Great Entrepreneurs with RJ Lumba

Real-Time Life Insurance Underwriting: Ladder’s Jamie Hale

In this episode, we speak with Jamie Hale, CEO and Co-Founder of Ladder, an insurtech company focused on making life insurance faster and easier to purchase online. Ladder offers a digital application experience built around speed and simplicity, with real-time underwriting that can result in on-the-spot coverage and a process designed to be completed from home.
Jamie co-founded Ladder in 2015 after a career spanning investing and financial services, including roles as a founding partner at Aldenwood Capital and as a partner at Oak Hill Investment Management. Earlier, he worked on new product development at NextCard.
Jamie supports CASA. To learn more about this organization click here.
I am your host, RJ Lumba. We hope you enjoy the show. If you like the episode, click to follow.

Connecting Capital to Housing: Avenue One’s Ryan Stroker

In this episode, we speak with Ryan Stroker, Founder and CEO of Avenue One, a technology platform that connects institutional debt and equity capital with local real estate operators investing in single-family rental housing. Avenue One uses data, analytics, and underwriting technology to support acquisitions, financing, renovations, and asset management, enabling institutions to deploy capital more efficiently while giving local builders and property owners access to scalable funding. The platform operates across more than 20 U.S. markets and supports investments in residential rental portfolios at scale.
Before founding Avenue One, Ryan spent years in capital markets and residential real estate investing, including senior roles at Amherst, Royal Bank of Scotland, Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, and Goldman Sachs.
I am your host, RJ Lumba. We hope you enjoy the show. If you like the episode, click to follow.

Technology for Financial Health: Achieve’s Brad Stroh

In this episode, we speak with Brad Stroh, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Achieve, a digital personal finance company focused on helping consumers manage, reduce, and resolve debt. Achieve operates a multi-product platform that includes debt resolution, personal loans, home equity lending, and financial education tools designed to support consumers across different stages of financial health. The company serves individuals navigating high-interest credit card debt, affordability challenges, and long-term financial stability.
Stroh co-founded the business in 2002 as Freedom Financial Network and has led its evolution into Achieve, overseeing the expansion from a single solution into a broader personal finance platform. He brings decades of experience building consumer financial services businesses and working across lending, debt resolution, and capital markets.
Brad supports USA Lacrosse. To learn more about this organization click here.
I am your host, RJ Lumba. We hope you enjoy the show. If you like the episode, click to follow.

Expanding Autism Care Access: Positive Development’s Mike Suiters

In this episode, we speak with Mike Suiters, Co-Founder and CEO of Positive Development, a provider of developmental therapy for children with autism. Founded in 2020, the company offers a comprehensive model that integrates speech, occupational, and mental health therapies, serving more than 1,000 families nationwide. 
Positive Development has become the nation’s largest provider of developmental therapy, focused on improving access, affordability, and quality of care. Mike co-founded the company after working at Sandbox Industries’ Blue Venture Fund, where he helped identify innovative healthcare solutions. 
I am your host RJ Lumba. We hope you enjoy the show. If you like the episode click to follow.

Consumer FinTech Leader: Upgrade’s Renaud Laplanche

In this episode, we speak with Renaud Laplanche, Co-Founder and CEO of Upgrade, a consumer fintech company offering credit, banking, and payment products designed to help customers manage debt more effectively. Since launching in 2017, Upgrade has helped more than 7.5 million consumers access over $42 billion in credit through personal loans, credit cards, and checking accounts. The platform focuses on fixed-rate products and incentives that encourage responsible borrowing and long-term financial health.
Before founding Upgrade, Laplanche co-founded and led LendingClub, one of the earliest large-scale online lending marketplaces in the United States. He led the company for a decade and took it public in 2014, marking the largest U.S.-based internet IPO that year.
I am your host, RJ Lumba. We hope you enjoy the show. If you like the episode, click to follow.

Modernizing Insurance Shopping: Insurify’s Snejina Zacharia

In this episode, we speak with Snejina Zacharia, Founder and CEO of Insurify, a virtual insurance agent that uses AI and real-time integrations to help consumers compare, purchase, and manage their insurance policies. Insurify partners with hundreds of carriers and serves tens of millions of quotes each year across auto, home, pet, and renters insurance. Its platform enables consumers to receive accurate, personalized rates, access discounts, and complete their purchase online or with a licensed agent.
With a background in enterprise software and global market development, Zacharia founded Insurify to create a more transparent and efficient way for consumers to compare and purchase insurance.
I am your host, RJ Lumba. We hope you enjoy the show. If you like the episode, click to follow.

Expanding Access to Credit: PayJoy’s Doug Ricket

In this episode, we speak with Doug Ricket, Founder and CEO of PayJoy, a mission-driven credit provider operating across emerging markets. PayJoy serves customers who lack formal credit history by using patented secured-credit technology, point-of-sale financing, and credit cards designed to open a pathway into the modern financial system. The company has deployed more than $3 billion to over 17 million customers worldwide, achieving profitability while growing across regions including Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
Ricket founded PayJoy in 2015 after early career experiences that shaped his focus on financial access, including Peace Corps service in West Africa, engineering work on Google Maps, and inventions that helped launch the pay-as-you-go solar sector. 
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Modernizing Life Insurance: Bestow’s Melbourne O’Banion

In this episode, we speak with Melbourne O’Banion, Co-Founder and CEO of Bestow, an insurtech company that builds the software infrastructure life insurers use to digitize operations, launch products, and modernize underwriting and policy administration. Bestow partners with major carriers, providing technology and data solutions that streamline processes from origination through back-end administration.
O’Banion co-founded the company to modernize how life insurance products are delivered and managed, bringing experience from prior entrepreneurial roles and guiding Bestow’s long-term strategy and industry partnerships.
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Redefining Wealth Management: Farther’s Taylor Matthews

In this episode, we speak with Taylor Matthews, Co-Founder and CEO of Farther, a wealth management firm that combines experienced advisors with advanced technology to deliver a more comprehensive service for high-net-worth clients. Farther has grown quickly, now managing over $5 billion in assets through more than 100 advisors serving thousands of clients nationwide.
Taylor co-founded Farther in 2019 after helping scale fintech retirement advisory firm ForUsAll from $25 million to nearly $1 billion in assets. Earlier in his career, he co-founded Essmart, a social enterprise in India, and worked in investment banking and management consulting.
Taylor supports Against Malaria Foundation. To learn more about this organization click here.
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Powering High-Performance AI: Cerebras’ Andrew Feldman

In this episode, we speak with Andrew Feldman, Co-Founder and CEO of Cerebras Systems, a company developing high-performance AI compute infrastructure for training and inference. Cerebras is known for its Wafer Scale Engine—currently the largest processor built for AI—and for its CS-3 systems, which can be clustered into some of the world’s largest AI supercomputers. Enterprises, research institutions, and government agencies use Cerebras technology on-premise and through the Cerebras Cloud to accelerate model development, real-time inference, and large-scale experimentation.
Before founding Cerebras, Feldman co-founded SeaMicro, where he pioneered energy-efficient microservers later acquired by AMD. Earlier in his career, he held senior roles at Force10 Networks and Riverstone Networks through its IPO.
I am your host, RJ Lumba. We hope you enjoy the show. If you like the episode, click to follow.