In this episode, I share the four core mantras that have guided me through building Percent from the ground up. From embracing market feedback over rigid vision to recognizing how small mistakes compound, I dive into the principles that have helped me navigate the unpredictable terrain of fintech entrepreneurship. Whether you're just starting out or scaling a venture, these battle-tested principles offer a framework for making clearer decisions and building with intention in today's rapidly evolving market.

February 21, 2023

There's certain weeks where everything just seems to be humming and this past week was most definitely one of them. Everything was in sync (even with some mini crises along the way) and we managed to have a few chips fall our way as well. 

February 13, 2023

Ahead of our board meeting on Tuesday and the subsequent all-hands on Thursday, I thought it would be helpful to recap our results in January as the board is keen to track every single metric we're measuring ourselves against.

Breaking down our January financial results and it's a tale of two narratives. On the one hand, we missed on Borrower Platform Fees as deals from existing borrowers we underwrite were downsized more than we had anticipated and we also predicted we would be able to ramp up our new higher fee structure faster than we actually were able to.

In this episode, we speak with Nelson Chu, Founder and CEO of Percent, which is unlocking private credit and providing unparalleled access through its modern private credit market, empowering investors, borrowers, and underwriters with innovative technology to increase the speed and frequency of transactions at a fraction of the cost.

In this candid conversation, I sit down with Charlie Lienau, Percent's Head of Operations, to explore the art of building for longevity in fintech. From his early days in Argentine investment banking to scaling our global team, Charlie shares insights on measured growth, data-driven decision making, and why focus beats speed when scaling a fintech. We dive deep into lessons learned from five years of evolution at Percent and why sometimes the riskiest decisions lead to the greatest rewards.

In an article last year, the International Monetary Fund said that the global private credit market topped $2.1 trillion globally in 2023, with 75% of that in the U.S. That number has been rising rapidly for many years as more companies look beyond banks and the public debt markets to raise capital. Along with this rise in private credit, some fintech companies have taken advantage of this growth, bringing new opportunities to investors.

February 6, 2023

We’ve officially kicked off the conference season in 2023 as we made our way down to Miami for the iConnections Global Alts conference for family offices and other institutional investors. This is a fairly unique conference as there are two sides of our market in attendance - investors looking for debt opportunities and also underwriters / credit funds who manage debt funds and are looking for capital but also have opportunities to underwrite against.

January 30, 2023

Nothing like starting the year off right! As we've been driving the point home consistently over the past few weeks, this year is all about hitting and exceeding our numbers in a year where most companies will struggle to make their projections. Thanks to everyone's efforts this month, we're going to come in at a forecasted [ ]  in revenue compared to our initial projection of [ ]. This is the first time we've actually exceeded our projected revenues in a given month in over half a year and it's been a long time coming.

Choosing who sits on your company board is one of the most consequential decisions you'll make as a founder. The individuals you select will shape your company's future through critical decisions—from funding rounds and strategic pivots to expanding option pools and setting company direction.

January 23, 2023

It's funny how the world works sometimes. For those who don't know, when we first started we were actually a blockchain company, touting the future of private credit and securitization on chain. We were doing "real world assets" as the crypto/blockchain community likes to call it, before it was in vogue. Fast forward a few years later, we've shied away from that vision for many reasons, most notably of which is that the blockchain really can't help that much with the securitization process as it exists today.

In this special episode, I sit down for a candid conversation with Prath Reddy, Percent's President and our first hire, to discuss how we've navigated major market shifts since founding the company. From COVID-19 to rapid Fed rate hikes, we explore how being nimble helped us turn crisis into opportunity, share an inside look at building a private credit platform, and discuss what excites us about the future of embedded finance.

January 17, 2023

With the imminent close of [ ] this week which was underwritten by [ ], we have our first ever deal that’s closing with an underwriter who's signed on to our new master services agreement with the latest fee schedule, as we mapped it out in the all-hands last week. This one could not have gone any better - the [ ] team was eager to get going, [ ] is a well funded venture backed company, and the webinar roadshow we did to market the deal was extremely well attended.

January 9, 2023

It‘s such a rare and wonderful occasion that we can bring the team together for several days to celebrate all that we’ve accomplished in 2022.

We are all so focused on our day to day that it’s often so easy to forget the people behind the screen on Zooms and Huddles. Every one of you was brought on board not just because you’re the best at what you do with incredible potential, but also because of the contributions we knew you’d make to support and enhance the collaborative culture we strive to uphold.

January 3, 2023

It’s officially a new year and while it’s just a day on the calendar, it’s an opportunity to start anew. 2022 will be remembered for its market volatility and economic challenges as public markets closed out with its worst loss since 2008. Hype cycle asset classes like crypto and collectibles crashed down to earth. With all that as the backdrop, what can we expect for 2023? Below are a few of my predictions that I think could play out this year. 

In this special episode, I sit down for a candid conversation with Prath Reddy, Percent's President and our first hire, to discuss how we've navigated major market shifts since founding the company. From COVID-19 to rapid Fed rate hikes, we explore how being nimble helped us turn crisis into opportunity, share an inside look at building a private credit platform, and discuss what excites us about the future of embedded finance.