How Affirm built the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) industry, with President Libor Michalek

Lex chats with Libor Michalek, the President of Affirm, a buy
now, pay later (BNPL) company. Michalek discusses his early
experiences with the internet and how it shaped his understanding
of technology and its potential in the financial services
industry. He explains how Affirm was founded with the goal of
building honest financial products that improve people's lives,
and how the convergence of e-commerce, mobile technology, machine
learning, and access to consumer information enabled the company
to create a credit product that aligned with consumer interests.
Michalek also discusses the challenges of building a
technology-driven finance company, the performance of Affirm's
loans compared to credit cards and personal loans, and the
company's approach to competition and future growth.


 


MENTIONED IN THE CONVERSATION


 


Affirm's Website: https://bit.ly/3Qo2DvI


Libor's LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/4bfsQVk


 


Topics: fintech, buy now pay later, BNPL, e-commerce, machine
learning, loans, credit,  credit cards, payments


Companies: Affirm, Thinking Machines Corporation, PayPal, Amazon


 


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Twitter: https://twitter.com/LexSokolin


 


TIMESTAMPS


 


1’00: Internet Pioneers and Business Innovation: Libor Michalek
touches on Early Web Experiences


 


4’56: Digital Transformation and Commerce: Unpacking the Consumer
Insights and Technological Advances That Fuelled the E-commerce
Explosion


 


9’18: Beyond Traditional Finance: How Affirm's Founding Insights
and Technological Integration Redefined Fintech in the 2010s


 


13’14: Redefining Credit: Exploring the Consumer Demand for
Transparency and Fairness in Financial Products with Affirm


 


19’04: Integrating Innovation: How Affirm's Unique Approach to
E-commerce and Payments Shaped Its Market Strategy


 


23’47: Machine Learning and Financial Innovation: Launching
Affirm's Transaction-Specific Underwriting Models


 


27’56: Assessing Investment Opportunities: The Risk and Return
Profile of Affirm's Customer Loans from an Institutional
Perspective


 


32’11: Empowering Customers: Affirm's Commitment to Transparency
and Support in Financial Services


 


37’42: Leading the Charge: Navigating Competition and Innovation
in the Buy Now, Pay Later Market


 


41’22: Defining Innovation in FinTech: Distinguishing Between
Technology-Driven and Finance-First Companies


 


43’29: The channels used to connect with Libor & learn more
about Affirm


Disclaimer here — this newsletter does not provide investment
advice and represents solely the views and opinions of FINTECH
BLUEPRINT LTD.


Contributors: Lex, Laurence, Matt, Farhad, Mike, Daniella


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