Lead

Caesar Djavaherian, Kerry Kellogg & I are stoked to announce Refract Ventures (https://www.refract.vc/). Refract is a pre-seed venture fund for unreasonably ambitious founders with something to prove. We focus on infrastructure for financial services and healthcare and just closed our $30M Fund I. Over the last couple of decades we’ve built and scaled multiple products from zero to 9 figures in revenue, and invested in hundreds of startups along the way across consumer, b2b and infra. We’ve seen what great looks like across multiple domains and cycles. Many colleagues over the years have since founded category defining companies, and several have chosen to work with us again, this time as founders and as LPs (and sometimes both!). These things take a village, so in no particular order: Huge thanks to the founders and companies that have partnered with us to date: Jacqueline Reses at Lead, Zach Abrams at Bridge, Ben Milne at Brale, 🏕️ Henri Stern at Privy, Miguel Alecio at Plata, Justin Liu & Scott Morris at Charta Health, Russell Fradin and Jim Larrison at Larridin, Justin Ho and Chris Blumenberg at Sage Health, Nick Rellas at Greater, Inderpal S. at Substrate AI, Eren Bali & Murat AKBAL at Monogram, Mary Antony and Kelsey Gootnick, CPA at Inscope, Lucas Posada at Takenos , Emily Barron and Keith Dallara at Zaria, and Michael Gao and Josh Geleris at SmarterDx. They’re all hiring! To our LPs who took the leap of faith with us; we’re deeply grateful. And lots of folks helped along the way, with feedback, intros and moral support. Can’t thank you all enough. Few things: 1. We spend the most time in healthcare and financial services, but if you have strong conviction about how reality will be different in future, come tell us about it. 2. I’ve long believed that when you meet someone great, you should do whatever it takes to work with them. As a result, nothing is too early. Even if you’re stuck in the idea maze, come say hi. 3. From time to time, we’ll bring folks together to explore fertile ground so expect to see more events like A Very Stable Conference. DM’s open. We’ll walk through the wilderness with you

15 months ago I left the comfortable traditional banking setting to return to Fintech. It's been a fun ride full of growth and creation beyond anything I could have guessed when I accepted a place at Lead. We're now looking for more data-driven, customer-obsessed accountants ready to work outside of the box. Join me! We have a few spots open but I'm going to promote the Sr Accountant I need of course! https://lnkd.in/ehKdiYPC

We’re thrilled to welcome Ken Auspaker as our new Chief Financial Officer! Ken brings deep expertise from IntraFi and Evercore, experience that will directly support Lead’s next phase of growth. At IntraFi, Ken served as Chief Business Officer, building products to help banks optimize balance sheets—an area that aligns perfectly with our mission to create innovative financial structures for scaling clients. Before that, he was a Managing Director at Evercore, advising financial institutions and fintechs on M&A and financing transactions. We’re lucky to have him on board. Welcome, Ken!

Earlier today, our CEO Jacqueline Reses joined industry leaders from Chainlink Labs, BNY, and Fireblocks at the Federal Reserve Board’s Payments Innovation Conference. There they discussed how financial institutions are connecting traditional finance with the emerging world of digital assets. Watch the full panel here: https://lnkd.in/gjJ4caAC

We’re excited to share a new partnership with Lead Bank. This collaboration supports the next phase of what we’re building at Bead. Read the full release here: https://bit.ly/4nYreFZ #FinTech #DigitalPayments #BankingInnovation #Payments #Partnerships

We’re honored to share that Lead has been named one of The Wall Street Journal’s Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces in America. This recognition is incredibly meaningful because it’s based on one thing that matters most to us — feedback from our employees. Our culture is built by people who choose to show up with heart, grit, and ownership every day. Thank you to our team, board members, and partners who believe in the mission we’re building together — pushing financial services forward with innovation, transparency, and purpose. We’re growing fast and hiring across teams. If you’re looking to redefine what’s possible in financial services, take a look at our open roles and join us: https://lnkd.in/gNiUQK-E

My early observations on the post-Genius Act stablecoin race: -Stripe and Anchorage Digital are gaining ground in the stablecoin issuance-as-a-service business, now the most popular path for new launches. Lead Bank and BlackRock are winners as banking and treasury management providers. -The stablecoin market is becoming a commodity business with low margins. BitGo, which issues Trump Family's World Liberty USD1 stablecoin, made $15.7 million in 1H25 revenue from the service, but paid out $15.2 million in interest income to its partner. -The line between issuers and platforms is getting murkier, creating consumer protection risks as users may not fully understand which companies are holding their money or that their cash balances are actually stablecoins. Companies mentioned in my article: #Tether #Circle #Stripe #Bridge #Phantom #MetaMask #Hyperliquid #Anchorage #BitGo #BlackRock #LeadBank #ZeroHash #Ethena #BVNK Story link: https://lnkd.in/eszXrRgx

In a world where digital assets are becoming the norm, our approach to risk management has to evolve to stay ahead of the game. That evolution includes taking advantage of solutions from Chainalysis, a company that provides blockchain intelligence for investigations, risk, and security. Here’s what our Chief Legal and Risk Officer, Erica Khalili, had to say: “Collaborating with Chainalysis has significantly enhanced our compliance capabilities, allowing us to provide a safer and more secure financial environment for our users. The integration of VASP Risking and Reactor solutions has empowered our compliance team to make informed decisions swiftly, ensuring we stay ahead of potential risks and maintain our commitment to regulatory adherence and user protection." Learn more about our collaboration with Chainalysis here: https://lnkd.in/gKBkCqPW