Podcasts

[podcast] QED Investors’ Caribou Honig on investing in today’s early stage fintech

close

Email a Friend

[podcast] QED Investors’ Caribou Honig on investing in today’s early stage fintech

Our guest for this episode is Caribou Honig, a founding partner of QED Investors. QED has quietly become one of the top investors in the financial technology space — their investment portfolio includes early big successes like SoFi and Prosper and also firms like LendUp, borro, Orchard, Avant Credit, blooom, and ApplePie Capital.

Caribou Honig, QED Investors
Caribou Honig, QED Investors

As part of our conversation, Caribou shares his personal path to how he ended up as part of the founding team of QED after a post-MBA career at Capital One where he developed a passion for data-driven marketing,, including responsibility for a $50 mm marketing budget, management of a 200 person underwriting operation, and cracking the code on digital credit card origination. This experience, along with his co-founders which include the founder of Capital One, provides a differentiator for the investment firm when it comes to deal flow and portfolio building.

In this episode, Caribou shares his views on:

  • his background running data-driven marketing at CapitalOne and how this impacts his firm’s approach to investing in early stage fintech
  • why “data-first” strategies are more likely to win
  • hist team’s 150 years of experience in consumer lending market and why it’s such an exciting sector right now
  • current trends in the financial technology space
  • how incumbent financial institutions view startups in the space
  • how these larger financial firms are planning for their futures
  • QED’s investment mandate and the types of fintech companies that fit well into the investment firm’s sweet spot
  • the companies in his portfolio and the investment thesis behind them
  • lastly, we’ll talk about where Caribou is looking to make investments in the future.

Listen to the FULL episode

More Resources

EVEN MORE RESOURCES

0 comments on “[podcast] QED Investors’ Caribou Honig on investing in today’s early stage fintech”

Podcasts

Building the bridge between crypto and coffee shops: A chat with Mesh’s Bam Azizi

  • Ever wondered how crypto could become as easy to use as your credit card?
  • Today we sit down with Bam Azizi, CEO of Mesh, who's turning this vision into reality by building bridges between traditional banking, crypto payments, and your daily coffee run.
Zack Miller | February 05, 2025
Podcasts

Public Blockchain’s Promise: EY’s Paul Brody on tokenization, enterprise adoption, and privacy

  • EY's Global Blockchain Leader Paul Brody challenges conventional wisdom about blockchain adoption in financial services, making a compelling case for public over private blockchain solutions.
  • Drawing from his role at EY and the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, he explains how privacy-enhanced public blockchains and tokenization are set to transform enterprise B2B transactions.
Zack Miller | January 29, 2025
Podcasts

APIs: Building the digital financial infrastructure of tomorrow — A conversation with Plaid’s John Pitts

  • APIs have evolved from simple data connectors to the fundamental architecture driving financial innovation.
  • In a conversation with Plaid's Global Head of Policy, John Pitts explains how these digital bridges are reimagining financial services for our daily lives.
Zack Miller | January 22, 2025
Podcasts

Can cryptocurrency and blockchain drive fintech innovation? Stanford’s Lisa Nestor weighs in

  • Looking for insights into how cryptocurrency could impact global finance, including cross border payments, lending and a more inclusive economy?
  • We talk with Lisa Nestor from the Stanford Future of Digital Currency Initiative, who shares how blockchain technology, stablecoins, and digital assets are reshaping financial access and opportunities worldwide.
Zack Miller | January 15, 2025
Podcasts

How Shopify is simplifying financial services for entrepreneurs w/ Vikram Anreddy

  • Shopify is transforming e-commerce by turning complex financial challenges into streamlined solutions through its financial services platform.
  • Product head Vikram Anreddy discusses how the company empowers entrepreneurs with tools like Shopify Balance, Capital Loans, and automated tax management.
Zack Miller | January 08, 2025
More Articles