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☆ Spektr, a compliance and due diligence fintech startup, just raised $5.4 million with this 13-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Danish compliance startup Spektr has raised $5.4 million in seed funding. The company, set up by the founders of HelloFlow, has emerged from stealth. The company plans to use the funding to grow its team and begin to expand into the US. Spektr, a fintech startup that helps companies with compliance, has raised $5.4 million. The Copenhagen-based startup is emerging from stealth and aims to improve the client onboarding experience for companies.

Persons: Spektr, Mikkel Skarnager Organizations: HelloFlow, Business Locations: Copenhagen

☆ Here's why Capital One is buying Discover in the biggest proposed merger of 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Hugh Son | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

It's a chess move by one of the savviest long-term thinkers in American finance, Capital One CEO Richard Fairbank. Fairbank, who became a billionaire by building Capital One into a credit card giant since its 1994 IPO, is betting that buying rival card company Discover will better position the company for global payments' murky future. The deal, if approved, enables Capital One to leapfrog JPMorgan as the biggest credit card company by loans, and solidifies its position as the third largest by purchase volume. By 2027, the bank expects to add at least $175 billion in payments and 25 million of its cardholders onto the Discover network. The Discover network alone would be worth up to $6 billion if sold to Alphabet, Apple or Fiserv , Sakhrani wrote Tuesday in a research note.

Persons: Richard Fairbank, Marvin Joseph, It's, Fairbank, Sanjay Sakhrani, Sakhrani Organizations: Washington Post, Getty, Capital, Discover Financial, U.S, JPMorgan Chase, Independence, Discover, JPMorgan, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, One's, PayPal Locations: Wall, U.S

☆ These are the stocks about to report earnings that often beat expectations and gain
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Using Bespoke Investment Group data, CNBC Pro screened for stocks set to release their quarterly results that meet the following criteria: Average earnings per share beat rate of 75% or higher. The firm expects Nvidia to report quarterly revenue of $22.95 billion, far above Wall Street's expectations of $20.23 billion. The company will report quarterly results on Thursday. Still, the firm reiterated its buy rating and $3,960 target price. Analysts' average price target indicates Block could gain 15.1 % over the next 12 months, per FactSet.

Persons: Lee Horowitz Organizations: Nvidia, CNBC Pro, Google, U.S ., UBS, Booking Holdings, Deutsche Bank, Palo Alto Networks Locations: —

☆ It seems some tech leaders are coming back to San Francisco
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Some tech leaders are returning to San Francisco, The Wall Street Journal reported. San Francisco's commercial real estate market is also getting a boost from the AI boom. AdvertisementIt seems like San Francisco is luring some tech bosses back after a pandemic-induced exodus. Now, he plans to spend one week a month in San Francisco and is renovating a house in the city, The Journal reported. Meanwhile, San Francisco has grappled with a homelessness problem and shifts in crime patterns.

Persons: —, San, Keith Rabois, cofounders Henrique Dubugras, Pedro Franceschi, Howie Liu, Rabois, Elon Musk, Sam Altman Organizations: Street Journal, Service, The, Meta, PayPal, California Globe Locations: San Francisco, Miami

☆ Let's accept it: The Fed's rate hikes did little to slow this roaring economy
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

OK, you will never confuse me for a rapper, but those are the four words that describe this economy right now. I have not been a fan of this company because of its losses and its inability to pivot to profit. You have to add the DoorDash numbers to the Toast numbers to see the strength of the go-out and go-in parts of the economy. I am just saying that the Federal Reserve does not have a handle on how overheated this economy has become. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

Persons: Todd Schneider, Kevin Hourican, Ralph Lauren, Ralph, That's, Lam, Barry Sternlicht, Otis, There's, Eaton, Parker, Uber, it's, Morgan Stanley, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Justin Sullivan Organizations: Walmart, Home, Philadelphia Eagles, Applied Materials, Federal Reserve, Simon Property Group, Costco, Property, Reuters, Saudi, Mastercard, American Express, Lam Research, Nvidia's, Waste Management, Starwood Capital, U.S, Fed, Jim Cramer's Charitable, CNBC Locations: DraftKings, China, Emerson, Dover, Cummins, —, Wells Fargo, San Francisco

☆ Embedded payments fintech Monite just raised $6 million from Peter Thiel's Valar Ventures with this 12-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Berlin-based fintech Monite has raised $6 million in seed funding from Peter Thiel's Valar Ventures. Monite, founded in 2020, works with companies to help streamline payments and reduce manual processing. Still, where this might generally be done across email, spreadsheets, and messaging systems, Monite aggregates a company's bills and invoices and then automates the process on their behalf. The startup has raised a top-up to its seed round, led by Third Prime, in March 2023, taking its total funding to $17.4 million. The funding from Valar Ventures closed in November after Monite opted against looking to raise a Series A, Maryasin said.

Persons: Monite, Peter Thiel's, Ivan Maryasin, Maryasin Organizations: Ventures, Monite, Business, Third Prime Locations: Berlin, Europe

☆ Black women are the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the U.S.—meet 3 who grew their side hustles into successful businesses
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-18 | by ( Morgan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Black women make up less than 10% of the U.S. population, but they've emerged as the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs, new research from GoDaddy has found. The number of Black women-owned businesses in the U.S. was trending upward even before the Covid-19 pandemic, which accelerated entrepreneurship overall. Between 2017 and 2020, the number of Black women-owned businesses increased by nearly 20%, far exceeding the growth of women-owned businesses and Black-owned businesses overall, the Brookings Institution reports. Ofodu's decision to leave Instagram reflects a larger trend of Black women ditching corporate jobs and flocking to entrepreneurship for more freedom, fulfillment and flexibility in their careers. "When I go to industry events, I'm still one of the few Black people or women in the room," says Frelow, 53.

Persons: they've, we're, Joy Ofodu, Instagram, Brianna Doe, Doe, Jessica Juniper, Alexis Rivera Scott, Rivera Scott, Leslie Frelow, Frelow, hasn't, I'm Organizations: Brookings Institution, Universal Service Administrative Company, Federal Communications Commission, Association of African Locations: U.S, Instagram, Phoenix, Boise, Washington ,, Maryland

☆ A millennial mom of 3 quit her job to help care for her boomer parents. She says she was unprepared to be in the 'sandwich generation.'
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Jane Ridley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewSix years ago, like many first-time parents, Meagan Hency found it challenging to adapt to the dual roles of new mom and full-time professional. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. She told Business Insider how she had to quit her job in 2022 to simultaneously care for her mom, dad, and three kids, now aged 3, 4, and 6. "You are being pulled in three very important directions — kids, parents, work — and it's hard to figure out what to prioritize." AdvertisementDo you have a powerful story to share with Business Insider?

Persons: —, Meagan Hency, Kyle, she'd, Hency, you'd, Hency Hency, weren't, Mom, Dad, they're Organizations: Service, Business, Social

☆ Big Tech’s next key market is India. Here’s how four Club portfolio names are playing it
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Just days after delivering a stellar quarter, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was on a whirlwind speaking tour throughout India. The Indian market also represents a largely untapped market that will diversify revenue streams. Over the summer, India became Amazon's first market in Asia to launch its dedicated virtual cargo airline , dubbed Amazon Air. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio.

Persons: Satya Nadella, Morgan Stanley, Chetan Ahya, Ahya, Bernstein, Nadella, Zev Fima, Fima, Tim Cook, Amazon, Sundar Pichai, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim Organizations: Microsoft, Apple, country's Ministry, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship, Club, Foxconn Technology, Media, Amazon, Walmart, Web Services, Google, CNBC Locations: India, Mumbai, Bengaluru, New Delhi, China, Asia, United States, Chennai, Puna, Hyderabad, Tamil Nadu, India's, Gujarat

☆ Shopping online at 2 a.m.? That’s a red flag for buy now, pay later lender Affirm
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Hugh Son | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Americans shopping online after midnight often make riskier transactions and are more likely to default on their loans, according to Affirm Chief Financial Officer Michael Linford. The fintech firm uses the hour a consumer attempts a transaction as a key data point to help determine whether to approve loans, Linford told CNBC in a recent interview. Other factors include a user's repayment history with Affirm and transaction data from credit bureau Experian. Shoppers could be inebriated or under financial or emotional duress and desperately seeking credit, Linford said. The buy now, pay later industry offers installment loans that typically range from no-interest short-term transactions to rates as high as 36% for longer-term credit.

Persons: Michael Linford, Linford, Max Levchin Organizations: CNBC, PayPal

☆ Berkshire Hathaway once again keeps new stock purchase secret, trims giant Apple stake
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway asked regulators to keep its new stock purchase secret for a second quarter in a row, while the conglomerate trimmed its massive Apple stake slightly in the fourth quarter, according to a new regulatory filing. Berkshire requested that the Securities and Exchange Commission keep the details of one or more of its stock holdings confidential. Many speculated that the secret purchase could be a bank stock as the 10Q filing for the third quarter suggested that Berkshire had purchased "banks, insurance, and finance" stocks for $1.2 billion. Apple, Chevron The Omaha-based conglomerate sold about 10 million Apple shares last quarter, the filing showed. HP, Paramount Berkshire significantly reduced its stake in Paramount , holding about 63.3 million shares at the end of December, or 32% fewer shares than the number in the previous quarter.

Persons: Warren, Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett's, Buffett, homebuilder D.R.Horton, Ted Weschler, Todd Combs Organizations: Berkshire, Securities and Exchange Commission, Chevron, Verizon, Apple, HP, Paramount, Paramount Global, Liberty, Occidental Petroleum Locations: Berkshire, Chevron The Omaha, Paramount Berkshire, New York, Houston

☆ Liquidity is pulling back from the demo who needs it most, warns Current CEO
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailLiquidity is pulling back from the demo who needs it most, warns Current CEOStuart Sopp, Current CEO & Co-Founder, joins 'Fast Money' to talk the latest CPI report, the impact of inflation on consumers, teh FinTech space and more.

Persons: Stuart Sopp

☆ This Monzo cofounder is set to launch a new startup with Index and General Catalyst in talks to invest, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Monzo cofounder Jonas Templestein is in talks to raise funds for a new startup, sources told BI. Top investors such as Index and General Catalyst are among those in discussions to back the startup. AdvertisementA cofounder of British fintech unicorn Monzo is set to raise funds from a smattering of high-profile investors for a new venture, Business Insider understands. Now, he's primed to raise around $5-6 million at a $50 million valuation cap for a new startup, two sources said. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: Jonas Templestein, Catalyst, — Organizations: Service, Business Locations: Monzo

☆ Gen Z Is the Most Unsatisfied With Work; for Them, a Job Is Just a Job
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Eve Upton-Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

And it could explain why Gen Z workers are so much more unsatisfied with their jobs than their older colleagues. Age plays a role in explaining the gap, but Gen Z is also entering the workforce at a unique time. In EY's 2023 Gen Z survey, more than 50% of Gen Zers said they were "extremely worried about not having enough money." For much of Gen Z, a job is just a job. In a Deloitte study from March, only 61% of Gen Z participants said their work was important to their identity.

Persons: Kimi Kaneshina isn't, Wyatt Co, Xers, Zers, millennials, Gen Zers, Aki Ito, That's, Kaneshina, Julia Kensbock, Kensbock, haven't, Kensbrock, —, Gen Z, Corey Seemiller, Seemiller, Felizitas, Z Organizations: Pew Research, Research, Business, University of Bremen, Bain, Co, Workers, Employers, Labs, CFA, LaSalle Network, Wright State University, YouTube, LinkedIn, Deloitte Locations: Southern California, Germany, TikTok, Felizitas Lichtenberg

☆ Affirm is holding up well compared to other fintech lenders, says Reginald Smith
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailAffirm is holding up well compared to other fintech lenders, says Reginald SmithReginald Smith, Executive Director of Equity Research at JPMorgan, discusses earnings from Affirm and the overall fintech sector.

Persons: Reginald Smith Reginald Smith Organizations: Equity Research, JPMorgan

☆ Stripe rival Adyen's shares soar 22% as European payments giant posts profit beat, slows hiring
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Shares of European online payments giant Adyen jumped on Thursday, after the company reported strong sales growth and better-than-expected profit for 2023. Here's how the company did in its full-year results:Net revenue: 1.626 billion euros ($1.75 billion), up 22% year-on-year. That's broadly in line with expectations of 1.636 billion euros, according to LSEG, formerly RefinitivEBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization): 743.0 million euros, up 2% year-on-year. The company also said it "significantly expanded" its partnership with a single, unnamed existing digital customer, which contributed to better sales growth overall. The move intended to address investor concerns that the company was spending too aggressively on hiring while peers were cutting back on their capital expenditure.

Persons: Adyen, Jefferies Organizations: PayPal, Analysts, Spotify Locations: Amsterdam, Klarna

☆ Conversational AI startup Vocode entered Y Combinator without a business plan. Now, it's raised $3.25 million without a pitch deck.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Vocode, a conversational AI startup, has raised $3.25 million in seed funding. Founded in 2023, by Ajay Raj and Kian Hooshmand, Vocode raised funding at Y Combinator without a formal pitch deck. Vocode's founders are friends from high school who made it into Y Combinator despite opting against pitching their original business plan. With 10 weeks until demo day, the team began interviewing teams across fintech, healthcare, and climate, searching for ideas before landing on conversational AI. The company began making waves in online hacker communities before its demo day pitch session in front of investors.

Persons: Ajay Raj, Kian, Vocode, PrankGPT, Hooshmand, Y Organizations: Business Locations: San Francisco, fintech

☆ Sequoia-backed fintech Pennylane just became a unicorn. Check out the 15-slide pitch deck it used to raise $43 million.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

French accounting tech startup Pennylane has raised $43 million in a deal that valued the business at over $1 billion. Founded in 2020, Pennylane works with SMEs and accounting firms to simplify and digitize their accounting processes. The company's SaaS model pulls third-party data from platforms like Stripe and Qonto, to help SMEs with their accounting needs. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. "We've seen very strong growth in users and revenues, without having to grow our sales and marketing spend," Waller told Business Insider.

Persons: Pennylane, Arthur Waller, Waller, it's, Visma Organizations: Business, Sequoia Locations: Paris, Pennylane

☆ Y Combinator-backed trading app Pluto Markets just raised $2.6 million with this 14-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Pluto Markets, a trading app backed by famed accelerator Y Combinator, has raised $2.6 million in fresh funds. The Danish fintech startup, founded in 2021, wants to upend the market for retail trading offerings in Europe. "Companies raised a lot of money to blitz scale across the EU but have now focused on their core markets. Unlike most fintech brokerages, Pluto secured an EU-wide investment license before it had raised $1 million in funding, having bootstrapped and stayed lean. You can check out Pluto Market's 14-slide pitch deck below:

Persons: Joakim Bruchman, Goldman Sachs, We've, Bruchmann, Pluto, Oscar Vingtoft Organizations: Business, Companies, Trade Republic, Saxo Bank, EU Locations: Danish, Europe, Denmark, France, Germany, Berlin

☆ Voyager Ventures backs climate tech startups. It just raised its second $100 million fund.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewClimate tech VC firm Voyager Ventures has raised another fund hot on the heels of its first, bringing its assets under management to $200 million. The new fund can invest alongside or after Voyager Fund I and independently where it has developed competitive access. AdvertisementThe fund hit final close in May 2023, which was previously undisclosed, just 15 months after closing its first fund. It is also eyeing the second edition of the earlier-stage Voyager Fund, which Peterson and Sclarsic will start raising this year. Voyager Ventures currently has 19 portfolio companies across the two funds.

Persons: —, Sierra Peterson, Sarah Sclarsic, Peterson, Sclarsic Organizations: Service, Voyager Ventures, Business, Voyager, Northwestern University, Novo Holdings Locations: San Francisco and New York, North America, Europe

☆ Read the pitch deck that helped Latino-focused fintech platform Suma raise $2.2 million to teach money management through videos and gaming
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Suma Wealth, a 3-year-old fintech company that combines culturally relevant content and experiences with financial tools to help Latinos build wealth, raised $2.2 million in new funding. Leading the round was Radicle Impact, which was joined by Vamos Ventures, OVO fund, and the American Heart Association Impact fund. She got the idea for Suma during the pandemic when she saw its disproportionate impact on Latinos, Acevedo told TechCrunch. Along with closing the seed round, Suma announced that it had passed 1 million users on its platforms and acquired Intellecto, a platform designed to personalize users' learning experiences. Check out the pitch deck that Suma used to raise its most recent funding.

Persons: Suma, Beatriz Acevedo, Acevedo, they've, Wells Organizations: Vamos Ventures, American Heart Association, Ulu Ventures, Fund, Chingona Ventures, Business, FDIC, Suma, JPMorgan Chase, TechCrunch Locations: Wells Fargo

☆ Tuum wants to provide AI-powered core banking infrastructure. It just raised $27 million with this 16-slide pitch deck.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Estonian fintech startup Tuum has raised $27 million in new funding. The startup, founded in 2019, provides cloud-native core banking infrastructure technology. The startup raised cash from CommerzVentures and Speedinvest to fuel its expansion plans. Estonian banking fintech startup Tuum has raised $27 million in new funding. Tuum, founded in 2019, provides core banking infrastructure for banks and other financial institutions that enables them to offer cloud-native services through APIs.

Persons: Myles Bertrand Organizations: Estonian, Tuum, Business Locations: CommerzVentures

He also said that Flywire trading at a discount of about 25% is "unwarranted given the company's strong competitive position and organic revenue growth trajectory." "These risks along with a tough demand setting is likely to remove any support for the stock price." — Alex Harring 5:29 a.m.: BTIG moves to sidelines on McDonald's after earnings BTIG has a different taste in its mouth about McDonald's following earnings. The bank upgraded the delivery giant to buy from neutral and hiked its price target to $175 from $160. "We expect management to deliver a strong cost reduction program to support margin expansion and attractive EPS growth despite facing a backdrop of muted revenue growth," analyst Thomas Wadewitz wrote.

Persons: Flywire, Nate Svensson, That's, Svensson, — Alex Harring, Gross, Manav Gupta, Gupta, Jairam Nathan, Nathan, Tesla, Li, Edison Yu, Yu, Piper Sandler, Arvind Ramnani, Chegg, Ramnani, Alex Harring, Tyler Radke, Palantir, Radke, BTIG, Peter Saleh, Saleh, McDonald's, Thomas Wadewitz, Wadewitz, Fred Imbert Organizations: CNBC, Parcel Service, Deutsche Bank, UBS, Leadership, Li Auto, KraneShares CSI China Internet, Citi, Wall, Revenue, UPS Locations: Tuesday's premarket, Monday's, U.S, Israel

☆ 6 venture investors spotlight the fintechs that could soar in 2024 amid another tough year for startups
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Bianca Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Fintech has shown few signs of recovering in 2024 as funding declines and layoffs continue. VCs said they want to pick up deals this year in AI and cost-management tools for software. Investors digging for deals in the fintech industry are zeroing in on a few pockets of resilience. Venture funding to financial-technology startups fell by 50% in 2023 from 2022, according to CB Insights. Only one month into 2024, fintech layoffs have been abound.

Persons: Fintech, VCs, Jack Dorsey's Block Organizations: PayPal, Business Locations: Brex

☆ Loud budgeting is in, quiet luxury is out. Meet the TikToker who started the financial trend
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Vanessa Yurkevich | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“Loud budgeting is a new concept I am announcing for 2024, it’s the opposite of quiet luxury,” he said in the TikTok post, posted on December 29. In this screen grab taken from a viral video by Lukas Battle, the comedian talks about the 'loud budgeting,' trend, versus 'quiet luxury.' In an online world where luxury and opulence are constantly on display — and unattainable for most people — “loud budgeting” makes being on a budget cool and acceptable. It’s the inverse of “quiet luxury,” which flourished on social media last year and promoted not flaunting your wealth or being understated about it. But loud budgeting could be a reckoning for brands who have found success in social media marketing.

Persons: Lukas Battle, Lukas, It’s, ”, they’re, Vivian Tu, Rich, ” Tu, Giovanna Gonzalez, “, Gonzalez, “ I’m, Michael Hershfield, Tu, it’s Organizations: New, New York CNN, CNN, TIAA Institute, Wall, P Global Market Intelligence, “ Locations: New York, Cabo, “

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