The Unconventional Path That Took a Small Midwest Startup to a Multi-Billion-Dollar Fintech Success
Its founders met at MBA school, faced some scary challenges over the years, but kept their eye on the consumer. Now valued at $3.5B+ on the Nasdaq, Sezzle isn’t done yet embedding value into its app and platform. by Graeme Thickens I first met cofounders Charlie Youakim and Paul Paradis in 2016, just months after […]
Toward BNPL 3.0: From Checkout Button to Financial Infrastructure
Lower funding costs, tighter distribution and regulatory fragmentation will define the next phase of buy now, pay later. PayPal and Affirm recently applied for industrial loan company charters, and Sezzle says it’s open to pursuing that path. These moves reveal something bigger: BNPL is no longer just about shopping. It’s becoming core financial infrastructure. These […]
How Two Midwest VCs Have Mastered Success Through Multiple Tech Cycles
by Graeme Thickins For twin brothers Rob and Ryan Weber, founding partners of Great North Ventures in Minnesota, entrepreneurship began in college, just as the Internet was taking off in 1996. As computer science majors (and Rob later switching to entrepreneurial studies), they learned quickly that Internet traffic could be monetized. Over a few years, […]