logo
episode-header-image
May 27
1 h

Undoing a $5 Billion Acquisition and Bui...

Ben Gilbert And David Rosenthal
About this episode

We sit down with Zach Perret, CEO of Plaid, to discuss the remarkable journey of Plaid and the broader fintech landscape over the past several years. Zach takes us blow-by-blow through journey of almost getting acquired by Visa, the challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic… which quickly reversed with ZIRP tailwinds, and how Plaid navigated the volatile market conditions to build a diversified business. We explore the company’s strategic pivots, including their expansion into analytics for fraud detection, alternative credit systems, and bank payments. If you’ve ever wondered “how do you turn from one simple product into a more durable business?” this episode is for you.


Links:

Up next
Jun 16
Building the Savannah Bananas (with Jesse Cole, Founder and Owner)
The Savannah Bananas have created a whole new sport. It’s baseball, but it’s not. It’s fast-paced, exciting, and incredibly entertaining. For example, if you're batting, and you step out of the batter’s box... it’s a strike. If you bunt, you’re out. If a fan catches a foul ball… ... Show More
1h 15m
Mar 2025
The Art of Selling Enterprise Software (with ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott)
We sit down with ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott for a masterclass in the art of enterprise sales — a topic where Bill ranks as one of the all-time greats by any measure. Bill started his career as a bag-carrying salesman at Xerox in New York City (alongside Howard Schultz!) back i ... Show More
57m 7s
Feb 2025
Building Web Apps with Just English and AI (with Vercel CEO Guillermo Rauch)
Vercel has become the infrastructure platform powering modern web development over the past several years, with companies from Stripe to Adobe to Runway all building their front ends on them. Today we’re joined by founder and CEO Guillermo Rauch, who shares why Vercel has been un ... Show More
57m 29s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2025
HIGHLIGHTS: David Ricks - CEO of Eli Lilly
We've curated a special 10-minute version of the podcast for those in a hurry.   Here you can listen to the full episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/no/podcast/eli-lilly-ceo-the-weight-loss-drug-revolution-ai-in/id1614211565?i=1000693848152&l=nb Nicolai Tangen meets with David Ri ... Show More
10m 31s
Oct 2024
Shut It Down or Double Down: Nathan Barry’s Road to $45M with Kit (ConvertKit)
Nathan Barry, the creator behind ConvertKit (now rebranded as Kit) came to visit my Inner Circle and gave a very special presentation. Nathan’s journey from a designer to building a software empire fascinated me. He originally tried to solve his frustrations with MailChimp and, i ... Show More
1h 2m
Feb 2025
Eli Lilly CEO: The Weight-Loss Drug Revolution, AI in Pharma, and Innovation
Nicolai Tangen meets with David Ricks, CEO of Eli Lilly, for a discussion about the pharmaceutical giant's remarkable journey. At the forefront is Eli Lilly's breakthrough work with weight reduction drugs, which are showing promise far beyond their original purpose - from treatin ... Show More
55m 40s
Apr 21
Hiding in Plain Sight on BizBuySell: $800k SDE for 2x
Register for the webinar:Should You Buy a Business? A Live Panel with Lab Members - Wed Apr 23rd - https://bit.ly/3EBvXvNJoe Ziolkowski found the deal of a lifetime — a $10m manufacturing business — by expanding his filters on BizBuySell. Topics in Joe’s interview:Investing with ... Show More
1h 38m
Sep 2024
The Appeal of Franchise Buying: $1m EBITDA in 2 Years
Register for the webinars:Legal Office Hours (Deal Structure & Its Tax Implications) - Thu Sept 26 - https://bit.ly/4grubvDHow to Hire an Operator to Replace Yourself - Fri Sept 27 - https://bit.ly/3zgUbJr Corey Robinson bought 4 locations in the legacy franchise Batteries Plus. ... Show More
1h 56m
Jan 2025
Awakening to Entrepreneurship to Buy a Not-Boring Business
Register for the webinars:  Legal Preparation for Your Search - Thu Jan 30 - https://bit.ly/4hlhlic5 Stages of the Business Buying Process - Thu Feb 6 - https://bit.ly/3Qautet When Shell Zhang recognized her own tolerance for risk she stepped off a linear path to buy a $600k SDE ... Show More
1h 41m
Dec 2024
Michael Dell: Building a Tech Empire, Bold Business Moves and The Key To Winning
How did a teenager picking apart computers in his bedroom go on to build one of the largest technology companies in the world? In this episode, Nicolai Tangen sits down with Michael Dell to explore his extraordinary journey from founding Dell in his college dorm room to leading a ... Show More
48m 35s
Sep 2023
Sarah Moret Grew Curie 1000% In One Year And Sold Into Every Walmart
It's arguably the wildest ride I've ever been on in ecommerce: since beginning to work with Sarah Moret and Curie in January of this year (2023), we've seen the brand go from $2M in 2022 to a projected $20M by year's end–and it's very profitable. Oh also: part ... Show More
1 h
Feb 2025
Buy, Grow, Exit for a 24x Return in 3.5 Years
Register for the webinars:Legal Aspects of Debt Financing - Thu Feb 13 - https://bit.ly/414vOtcUsing a Sale-Leaseback to Buy a Business - Thu Feb 20 - https://bit.ly/42I4dPYFormer guest Chris Edwards has sold the $1.7m flooring business he bought with $200k of his own money and a ... Show More
1h 10m
Feb 2025
How to Lead a Trades Business Without Knowing the Trade
Register for the webinars:5 Stages of the Business Buying Process - Thu Feb 6 - https://bit.ly/4aNHmEzLegal Aspects of Debt Financing - Thu Feb 13 - https://bit.ly/3PXBEX6 Industry-agnostic Trip Biesanz brought his sales skills to a glass fabrication & install business doing $3m ... Show More
1h 24m