as a differentiator when competing for projects that require environmental financial assurance.   Want to build stronger environmental risk and insurance expertise? Enroll in the Certified Environmental Strategist, Self-Paced Online Course from the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance. This four-hour, on-demand course helps insurance professionals better understand environmental exposures, coverage solutions, and risk management strategies. Start learning on your schedule and earn your Certified Environmental Strategist certification.   Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

Michel Léonard, chief economist and data scientist, Insurance Information Institute, discusses the improving underwriting outlook for property/casualty insurers and how emerging risks, stress testing and AI are shaping the industry's future.

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.We sat down with Jake Elmhirst, Partner, Head of Private Wealth Secondaries Solutions and Head of Capital Formation at Coller Capital.We were live from Berlin, which becomes the “capital of private capital” in June as private equity industry leaders make the annual pilgrimage to the city for one of the marquee private equity conferences, SuperReturn Berlin.With Prosek Partners and former Bloomberg TV journalist Deirdre Bolton as my producer, along with her team, we took over a Tiny Space cabin to hold big conversations with some of the industry's leading alternative asset managers.Coller Capital has been a pioneer in the rapidly growing secondaries market. Coller's tagline? “First in secondaries.” Coller might be “first in secondaries.” The industry they focus on has moved to the forefront of private markets. Secondaries are coming in first for many LPs, in part because secondaries are now an active portfolio management solution for LPs (LP-led secondaries) and a way for LPs and GPs to continue to invest in the growth and value appreciation of some of their funds' best assets (GP-led secondaries). The firm completed its first secondaries transaction in 1990 and its first GP-led investment in 1996. Today, Coller has $55B in AUM (as of 3/31/26). Jake joined Coller after a long career at UBS, where he partnered with Coller from a few different vantage points co-founding and co-leading the Private Funds Group within UBS Investment Bank and leading the Private Markets effort within UBS Global Wealth Management. His perspective on Coller was very much a reason why he decided to leave his farm in Yorkshire (as a 23rd generation farmer!) to join Coller as they build out their wealth efforts.Jake and I had a fascinating conversation about the evolution of secondaries and how they are increasingly “solutions” for LPs and GPs. We covered:Jake's experience witnessing the rise of the early days of private markets and how that's shaped how he thinks about secondaries today.Why secondaries are becoming “solutions” for LPs and GPs.Why secondaries can be a core portfolio holding.The features of secondaries. The drivers of the increase in LP-led sales.Why have GP-led continuation vehicles become a popular solution?Why secondaries make sense for private wealth investors.BioJake is a Partner and Head of Private Wealth Secondaries Solutions and Head of Capital Formation. He is based in the firm's London office.Prior to joining Coller Capital in April 2022, Jake spent 25 years at UBS where he led the Private Markets effort within UBS Global Wealth Management, based in London. Prior to that, Jake co-founded and co-led the Private Funds Group within UBS Investment Bank, based in New York.He previously worked at Freshfields in London, where he qualified as a solicitor working in the Tax Team with a focus on collective investment schemes.Jake has a degree in Law (LLB) from the University of Bristol.Jake Elmhirst is a registered representative of Parallel Distributors LLC.Thanks, Jake, for sharing your wisdom, expertise, and passion in private markets, private wealth, and secondaries. Show Notes 00:00 Live in Berlin Intro00:39 Jake Elmhirst's Career Journey02:08 Wealth Channel Lessons05:06 Farming Roots Detour07:34 Secondaries Liquidity Fix09:26 Continuation Vehicles Impact11:21 Wealth Channel and Scale13:21 Why Secondaries Work15:15 Core Holding for Wealth16:31 Discount Versus Quality18:43 Underwriting in CV Era20:56 Evergreen Portfolio Mix21:56 Future of Solutions23:02 Toolbox Expansion Ideas24:55 Why Scale Matters25:53 Discount Nuance Explained27:30 Active Portfolio Management28:45 Closing Thoughts

Today's show features: - Robert O'Koniewski, Executive Vice President and General Counsel at Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association (MADA) - Dan Mowid, Senior Division Reinsurance Executive, Direct Markets at Zurich North America - Josh Wear, Vice President of Underwriting, Direct Markets at Zurich North America - Chris Hudson, General Manager at Mark Miller Subaru This episode is brought to you by: Podium – Most AI is a black box. Podium's is yours to control — and it increases conversion by upwards of 26%. Check it out at podium.com Check it out at https://www.podium.com/ Zurich North America – Your loss ratio may be telling you more than you realize. Zurich brings the reinsurance expertise, underwriting insight and dealer-focused guidance to help you better understand what may be driving performance and where action may be needed. Visit www.zurichna.com/checkup to request a no-obligation review. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: CDG Circles ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://cdgcircles.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ CDG News ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://news.dealershipguy.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ CDG Jobs ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ CDG Recruiting ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ My Socials: X ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ TikTok ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn ➤⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Threads ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook ➤⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Everything else ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠dealershipguy.com

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This episode exposes how two Los Angeles women exploited regulatory gaps in the insurance industry to orchestrate a systematic $2.8 million fraud scheme. By filing dozens of fraudulent policies across multiple insurers using forged identities, fake familial relationships, and strategically waiting out the two-year incontestability clause, the duo weaponized corporate underwriting rules for financial gain. We break down the paper trail, wire fraud charges, and fatal underwriting oversight that ultimately turned a sophisticated financial scam into a multi-agency federal and homicide investigation.

Featured Guests Jeffrey Williams, Managing Director, Microsoft Global Insurance Advisory Practice Andy Welch, Product Architect, HSB Max Waddell, Head of Sales, Covenir Topics Discussed AI liability insurance Emerging AI risks and exposures Insurance coverage gaps Underwriting AI-related risks Insurance operations and automation MGA and carrier strategy AI adoption and employee enablement Claims and customer service transformation Future insurance technology trends The evolving relationship between people and AI Key Takeaways AI is creating new insurance coverage needs and exposures. Insurers are beginning to address AI-specific liability risks. Successful AI adoption requires employee education and engagement. AI should augment insurance professionals, not replace them. Insurance remains a relationship-driven industry. Organizations that thoughtfully integrate AI into workflows will gain a competitive advantage.   CIC Insurance Company Operations Want a deeper understanding of how insurance companies operate, make underwriting decisions, manage claims, and leverage technology? The CIC Insurance Company Operations course from the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides insurance professionals with a practical look inside carrier operations, business strategy, financial considerations, underwriting processes, and organizational decision-making. Explore CIC Insurance Company Operations and gain the knowledge needed to better understand the insurance companies you work with every day. Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

In this solo episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast, Chris Willis, co-leader of Troutman Pepper Locke's Consumer Financial Services Regulatory practice, walks through the recent wave of federal regulatory guidance addressing the role of immigration status in consumer lending and explains why the practical impact on lenders may be far more limited than the public discourse suggests. Chris breaks down what each piece of guidance says, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's reminder that Regulation B permits immigration status considerations in ability-to-repay analyses for mortgages and credit cards, and the banking regulators' safety and soundness and concentration risk warnings. He also addresses the competing litigation risks that complicate a simple return to restrictive eligibility policies. He then turns to the critical practical question: what, if anything, should lenders actually do? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Vessi Kapoulian spent fifteen years as a commercial lender. She underwrote more than a thousand deals and managed a credit portfolio north of a billion dollars before she ever bought a building for her own account. That order matters, and it is the whole reason this conversation is different from most multifamily interviews. Her framework has four parts, and she looks at them in a deliberate order: the operator, the market, the numbers, and last, the structure of the deal. Last. As she puts it, people pay back loans, not properties. The building is collateral and a secondary source of repayment. The person is the deal. The lender's opening question is the one most passive investors never ask: how do I lose money on this? Not what is the projected return. What is the downside, and where does it come from. She is direct about where LPs get hurt. The preferred return is not guaranteed, and a lot of investors believe it is. She walks through both waterfalls, the capital event and the cash flow, and what she wants to see about priority when a deal is stressed rather than when it performs. She has walked away from deals where the sponsor checked out and the numbers checked out but the structure did not align. She also talks about fraud, from both sides. She caught it as a lender. She was a victim of it as a passive investor. That is in the new book, and she does not soften it. Her latest, The Busy Professional's Guide to Passive Apartment Investing, is written for the doctor, lawyer, accountant, or executive working an eighty-hour week who wants real estate exposure without becoming an operator. Each chapter stands on its own so it works as a reference rather than a front-to-back read. Her first book, Mastering Multifamily Underwriting, is an Amazon bestseller and goes deep on the deal analysis itself. Both are on Amazon in all four formats. We also get into what changed in her 2026 underwriting on rates and insurance, why she wants insurance modeled well above the standard three percent, why she will not invest where the operator has no local infrastructure, and what a decade of watching LPs lose money taught her about protecting capital. Connect with Vessi Kapoulian: dbacapitalgroup.com masteringmultifamilyunderwriting.com LinkedIn Chapters 00:00 A lot of fraud, a lot of scams emerge in this part of the cycle 00:45 Welcome to Real Estate Underground 01:00 A returning guest: Vessi Kapoulian 01:30 Bulgaria, the Iron Curtain, and what it shaped 02:30 Fifteen years underwriting, then buying for her own account 04:00 Parallel paths: Clark St moves to the lending side 04:30 Why she wrote Mastering Multifamily Underwriting 07:00 The four areas, in order: operator, market, numbers, structure 08:00 People pay back loans, not properties 09:00 The Busy Professional's Guide to Passive Apartment Investing 11:00 Fraud, from both sides of the table 12:00 What a lender sees that a syndicator pitching LPs does not 14:00 Following the deck versus reading the documents 15:00 Both waterfalls, and why the preferred return is not guaranteed 17:00 Fees, alignment of incentives, and capital call conditions 18:00 Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, run from Los Angeles 19:00 Why she starts with local boots on the ground 20:00 Underwriting rates and insurance in 2026 22:00 Losing money, and why nobody has until they do 24:00 FOMO, and the deal you should regret more 27:00 Transparency after a loss, and the venture rule about cycled founders 29:00 The Final Five 29:30 Purpose: lasting positive impact 31:00 Best advice: you will get ready when the opportunity is presented 33:00 The decision she would take back, and God's timing 35:00 What is on the nightstand 36:30 Defining success: a life of significance 36:50 Life outside real estate: running, reading, family 37:30 How to reach Vessi Vessi's books: The Busy Professional's Guide to Passive Apartment Investing Mastering Multifamily Underwriting This week's books: The Family Office Handbook by Kirby Rosplock, and Raising Financially Fit Kids by Jolene Godfrey. Real Estate Underground with Ed Mathews. Find us wherever you get your podcasts, at clarkst.com/podcast or elevista.com/podcast Elevista - Speed as a Service™Elevista Connect is the first AI-powered lead conversion system built for real estate investors.

Caylee Robles is a retired CPA turned Florida real estate agent who spent five years earning her accounting credentials at the University of Wisconsin before walking away from Deloitte to chase real estate. After six months without a paycheck, a $90,000 wholesaling run, and two years of raiding her own tax account, she built a Profit First system that now pays her a salary every 1st and 15th and could carry her through six months of zero income.David Richter and Caylee dig into why agents stay trapped in feast or famine, why she deliberately chose the lower risk agent path over investing, and the exact account structure that let her double three years of income in a single year. If you're a real estate agent or investor whose commissions land straight in your personal checking account, this episode is your wake-up call.Timeline Summary[0:33] – David sets up the episode: thinking like a business owner and building systems that keep more of your money[1:15] – Caylee shares her backstory: decided at age eight to become an accountant, earned her CPA at the University of Wisconsin[2:39] – Within a month at her first accounting job she knew she hated it, searching real estate jobs every night during busy season[3:43] – Where her "do hard things" wiring came from: two parents in sales who worked 25 years before the payoff[6:07] – The three year transition out of accounting: Deloitte auditing, a real estate internship, and an Austin transfer that closed the door[7:42] – Underwriting $1 million plus luxury leased homes across the Caribbean, Mexico, and South Florida[8:08] – Joining New Western at the end of 2022: "you eat what you kill," 75 to 80 hour weeks, and two months with no income[9:39] – Six months without making a dollar, then $90,000 in three months wholesaling with her partner[10:10] – Setting up her LLC and Profit First accounts on Relay before the money ever showed up[11:49] – The two year struggle: pulling from her tax account to pay personal credit cards during the lean stretch[13:38] – The 2025 turning point: repeat client business and splits big enough that she never touches her owner's distribution account[16:38] – Her S corp structure: salary every 1st and 15th, SEP IRA contributions, and distributions on top[17:19] – In 2025 she doubled what she made in the three prior years combined, and 2026 has already matched it[21:25] – Why agent risk beats investor risk: her downside is time, while investors she works with have $300,000 on the line[23:21] – Diversifying beyond real estate: 401k, SEP IRA, joint investments, and a 3% interest rate home that becomes a rental[29:59] – Her one move to make this week: set it up as a business with an LLC and dedicated business accounts5 Key TakeawaysTreat Yourself Like a Business Owner — Whether you're an agent or an investor, you're self-employed, and that means acting like it. An LLC, a business checking account, and dedicated tax and owner's pay accounts come before anything else.Set Up the System Before the Money Arrives — Caylee opened her Profit First accounts while she was broke, so when the $90K hit there was already a place for every dollar. The foundation matters more than the timing.Risk Your Time, Not Your Money — She left investing for the agent side on purpose. A canceled listing costs her hours, while an overleveraged flip can cost an investor six figures at inspection.Automation Removes the Willpower Problem — Money hits her Relay account and splits instantly: credit cards paid, SEP IRA funded, salary scheduled. She only touches the system when she overspends.A Buffer Buys You the Power of No — With six months of runway in the business, a slow summer doesn't create panic. Financial cushion is what turns "what do I need to do" into "what do I want to do next."Links & ResourcesSimple CFO — https://simplecfo.comFollow Caylee Robles on Instagram — https://instagram.com/thedailycayleeRelay business banking — https://relayfi.comProfit First by Mike MichalowiczEnjoyed This Episode?If Caylee's story of going from raiding her tax account to a self-paying salary every two weeks hit close to home, don't keep it to yourself. Share this episode with an agent or investor whose commissions are still landing in their personal checking account. Then follow the show and leave a rating and review so more real estate professionals can find Profit First.

Buying a home, building good credit, preparing for retirement, and navigating the markets all require looking beyond today's headlines. Shanna Squires of Henssler Mortgage Advisors joins us to explain what actually happens during the mortgage process — from pre-approval to closing — including why pre-approval may not always be what you can afford, why lenders ask for so much documentation, and how your mortgage lender should be working with you every step of the way  before getting the keys.After the break, we also explore the growing divide in consumer credit, as more Americans achieve top-tier credit scores while others struggle with record credit card balances and how it mirrors our K-shaped economy.We examine the changing realities of retirement as more Baby Boomers choose to upsize instead of downsize, reflecting a shift toward multigenerational living, entertaining, and homes designed to support aging in place.We close with a look at the latest earnings season, why investors are becoming more selective about companies' AI spending, and whether the other 493 companies in the S&P 500 can help broaden market leadership. Join hosts Nick Antonucci, CVA, CEPA, Director of Research, and Managing Associates K.C. Smith, CFP®, CEPA, and D.J. Barker, CWS®, and Kelly-Lynne Scalice, a seasoned communicator and host, on Henssler Money Talks as they explore key financial strategies to help investors navigate market uncertainty. Henssler Money Talks July 25, 2026  |  Season 40, Episode 30Timestamps and Chapters6:36: Inside the Mortgage Process24:16: A Tale of Two Credit Economies33:41: Aging in Place—or Living Larger44:05: Investors Questioning AI SpendingFollow Henssler:  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HensslerFinancial/ YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/c/HensslerFinancial LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/henssler-financial/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hensslerfinancial/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hensslerfinancial?lang=en X: https://www.x.com/hensslergroup “Henssler Money Talks” is brought to you by Henssler Financial. Sign up for the Money Talks Newsletter: https://www.henssler.com/newsletters/ Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Center for Financial Planning, Inc. owns and licenses the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the United States to Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., which authorizes individuals who successfully complete the organization's initial and ongoing certification requirements to use the certification marks.See important disclosures at Henssler.com

To obtain this week's Real Estate Notes Show guest Doug Smith's information, use this link https://bit.ly/4vfnWB5In this revealing episode, we sit down with Doug, a 35-year banking veteran who survived the 2008 crash and has worked through multiple market cycles. Doug shares the insider knowledge that separates successful note investors from those who lose money on seemingly "good" deals.**What You'll Learn:**• Why pricing notes based solely on UPB or BPO is fundamentally flawed• The dual pricing methodology banks use to evaluate every note investment• How to find the real story behind every borrower (hint: check social media)• The critical difference between data tapes and collateral files• Assignment chains and allonges explained in plain English• Why ROI calculations without time factors will mislead you• Doug's compassionate approach to loan workouts that maintains borrower dignity• Market forecast: Why Doug sees major opportunity coming for note investors in 2025**Key Topics Covered:**✅ Performing vs non-performing note strategy✅ Underwriting methodology from institutional banking✅ Due diligence beyond the spreadsheet✅ Resolution toolkit for non-performing loans✅ Ethical exit strategies for struggling borrowers✅ Market cycles and upcoming opportunitiesDoug brings three decades of special assets experience, having worked with three of the world's largest banks before founding Castle Rock Capital Management and launching The Mad Lender consulting firm. His new book, "The Mad Lender's Guide to Private Lending and Note Investing," is now available on Amazon.**

On this episode, Jonathon Ferguson, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at AshGrove Capital, explains how bespoke financing solutions for B2B software differ fundamentally from both direct lending and venture debt—and why underwriting on conviction rather than exit optionality changes how you structure a deal.Hear how to think about valuing a software business as a lender, why proprietary data and vertical software have proved resilient as AI accelerates, and how performance-linked credit facilities tie capital deployment directly to growth milestones—with capacity that can grow organically as a company hits its plan.The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.

In this episode, you'll learn: Why insurance's biggest bottleneck isn't decision-making—it's the work surrounding the decision How AI agents differ from traditional automation and workflow tools Why governance, transparency, and auditability are essential for insurance AI How carriers can use AI to improve underwriting accuracy and speed-to-quote The role of AI in claims consistency, customer trust, and claims outcomes Why human oversight remains critical in underwriting, claims, and policy servicing The difference between general-purpose AI models and insurance-specific AI Lessons learned from more than 120 live insurance AI deployments Common mistakes organizations make when scaling AI initiatives How insurance leaders can build an AI strategy that delivers measurable business value As AI changes how insurance work gets done, understanding how insurance companies operate becomes even more important. The Alliance's CIC Insurance Company Operations course provides a deeper look into carrier structures, underwriting operations, claims management, profitability, financial performance, and the decisions that drive insurer success. Explore CIC Insurance Company Operations through the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance and strengthen your understanding of today's insurance marketplace. Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

What separates the carriers that are genuinely moving on AI from those still waiting for permission to start? In this episode, Equisoft's host, Olivier Lafontaine, speaks with Brian Poppe, Senior Vice President of Life Insurance Solutions at Mutual of Omaha, to explore how one of the industry's most established insurance companies is approaching AI-driven transformation. Brian emphasizes that the most meaningful gains come from rethinking and redesigning end-to-end workflows to eliminate inefficiencies at their source. He also unpacks the structural differences between life insurance and property and casualty markets. Noting that life insurers must proceed more cautiously due to long-term pricing commitments and heightened regulatory exposure. Across underwriting and customer service, Brian highlights one thing: AI will become increasingly embedded as a decision-support and automation layer, reshaping how insurers balance speed, risk accuracy, and human judgment, particularly in moments where empathy and trust remain critical. Key Takeaways: AI delivers the most value when insurers redesign end-to-end workflows instead of automating broken processes. Underwriting advantage comes from faster, better-integrated use of existing data rather than entirely new data sources. AI adoption must balance automation with regulation and preserve human judgment in sensitive, high-empathy moments. Jump Into the Conversation:(00:00) Meet Brian Poppe(03:30) Leading life insurance solutions at Mutual of Omaha(04:37) Life insurance, health, annuities, and business unit overview(06:26) Brand power and the legacy of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom(08:14) Direct-to-consumer insurance and the pressure of public trust(10:06) Scaling simplified issue life insurance profitably(14:13) Data, process, and technology in modern underwriting(16:48) Will AI make underwriting decisions or just support them?(19:54) Human vs automated underwriting in practice(21:51) AI-powered call summarization in customer service(23:00) Virtual agents and automating routine customer inquiries(24:07) Why human empathy matters in claims experiences(26:02) Organizational adoption of AI and employee mindset shifts(26:56) Horizontal vs vertical AI implementation strategies(28:59) AI costs, token economics, and experimentation tradeoffs(32:25) Measuring AI value beyond tokens and lines of code(34:10) ROI in call centers and operational efficiency gains(36:27) Advice on AI adoption and process-first transformation(38:23) Closing thoughts and the future of AI in insurance Resources: Connect with Brian Poppe: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bpoppe/ Learn more about Mutual of Omaha: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mutual-of-omaha/ Connect with Olivier Lafontaine: https://www.linkedin.com/in/olivierlafontaine/

In this episode, I had the chance to speak Brian Reshefsky, founder and CEO of EDGE, the cashflow bureau helping lenders use bank transaction data across the consumer credit lifecycle, and Zuben Matthews, cofounder and CEO of consumer financial management and credit building app Brigit.We had the chance to discuss:* How they think about cashflow-based scoring and underwriting, from both a B2B and a consumer perspective* Uses for cashflow data beyond lending decisions, like lead scoring, loan life cycle management, and cross sell* The intersection of traditional bureau data and cashflow analytics* What it means to be a CRA and why it matters* And much moreA reminder, if you're enjoying this show, please follow, rate & review on your preferred podcast platform, as it really helps others to find the show.And if you want to help support Fintech Business Weekly and independent journalism, upgrade to a paid subscription or reach more than 92,000+ listeners by sponsoring an episode. Get full access to Fintech Business Weekly at fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/subscribe

Careers in the credit union industry can take unexpected turns, as Kendall Boyle proves in this episode of Credit Union Conversations. From wedding-planning chaos to underwriting spreadsheets, Kendall's career path is anything but ordinary. Host Mark Ritter chats with the MBFS portfolio analyst about surviving hospitality burnout, thriving in remote work, and finding calm through animal fostering. Kendall opens up about the emotional side of fostering kittens, the perks and pitfalls of working from home, and why Michigan summers on the lake make the long winters worth it. It's a warm, funny, and honest conversation about building a career that actually fits your life, on your own terms.What You Will Learn in This Episode: ✅ How Kendall moved from event planning and hospitality burnout into mortgage underwriting✅ Why remote work at a credit union CUSO can support real work-life balance✅ What it takes to become a foster home for kittens through your local humane society✅ How credit union careers can lead to meaningful work in business lending nationwideSubscribe to Credit Union Conversations for the latest credit union trends and insights on loan volume and business lending! Connect with MBFS to boost your credit union's growth today.TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Mark welcomes Kendall Boyle, portfolio analyst at MBFS, who shares her origin story06:24 Kendall describes her career change into mortgage underwriting during the 2020 pandemic08:52 Kendall discusses the pros and cons of remote work and finding true work-life balance12:35 Kendall talks about fostering kittens and volunteering with the Capital Area Humane Society16:44 Mark and Kendall close out discussing Michigan summers, snow belt winters, and MBFSKEY TAKEAWAYS:

In this episode of Making Risk Flow, Juan de Castro sits down with Allison Hamilton, US Customer Success Lead at Applied Systems, to discuss why underwriting transformation depends on people and processes as much as technology. Allison explains how better data governance, transparent AI, and aligned incentives help underwriters make faster, more confident decisions. She explores why speed-to-quote has become a critical competitive advantage, how broker integration and third-party data remove costly friction, and why decision-ready workflows, not full automation, will define the winning carriers of 2030. The conversation offers practical insights for insurers modernizing underwriting in an AI-driven world. Allison Hamilton is Head of US Customer Success for Cytora, a division of Applied Systems, where she leads customer delivery, adoption, and long-term value across North America. She partners with insurers to modernize underwriting through workflow automation, digital risk processing, and operating model innovation. Allison oversees strategic customer programs, drives measurable business outcomes, and works closely with product and go-to-market teams to shape Cytora's US strategy. Fan Mail: Got a challenge digitizing your intake? Share it with us, and we'll unpack solutions from our experience at Cytora.To receive a custom demo from Cytora, click here and use the code 'Making Risk Flow'.Our previous guests include: Bronek Masojada of PPL, Craig Knightly of Inigo, Andrew Horton of QBE Insurance, Simon McGinn of Allianz, Stephane Flaquet of Hiscox, Matthew Grant of InsTech, Paul Brand of Convex, Paolo Cuomo of Gallagher Re, and Thierry Daucourt of AXA.Check out the three most downloaded episodes:The Five Pillars of Data Analytics Strategy in Insurance | Craig Knightly, Inigo20 Years as CEO of Hiscox: Personal Reflections and the Evolution of PPL | Bronek MasojadaImplementing ESG in the Insurance and Underwriting Space | Simon Tighe, Chaucer, and Paul McCarney, Moody's

Most investors think market crashes are what destroy wealth. They're wrong. The fastest way to lose money in real estate is much simpler: • Underestimating your expenses. • Overestimating your rental income. • Buying without a clear exit strategy. In today's market, disciplined underwriting matters more than ever. Rising insurance costs, increasing property taxes, higher interest rates, and slowing rent growth have changed the rules of investing. If you're still using yesterday's assumptions, you could be setting yourself up for costly mistakes. In this episode, Gino Barbaro explains the three numbers every real estate investor should analyze before purchasing any investment property: ✅ Know your true operating expenses. ✅ Be realistic about income and occupancy. ✅ Always have a defined exit strategy. Whether you're investing in multifamily apartments, commercial real estate, or your first rental property, these principles can help you avoid expensive mistakes and build long-term wealth. If you're serious about becoming a better investor, this is an episode you won't want to miss.

Join Us for DealMachine Unveiled: https://www.dealmachine.com/unveiled AI can now underwrite a deal from nothing but a property address, and this episode shows exactly how. Devin Robinson, a real estate investor who runs his wholesale company on AI, walks through his full setup step by step. He breaks down why AI skills beat prompt engineering for consistent results, how Claude Cowork handles due diligence and closing coordination, how his follow-up system worked a foreclosure lead into a booked appointment, and why prospects reply to his AI outreach thinking it's human.   KEY TALKING POINTS: 0:00 - AI Agents & Skills Intro 0:53 - How to Create a Skill 1:45 - Why Claude Desktop 3:13 - Cowork: Agents on Your Computer 5:34 - Underwriting a House by Address 6:32 - Email Monitoring & Deal Management 8:22 - LinkedIn & Facebook Outreach 10:14 - AI-Powered CRM Follow-Up 13:17 - The Full Underwriting Report 14:39 - Outro LINKS: Instagram: Devin Robinson https://www.instagram.com/devin.robinson1/   Website: Devin Robinson https://www.devinrobinsonrei.com/   Instagram: David Lecko https://www.instagram.com/dlecko   Website: DealMachine https://www.dealmachine.com/pod   Instagram: Ryan Haywood https://www.instagram.com/heritage_home_investments   Website: Heritage Home Investments https://www.heritagehomeinvestments.com/ 

In this episode, I sit down with Todd Nepola, President and Founder of Current Capital Group. As a fourth-generation real estate entrepreneur, Todd shares how his family's legacy shaped his career, the strategies he's used to build a successful commercial real estate portfolio across Florida, and what it takes to lead and scale a business in today's market. If you're interested in real estate, investing, or entrepreneurship, you won't want to miss this conversation.----⏱️ TIMESTAMPS / CHAPTERS

In this episode of The Private Equity Podcast, Alex Rawlings speaks with Bobby Ocampo and Sheldon Lewis, co-founders and managing partners of Blueprint Equity.Following the successful close of Blueprint Equity's $333 million third fund, Bobby and Sheldon explain how the firm identifies and supports high-growth B2B software companies. They discuss Blueprint's early growth investment strategy, its direct sourcing infrastructure and the role its six-person operations team plays in supporting portfolio companies.The conversation also explores the impact of artificial intelligence on software valuations, underwriting and value creation. Bobby and Sheldon explain how Blueprint has integrated multiple AI tools across sourcing, deal evaluation, portfolio operations and internal workflows.They also share why vertical software businesses with deeply embedded customer workflows may be better positioned to withstand AI disruption than lightweight horizontal software products.Key TopicsBlueprint Equity's early growth investment strategyRaising a $333 million third fundInvesting in B2B vertical software businessesBuilding a large direct sourcing functionSupporting founders with recruiting, go-to-market and RevOpsUsing AI to identify, prioritise and track investment opportunitiesConnecting multiple AI tools through an integrated technology stackUnderwriting software businesses in an uncertain marketAssessing founders in minority growth investmentsMoving quickly without creating employee burnoutTimestamps00:00 Introduction00:28 Blueprint Equity and the successful Fund III raise00:53 The firm's early growth equity investment thesis01:43 Building the team and operations function02:50 Common mistakes made by investment firms04:21 Underwriting software businesses in the AI era06:33 How Blueprint structures its value creation team07:41 Recruiting and institutionalising portfolio companies08:35 RevOps, reporting and financial visibility09:53 How Blueprint uses AI internally10:37 AI-driven sourcing and opportunity prioritisation11:06 Using proprietary data in underwriting12:32 Blueprint's AI technology stack14:01 Building a genuine direct sourcing strategy15:24 The resources required for proprietary origination16:46 Less obvious investment signals17:14 Assessing the entrepreneur behind the business18:13 Vertical software and the threat of AI disruption20:25 Creating a fast-moving culture without burnout22:09 Recommended private equity news and content23:34 How to connect with Blueprint EquityRaw Selection partners with Private Equity firms and their portfolio companies to secure exceptional executive talent. We focus on de-risking executive recruitment through meticulous search and selection processes, ensuring top-tier performance and long-term success.

Episode 5487: Underwriting Your Own Destruction

In this episode, Jillian Sidoti shares her insights on real estate investing, capital raising, and leveraging AI to automate and scale her business. She discusses her focus on luxury travel, experiential stays, and the importance of building strong investor relationships.   Professional Real Estate Investors - How we can help you: Investor Fuel Mastermind:  Learn more about the Investor Fuel Mastermind, including 100% deal financing, massive discounts from vendors and sponsors you're already using, our world class community of over 150 members, and SO much more here: http://www.investorfuel.com/apply   Investor Machine Marketing Partnership:  Are you looking for consistent, high quality lead generation? Investor Machine is America's #1 lead generation service professional investors. Investor Machine provides true 'white glove' support to help you build the perfect marketing plan, then we'll execute it for you…talking and working together on an ongoing basis to help you hit YOUR goals! Learn more here: http://www.investormachine.com   Coaching with Mike Hambright:  Interested in 1 on 1 coaching with Mike Hambright? Mike coaches entrepreneurs looking to level up, build coaching or service based businesses (Mike runs multiple 7 and 8 figure a year businesses), building a coaching program and more. Learn more here: https://investorfuel.com/coachingwithmike   Attend a Vacation/Mastermind Retreat with Mike Hambright: Interested in joining a "mini-mastermind" with Mike and his private clients on an upcoming "Retreat", either at locations like Cabo San Lucas, Napa, Park City ski trip, Yellowstone, or even at Mike's East Texas "Big H Ranch"? Learn more here: http://www.investorfuel.com/retreat   Property Insurance: Join the largest and most investor friendly property insurance provider in 2 minutes. Free to join, and insure all your flips and rentals within minutes! There is NO easier insurance provider on the planet (turn insurance on or off in 1 minute without talking to anyone!), and there's no 15-30% agent mark up through this platform!  Register here: https://myinvestorinsurance.com/   New Real Estate Investors - How we can work together: Investor Fuel Club (Coaching and Deal Partner Community): Looking to kickstart your real estate investing career? Join our one of a kind Coaching Community, Investor Fuel Club, where you'll get trained by some of the best real estate investors in America, and partner with them on deals! You don't need $ for deals…we'll partner with you and hold your hand along the way! Learn More here: http://www.investorfuel.com/club   —--------------------

Where is commercial real estate headed in 2026? Is the market crashing, recovering, or simply resetting? In this episode, Gino Barbaro breaks down the latest multifamily market data and explains why the answer depends entirely on where you're investing. Using current market trends, rent growth statistics, supply and demand dynamics, construction data, and transaction volume, Gino explains what investors should be paying attention to right now. In this episode, you'll learn: • Why national rent growth remains historically weak • Which markets are outperforming due to low supply • Why high-supply markets continue to struggle • What falling construction starts mean for future investors • Why transaction volume remains muted • The importance of understanding market cycles • How to analyze occupancy and concessions • Why "no deal is better than a bad deal" Some of the markets discussed include: ✔ New York ✔ Chicago ✔ Detroit ✔ Kansas City ✔ Phoenix ✔ Denver ✔ Austin ✔ Orlando ✔ Dallas ✔ East Tennessee One of the biggest mistakes investors make is assuming every market behaves the same way. As Gino explains, understanding your market's supply, demand, occupancy, concessions, and development pipeline can mean the difference between buying a great deal and buying a disaster. Key takeaways from this episode:

In this episode of Making Risk Flow, Jake Harding sits down with Izik Lavy and Jacob Grob from GeoX AI to explore how property intelligence is transforming insurance underwriting. They discuss how accurate geospatial data, computer vision, and confidence-scored models help carriers move beyond reactive decision-making, accelerate quotes, uncover profitable opportunities, and better manage risk. The conversation explores why deterministic data can outperform probabilistic AI, how deeper property insights reveal hidden value in complex markets, and why specialized technology providers are becoming essential partners for insurers. Discover how real-time property intelligence is reshaping portfolio strategy, pricing, and the future of insurance. Izik Lavy is the CEO and co-founder of GeoX AI, a geospatial intelligence platform specializing in property data extraction and analysis for the insurance industry. With 15 years of experience in geospatial technology and expertise in building scalable computer vision solutions, Lavy has led GeoX's expansion from the Japanese and Australian markets into the United States.Jacob Grob is the EVP of Sales for US Markets at GeoX, bringing 20 years of insurance data expertise to the conversation. Previously a senior leader at CoreLogic, where he gained deep exposure to building characteristics, catastrophe modeling, and replacement cost data, Grob now focuses on solving critical data blind spots through computer vision and scalable AI.Fan Mail: Got a challenge digitizing your intake? Share it with us, and we'll unpack solutions from our experience at Cytora.To receive a custom demo from Cytora, click here and use the code 'Making Risk Flow'.Our previous guests include: Bronek Masojada of PPL, Craig Knightly of Inigo, Andrew Horton of QBE Insurance, Simon McGinn of Allianz, Stephane Flaquet of Hiscox, Matthew Grant of InsTech, Paul Brand of Convex, Paolo Cuomo of Gallagher Re, and Thierry Daucourt of AXA.Check out the three most downloaded episodes:The Five Pillars of Data Analytics Strategy in Insurance | Craig Knightly, Inigo20 Years as CEO of Hiscox: Personal Reflections and the Evolution of PPL | Bronek MasojadaImplementing ESG in the Insurance and Underwriting Space | Simon Tighe, Chaucer, and Paul McCarney, Moody's

In this episode, Herold Pierre shares his journey from traditional real estate to leveraging AI for industry innovation. Discover how his platforms Underlytix and Trade Deluxe are transforming real estate and trading, and learn key insights on building relationships and scaling tech-driven businesses.   Professional Real Estate Investors - How we can help you: Investor Fuel Mastermind:  Learn more about the Investor Fuel Mastermind, including 100% deal financing, massive discounts from vendors and sponsors you're already using, our world class community of over 150 members, and SO much more here: http://www.investorfuel.com/apply   Investor Machine Marketing Partnership:  Are you looking for consistent, high quality lead generation? Investor Machine is America's #1 lead generation service professional investors. Investor Machine provides true 'white glove' support to help you build the perfect marketing plan, then we'll execute it for you…talking and working together on an ongoing basis to help you hit YOUR goals! Learn more here: http://www.investormachine.com   Coaching with Mike Hambright:  Interested in 1 on 1 coaching with Mike Hambright? Mike coaches entrepreneurs looking to level up, build coaching or service based businesses (Mike runs multiple 7 and 8 figure a year businesses), building a coaching program and more. Learn more here: https://investorfuel.com/coachingwithmike   Attend a Vacation/Mastermind Retreat with Mike Hambright: Interested in joining a "mini-mastermind" with Mike and his private clients on an upcoming "Retreat", either at locations like Cabo San Lucas, Napa, Park City ski trip, Yellowstone, or even at Mike's East Texas "Big H Ranch"? Learn more here: http://www.investorfuel.com/retreat   Property Insurance: Join the largest and most investor friendly property insurance provider in 2 minutes. Free to join, and insure all your flips and rentals within minutes! There is NO easier insurance provider on the planet (turn insurance on or off in 1 minute without talking to anyone!), and there's no 15-30% agent mark up through this platform!  Register here: https://myinvestorinsurance.com/   New Real Estate Investors - How we can work together: Investor Fuel Club (Coaching and Deal Partner Community): Looking to kickstart your real estate investing career? Join our one of a kind Coaching Community, Investor Fuel Club, where you'll get trained by some of the best real estate investors in America, and partner with them on deals! You don't need $ for deals…we'll partner with you and hold your hand along the way! Learn More here: http://www.investorfuel.com/club   —--------------------

A strong personal credit score is not enough. Your business has to look fundable too. In this episode of The Level Up Podcast, Paul Alex breaks down what the credit score does not tell you and why business underwriting can make or break your ability to secure capital. Let's be real… You can have perfect personal credit… But if your business has no clean financial structure… No corporate credit profile… No organized books… And no banking relationships… You are going to struggle when it is time to scale. In this episode, you'll learn: Why personal credit and business credit are not the same thing How mixing personal and business finances can hurt your borrowing power Why corporate credit should be built before you need funding How strong financial structure creates more leverage, protection, and runway The truth is simple: Banks do not just care about your personal FICO score. They look at the business. The tax returns. The revenue history. The structure. The banking behavior. The separation between you and the company. High-level operators do not wait until they need money to start looking fundable. They build the profile early. They separate the finances. They create clean books. They establish relationships with lenders. And they make the business attractive before the opportunity appears. Because capital flows to organized systems. Build the corporate profile. Protect your borrowing power. Secure the leverage. And keep leveling up. Your Network is your NETWORTH! Make sure to add me on all SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS: Instagram: https://jo.my/paulalex2024Facebook: https://jo.my/fbpaulalex2024YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGhDAD1JyGGzSQUPD9lc9HQLinkedIn: https://jo.my/inpaulalex2024 Looking for a secondary source of income or want to become an entrepreneur? Check out one of my companies below to see if we can help you: www.CashSwipe.com FREE Copy of my book “Blue to Digital Gold - The New American Dream”www.officialPaulAlex.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you ever wonder how real estate investors pick winning properties? It all lies in the power of underwriting - the key process for projecting a property's future cash flows and net operating income. In this episode, Randy explains the basics of underwriting in commercial real estate and how investors use this process to pick winning properties. Join the Investor Club:  https://bit.ly/4wclITN This episode was originally uploaded on April 12, 2024.

Introduction Most carriers are still running underwriting on policy admin systems built three decades ago — stitched together through a hundred acquisitions and never designed to work with AI. Federato is betting the only way to fix that is to replace it entirely. William Steenbergen is the co-founder and CTO of Federato, the first AI-native platform built to cover the full commercial insurance policy lifecycle. He started in reinforcement learning research before spending five months in a cabin in Idaho interviewing underwriters until he understood the problem well enough to build a solution. Federato has since raised $100 million from Goldman Sachs and is now live across commercial lines from SMB to large enterprise. In this conversation, Josh Hollander and Steenbergen dig into why bolting AI onto legacy systems keeps failing, what the underwriting workflow looks like inside an AI-native platform, and why Federato has started turning away customers who aren't ready to make the full switch. Guest Bio William Steenbergen is the Co-Founder and CTO of Federato, an AI-native platform covering the full commercial policy lifecycle — from email submission through rating, quoting, binding, issuance, endorsements, and renewal. He conducted reinforcement learning research at Stanford before co-founding Federato in 2020, spending over a thousand hours interviewing underwriters before writing a line of code. Federato raised $100 million from Goldman Sachs in 2024. Key Topics Why legacy systems can't run AI agents — Old core policy admin systems have been stitched together through 100+ acquisitions. The data and tools don't live in a standardized way, making it nearly impossible for AI agents to access the context they need to act — not just summarize. The three things an AI agent needs — An LLM, context (submission data, product definitions, claims history, forms), and tools it can interact with to take real action. Most incumbents can't provide all three in an AI-native way. What underwriting looks like now — Ten minutes after an email submission arrives, the underwriter logs in to find it already quoted. They review the AI agent's reasoning, citations, and assumptions, then approve, adjust, or ask follow-up questions in plain text — structurally identical to reviewing a referral. 95% accuracy vs. a room full of humans — Federato ran a study comparing AI agent outputs to human underwriter decisions on the same policies. The agent matched humans 95% of the time and showed less variance than ten humans working the same policy independently. Turning away the wrong customers — Federato now declines prospects who want to use the platform as a workbench on top of a legacy policy admin system. The only configuration that works is replacing the policy admin system entirely. AI regulation and accountability — Underwriters still review and approve every AI-generated quote. The AI runs deterministic tools — the rater, the filed forms — it can only make mistakes on the inputs it sends, not the outputs those tools generate. Notable Quotes "We're not trying to tack on AI onto an existing process. We're re-envisioning what a good insurance and underwriting process actually looks like." "When an AI agent interacts with the rater, it doesn't make up the premium. It still runs a deterministic rater. The tool is deterministic." "If you're not subscribed to doing a full policy lifecycle in Federato and actually replacing your policy admin system, you're probably not the right customer for us." Resources Guest: Federato: https://www.federato.ai William Steenbergen on LinkedIn: (verify and add URL) Host & Organization: Joshua R. Hollander on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuarhollander/ Horton International (USA): https://www.horton-usa.com/ Insurtech Leadership Podcast: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/insurtech-leadership-show Subscribe & Review If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe on your favorite platform and leave a review. The Insurtech Leadership Podcast is available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.

Today we're tackling something that every single SRNA needs to understand before signing their very first employment contract, and that's protecting our livelihood once we graduate. In this episode of Grade 1 View, hosts Mackenzie and Nicholas sit down with Bryan Doyle, ME, RPLU, Acting Vice President of AANA Insurance Services and Lisa Kiska, RPLU+, Supervisor, Underwriting & Customer Service at AANA Insurance Services to break down the essentials of malpractice insurance to better prepare every SRNA for the realities of the workplace. Here's some of what we discuss in this episode:

10 Commonly Misunderstood Insurance Terms Explained Episode 389 – Sometimes people get confused by all the jargon used in the financial services industry. It's difficult to understand what you're buying—or what you already have—if you don't understand the language being used. Here is a quick listing of ten terms, commonly used in the life insurance industry, that you might not fully understand. More SML Planning Minute Podcast Episodes Transcript of Podcast Episode 389 Hello, this is Bill Rainaldi, with another edition of Security Mutual's SML Planning Minute. In today's episode: we explain 10 commonly misunderstood life insurance terms. Sometimes people get confused by all the jargon used in the financial services industry, and life insurance is no exception. It can be difficult to understand what you're buying—or what you already have—if you don't understand the language being used. Here is a quick listing of 10 terms, commonly used in the life insurance industry, that are helpful to have a basic understanding of: Underwriting. Before making any sort of offer to you, a life insurance company may need to evaluate your health. For example, life insurance companies generally check to see whether you are a tobacco user or not. A nonsmoker generally has a longer life expectancy than a smoker and thus will often qualify for a better rate and reduce the cost. On the other hand, smoker or not, if you're in particularly poor health, the company may not be able to offer you coverage at all. Beneficiary. Life insurance policies will usually list a beneficiary. That is the person—or entity—who receives the life insurance policy's death benefit if the insured dies. Note that any beneficiary designation under a life insurance policy is separate from beneficiary designations in your will. You could leave your entire estate to your children via your will, but if someone else is the beneficiary of your life insurance policy, that person receives the proceeds. The owner of the policy has the right to change the beneficiary (or beneficiaries) as their needs or desires change and it is recommended to review all of your beneficiaries annually or during any change to your planning strategy. Term Life Insurance. Term life insurance is the simplest form of life insurance. You will pay a premium that covers a specific term of years. 10, 20 or 30 years are common terms for one of these policies. If you die during the designated term, your beneficiary will receive the death benefit. It is generally used when you have a temporary need for insurance, such as paying off a mortgage or funding your child's college education if you're no longer there. Permanent Life Insurance. Unlike a term policy, permanent life insurance is designed to provide lifetime coverage. With most policies, as long as you pay your premiums, the policy stays in force for life, and the death benefit is guaranteed by the insurance company. It also usually provides a cash value. An example of permanent insurance is whole life insurance. Cash Value. With many permanent life insurance policies such as a whole life insurance policy, part of your premium pays the cost of the death benefit, and part of it goes into an account inside the policy and grows on a tax-deferred basis. As a policyowner, you have the right to access these funds if you wish via loans or withdrawals. The funds could potentially be used for major expenditures or cash emergencies if needed. Dividends. It's not just your stock portfolio that can pay dividends; your life insurance policy might do so as well. Life insurance dividends are usually associated with mutual life insurance companies such as Security Mutual Life. Dividends are distributed to policyholders from the insurer’s surplus earnings. They are not guaranteed. Grace Period. This is essentially an automatic safety net that exists on every life insurance policy. If you miss a premium payment, you generally have an extra 30 days past the due date before the policy lapses to pay your premium. And, if you die during the grace period, the full death benefit is payable, although there may be a deduction for any missed premium.[1] Paid-Up Additions. Paid-up additions are like miniature life insurance policies within a whole life insurance policy. Each paid-up addition adds a little bit of extra paid-up death benefit and guaranteed cash value to your policy without ongoing premium. Paid-up additions are often created through a whole life policy rider, although if you have a dividend-paying policy, you might be able to choose to take your dividends as paid-up additions. Since paid-up additions are fully paid up portions of death benefit, they can be surrendered for needed cash by the policyowner, or to pay the policy's premiums, if needed. Doing so will reduce the guaranteed cash value and death benefit.  Accelerated Death Benefit. This allows you to receive a portion of the death benefit while you are still living and is often made available as a rider assigned to specific circumstances such as chronic, critical or terminal illness. It is designed to help provide access to cash for medical bills, nursing care, or other costs associated with the qualifying event. If the advance payout from the life insurance policy is due to terminal illness, it is usually exempt from income taxes.[2],[3] In many circumstances, an accelerated death benefit rider is a simple add-on to a life insurance policy with no separate charge. And finally… Chronic Illness Rider. A chronic illness rider is a type of accelerated death benefit rider that gives you access to part of your death benefit while you are still alive. To take advantage of a chronic illness rider, you need to be certified by a doctor as someone who is ill and not expected to recover. In many cases you will be eligible if you are unable to perform at least two of the six “Activities of Daily Living,” or ADLs, without assistance. These include things like bathing, getting dressed, eating, etc.[4] All these terms can be very confusing. Some may be applicable to you; some may not. The good news is that, if you're contemplating a new life insurance policy, you don't need to go it alone. Your Security Mutual Life insurance agent can help. Your Security Mutual Life insurance agent can augment or help assemble your planning team. They'll coordinate with your attorney and tax professional to review your situation and to determine the insurance plan that will best suit your needs and objectives. [1] Ethos Life. “Understanding the Life Insurance Grace Period.” Ethos.com. https://www.ethos.com/life-insurance/life-insurance-grace-period/ (accessed June 4, 2026). [2] Kagan, Julia. “Understanding Accelerated Benefits in Life Insurance Policies.” Investopedia.com https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/accelerated-benefits.asp (accessed June 4, 2026). [3] Stimpson, Jeff. “Form 1099-LTC Explained: Long-Term Care and Death Benefits.” https://www.investopedia.com/1099-ltc-form-what-to-know-about-the-1099-ltc-form-4781748 (accessed June 4, 2026). [4] Progressive Insurance. ”What is a life insurance critical or chronic illness rider?” Progressive.com. https://www.progressive.com/answers/critical-chronic-illness-rider/ (accessed June 4, 2026).   More SML Planning Minute Podcast Episodes This podcast is brought to you by Security Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York, The Company That Cares®. The content provided is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Information is provided in good faith. However, the Company makes no representation or warranty of any kind regarding the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of the information. The information presented is designed to provide general information regarding the subject matter covered. It is not to serve as legal, tax or other financial advice related to individual situations, because each individual's legal, tax and financial situation is different. Specific advice needs to be tailored to your situation. Therefore, please consult with your own attorney, tax professional and/or other advisors regarding your specific situation. To help reach your goals, you need a skilled professional by your side. Contact your local Security Mutual life insurance advisor today. As part of the planning process, he or she will coordinate with your other advisors as needed to help you achieve your financial goals and objectives. For more information, visit us at SMLNY.com/SMLPodcast. If you've enjoyed this podcast, tell your friends about it. And be sure to give us a five-star review. And check us out on LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter. Thanks for listening, and we'll talk to you next time. Tax laws are complex and subject to change. The information presented is based on current interpretation of the laws. Neither Security Mutual nor its agents are permitted to provide tax or legal advice. The applicability of any strategy discussed is dependent upon the particular facts and circumstances. Results may vary, and products and services discussed may not be appropriate for all situations. Each person's needs, objectives and financial circumstances are different, and must be reviewed and analyzed independently. We encourage individuals to seek personalized advice from a qualified Security Mutual life insurance advisor regarding their personal needs, objectives, and financial circumstances. Insurance products are issued by Security Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York, Binghamton, New York. Product availability and features may vary by state.​ SubscribeApple PodcastsSpotifyAndroidPandoraby EmailTuneInDeezerRSSMore Subscribe Options

Step into Episode 217 of On The Delo as Delo sits down with Corey and TJ from inKind to break down one of the most innovative financing and marketing models in the restaurant industry today. Built by operators for operators, inKind gives restaurants upfront capital at zero interest — and a 5-million-user marketing engine to back it up.From a D.C. restaurant incubator 11 years ago to over 8,000 restaurant partners nationwide, Corey and TJ unpack how inKind turned a $500 gift card idea into a non-dilutive funding platform that's helping Arizona restaurants survive 120-degree summers, pay off high-interest loans, and drive 90% net new diners through the door. Delo shares his own experience as both a hospitality veteran and active inKind affiliate — making this conversation raw, practical, and deeply credible for anyone who owns, operates, or eats at restaurants.Chapter Guide (Timestamps):(0:00 - 1:13) Freestyle Intro, Mic Check, and Episode 216 Kickoff(1:14 - 2:49) Delo's Intro: Risky Business Book Promo & Five-Star Ask(2:50 - 4:51) Meet Corey & TJ: Backgrounds, Arizona, and Why This Summer Matters(4:52 - 7:42) The Origin Story: 11 Years, a D.C. Incubator, and a $500 Gift Card Lightbulb(7:43 - 10:58) inKind Comes to Arizona: From 15 Partners to 300+ and Still Growing(10:59 - 13:21) The Capital Model: Non-Dilutive, Zero Interest, and What COGS Really Means(13:22 - 16:06) Risk, Underwriting, and Why Only Top-Quality Restaurants Make the Cut(16:07 - 18:45) The Marketing Engine: 5 Million Users, Push Notifications, and Demand Control(18:46 - 21:24) Retail Presence, Costco Gift Cards, and Cold Beer & Cheeseburgers Launch Stats(21:25 - 24:24) The User Experience: How to Pay Through inKind Step by Step(24:25 - 27:15) The Restaurant Avatar: Fine Dining to Fast Casual and Why Both Work(27:16 - 32:24) Success Stories, Loan Payoffs, and the Ravenous Pig Funded 28 Times(32:25 - 36:17) Sales Philosophy: Relationships, Listening, and "It's Never a No"(36:18 - 41:14) Rapid Fire + Final Thoughts: Where to Find inKind and What's Next

WEBINAR LINK:https://shawnmoore.clickfunnels.com/optiniyvvg89sWant to learn more about Vodyssey or start your STR journey. Book a call here:https://meetings.hubspot.com/vodysseystrategysession/booknow?utm_source=vodysseycom&uuid=80fb7859-b8f4-40d1-a31d-15a5caa687b7FOLLOW US:https://www.instagram.com/vodysseyshawnmoorehttps://www.facebook.com/vodysseyshawnmoore/https://www.linkedin.com/company/str-financial-freedomhttps://www.tiktok.com/@vodysseyshawnmooreCONTACT US:support@vodyssey.comContact Jeff:https://buildfinanciallegacy.com/Chapters:00:00 Intro00:34 Current Interest Rate Landscape02:42 Impact of Global Events on Rates03:58 Investor Mindset on Rates06:43 Market Dynamics and Buyer Behavior08:31 The Evolution of Financing Options11:06 Understanding DSCR Loans14:00 Competitive Landscape of Financing17:24 Navigating Predatory Lending Practices20:54 Understanding Lending Products for Investors22:49 Comparing Second Home Loans and DSCR Loans24:40 The Importance of Down Payments26:06 Navigating Prepayment Penalties27:41 Underwriting for DSCR Loans30:16 The Role of Market Analysis in Lending32:58 Building Confidence in New Investors34:50 Adapting to Market Changes36:43 Connecting with Lending Experts

In this solo back-to-basics episode, Axel steps away from the AI and current events conversations that have dominated recent episodes to refocus on the real estate underwriting process. He breaks down the entire game of value creation in real estate into one simple equation, using clear numeric examples that any investor can apply regardless of asset class or market.Axel walks through the three-step framework for quality real estate investing: finding an undervalued deal, assessing whether continued investment can generate a meaningful spread over your all-in cost, and financing the deal in a way that matches the business plan. This episode is essential listening for any investor — new or experienced — who wants a clear, simplified gut-check framework for evaluating whether a deal actually creates value, independent of rent growth projections or cap rate compression assumptions.Join us as we dive into:Why understanding the current market cap rate for your specific asset class and submarket is the non-negotiable starting point for any underwriting exercise.How to interpret that 9% yield on cost depending on whether the market cap rate is 9% (no value created) or 7% (significant value created).Why Axel and his team target an 8.5%+ yield on cost in a 7% cap environment — a 150 basis point spread — across Southern New Hampshire and the Greater Boston periphery.Why the same 150 basis point spread creates more value in a lower cap rate market than a wider spread does in a higher cap rate market.Why a deal with a 12% yield on cost in a 10% cap market actually creates less value than a deal with a 6.5% yield on cost in a 5% cap market, despite the spread looking similar.How to gut-check a multi-year cash flow model: calculate your yield on cost at stabilization and compare it against the market cap rate at that point in the hold period.Why a thin or non-existent spread between yield on cost and market cap rate signals that your returns are dependent on rent growth or cap rate compression — both riskier bets than underwriting a real spread on day one.Are you looking to invest in real estate, but don't want to deal with the hassle of finding great deals, signing on debt, and managing tenants? Aligned Real Estate Partners provides investment opportunities to passive investors looking for the returns, stability, and tax benefits multifamily real estate offers, but without the work - join our investor club to be notified of future investment opportunities.Connect with Axel:Follow him on InstagramConnect with him on LinkedinSubscribe to our YouTube channelLearn more about Aligned Real Estate Partners

The Senate showdown, new testing for women's metabolic problems, corporate underwriting of gender-transitions, and the late Dave Mason's peak. Plus, Daniel Suhr on the hidden cost of lawfare, a repurposed Barbie camper, and the Thursday morning newsSupport The World and Everything in It today at wng.org/donateAdditional support comes from I Witness: Ride to Freedom. Three friends. One simulation. Trapped in history during the Freedom Rides. Now on all major platforms or iwitnesspod.comFrom PEACE International... Serving South Sudan's refugees by educating children, empowering women and equipping pastors.  PeaceINT.orgAnd from Reformation Bible College, where theology shapes every calling. More at discover.ReformationBibleCollege.org