Great Entrepreneurs is pleased to announce The Top 50 Financial Technology Entrepreneurs of 2025. These founders are reimagining financial services from the ground up—building platforms that move money faster, extend credit more fairly, automate complex processes, and make financial tools more accessible to businesses and individuals alike. Their companies span every corner of finance, from embedded payments and AI-driven accounting to cross-border transactions, insurance technology, and new models for digital banking.
Financial technology revenues are expected to grow to $1.5 trillion by 2030, fueled by the demand for platforms that are built for a digital-first economy. The entrepreneurs recognized this year reflect the next generation of financial infrastructure: companies that are lowering barriers, increasing transparency, and creating new pathways for economic participation.
Among this year’s awardees, Max Levchin, Founder and CEO of Affirm, is recognized for building a major payment network that empowers consumers and helps merchants drive growth, following a career that includes co-founding PayPal and leading multiple technology ventures. Olugbenga Agboola, Founder and CEO of Flutterwave, has led the development of a platform that provides payment infrastructure across emerging markets, drawing on experience from Access Bank, PayPal, and British Telecom Professional Services to expand global commerce opportunities. Tony Jamous, Founder and CEO of Oyster, is celebrated for creating a global employment platform that enables companies to hire, pay, and manage talent across more than 180 countries, building on his prior success as CEO of Nexmo.
This year’s awardees were selected through a methodical process and careful consideration of each candidate’s career track record and industry contributions. Please join us in celebrating The Top 50 Financial Technology Entrepreneurs of 2025.
1. Max Levchin
Founder & CEO, Affirm
Max Levchin is the Founder and CEO of Affirm, a payment network that empowers consumers and helps merchants drive growth. He is also the co-founder and Chairman of Glow, a data-driven fertility company. Both companies were created and launched from his San Francisco-based innovation lab, HVF (Hard, Valuable, Fun). Max was one of the original co-founders of PayPal, where he served as the Chief Technology Officer until its acquisition by eBay in 2002.
Prior to HVF, Max founded and was CEO of Slide, a personal media-sharing service, which was acquired by Google in 2010. Max also helped create Yelp Inc., where he served as Chairman of its Board of Directors from its founding in 2005 until July 2015. He served on the board for Yahoo! Inc. from 2012 until 2015.
Max was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, before moving to the United States and settling in Chicago in 1991. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he founded and led four other technology startups. Max is a serial entrepreneur, computer scientist, philanthropist, and active investor in more than 100 startups.
2. Zachary Hyman
Co-Founder, SpotOn
Zachary Hyman is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of SpotOn, a software and payments company that provides technology and support to help local businesses operate and grow. Founded in 2010, SpotOn offers a cloud-based platform with point-of-sale systems, payment processing, marketing tools, and customer engagement solutions tailored for restaurants and small- to medium-sized businesses. Hyman has helped lead SpotOn to rapidly scale its Sales and Operations teams, emphasizing personalized service and strong relationships with SMB owners.
In 2018, Hyman and his brother Matt Hyman made an initial investment of $20 million in SpotOn. Under their leadership, the company secured a $40 million funding round led by Franklin Templeton and Dragoneer Investment Group in 2019, $50 million in Series B funding from former Twitter executives in 2020, and $60 million in Series C funding led by DST Global later that same year. Hyman brings more than 20 years of experience serving small and midsize businesses in the financial technology space. Prior to SpotOn, he co-founded CardPayment Solutions, which was sold to iPayment in 2005, and Central Payment, which was acquired by TSYS in 2018 for $840 million.
3. Joshua Reeves
CEO and Co-Founder, Gusto
Joshua Reeves is the CEO and Co-Founder of Gusto, a company that provides cloud-based HR, payroll, and benefits solutions for businesses. Founded in 2011 as ZenPayroll, Gusto serves over 400,000 businesses nationwide, processing tens of billions of dollars in payroll annually. The company offers services such as employee onboarding, health insurance administration, 401(k) plans, and compliance support, aiming to simplify HR tasks for small- and medium-sized businesses.
Reeves is known for building Gusto with a values-driven approach, emphasizing long-term customer relationships, employee well-being, and sustainable growth. Under his leadership, the company has scaled from early park-bench meetings in San Francisco to an organization of over 2,500 employees. Reeves believes deeply in building companies that endure for decades, focusing on product excellence, customer-centricity, and a mission to serve small businesses nationwide. He holds both a master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University.
4. Marc Gardner
Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer, North American Bancard
Marc Gardner is the Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of North American Bancard, a payment technology company. NAB offers a diversified product platform that supports a range of payment types through an end-to-end infrastructure.
Gardner first established the company in Troy, Michigan, in 1992 as its sole employee. Now, as the nation's sixth-largest independent acquirer, North processes more than $100 billion in transactions for hundreds of thousands of satisfied merchants. Under Gardner's leadership, North employs more than 1,300 people, and today, the company continues to expand both organically and through strategic acquisitions.
An active philanthropist and supporter of the arts, Gardner serves on the Board of Directors at MOCAD (Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit) and provides philanthropic support to numerous organizations, including AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee), the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Friendship Circle, Detroit Public Television, Cranbrook, and the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Gardner earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin.
5. Renaud Laplanche
Co-Founder & CEO, Upgrade
Renaud Laplanche is the Co-Founder and CEO of Upgrade, where he presides over the company’s business strategy and oversees its execution. Upgrade offers affordable and responsible credit, mobile banking, and payment products to mainstream consumers. The company has delivered over $35 billion in affordable and responsible credit to customers since its inception in 2017.
Before founding Upgrade, Laplanche co-founded and served as CEO of LendingClub, helping to grow it into America’s largest online marketplace connecting borrowers and investors. Earlier, he was co-founder and CEO of TripleHop Technologies, a software company specializing in enterprise search solutions, which was later acquired by Oracle. Laplanche began his career as a securities lawyer at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, advising on mergers, acquisitions, and investment transactions. He holds an MBA from HEC Paris and London Business School, and a JD from Montpellier University.
6. Betsy Cohen
Co-Founder and Chairman, The Bancorp
Betsy Cohen is the Co-Founder and Chairman of The Bancorp, an FDIC-insured virtual bank serving a range of financial service companies. She has over 50 years of experience building and leading businesses across banking, real estate, and financial law.
Cohen began her career as the second female law professor on the East Coast, teaching antitrust law and government regulation of business at Rutgers University Law School. She later co-founded a Philadelphia law firm specializing in complex real estate and financial transactions. In 1974, she founded Jefferson Bank in Pennsylvania, where she served as Chairman and CEO. In 1999, she founded The Bancorp and served as CEO for 15 years, helping the bank grow as a partner to fintech companies, including PayPal.
Today, Cohen serves as Vice Chairman, Executive Committee member, and Secretary of the Asia Society. She is also a Founding Member of the Asia Society Policy Institute, a Trustee of The Brookings Institution, an Honorary Trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Treasurer and Managing Director of the Metropolitan Opera, where she sits on the Finance Committee. Cohen is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College and earned her JD from the University of Pennsylvania.
7. Carlos Netto
Co-Founder and CEO, Matera
Carlos Netto is the Co-Founder and CEO of Matera, a financial technology company that provides solutions for core banking, instant payments, and QR code payments. With more than 30 years of experience, Netto has led Matera’s evolution from a technology-focused startup to a major provider of mission-critical systems for banks and credit unions worldwide.
Netto has helped shape the company's core banking offerings, supporting account opening, loan management, risk, compliance, and processing needs. He also worked closely with the Central Bank of Brazil during the development and launch of Pix, Brazil’s national instant payments system, with Matera becoming the largest third-party provider of Pix solutions.
Netto graduated from the Universidade Estadual de Campinas with a bachelor’s degree in computer science.
8. Alec Miloslavsky
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, EIS
Alec Miloslavsky is the Founder and CEO of EIS, a leading SaaS core platform provider to the insurance industry and first choice for ambitious insurers building customer-centric, data-driven ecosystems. Headquartered in San Francisco, EIS supports some of today’s most ambitious insurers globally.
Alec founded EIS after recognizing an ideal opportunity to disrupt the insurance industry. A moment where his deep experience, the evolving technological landscape, and his proven success in enterprise design all converged. He saw the need for a modern, flexible core platform that would enable insurers to truly transform and become digital-first, customer-centric organizations capable of delivering exceptional experiences and adapting to the economic and environmental headwinds reshaping the sector.
That vision became EIS OneSuite™—a cloud-native, API-rich, event-driven platform that empowers insurers to break free from legacy infrastructure and achieve new levels of agility, operational efficiency, and innovation.
With a track record of success in technology innovation and entrepreneurship, Alec brings over two decades of leadership experience to the role. Before founding EIS, he co-founded Exigen Services (now Return on Intelligence), which grew to over $70 million in annual revenues.
Earlier in his career, Alec was co-founder and CTO of Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, where he played a pivotal role in taking the company public and leading its eventual $1.9 billion acquisition by Alcatel in 1999. Following the acquisition, Alec was instrumental in integrating Genesys into Alcatel’s global operations.
9. Olugbenga Agboola
Founder and CEO, Flutterwave
Olugbenga Agboola is the Founder and CEO of Flutterwave, a financial technology company that provides payment infrastructure for merchants and service providers across Africa and beyond. Flutterwave’s platform enables businesses to accept payments, manage transactions, and expand into new markets through a single, unified system. Agboola brings over two decades of experience to the role, having previously led fintech solution development at major institutions including PayPal, Standard Bank, and Google, with a particular focus on scalable enterprise payments.
Before founding Flutterwave, Agboola served as head of digital factory and innovation at Access Bank Plc, where he helped drive the bank’s digital transformation initiatives. Earlier in his career, he worked as an application engineer at PayPal and British Telecom Professional Services, building enterprise systems for financial services clients. Agboola holds a master’s degree in IT security science from EC-Council University and has furthered his executive education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, The Wharton School, and Columbia Business School.
10. James Garvey
Member Board of Directors and Founder, Self Financial
James Garvey is the Founder and board member of Self Financial, a credit-building platform working to make building credit accessible. Garvey founded Self in 2015 after a mistake setting up autopay damaged his credit. The experience gave him a deeper appreciation of the challenges millions of people with low or no scores face in building and maintaining credit.
Under his leadership and tenure as CEO, Self has raised $127 million in funding, expanded from the signature Credit Builder Account to offer a full suite of credit building products, acquired a company, and grown to more than 300 employees working across 27 states.
An entrepreneur and software engineer by trade, Garvey is also a board member of Rhino + Jetty, the largest security deposit platform in the U.S. rental housing market. Garvey holds a degree in mathematics from the University of California, Davis.
11. Shivani Siroya
CEO & Founder, Tala
Shivani Siroya is the Founder and CEO of Tala, a financial technology company serving emerging markets. Through Tala’s smartphone app, millions of underserved customers in East Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America have gained access to instant, personalized credit. The company is headquartered in Santa Monica with additional offices in Nairobi, Manila, Mexico City, and Bangalore, and is backed by venture and impact investors including PayPal, Revolution, IVP, Ribbit Capital, Data Collective, and Lowercase Capital.
Prior to founding Tala, Siroya held a variety of positions in global health, microfinance, and investment banking, including with the United Nations Population Fund, Health Net, Citigroup, and UBS. Shivani is an Aspen Institute Finance Leader Fellow, a WEF Young Global Leader, Senior TED Fellow, and Ashoka Fellow. She is also on the board of Stellar. She holds a master’s degree from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University.
12. Matan Bar
Co-Founder & CEO, Melio
Matan Bar is the Co-Founder and CEO of Melio, a financial technology company that gives small businesses a way to digitally manage their business-to-business payments and receivables. Built to help small businesses keep up with business, Melio offers a simple platform designed to streamline payment workflows and improve cash flow management. Before founding Melio, Bar served as General Manager of PayPal's Consumer R&D center in Tel Aviv and led PayPal’s Consumer Peer-to-Peer Payments Group globally, overseeing more than $50 billion in annual payment volume.
Earlier in his career, Bar co-founded The Gifts Project, an e-commerce social group gifting platform that was acquired by eBay Inc. in 2012, leading him to join PayPal. He first got his start as an internet marketing strategy consultant at Atera Networks and later rose through the ranks at PayPal to become director of global P2P payments. Bar holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Tel Aviv University.
13. Tony Jamous
CEO & Founder, Oyster
Tony Jamous is the Founder and CEO of Oyster, a B Corp-certified global employment platform that enables companies to hire, pay, and manage remote employees across more than 180 countries. Oyster aims to remove barriers to remote work and distributed hiring.
Tony previously served as the CEO of CPaaS provider Nexmo (now Vonage) before exiting in 2018 and launching Oyster in early 2020. With Oyster, Tony hopes to make it easier for companies everywhere to hire people anywhere.
14. Yamini Bhat
Co-Founder & CEO, Vymo
Yamini Bhat is the Co-Founder and CEO of Vymo, a sales engagement platform used by more than 350,000 salespeople across over 65 global financial institutions, including Berkshire Hathaway, AIA, Generali, AXA, Sunlife, and HDFC Bank. Vymo helps organizations drive productivity by providing timely nudges and interventions across the customer lifecycle. Under Bhat’s leadership, the platform has been successfully implemented by over 60 financial institutions, supporting sales transformation efforts across the industry.
Before founding Vymo, Bhat spent more than five years as an engagement manager at McKinsey & Company, where she specialized in advising enterprises on growth and sales strategies. She holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, and a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani.
15. Madhu Gopinath
Co-founder, Opus Technologies
Madhu Gopinath is the Co-Founder of Opus Technologies, a U.S.-based technology services company focused on the payments industry. Opus provides solutions across remittance, cards, retail, and payments, as well as digital, data and analytics, and testing services. Gopinath has 20 years of experience applying information technology in the retail payments and securities industries, with a total of 29 years in conceptualizing and deploying mission-critical systems.
Prior to founding Opus, Madhu had successful stints at Tata Consultancy Services, Tandem Computers, and Indigo Technologies. He holds an MBA and a bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of Delhi.
16. Tyler Winklevoss
Co-Founder & CEO, Gemini
Tyler Winklevoss is the Co-Founder and CEO of Gemini, a cryptocurrency platform that enables customers to buy, sell, store, and earn digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. He is also the Co-Founder and Partner of Winklevoss Capital, a private investment firm that invests in early-stage technology startups. Founded in 2014, Gemini operates as a New York trust company regulated by the SEC, providing secure digital asset services to individual and institutional customers.
Earlier in his career, Winklevoss co-founded ConnectU, a social networking platform developed to help students connect within their university communities. He graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor’s degree in economics and earned his MBA from the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School.
17. Jeremy Allaire
Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Circle
Jeremy Allaire is the Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Circle, a global financial technology company that helps businesses use stablecoins and public blockchains for payments and commerce. Founded in 2013, Circle is the creator of USD Coin (USDC), a fully reserved and regulated dollar digital currency that has grown significantly in recent years.
Previously, Allaire co-founded and led multiple global internet technology companies with thousands of employees, serving hundreds of millions of consumers and achieving several public offerings on NASDAQ. He has provided expert testimony on digital assets and monetary policy before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the U.S. Senate Banking Committee.
Allaire provides perspective and policy recommendations at the highest levels inside financial bodies across the U.S., UK, and Europe. He graduated from Macalester College with a bachelor’s degree in political science and philosophy.
18. Mike Cagney
Co-Founder and Executive Board Chair, Figure
Mike Cagney is the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Figure, a financial technology company leveraging blockchain, artificial intelligence, and advanced analytics to streamline lending processes and enhance capital markets efficiency.
Cagney brings decades of experience in the financial industry to his current role. He previously served as CEO, chairman, and co-founder of SoFi, and earlier was co-founder and managing partner at Cabezon Investment Group.
He began his career at Wells Fargo, where he was a senior vice president in proprietary trading and financial products. Cagney holds a master’s degree in management from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, as well as a master’s degree in applied economics and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
19. Yu Chen
Founder and CEO, PingPong
Yu Chen is the Founder and CEO of PingPong, a cross-border payments platform that helps businesses send, receive, and manage money globally. With nearly a decade of experience, PingPong has obtained 60 financial licenses and facilitated over $250 billion in transactions, supporting a range of companies from Fortune 500 firms to startups.
Chen brings 18 years of experience to his current role. Before joining PingPong, Chen was a manager at Deloitte Consulting and, before that, an investment manager at Ping An Insurance Group. Earlier in his career, he worked with Phoenix Life Insurance Company as an actuary. Chen graduated from the University of Connecticut with a master’s degree in mathematics and from Fudan University with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics.
20. Anabel Perez
Board Member, Co-Founder, NovoPayment
Anabel Perez is a Board Member and Co-Founder of NovoPayment, a Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform operating across the Americas. NovoPayment enables digital financial and transactional services through APIs and other flexible delivery models, helping banks, financial institutions, merchants, marketplaces, and other providers leverage their existing systems to generate new deposits, transaction streams, and customer experiences.
Perez first got her start in 1987 as an SVP of retail banking at Venezolano de Crédito, before eventually rising to a member of the innovation council for the City of Coral Gables.
21. Aaron Schumm
Founder & CEO, Vestwell
Aaron Schumm is the Founder and CEO of Vestwell, an enterprise financial technology platform focused on expanding access to workplace and individual savings solutions. Under his leadership, Vestwell has scaled to power programs for major financial institutions and state governments, addressing areas such as retirement, education, health, and emergency savings. The company recently expanded its capabilities through the acquisition of Gradifi, a platform supporting student debt repayment and education savings.
Earlier in his career, Schumm served as vice president of product marketing at Citi and a product manager at Fiserv. He also worked at The Northern Trust Company as a senior portfolio analyst. Schumm holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Gies College of Business, and an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
22. Enrico Palmerino
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Botkeeper
Enrico Palmerino is the Founder and CEO of Botkeeper, an automated bookkeeping platform that uses human-assisted machine learning and AI to support accounting firms with scalable client accounting services (CAS) solutions. Under his leadership, Botkeeper has expanded to serve thousands of companies and more than 80 accounting firms, processing over 40 million transactions per quarter. In addition to his work with Botkeeper, Palmerino serves on the boards of OnProcess Technology and Fidelity Bank and remains actively involved as an investor and advisor to several technology companies.
Before founding Botkeeper, Palmerino was co-owner and managing director of SmartBooks, a cloud accounting firm that grew from six to 40 employees over three years before it was bought out in 2015. Earlier in his career, he co-founded ThinkLite, a company he helped scale to $8.5 million in annual recurring revenue. Palmerino holds a bachelor’s degree from Babson College.
Enrico Palmerino's Insight
“Being an entrepreneur is not only a job or title, but an absolute passion of mine—and not for any of the glorified or cynical reasons the media has a tendency to portray. My passion is rooted in identifying a problem, usually faced personally, and recognizing many others are repeatedly facing the same problem without an existing solution. Nothing brings me more joy than solving problems; the rush you get from overcoming major lows and struggles (the tiny victories), and one day looking back to realize the impact you and your team have had. Whether that impact is revolutionizing an industry, changing lives, offering employment opportunities and experiences, or ultimately changing the world (even if only slightly or temporarily), you can be proud and derive a sense of purpose and fulfillment from the effort.”
23. Damian Maldonado
Co-Founder, American Financing
Damian Maldonado is the Co-Founder of American Financing, a nationwide mortgage lender specializing in providing customized home financing solutions. With a focus on helping homeowners take control of their financial futures, American Financing offers a wide range of products, including mortgage refinancing, home equity loans, and other innovative lending options.
Maldonado has served as the CEO and co-owner since American Financing's inception in 1999. He brings years of industry expertise and a passion for helping homeowners achieve financial freedom. As a driving force behind the company, Damian has focused on offering tailored solutions that empower customers to make informed decisions, whether it's purchasing a new home or leveraging home equity to eliminate high-interest debt. His leadership is grounded in a customer-first approach, ensuring that each client receives personalized service with integrity and transparency.
24. Mark Britto
Chairman and Founder, Boku
Mark Britto is the Chairman and Founder of Boku, a global payments company that enables consumers to make purchases and verify their identities using their mobile phone numbers. Boku’s platform supports direct carrier billing, mobile wallets, and real-time payment networks, helping businesses reach mobile-first and underbanked consumers worldwide. Earlier in his career, Britto served as EVP and Chief Product Officer at PayPal, where he spent five years leading various initiatives.
Before joining PayPal, Britto was the CEO of Ingenio, a service marketplace and performance advertising company that was acquired by AT&T in 2007. He also co-founded Accept.com, which was acquired by Amazon and became the foundation of its global payments platform. Earlier in his career, he held senior credit and risk management roles at FirstUSA Bank and Bank of America. Britto holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in operations research and industrial engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.
25. Christopher Ewing
Founder & Chief Strategy Officer, One
Christopher Ewing is the Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of One Inc. A long-time entrepreneur, Ewing has a proven track record building effective teams and partnerships to deliver innovative solutions to customers. One Inc is modernizing the insurance industry for over 270 carriers through a unified and frictionless payment network. Specializing solely in insurance, One Inc enhances carrier operations by cutting costs, boosting security, and improving the customer experience.
Ewing began his insurance industry career in 2003 as president and CEO of Keenan Holdings. He also served as the CTO and general counsel of Cost-U-Less Insurance Center, growing the company from 32 locations to more than 100. Ewing was also the co-founder, president, and CEO of Stonewood Insurance Services, co-founder and CTO of ClearSide General Insurance Services, and co-founder, general counsel, and EVP of GreenPath Insurance Company.
Ewing received his bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of California, Riverside, and his JD from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law.
26. Monica Eaton
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Chargebacks911
Monica Eaton is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Chargebacks911, a company that helps merchants manage transaction disputes and reduce financial losses from chargebacks. Headquartered in Clearwater with offices in Essex and London, Chargebacks911 works with over 2.5 million merchants worldwide, including major travel brands such as FlyDubai and Amadeus.
Eaton also serves as the Founder and CEO of Fi911, which offers technology solutions for financial institutions focused on chargeback and merchant lifecycle management. Earlier in her career, she co-founded eConsumer Services, a mediation and consumer rights organization, and has spoken at numerous industry events on payments, ecommerce risk, and dispute management.
Eaton became an entrepreneur early in life, selling her first business before the age of 20. She launched Chargebacks911 in 2011 after identifying a gap in the market while working in e-commerce, and has since built the company into a major player in the payments and risk mitigation space. In addition to her business ventures, she advocates for women in technology and business leadership and supports education initiatives through her nonprofit organization, Paid for Grades. Eaton holds a degree from the University of Idaho.
27. Charles Cascarilla
CEO and Co-Founder, Paxos
Charles Cascarilla is the CEO and Co-Founder of Paxos, a regulated blockchain infrastructure platform that enables the movement of assets in a secure and trustworthy way. Paxos is focused on building the underlying systems to digitize and move assets such as money, commodities, and securities around the clock. With more than 20 years of experience in financial services, Cascarilla brings a unique perspective to bridging blockchain technology with traditional financial systems.
Prior to founding Paxos, Cascarilla co-founded Cedar Hill Capital Partners, an institutional asset management complex, and Liberty City Ventures, its venture capital subsidiary. Earlier in his career, he was a portfolio manager at Claiborne Capital and an analyst at Bank of America Securities and Goldman Sachs.
Cascarilla has played a leading role in shaping blockchain regulation, securing the first Trust charter for digital assets, testifying before the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, and serving as a founding member of CoinCenter and the Association for Digital Asset Markets. He serves on the boards of several charities and private companies, including Project ALS and The Centurion Foundation. Cascarilla holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Notre Dame and is a CFA charterholder.
28. Steve Lekas
Co-Founder and CEO, Branch
Steve Lekas is the Co-Founder and CEO of Branch. A 25-year insurance veteran, Lekas began his career at Allstate, followed by Esurance, where he built the first U.S. online home insurance business. Prior to Branch, Steve was president of the insurance services office's personal lines business for Verisk Analytics. In 2019, Steve launched Branch, a full-stack insurance company that uses data, technology, and automation to make home and auto insurance simpler to bundle and less expensive.
29. Benjamin Madick
Co-Founder & CEO, Matic Insurance
Ben Madick is the Co-Founder and CEO of Matic, an embedded insurance platform built for the mortgage industry. Prior to Matic, Ben co-founded MQMR, a firm that performs compliance risk management and audit support to mortgage lenders and banks of all sizes. He currently serves as an advisor to MQMR, providing high-level, strategic direction.
Ben spent his early career with Bank of America Correspondent Lending, where he managed relationships with large independent mortgage lenders throughout the nation. Additionally, Ben is an angel investor and advisor to other early-stage startups, primarily in the insurance and fintech space.
30. Luvleen Sidhu
Chair, CEO & Founder, BM Technologies
Luvleen Sidhu is the Chair, CEO, and Founder of BM Technologies, Inc., one of the largest digital banking platforms in the U.S., offering access to checking and savings accounts, personal loans, and credit cards. At the time of BM Technologies' public listing, she became the youngest female founder and CEO to take a company public. Before founding BM Technologies, Sidhu worked as a management consultant at Booz & Company in the financial services practice and served as director of corporate development at Customers Bank.
In addition to her role at BM Technologies, Sidhu is the Founder of the BankMobile Foundation, where she supports entrepreneurs and initiatives focused on financial literacy. She is a member of YPO and co-authored the international bestseller Why Can’t Banks Be as Easy as Uber. Sidhu holds an MBA from The Wharton School and a bachelor's degree in government from Harvard University.
31. Lev Barinskiy
Founder & CEO, SmartFinancial
Lev Barinskiy is the CEO of SmartFinancial, a leading insurance technology marketplace that connects consumers, insurance agents, and carriers. A serial entrepreneur, Lev has been at the forefront of the insurance and technology industry for over 20 years. He is a founder, investor, and advisor to numerous technology startups, with a focus on insurance innovation, AI, and performance-based marketing.
Lev Barinskiy's Insight:
"Our success is all about the incredible team that helped build this business and the support of my family and friends. Being an entrepreneur takes sacrifice, long hours, and relentless focus, but having the right people by your side makes all the difference."
32. Dustin Yoder
Founder & CEO, Sureify
Dustin Yoder is the Founder and CEO of Sureify, an insurtech company focused on modernizing life insurance sales and policyholder engagement. Yoder has been involved in the insurance industry since his high school days, working at his family’s brokerage, and was an early entrant into the insurtech space. He founded Sureify in 2012 to help revitalize the life insurance industry.
Prior to Sureify, he built and eventually sold Vendus Product Labs, an enterprise product development company that served clients such as Genentech, Stanford University, and Honda. Yoder holds a bachelor’s in finance from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
Dustin Yoder's Insight
“I'm either lucky or cursed to go to sleep each night dreaming about life and annuity technology. The industry is not easy or for the faint of heart, but I love it. There are many challenges that we have to overcome to advance our industry, but I'm surrounded by inspiring customers that help lead the way and a beyond capable team fueling our success. My top priority is to build strong, collaborative relationships… as we are in it together.”
33. Cynthia Chen
Founder, Kikoff
Cynthia Chen is the Co-Founder and CEO of Kikoff, a mission-driven startup that helps people build credit. A serial entrepreneur, she had built three fintech unicorns before Kikoff. She also invests in start-up companies in both the U.S. and emerging markets.
Previously, Chen was the chief risk officer at Kiavi. Before that, she served as VP and head of risk management at OnDeck. Earlier in her career, she worked with Capital One as a senior business analyst. Chen holds a master’s degree in mathematics of finance and a bachelor’s degree in economics and operations research from Columbia University.
34. Laurel Taylor
Founder and CEO, Candidly
Laurel Taylor is the Founder and CEO of Candidly. Candidly is an AI-driven student debt and savings optimization platform that addresses the full lifecycle of education expenses and empowers people to make simultaneous progress on paying down student debt and building wealth. Taylor has 19 years of experience.
Before joining Candidly, Taylor was head of industry, health, large-customer, and global sales organization at Google and, before that, an EVP and chief revenue officer at TEECOM. Earlier in her career, she worked with Systems Integration Companies as a VP of sales. Taylor graduated from the MIT Sloan School of Management with an MBA and from Texas State University with a bachelor’s degree in organizational behavior and Spanish.
35. Danny Shader
Founder and CEO, PayNearMe
Danny Shader is the Founder and CEO of PayNearMe, a financial technology company focused on simplifying and optimizing the payment experience. He founded PayNearMe in 2009 and is committed to serving customers, employees, and investors by reducing the complexity and costs associated with payment acceptance.
Prior to PayNearMe, Shader led Good Technology, Inc., a wireless software company that was acquired by Motorola in 2007. Shader previously co-founded Accept.com, one of the first person-to-person payments providers, which Amazon acquired in 1999.
Shader earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley College of Engineering, and an MBA from Stanford University.
Danny Shader's Insight
“PayNearMe, a fintech leader optimizing the payment experience, is maniacally focused on reducing the complexity and costs associated with payment acceptance. By working closely with our clients, we’ve systematically identified and eliminated the pain points associated with legacy payments platforms.
We’ve engineered a platform that optimizes every payment touchpoint, enabling our clients to enjoy better business outcomes, happier customers, and employees who are more productive.
Innovation can be daunting, particularly in payments, where the profound cost of potential mistakes discourages many businesses from improving their payment experiences. For this reason, we’re especially proud of the trust our clients have placed in us to innovate on their behalf. We built our reputation one client at a time, and we’ll continue to lead by delivering great, reliable payment experiences that contribute meaningfully to their success.”
36. Rob Merrick
Co-Founder, Global Holdings
Rob Merrick is the Co-Founder of Global Holdings, where he also serves as Executive Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, providing industry insights and direction to the sales and business development teams. Since co-founding the company in 2003, Merrick has played a key role in its growth. Global Holdings is a payment processor specializing in the consumer debt-relief market.
Merrick’s background in financial technology began with his early experience as a program manager at FSV Payments, a prepaid card processor later acquired by U.S. Bank. He went on to co-found Global Technology Partners (GTP), a prepaid card processor focused on the African market, where he developed and managed client and banking relationships. He also co-founded ShipMoney, a provider of payment solutions for maritime companies. Merrick holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Tulsa.
37. Sallie Krawcheck
Founder and CEO, Ellevest
Sallie Krawcheck is the Founder and CEO of Ellevest, an investment platform designed to help women achieve their financial goals. Ellevest offers a modern, easy-to-use interface and applies the same level of care and detail to portfolio construction, investment selection, and the development of its forecasting and recommendation algorithms.
Krawcheck first got her start in 1995 as a senior research analyst of financial institutions at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. From there, she went on to Smith Barney, before eventually rising to CEO at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management and U.S. Trust, her most recent position prior to founding Ellevest. Krawcheck graduated from Columbia Business School with an MBA and from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.
38. Sumit Khandelwal
Co-Founder, Xoxoday
Sumit Khandelwal is the Co-Founder and Group CEO of Xoxoday, where he has been instrumental in shaping the company into a global leader in digital rewards, incentives, and loyalty solutions. Under his leadership, Xoxoday has grown from a startup to a trusted platform for over 5,000 businesses, including Fortune 500 companies, helping them engage employees and customers through AI-driven tools.
Before starting Xoxoday, Sumit gained over 20 years of experience in leadership roles at Hexaware, Wipro Consumer Care, and Metro Cash & Carry. His expertise in building scalable solutions and understanding market needs laid the foundation for Xoxoday's success. Sumit’s vision has been key in expanding the company internationally, with a focus on the U.S., MENA region, Southeast Asia, and Europe.
Through his leadership, Xoxoday has secured $70 million in funding and has consistently been at the forefront of innovation in the rewards and incentives space, driving growth and empowering businesses worldwide.
39. Tanya Van Court
Founder and CEO, Goalsetter
Tanya Van Court is the Founder and CEO of Goalsetter, a financial education platform that offers a family finance app, a smart youth debit card, and financial education content from kindergarten through college. Trusted by banks, credit unions, school systems, and organizations, Goalsetter helps partners deliver tech-enabled financial education aimed at driving community impact and customer engagement. Van Court has 28 years of experience.
Before joining Goalsetter, Van Court was an SVP of marketing and education partnerships at Discovery Communications. Earlier in her career, she worked with Qwest as a director of field operations and customer experience. Van Court graduated from Stanford University with a master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering.
40. Safwan Shah
Founder and CEO, Payactiv
Safwan Shah is the Founder and CEO of Payactiv, a Public Benefit Corporation and Certified B Corp. Payactiv is a leading provider of Earned Wage Access and offers a suite of financial wellness services, including savings tools, bill payment, and budgeting assistance, designed to help workers access their earned income and improve their financial well-being.
Prior to founding Payactiv, Safwan Shah founded Infonox, which was later acquired by TSYS (now Global Payments). He is the author of It’s About TIME, which calls for businesses to take an active role in addressing global challenges. Shah holds a PhD in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder. He has taught at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and the Baskin School of Engineering at UC Santa Cruz, and he is a graduate of the Stanford Executive Program.
41. Anant Kale
Co-Founder & CEO, AppZen
Anant Kale is the Co-Founder and CEO of AppZen, a company that provides AI software to help finance teams automate manual processes, reduce expenditures, and gain real-time insights into business spending. With over 15 years of experience developing complex software solutions, Kale has led AppZen to serve more than 1,800 global enterprises across a variety of industries.
Before founding AppZen, Kale was vice president of applications at Fujitsu America, where he was responsible for strategy, product management, and the delivery of mission-critical enterprise, mobile, and commerce applications. Earlier in his career, he served as group head of corporate planning at Nimbus Communications. Kale earned an MBA in finance and a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Mumbai.
42. Swapnil Shinde
CEO & Co-Founder, Zeni
Swapnil Shinde is the CEO and Co-Founder of Zeni and a General Partner at Twin Ventures. A three-time entrepreneur with two successful exits, he also serves as an advisor and investor to more than 40 early-stage startups. Zeni is an AI-driven bookkeeping platform supported by a dedicated finance team, offering tools and services designed to automate financial operations and improve accuracy.
Previously, Shinde was a VP of business development at American Express. Before that, he co-founded and served as CEO of Mezi. Earlier in his career, he worked with IBM Software Labs as a software engineer. Shinde holds a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Southern California and a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from COEP Technological University.
43. Tammy Camp
Founder & CEO, Stronghold
Tammy Camp is the CEO of Stronghold, a financial infrastructure company that creates virtual payment networks to enable instant settlement and interoperability between traditional and modern payment systems. Stronghold’s platform supports businesses by providing faster, more cost-effective transactions through real-time payments, stablecoin services, and APIs that connect to a range of payment networks.
Previously, Camp served as the first head of growth at Stellar, helping the network grow to 4 million users in its first two months. A former partner at accelerator 500 Startups, she invested in portfolio companies and ran the growth and marketing curriculum for its flagship Silicon Valley location.
44. Eyal Feldman
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Stampli
Eyal Feldman is the CEO and Co-Founder of Stampli, an accounts payable automation and invoice management platform that streamlines the procure-to-pay process. Stampli focuses on building intuitive, adaptable financial workflows that integrate with a company’s financial systems, allowing every step, conversation, and approval to happen in one place. Feldman is committed to using technology and business processes to solve real-world problems and improve finance operations.
Previously, Feldman was a VP and business solution division manager at Ness SES. Earlier in his career, he worked with Colgate-Palmolive as a business analyst. Feldman earned an MBA from the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
45. Brandon Krieg
Co-CEO and Co-Founder, Stash
Brandon Krieg is the Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Stash, a financial platform founded in 2015 to make investing accessible to all Americans. Stash offers subscription plans starting at $3 a month, providing users with simple, automated tools to save, invest, and build long-term financial security. Krieg has also led the launch of StashWorks, a platform for financial education, and Stash’s AI Money Coach. In addition to his role at Stash, he serves as CEO of Stash Capital, the company's broker-dealer.
Earlier in his career, Krieg co-founded Edge Trade, one of the first and largest agency trade execution and software firms, which was later acquired by Knight Capital Group. He also served as head of electronic execution at Macquarie Securities Group before founding Stash.
46. Stephen Murphy
CEO and Co-Founder, Genesis Global
Stephen Murphy is the CEO and Co-Founder of Genesis Global, a platform built to help developers automate manual workflows, enhance legacy systems, and build new applications with greater speed and flexibility. After leading technology and electronic trading teams earlier in his career, Murphy founded Genesis with the vision of reinventing application development in financial markets by empowering developers and replacing the traditional buy-versus-build dilemma with a buy-to-build approach.
Murphy has held senior strategic business and C-level technology positions for some of the world’s leading investment banks, including Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, HSBC, and BTG Pactual. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Kent.
47. Kyle Nakatsuji
Co-Founder, President, and CEO, Clearcover
Kyle Nakatsuji is the CEO and Co-Founder of Clearcover, an insurance company providing car insurance designed for digital consumers. Since founding the company in 2016, he has focused on using technology to lower operating costs and deliver long-term customer value. Under his leadership, Clearcover has raised more than $520 million and continues to integrate products and services aimed at improving the customer experience.
Prior to leading Clearcover, Nakatsuji co-founded American Family Ventures, the direct venture capital investing arm of American Family Insurance, where he spent four years investing in insurance tech startups and was responsible for nearly 50 equity and debt investments in nationally-based startups focused on data and analytics, the internet of things, enterprise SaaS and insurance innovation.
Nakatsuji began his career as an attorney at AlphaTech Counsel, S.C., a boutique law firm focused exclusively on emerging tech company business matters. He provided counsel and support regarding business formation and business transaction issues, including equity and convertible note financing, mergers, acquisitions, and entity conversions. Nakatsuji holds a degree in law as well as an MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
48. Sam Hodges
Co-Founder & CEO, Vouch Insurance
Sam Hodges is the Co-Founder and CEO of Vouch Insurance, a tech-enabled insurance provider for high-growth companies. Through its MGA brand, Corix, Vouch offers access to more than 80 insurance carriers and instant quoting capabilities. The company provides tailored insurance solutions to help startups manage risk at every stage. Hodges has 21 years of experience.
Before joining Vouch Insurance, Hodges was a co-founder and managing director at Funding Circle U.S. Before that, he was VP of business development at SecondMarket, Inc. Earlier in his career, he worked with Katzenbach Partners as a senior associate. Hodges holds an MBA in finance and entrepreneurship and a master’s degree in energy resources from Stanford University, and a bachelor’s degree in international resources and economics from Brown University.
49. Dan Holt
CEO and Co-Founder, BillGO
Dan Holt is the CEO and Co-Founder of BillGO, a company that provides flexible bill pay technology and operates an open biller network accepting both consumer and business payments. BillGO’s platform is designed to deliver simple, friction-free bill payment experiences that help increase customer satisfaction, boost digital payment acceptance, and improve cash flow efficiency.
Holt first got his start in 2000 as a director at Greenlight. From there, he went on to Ingenuity Web Apps, before eventually rising to president and GM of managed services at Computer Services, Inc., his most recent position prior to joining BillGO. Holt graduated from Colorado State University with an MBA and from the University of Maryland with a bachelor’s degree in business management.
50. Beatriz Acevedo
CEO & Co-Founder, SUMA Wealth
Beatriz Acevedo is the CEO and Co-Founder of SUMA Wealth, a financial technology platform focused on increasing prosperity, opportunity, and financial inclusion for young U.S. Latinos. Drawing on 30 years of experience, Acevedo leads SUMA’s unique community-centered approach, which combines financial tools with culturally relevant education to empower users to build wealth. Under her leadership, SUMA Wealth has partnered with major institutions such as Chase, Fidelity, Intuit, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo.
Prior to launching SUMA, Acevedo was the co-founder and president of mitú, a digital media brand dedicated to Latino storytelling. Earlier in her career, she founded and led HIP Entertainment, building a successful career in media and entertainment. Throughout her journey, Acevedo has been a passionate advocate for Latino representation, financial empowerment, and entrepreneurship.
She has held board roles with organizations like Beneficial State Bank, the Latino Community Foundation, and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Committee, and serves in advisory capacities for the SBA, PledgeLA, and Delta Air Lines. She is a frequent keynote speaker at major events like SXSW and Cannes Lions. She earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing communications from the University of California, San Diego.
