Traction Podcast
00:54:55 · Lobo
[00:54:55] S2: Fantastic. One thing I'm really bullish on, and I'm not sure if it's played out, I... I'm really still a fan of embedded lending, and I don't know if it's been figured out yet, but I think there's something to be said. You're sitting on mounds of customer data, and can you effectively become a bank? Because it's so hard to get loans from the bank for a business. Can you effectively become a bank where you lend companies money on optimal business interest rates, and it helps them grow the business, and it spurs the economy. I really believe in that, but I just... I don't know. I haven't seen it played out or
00:55:28 · Roy Luo
[00:55:28] S1: There's big entire world. There's a bunch of businesses out there that have actually been able to... There's these themes like banking the unbanked or lending to the unlendable and things like that, And they've actually built really durable, I would say, real brands and real customer traction for sure. And there's the whole build a better mousetrap type of idea around I have a better underwriting engine. I can assess risk and reward better than the old school models out there. And I think the hard part to see quick success there is that it takes multiple cycles to show if your underwriting model really works. There are gonna be good times. There's gonna be bad times. There's going be low interest rate environments, high interest rate environments, recessions, and really withstanding the test of time and proving it out over cycles, it just takes time to really build that. But there are businesses out there that have really good books, and they're going through it even as we speak today. We went through COVID. We went through the post COVID. We're in a different era right now in 2025, and these cycles continue to prove. I think you build credibility there, and there will be. In the same way that I would say Nubank completely transformed the way banking has worked in Latin America, I would say lending and embedded lending and embedded credit is a real category. I very much believe in it, and it just takes a little time to prove out because there are... There's this side of it, which is like the loss side of it. Right? And as you continue to prove it out, I think that will build durable value.
00:56:54 · Lobo, Roy Luo
[00:56:54] S2: Certainly. As we close out, if you had to bet on one innovation in fintech that you're really bullish about and you feel will define the next five years, what would it be? [00:57:09] S1: We'll see if we get there, but I'm very much on this theme of identity and anti fraud right now and how AI will transform just the way we think about it, the way we manage it. But security and payments is a real problem still today. I think there's been a lot of really cool innovation for it, and I think AI will be a big driver and a big step function driver of how we might see a big paradigm shift in it. And, hopefully, there are some really great businesses and prospects that we can work with and build partnerships around this, but I believe that there's going to be something big that comes out of that. [00:57:47] S2: Fantastic. As we close out, any parting words of wisdom, maybe some piece of advice that have served your career really well that you'd like to share?
00:57:47 · Lobo, Roy Luo
[00:57:47] S2: Fantastic. As we close out, any parting words of wisdom, maybe some piece of advice that have served your career really well that you'd like to share? [00:57:57] S1: I think for investors and aspiring investors in particular, and I would also say for founders too, the best advice I ever got is you're not gonna be successful at anything unless you have a deep passion for it. And that can really manifest itself in the type of founder you are and then type of investor that you are. But knowing who you are... Like, I think there are a lot of amazing role models out there. If you're a CEO, you can look at, like, the Frank Slootman of the world. You can look at the Elon Musks of the world. You can look at the Satya Nadella's of the world. And I would say that they're all... They have some common traits for sure, but they're all... They also have very different styles from one another. And I don't think you cannot be true to yourself in terms of transforming yourself to be like one or the other. You need to figure out who you are innately and lean into those attributes to be able to be the best founder, best CEO that you can be. And I would say the same thing for being a partner and an investor. There are different styles and different ways of being effective. I work with people who are very different from me and are incredibly effective. And for me, the growth journey has been learning who I am, what works for me, what my personality, and what I best bring to the table is, and being able to be my best version of myself when I work with founders.
00:57:57 · Roy Luo, Lobo
[00:57:57] S1: I think for investors and aspiring investors in particular, and I would also say for founders too, the best advice I ever got is you're not gonna be successful at anything unless you have a deep passion for it. And that can really manifest itself in the type of founder you are and then type of investor that you are. But knowing who you are... Like, I think there are a lot of amazing role models out there. If you're a CEO, you can look at, like, the Frank Slootman of the world. You can look at the Elon Musks of the world. You can look at the Satya Nadella's of the world. And I would say that they're all... They have some common traits for sure, but they're all... They also have very different styles from one another. And I don't think you cannot be true to yourself in terms of transforming yourself to be like one or the other. You need to figure out who you are innately and lean into those attributes to be able to be the best founder, best CEO that you can be. And I would say the same thing for being a partner and an investor. There are different styles and different ways of being effective. I work with people who are very different from me and are incredibly effective. And for me, the growth journey has been learning who I am, what works for me, what my personality, and what I best bring to the table is, and being able to be my best version of myself when I work with founders. [00:59:17] S2: Fantastic, man. I love it. A great way to close out. When passion meets profession, you become Michael Jackson. [00:59:23] S1: Hey. There you go. Love it.
00:59:23 · Roy Luo, Lobo, Lobo
[00:59:23] S1: Hey. There you go. Love it. [00:59:24] S2: Thank you so much, man. Wishing you great success, and let's connect when I'm in the bay next. Have a [00:59:29] S1: good one. I love it. Yeah. We'll look forward to it. Thank you again for the time today. Take care. See you, man. [00:59:34] S0: This episode is brought to you by bose.ai. Each year, The US and Canadian governments give out billions of dollars in r and d tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses like yours. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to frustrating audits, and receiving the money can take up to sixteen months. Boast.ai gets you access to research and development tax credits and innovation funding opportunities without the headache and red tape. Join thousands of North American companies leveraging Boast AI software to maximize cashback. Check out www.boast.ai. [01:00:14] S1: I need some traction. [01:00:16] S0: Thank you for listening, and we hope you enjoyed this week's episode of the Traction Podcast. If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a five star review. And you can find more information and all the resources mentioned in today's episode at boast.ai. That's boast.ai/blog.