The Financial Technology Report with RJ Lumba

Multi-Asset Private Investing: Crowd Street’s John Imbriglia

Welcome to The Financial Technology Report, a leading information source on financial technology companies and solutions.
In this episode, we speak with John Imbriglia, CEO of Crowd Street, a platform for direct-access private market investing. Crowd Street has more than 300,000 members and over $4 billion of platform assets, and has expanded beyond its roots in commercial real estate to offer fund-based access across private equity, private credit, venture capital, and real estate. The company has also built partnerships to support manager due diligence and broaden its offering set for self-directed accredited investors.
John became CEO in 2024 after more than two decades working across fintech, private markets, and wealth platforms. He was previously a general partner at Platform Capital Management and a managing director at iCapital, where he was one of the firm’s first employees.
John supports StreetSquash and CitySquash.
I am your host, RJ Lumba. We hope you enjoy the show. If you like the episode, click to follow.

API-Driven Digital Banking: Plumery’s Ben Goldin

Welcome to The Financial Technology Report, a leading information source on financial technology companies and solutions.
In this episode, we speak with Ben Goldin, Founder and CEO of Plumery, a digital banking experience platform designed to help financial institutions build and evolve mobile and web channels with modular, API-driven components. Plumery’s platform is built to integrate with both legacy and modern core systems, giving banks, neobanks, and digital wallet providers a flexible way to launch and iterate digital experiences without committing to a rigid “buy or build” approach.
Ben founded Plumery after more than two decades in digital banking and fintech product leadership. He previously held executive roles at Mambu and Backbase, with experience building and scaling digital banking platforms used by banks and financial services teams globally.
I am your host, RJ Lumba. We hope you enjoy the show. If you like the episode, click to follow.

Modern Payments Infrastructure: qolo’s Patricia Montesi

Welcome to The Financial Technology Report, a leading information source on financial technology companies and solutions.
In this episode, we speak with Patricia Montesi, Co-Founder and CEO of qolo, a full-stack payments platform built for fintechs and financial institutions. qolo supports card issuing, ledger management, and payment processing, giving teams a single system to manage virtual accounts, move money across payment rails, and maintain real-time visibility into balances and flows. The platform is designed to replace point-solution stacks and legacy cores with bank-grade ledger infrastructure that supports multi-rail payments, digital wallets, and commercial money movement use cases.
Patricia co-founded qolo in 2018 after a career spanning payments operations, client delivery, and product launches across startups and large financial technology providers. Her background includes leadership roles at FIS and other payments and fintech firms.
I am your host, RJ Lumba. We hope you enjoy the show. If you like the episode, click to follow.

B2B Card Acceptance at Scale: Boost Payment Solutions’ Dean M. Leavitt

Welcome to The Financial Technology Report, a leading information source on financial technology companies and solutions.
In this episode, we speak with Dean M. Leavitt, Founder and CEO of Boost Payment Solutions, a fintech acquirer exclusively focused on the B2B marketplace. Boost optimizes the use and acceptance of commercial cards through proprietary technology-enabled solutions that help companies initiate, accept, and process commercial card payments more efficiently. Headquartered in New York, Boost operates globally, serving thousands of companies and supporting commercial trading partners across 45+ countries.
Dean founded Boost in 2009 after more than 30 years in electronic payments leadership, including serving as interim president of Cynergy Data and previously leading US Wireless Data. Earlier, he founded US Data Capture, where he helped expand card acceptance into sectors including hospitals, universities, municipalities, and supermarkets.
I am your host, RJ Lumba. We hope you enjoy the show. If you like the episode, click to follow.

Connecting Capital to Housing: Avenue One’s Ryan Stroker

Welcome to The Financial Technology Report, a leading information source on financial technology companies and solutions.
In this episode, we speak with Ryan Stroker, Founder and CEO of Avenue One, a technology platform that connects institutional debt and equity capital with local real estate operators investing in single-family rental housing. Avenue One uses data, analytics, and underwriting technology to support acquisitions, financing, renovations, and asset management, enabling institutions to deploy capital more efficiently while giving local builders and property owners access to scalable funding. The platform operates across more than 20 U.S. markets and supports investments in residential rental portfolios at scale.
Before founding Avenue One, Ryan spent years in capital markets and residential real estate investing, including senior roles at Amherst, Royal Bank of Scotland, Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, and Goldman Sachs.
I am your host, RJ Lumba. We hope you enjoy the show. If you like the episode, click to follow.

Technology for Financial Health: Achieve’s Brad Stroh

Welcome to The Financial Technology Report, a leading information source on financial technology companies and solutions.
In this episode, we speak with Brad Stroh, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Achieve, a digital personal finance company focused on helping consumers manage, reduce, and resolve debt. Achieve operates a multi-product platform that includes debt resolution, personal loans, home equity lending, and financial education tools designed to support consumers across different stages of financial health. The company serves individuals navigating high-interest credit card debt, affordability challenges, and long-term financial stability.
Stroh co-founded the business in 2002 as Freedom Financial Network and has led its evolution into Achieve, overseeing the expansion from a single solution into a broader personal finance platform. He brings decades of experience building consumer financial services businesses and working across lending, debt resolution, and capital markets.
Brad supports USA Lacrosse. To learn more about this organization click here.
I am your host, RJ Lumba. We hope you enjoy the show. If you like the episode, click to follow.

Automating Financial Planning: Abacum’s Julio Martínez

Welcome to The Financial Technology Report, a leading information source on financial technology companies and solutions.
In this episode, we speak with Julio Martínez, Co-Founder and CEO of Abacum, an automated FP&A platform built for mid-market finance teams. Abacum centralizes operational and financial data to support revenue forecasting, scenario modeling, headcount planning, and budget management, while automating reporting for boards, executives, and monthly performance reviews. The platform is used by mid-market organizations to move beyond spreadsheet-based planning and improve decision-making across finance and operations.
Julio co-founded Abacum after spending years in investment banking and fintech, including roles at Citigroup and as the founder of multiple financial technology ventures. He leads the company’s product and strategy with a focus on building planning tools shaped by firsthand experience inside finance teams.
I am your host, RJ Lumba. We hope you enjoy the show. If you like the episode, click to follow.

Consumer FinTech Leader: Upgrade’s Renaud Laplanche

Welcome to The Financial Technology Report, a leading information source on financial technology companies and solutions.
In this episode, we speak with Renaud Laplanche, Co-Founder and CEO of Upgrade, a consumer fintech company offering credit, banking, and payment products designed to help customers manage debt more effectively. Since launching in 2017, Upgrade has helped more than 7.5 million consumers access over $42 billion in credit through personal loans, credit cards, and checking accounts. The platform focuses on fixed-rate products and incentives that encourage responsible borrowing and long-term financial health.
Before founding Upgrade, Laplanche co-founded and led LendingClub, one of the earliest large-scale online lending marketplaces in the United States. He led the company for a decade and took it public in 2014, marking the largest U.S.-based internet IPO that year.
I am your host, RJ Lumba. We hope you enjoy the show. If you like the episode, click to follow.

Building the Embedded Banking Layer: Treasury Prime’s Chris Dean

Welcome to The Financial Technology Report, a leading information source on financial technology companies and solutions.
In this episode, we speak with Chris Dean, Co-Founder and CEO of Treasury Prime, a modern banking platform that connects fintechs and businesses to a broad network of banks through secure, scalable APIs. 
Treasury Prime enables companies to open accounts, move money, and embed banking services directly into their applications, supporting millions of accounts and billions of dollars in daily money movement. The platform helps banks reach new markets while giving developers the tools to launch financial products quickly and reliably.
Dean previously led API banking at Silicon Valley Bank following its acquisition of Standard Treasury, where he served as CTO. Earlier in his career, he founded several software companies and began his work in machine learning systems at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
I am your host, RJ Lumba. We hope you enjoy the show. If you like the episode, click to follow.

Modernizing Insurance Shopping: Insurify’s Snejina Zacharia

Welcome to The Financial Technology Report, a leading information source on financial technology companies and solutions.
In this episode, we speak with Snejina Zacharia, Founder and CEO of Insurify, a virtual insurance agent that uses AI and real-time integrations to help consumers compare, purchase, and manage their insurance policies. Insurify partners with hundreds of carriers and serves tens of millions of quotes each year across auto, home, pet, and renters insurance. Its platform enables consumers to receive accurate, personalized rates, access discounts, and complete their purchase online or with a licensed agent.
With a background in enterprise software and global market development, Zacharia founded Insurify to create a more transparent and efficient way for consumers to compare and purchase insurance.
I am your host, RJ Lumba. We hope you enjoy the show. If you like the episode, click to follow.