May 12, 2016
In addition to our podcast, please take a look at Raul's keynote at the EMERGE Forum.
I am constantly amazed by the fascinating and
unpredictable course of our conversations on Barefoot Innovation -
and what a fun one I had with Raul Vazquez, CEO of Oportun. I
always like to ask my guests to tell us how they, themselves, keep
up with technology. With Raul, I asked this just as I thought we
were wrapping up, and the question launched us on a whole new
conversation. He's definitely my first guest to bring up potential
uses of virtual reality in financial services, not to mention the
first to describe virtually interacting with bison. He thinks
we're heading to a "transformative" ability for "anyone, regardless
of their incomes" to be able to immerse themselves in a virtual
world to try out products and experiences.
As sometimes happens as I get to know great innovators, this
is a second podcast with the same company --
click here to listen to our prior discussion
with Luz Urrutia, Global Head of Retail. Oportun is based in
Silicon Valley and was formerly called Progresso Financiero. It
leverages advanced data analytics and technology to provide
affordable, credit-building loans to U.S. Hispanics and others with
limited or no credit history. The company's proprietary platform
risk-scores loan applicants, calculates each one's ability to
repay, approves the loans it believes can be paid back, and sets
loan amounts and terms to fit individual budgets. Customer accounts
are also reported to credit bureaus to help establish credit
history. The goal is to combine a highly personal experience with
back-office efficiency. Between 2006 and 2015, Oportun helped more
than 689,000 customers, disbursing more than $2.2 billion through
more than 1.3 million small dollar loans.
Raul joined Oportun in 2012 after nine years in senior
leadership roles at Walmart, including as EVP and President of
Walmart West, President and CEO of Walmart.com, and EVP of Global
eCommerce for developed markets. He also serves on the Board of
Directors of Staples, Inc. and is a member of the Federal Reserve
Board's Community Advisory Council. He's a graduate of Stanford
University with BS and MS degrees in industrial engineering, and
also earned an MBA at the University of Pennsylvania.
This is one of those fun episodes where we could have kept
talking for hours if we hadn't run out of time. So...enjoy my
conversation with Raul Vazquez!
To learn more about Oportun Financial, click
here.
Click
here to Opor-tune in to Raul's presentation
at last year's EMERGE conference about Oportun's four key learnings
so far.
To register for this year's indispensable Emerge in June
in New Orleans, click
here.
And here's my favorite Wired article on voice technology:
"We're on the
Brink of a Revolution in Crazy-Smart Digital
Assistants"
A note on the podcasts - A buck a
show!
I've decided to distill a lesson from the popular podcast
series
Hardcore History, by emulating their habit of
asking everyone to send them "a buck a show." Some years ago, the
show's host Dan Carlin realized the podcast was taking over his
life - much as Barefoot Innovatoin has been doing with mine! He hit
on the idea of asking listeners for "a buck a show," and eventually
reached the point where he can devote himself to producing the
series. Barefoot Innovation is produced part-time by me and two
young, very talented helpers. One of them has a day job and the
other is a full-time graduate student. If all our listeners will
chip in a buck a show, we'll be able to expand our interviews,
accelerate our pace (believe it or not, we currently run at a four-
to five-month backlog from recording date to posting!), and be able
to do some fun new things we have in mind for you. We'll appreciate
any and all help to keep the show going, and growing!
And remember to post a review on ITunes.
A note on my Regulation Innovation videos and the
most important writing I've ever done
Also click
here to watch the new Regulation Innovation videos we've
posted and read the new articles. These are currently a free sample
but will soon become limited to subscribers. Every month, I'm
creating a short video briefing and then backing it up with a deep
article that shares what I've been learning about financial
innovation, and also shares my hard-earned secrets about how I've
been learning it. The articles are rich with links to resources --
everything from news reports and white papers to statistical trends
to my very favorite Ted Talks.
My goal is to use this pairing of videos and deep articles to
repackage my consulting advice, so it can reach a wide audience
affordably. In essence, I'm searching the fintech world and
curating the best insights for you. As a series, it's a journey
through this changing landscape, finding the keys to thriving on
disruption with me as your guide.
I've done a huge amount of writing over the years - I've
published hundreds of articles. These are the most important,
valuable writings I've ever done. Again, these are currently free -
I hope everyone will try them out.
Upcoming shows
We have terrific shows come up - the amazing Blythe Masters,
the very innovative founders of Bee, and much more. Join me
then!