Can AI uplift entrepreneurs that traditional banks reject? | Mercedes Bidart
Impact entrepreneur Mercedes Bidart explains how informal entrepreneurs across Latin America are highly trusted within their communities yet are excluded from formal banking because they lack conventional financial records. She describes an AI-driven approach that transforms alternative data from phones, telecom records, videos, and social media into financial identities and risk scores, enabling micro-business owners to access fair, tailored credit instead of relying on violent, predatory lenders. Over three years, these models have reached market-level accuracy and helped tens of thousands of entrepreneurs gain access to formal loans, illustrating how AI can make finance more inclusive when designed intentionally.
BTC254: Bitcoin & Macro Overview w/ Luke Gromen Q4 2025 (Bitcoin Podcast)
Host Preston Pysh interviews macro analyst Luke Gromen about growing financial stress in the U.S. and globally, focusing on the Treasury's heavy reliance on short‑term funding, strain in repo and funding markets, and the fiscal math of interest plus entitlements nearly consuming all tax receipts. They discuss how Bitcoin acts as an early warning signal for tightening liquidity, why gold is increasingly favored by sovereigns, the contradictory policy push around stablecoins, and how AI capex, energy constraints, geopolitical shifts, and rare earth dependencies further complicate the outlook. Gromen argues policymakers are trapped between preserving the bond market and reindustrializing the U.S., and that some form of sharp market "whoosh down" may be needed before large‑scale liquidity support returns.
TIP768: Best Quality Stock Idea Q4 2025 w/ Clay Finck
Host Clay Finck presents Interactive Brokers (IBKR) as his quarterly best quality stock idea, analyzing its business model, economics, and long‑term growth prospects. He covers the firm's history and founder Thomas Pederphy's automation-focused culture, its revenue drivers like commissions and net interest income, and its unique low-cost, tech-heavy positioning versus competitors such as Charles Schwab and Robinhood. The episode also explores IBKR's competitive advantages, management incentives, valuation, key risks, and why Clay holds a 2% personal position in the stock.
Buy now, pay dearly? (update)
Planet Money explores how buy now, pay later (BNPL) services work, why they have spread so quickly, and what risks they pose to consumers and the broader financial system. Through the story of college student Emilia Schmarzo and interviews with Federal Reserve researchers, the episode explains BNPL's business model, its appeal to merchants and younger shoppers, and the dangers of debt "stacking" when usage is not reported to credit bureaus. An update looks at how BNPL has expanded to everyday necessities, who is using it most, and how it may soon affect credit scores.
TIP767: Mastermind Discussion Q4 2025: Sanofi, Remitly & Crocs w/ Stig Brodersen, Tobias Carlisle, and Hari Ramachandra
The episode is a quarterly mastermind discussion where Stig Brodersen, Tobias Carlisle, and Hari Ramachandra each pitch an investment idea and stress-test each other's theses. Hari presents Sanofi as a relatively cheap, dividend-paying global biopharma with durable vaccine and immunology franchises that he views as a "T-bill with growth" type holding. Stig analyzes Remitly, a fast-growing digital remittance platform, weighing its strong unit economics and underbanked niche against strategic drift, intense competition, and heavy stock-based compensation, while Toby pitches Crocs as a deeply undervalued, cash-generative footwear brand facing fashion, tariff, and acquisition risks but offering significant upside if issues are managed.
5 App Ideas for ChatGPT's New App Store ft. Greg Isenberg
The host and Greg Isenberg discuss OpenAI's new ChatGPT app store and the significant opportunity it creates for entrepreneurs to build apps that live inside ChatGPT. They explain how in-chat app discovery works, show examples like design and real estate tools, and brainstorm specific app concepts including an AI tax assistant, a healthcare concierge, a meme generator, an "AI Grandma" advisor, and a credit score repair utility.
Two ways AI is changing the business of crime (Two Indicators)
The episode explores two ways artificial intelligence is reshaping criminal activity: AI-powered voice cloning scams targeting individuals and banks, and AI-driven trading bots that can destabilize or manipulate financial markets. In the first half, the hosts demonstrate a voice deepfake scam, talk to a fraud-prevention entrepreneur and a bank executive about weaknesses in voice authentication and the shift to layered security, and discuss how consumers can better protect themselves. In the second half, experts explain how more autonomous trading algorithms can unintentionally collude, raising hard questions about liability, regulation, and the broader risks AI poses to market integrity.
The Side Hustle King: 11 Easy Businesses Anyone Can Start
The hosts bring back their "side hustle king" guest Chris to share a series of concrete, small-business and side-hustle ideas ranging from seasonal porch pumpkin decorating and backyard sport courts to in-ground trampolines, male "dollhouse" building kits, liquidation arbitrage, and mobile fuel delivery. They discuss how these seemingly simple service and niche product ideas generate substantial revenue, how Chris validates demand with short-form content and paid ads, and how he structures operations with subcontractors and partners. Later, Chris describes his RV park investments, his interest in AI automation services for small businesses, and his plans for an AI-enabled QuickBooks competitor.