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Fintech Chatter: Conversations with Fintech CEOs and Founders

Fintech Chatter: Conversations with Fintech CEOs and Founders

By: Dexter Cousins | Founder Tier One People
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350+ episodes. 40+ countries. The podcast fintech leaders actually listen to.


Fintech Chatter is where founders, executives, and investors behind the world's most ambitious fintech companies share what's actually working.


We cover topics like raising capital, scaling internationally, hiring leadership teams, and the challenges of building with transformative technologies across payments, crypto, AI, wealth, insurance. If it's in Fintech we've got you covered.


Hosted by Dexter Cousins, founder of Tier One People, Australia's specialist executive search firm for fintech and transformative technology.


With 17 years placing CEOs, CTOs, CPO's and country managers across the sector, Dexter brings an operator's lens to every conversation.


New episodes biweekly. If you're building, funding, or leading a fintech company - this is your podcast.


Follow Dexter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dextercousins/


Follow Tier One People: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tier-one-people




© 2026 Tier One People Pty Ltd
Career Success Economics Leadership Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • Steve Hind | Lorikeet: The $50m AI Startup Every VC Wanted In.
    Jun 29 2026

    If you're looking for AI Native leaders - start at www.tieronepeople.com

    Steve Hind is the co-founder and CEO of Lorikeet, an Australian AI startup that has raised more than $50 million USD to build AI concierges for high-regulation businesses in fintech, healthcare and energy.

    Lorikeet's customers include Airwallex, Linktree and Eucalyptus, the telehealth company recently acquired by Hims & Hers in a deal worth up to $1.15 billion.

    Before founding Lorikeet with former Google Brain researcher Jamie Hall, Steve worked in product roles at Stripe and climate tech company Watershed, following an earlier career at BCG and Bridgewater Associates and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

    He first connected with Dexter in 2019 while working in Silicon Valley. Here's what they discuss in this episode:

    00:00 Introduction
    01:32 Understanding Lorikeet and Its AI Concierge Solutions
    05:54 The Origin of Lorikeet and Its Founding Story
    09:50 Navigating the AI Landscape and Company Growth
    12:49 Regulatory Challenges in FinTech and AI Compliance
    15:12 The Role of AI in Compliance and Customer Relationships
    20:03 Steve's Career Journey and Lessons Learned
    23:51 The Art of Startup Hiring
    28:34 Navigating AI's Impact on Work
    33:36 The Future of Work and Leadership
    39:05 Optimism in the Age of AI
    41:57 Advice for Aspiring Founders

    Find out more about careers - https://www.lorikeetcx.ai/careers

    Send us Fan Mail

    Connect on with Dexter Cousins on Linkedin

    Hire Exceptional Fintech Talent

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    Show More Show Less
    46 mins
  • Clayton Howes - MoneyMe: The leadership shift every founder must make to scale
    Jun 16 2026

    If you're scaling a fintech leadership team, start at tieronepeople.com

    Clayton Howes is the CEO of MONEYME (ASX: MME), an Australian non-bank lender that has originated over $5 billion in consumer credit and now manages a $1.9 billion loan book across personal loans, credit cards, and car finance. In this episode, Clayton walks through the full 13-year journey: bootstrapping from a desk-sized office, listing on the ASX in December 2019, acquiring SocietyOne during the Ukraine invasion, and engineering the Horizon technology platform that now powers everything.

    0:00 Introduction
    1:34 What MONEYME does and 13 years of milestones
    3:37 From corporate to founder
    5:32 Why consumer finance over any other vertical
    9:53 Why consumer fintech is the hardest category
    11:25 The ASX listing decision
    14:38 The SocietyOne acquisition
    19:53 The Horizon technology platform
    23:00 Leadership evolution from player to coach
    28:37 Staying close to the front line
    32:28 Why the office is always full
    36:18 Product innovation and the path forward
    42:10 Careers at MONEYME

    Links
    Clayton Howes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claytonhowes/
    MONEYME Website: https://www.moneyme.com.au
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    ** Hire exceptional Fintech Talent **
    https://tieronepeople.com/

    ** Connect With Dexter **
    https://www.linkedin.com/in/dextercousins/

    Follow us

    LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/fintech-chatter-podcast

    Contact us - https://tieronepeople.com/contact/

    Send us Fan Mail

    Contact: info@tieronepeople.com

    Connect on with Dexter Cousins on Linkedin

    Hire Exceptional Fintech Talent

    Subscribe on LinkedIn

    Show More Show Less
    44 mins
  • $480 - $4.7bn Australia's OG Peer to Peer Lender: Michelle Bagnall - Bank First
    May 31 2026

    Looking to upscale your fintech leadership team? Start at tieronepeople.com

    Michelle Bagnall is the CEO of BankFirst, a mutual bank with 92,000 members and $4.7 billion in assets that exists to serve nurses and teachers in Australia. In this episode she tells Dexter the origin story of a bank that started with $480 in a shoebox, explains why nobody at BankFirst gets paid a bonus, and makes the case that mutuals were the original fintech startups.

    00:00 Introduction
    03:08 The Origins of Bank First and Peer-to-Peer Lending
    05:30 Understanding Mutual Banks and Their Model
    10:54 Competing with Big Banks and Neo Banks
    14:24 Leadership and Culture at Bank First
    21:15 Finding Passion and Purpose in Banking
    31:04 Bank First's Role in Supporting Members During Economic Challenges
    36:00 The Complexity of Financial Solutions and Collaboration
    40:47 Opportunities at Bank First

    Links
    Michelle Bagnall LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-bagnall/
    BankFirst: https://www.bankfirst.com.au
    Tier One People: https://www.tieronepeople.com
    Dexter Cousins LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dextercousins/

    Send us Fan Mail

    Contact: info@tieronepeople.com

    Connect on with Dexter Cousins on Linkedin

    Hire Exceptional Fintech Talent

    Subscribe on LinkedIn

    Show More Show Less
    45 mins
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