We get into the fundraising playbook founders rarely talk about: why misreading your numbers kills deals before they start, why starting your raise 6 months early isn't optional, and what investors are actually looking for when they sit across from you.

If you're a founder trying to raise, scale, or just survive, this one's for you.

Fernando Fanton, CPTO at Property Finder, has spent his career sitting at the intersection of both. In this episode, he gets into why the judgment layer is becoming the real bottleneck as AI agents multiply, how customer support in banking is about to get dramatically better, and what it actually means to build A+ individuals inside a team.

A sharp, no-fluff conversation for anyone building at the intersection of product, engineering, and AI.

Akshay Chopra, FinTech Leader, Inventor, Investor, and Author of After Us, has thought about this more seriously than most. In this episode, he gets into why the AI arms race isn't just a tech story and where it leads isn't pretty. He talks about superintelligence, the very real possibility of conflict and human compromise, and why the transparency and accountability gap inside AI models should worry everyone. He breaks down what the antisenescence research wave could mean for human longevity and how this generation growing up with AI might actually be a welcome shift.

One of the most wide-ranging, high-stakes conversations we have had on The Human Orbit.

Abdul Naushad, Founder & CEO of Buckzy, has spent his career taking that question seriously. In this episode, he gets into why blockchain won't replace SWIFT entirely, how banks with 100,000+ employees are being forced to change from the inside, and why time-to-market is the variable most founders underestimate until it's too late.

One of the more grounded fintech conversations we've had on The Human Orbit.

Ian Wilson, Chief Innovation Officer at N2 Group, has spent years watching enterprises adopt AI the wrong way. He uses JP Morgan as a benchmark: build dedicated AI teams, play the long game, and the returns follow. Most others chased short-term wins by cutting staff and called it transformation. In this episode, he gets into the open vs closed LLM debate, vertical vs horizontal AI strategy for founders, the quiet collapse of SaaS valuations nobody is talking about, and why AI data centres, energy, and geopolitics are shaping the next wave of enterprise decisions.

Ian also raises something that should keep every AI startup founder up at night: the Law of Obsolescence. One of our most grounded, no-fluff conversations yet.

Join us as Anas shares his wealth of knowledge on finance, startup building, and leadership. We dive deep into the realities of being a CFO, the hidden risks of overvaluing your organisation early on, and the non-negotiable traits you need in co-founders. Anas also drops major insights on the future of work, the power of storytelling, his secret sauce for hiring top talent, and why mastering cashflow is the ultimate key to survival.

Williem shares his perspective on the massive transformation AI will bring to the job market, why the traditional 9-to-5 model may disappear, and how AI agents will begin operating at scale across industries. We also discuss how individuals and organisations should respond to this shift, why learning how to learn is becoming the most critical skill, and what parents, leaders, and entrepreneurs must do to prepare for an AI-driven future.

Mark shares lessons from starting multiple businesses, navigating exits, and continuing to build after surviving cancer. We explore the mindset required to keep going when things stop being exciting, why bootstrapping can create stronger growth foundations, and how founders should think about metrics, pitching, hiring, and selling products that genuinely make a difference.

#entrepreneurship #startupfounders #foundermindset

We discuss the shift from consulting frameworks to execution, why selling is a foundational skill for every founder, and how filtering talent becomes one of the most critical leadership decisions as companies grow. Othmane also shares insights on the evolving role of product leadership, the rise of the CPO path, and how AI is reshaping the future of knowledge work across industries.

A futurist who advised Obama on FinTech strategy is building an AI-powered smart toothbrush with a dentist. We sit down with Brett King, futurist and co-founder of Luma Brush, and Dr. Julia Michelin, dentist and co-founder of Luma Brush, to discuss how technology, healthcare, and entrepreneurship intersect in unexpected ways.

Topics include: 

• Crypto-native digital banks vs digital-first banks
• Blockchain, digital payments, and financial infrastructure
• Raising capital and pitching with clarity
• Build vs sell trade-offs for founders
• Scaling teams and hiring for talent density
• Integrating AI with blockchain for the future workforce
• Founder mindset and handling rejection

We go deep on:

• Making investing simple for first-time investors
• Profitability as a strategic choice, not an afterthought
• Why sales feels effortless when trust is earned
• Storytelling as a non-negotiable founder skill
• Wealth for real people, not just HNWI segments
• Building fintech companies in GCC/regulated environments

Listen till the end for insights on wealth, trust, and building profitable products in fintech.

We explore how expectations around careers and compensation have shifted, how financial products are built inside regulated environments, and why starting a company in financial services requires discipline, clarity, and resilience. Michele also reflects on leadership, hiring, pressure, and the personal milestones founders navigate outside of work.

The conversation focuses on digitising staff, leading digital transformation beyond tools and buzzwords, and the practical realities of starting and scaling a company. We discuss how organisations enable people through technology, where digital initiatives fail, and what founders often underestimate when building from the ground up.

This episode is for founders, operators, and leaders navigating transformation while trying to build in banks and fintechs that last.

The discussion covers what it takes to build a sales-led business, hire and lead high-performing teams, raise capital, and make decisions that compound over time. Ned also reflects on personal milestones, pressure, and how life outside work influences leadership, judgment, and ambition inside it.

This episode is for founders, operators, and sales leaders who want a clear view of how sales shapes companies and the people building them.

Coen Jonker has a unique perspective on the "yin and yang" of banking innovation, from knowing which rules to follow to knowing exactly when to break them. We dive deep into:

⚖️ The Banker Balance: Why the most successful digital banks employ a mix of seasoned bankers and bold non-bankers.

🌍 Customer Immersion: Why Coen took his team to live in a rural village to truly understand the people they serve.

🔮 The Death of the App: Why the future of banking isn't an app, but embedded, contextual experiences that show up exactly when you need them.

🤝 Sales & Humility: Why sales is the most honorable profession for any entrepreneur.
Whether you're a fintech founder or a traditional banker looking to disrupt the status quo, this conversation is packed with "boots-on-the-ground" wisdom.

▶️ Listen till the end for insights founders and operators rarely talk about.