Michael Giles
United States
5K followers
500+ connections
View mutual connections with Michael
Michael can introduce you to 10+ people at Interchange
or
New to LinkedIn? Join now
By clicking Continue to join or sign in, you agree to LinkedIn’s User Agreement, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Policy.
View mutual connections with Michael
or
New to LinkedIn? Join now
By clicking Continue to join or sign in, you agree to LinkedIn’s User Agreement, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Policy.
Activity
5K followers
-
Michael Giles shared thisExcited for Interchange to be part of this initiative!The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC)
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC)
4dMichael Giles shared thisBuilding on the SEC's No-Action Letter related to DTC's tokenization service, DTCC has convened more than 50 firms through its Industry Working Group to inform the development of DTC’s tokenization service and support responsible exploration of digital asset use cases. Join the conversation: https://brnw.ch/21x2aPNAdvancing Tokenization at Institutional Scale: July 2026 and BeyondAdvancing Tokenization at Institutional Scale: July 2026 and Beyond -
Michael Giles shared thisI’m excited to announce our latest product: Interchange Equities. Equities is our US equities execution, clearing and custody platform we built from scratch in just 18 months – obtaining all necessary regulatory approvals in only 14 months. We achieved this in not just what we think is record time, but we did it while staying true to our goal of building the world-class product for this industry. Robinhood built a self-clearing firm in reportedly 24 months (we believe actually much longer). Ask anyone in the industry and they’ll tell you correspondent clearing is orders of magnitude harder than self-clearing. Proud of the entire Interchange team and thank you to everyone who has supported us. https://lnkd.in/gu2EwbZY
-
Michael Giles shared thisExcited to officially launch our first live product, Interchange Treasury. We built Treasury to make cash management programmable and seamless. It’s an API-first, 100% automated money market fund sweep that generates yield on the day of deposit - with same-day liquidity for withdrawals. The sweep balance is also instantly available for equity purchases. Unlike fixed income bonds, money market funds transact at a stable $1.00 NAV - no need to worry about market prices, tracking gains or losses or holding to maturity. That predictability makes Treasury a natural fit alongside banking products where access to funds is paramount: generate yield while keeping funds fully accessible for payroll, vendor payments and the like. They’re also built to scale - investing primarily in U.S. Treasuries and short-term government securities. As of February 2026, $7.79 trillion is invested in money market funds. We chose to partner with J.P. Morgan Asset Management, who in our opinion not only has the best fund offering but is ranked the #1 strongest brand in asset management. That trust in the safety of customer funds is hugely important. If you’re building a modern treasury offering, I’d love to connect. https://lnkd.in/gPCPn-b8
-
Michael Giles shared thisAn important milestone achieved by the Interchange team today - we’ve executed our first live trade! We bought one share of Coinbase (COIN), entirely through the proprietary Interchange platform, powered by Interchange Clearing, our FINRA, DTC, NSCC and Nasdaq member broker-dealer. This might not sound like a big deal, but I assure you it is. The amount of work required to get to this point is monumental. Being able to execute a live trade is like the tip of the iceberg, with all the work required to get there below the surface. I’m super proud of what the team has achieved and look forward to the next milestone! https://lnkd.in/g6KZEYf2
-
Michael Giles shared thisI’m super excited to finally talk about what we’ve been working on! Allow me to introduce you to Interchange - the future of financial market infrastructure. Today we’re announcing we’ve raised $17m in seed funding from an amazing group of investors, as well as regulatory membership approvals from FINRA, DTC, NSCC and Nasdaq. Our goal is simple: build the world-class product our industry has always needed but never had. We will do our best to live up to that promise. Thank you to the Interchange team for all of your hard work and dedication getting us to this point and thank you to our regulators for your trust in myself and our extremely knowledgeable and experienced team. Lastly thank you to all of our VC investors Jon Soberg at MS&AD Ventures BoxGroup, David Tisch Adam Rothenberg and Nimi Katragadda at BoxGroup, George Damouny and team at Plug and Play Fintech, and Michael Ma and Matthew Mulvey at Liquid 2 Ventures; and our outstanding angel investors Eric Glyman Karim Atiyeh Immad Akhund Ankur Nagpal 💰Shamir Karkal Randy Fernando Breanna Phillips Ryan Belanger-Saleh Peter Lawler Brian Duggan Michael Ferrari Joe Percoco Clayton Gardner Ron Rojany Tom Thiel George Damouny Avlok K. Anthony Kline Joshua Naftalis Alexander Matjanec Owen Kerr Joshua Liberman Dean Kavanagh If you would like to start building with Interchange today, please contact me directly or request access on our website. https://lnkd.in/e6_7-SpFInterchange Announces $17m Seed Funding & Regulatory ApprovalsInterchange Announces $17m Seed Funding & Regulatory Approvals
-
Michael Giles shared thisExcited to announce Embed is now officially a member of The Options Clearing Corporation. It's an exclusive club, only 185 member firms in total. This membership completes the regulatory process (since receiving FINRA approval for options back in April 2021) to offer US equity and index options to our clients and their customers. We will be launching our end-to-end level 1 and 2 options product soon, powered by our proprietary infrastructure securely connected directly to the OCC. https://lnkd.in/ebQPp9Ep
-
Michael Giles shared thisExcited to announce Embed will be joining FTX.US. I’ll be sticking around as CEO and it’s going to be business as usual over here. Looking forward to working with many new clients from a much stronger foundation. https://lnkd.in/ervEx4WsFTX US Acquires Clearing Firm Embed to Enhance FTX StocksFTX US Acquires Clearing Firm Embed to Enhance FTX Stocks
-
Michael Giles shared thisSuper excited to finally talk about our client FTX US and their new Stocks offering, announced today. Honored they chose us as their partner. It's been a pleasure working with Brett Harrison and team! https://lnkd.in/gHpvFfpF
-
Michael Giles liked thisThank you to Mike Vilensky at Bloomberg for featuring me in his Q&A . I enjoyed our conversation!Michael Giles liked thisOur New York Partner and former SDNY federal prosecutor Joshua Naftalis features in Bloomberg Law’s Q&A series spotlighting leading New York attorneys, where he shares reflections on his career and the advice that continues to guide his practice. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eD5HucTr #PallasPartners #Litigation #BoutiqueLaw
-
Michael Giles liked thisMichael Giles liked thisJust got back from an offsite in Iceland with the Moby team! Glaciers, geothermal pools, late nights hanging out, early mornings chasing the next idea. The kind of trip that reminds you why you build with the people you build with. Grateful for this team. The best is ahead! Daniel Remstein Sam Birnbaum Miral Gadani Michael Ferrari Rikki Paribello Thornton McEnery Jenny Makarchik Jeremy Berke Juan Vazquez Liza Mamchyts Mike Roberts Bruce Luo Melissa Zhu Mitchell Duran Michael Linehan Yasmina Novillas
-
Michael Giles liked thisMichael Giles liked thisAfter 10+ years building DriveWealth—from initial product-market fit to operating a global investing platform—I’m excited to turn the page. Today, tens of millions of users have access to investing products that didn’t exist a decade ago, the result of years of building toward that vision. The people, mission, and customers have all been incredible, and I’m grateful to have played a meaningful role in it. Sharing a few reflections from the journey below.
-
Michael Giles liked thisMichael Giles liked thisI’m excited to share that I’ve joined Cursor as its first HR Business Partner! I’ll be partnering closely with Tido Carriero on all things Engineering, Product, and Design. After ~12 years at Square/Block, this felt like a rare opportunity to help build and shape the People function from the ground up in an incredibly ambitious, fast-moving space with a team that operates at a very high bar. After every conversation (and yes, there were many!), I was genuinely impressed by how intelligent, talented, and high-caliber the team is, and I’m looking forward to building alongside them. Big thank you to Adam Ward for bringing me into Cursor!
-
Michael Giles liked thisMichael Giles liked thisToday Mercury received conditional approval from the OCC to establish Mercury Bank, N.A. I started Mercury in 2017 because I wanted to build the bank I wished had existed when I was running my previous startups. I had to go into a bank branch to sign up and call a banker to send a wire. No APIs, no automation. Meanwhile, I watched all the tools a founder needs to run a business get reinvented for the modern era. Banking was the one thing that never got better. The best founders deserve a bank built for how modern companies actually operate. We’ve spent years building a product that helps founders do anything they need to with money: cards, invoicing, bill pay, spend management, accounting automations, intelligence, and real-time financial insights. The national bank charter is what lets us build the bank we’ve always believed was possible. We still have conditions to satisfy and more regulatory approvals to obtain before Mercury Bank opens. Once Mercury Bank becomes fully operational, we’ll be able to deliver new capabilities like Zelle, expanded lending, faster money movement, payment infrastructure we actually control, and more. We’ve closed a lot of the gaps that frustrated me for years. Soon we’ll be able to close them all. Not a bank (for now) disclaimer :) *While we’ve received conditional approval to become a bank, Mercury today is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., Members FDIC.
-
Michael Giles liked thisMichael Giles liked thisA long time ago, as a very broke but dreamy grad student from India, I took a road trip from Texas to New York. It was intended to be a pilgrimage to NYSE. I borrowed a jacket for the visit, a requirement back then, and spent the afternoon watching the trading from the gallery above the floor. Today, I embark on the next phase of my career journey at NYSE’s parent - ICE. And so, life comes full circle.
Experience
Education
Licenses & Certifications
View Michael’s full profile
-
See who you know in common
-
Get introduced
-
Contact Michael directly
Other similar profiles
Explore more posts
-
Walker Deibel
BuildWealth • 29K followers
You can turn $100,000 into a $50 million business through acquisitions. This is closer to capital allocation than traditional entrepreneurship. Here's the deal structure. First, the capital stack. You buy a business the same way you buy a house. Equity in, bank covers the rest. With SBA loans: 90% loan, 10% equity. A million dollar business might require $100K to $200K down. Target companies with $1 to $3 million in earnings. Go to sellers that are NOT at market. Brokered deals are competitive and sellers want cash at close. This only works off-market. Here's what you propose: Seller keeps 20% equity in a new entity. Asset sale, their company moves into newco, they keep running it at fair market salary. You write them a check for 60% via bank loan. Remaining 20% is a seller's note: 10% straight note, 10% performance earnout. From the bank's perspective, you created 40% equity. The truth? It's really only 20%, and it's the seller's. Your money in? Approaching zero. But you own 80% of Enterprise Value. Why would a seller agree? Tell them: my goal is to make your 20% as valuable as the 80% we're giving you today. What are the odds you double the value on your own in 3 to 5 years? Now stack earnings. $2 million average per company. Buy 10 just like this. $20 million combined earnings under one entity. Centralize marketing, accounting, HR, governance at HQ. You bought each at 4 to 4.5x. A $20 million earnings business sells for 7 to 7.5x or more. That's multiple expansion, just by combining them. Close the first one. Negotiate the next $100K for the next business. Then newco sells to PE for 7, 8, 9x your $20 million in earnings. That's the path from $100K to $50 million. If you're considering buying a business in the next 12 to 24 months, we built Acquisition Lab for exactly this. walkerdeibel.com
163
26 Comments -
John F. Heerdink, Jr.
8K followers
Insulet’s Growth Spurt Meets Modular’s Regulatory Push -( $PODD $MODD $ABT $DXCM ) https://lnkd.in/eBcxcynV Insulet’s surge in the patch pump market and Modular Medical’s regulatory advances are at the epicenter of the diabetes tech revolution, as innovative players like #PODD (Insulet), #MODD (Modular Medical), #ABT (Abbott), and #DXCM (Dexcom) compete to expand access to smart insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors. The FDA pathway, #510k submissions, and IRB approvals highlight the fierce race for next-generation, user-friendly devices aimed at better glycemic control, with recent market momentum driven by #Type2Diabetes solutions, #T2D, #CGM technology, automated insulin delivery, and the shift toward simplicity and affordability for underserved populations. #DiabetesTechnology, #WearableDevices, #InsulinDelivery, #DigitalHealth, #MedTech, #RegulatoryMilestones, and #HealthcareInnovation, all shaping the future for investors and patients in a rapidly growing, value-driven sector.
-
Jason Shuman
Primary Venture Partners • 38K followers
I’ve spoken to over 2 dozen MDs at PE firms I can confidently say that the arb of figuring out how to implement Vertical AI at portfolio companies is very real right now It will fundamentally change underwriting for those who can do it predictably and unlock generational returns. Most are aware they need to act. Very few have.
454
64 Comments -
JT Benton
9point8 Collective • 8K followers
Hot take: lot's of #LP's are growing underwhelmed with traditional venture investing. 💰 Fees are high given the level of engagement with the company operators. ❓ Access is opaque - LP's are unclear on the portco operations and outcomes. Outcomes are scattered - power law investing can certainly work, but many feel that venture capital investing is just a numbers game. There's another way. I'm biased, but I think it's better: #VentureStudios as an asset class. They blend: 🤜 🤛 Control and ownership 💡 Thematic focus 👬 Partnership with operators Studios offer a fund-like structure — but with more alignment, higher value conversion and less noise. If you're interested in understanding more about the studio model, we have resources to share. Please reach out and let's connect!
12
-
Thomas Smale
FE International, Inc. • 17K followers
Cvent just acquired Goldcast for $300M. All cash deal that shows the massive bet on AI-led event marketing👇 For context: Cvent is a major B2B platform for events, meetings, and hospitality. B2B buying is seeing a change... It's now video-first and digital-led. And events are slowly turning into always-on content engines. So what's in it for Cvent? Simple: the best way to capture and grow their webinar arm. This is why the Goldcast deal comes in. An AI-first webinars and event platform that turns recordings into usable video content across marketing, sales, and social channels. This strategic acquisition is Cvent's clear bet on AI-led growth. > Cvent brings scale: ~30,000 customers and deep enterprise relationships. > Goldcast brings speed: AI that turns live events into clips, summaries & recaps. And the video/audio industry is moving in the same direction: - Hume AI raised $50M for developing AI podcasting tools - Riverside.fm is investing in AI for short form video + podcasting - Synthesia raised $200M to build AI-native video creation infrastructure Even Oscar Hamilton Podcasting (acquired via FE International) grew 45% before its acquisition. The data is clear. AI-powered podcasting, webinars, and video content are growing fast. Events are shifting from single experiences to reusable media assets that support websites, email, social, and sales without adding manual work or new tools. The future of events is still human connection delivered at AI scale. News source: Cvent Press Release
44
13 Comments -
Uche Aniche
SSE Angel Network • 13K followers
ASVLP 2026 | EMERGING FUND MANAGERS ROUNDTABLE Navigating the 2026 VC Cycle: Opportunities, Constraints & Competitive Edge for Emerging Fund Managers Raising and deploying capital as an emerging fund manager in 2026 is no longer about momentum. It’s about positioning, credibility, and structural advantage. LP expectations have tightened. Capital formation is slower and more selective. And differentiation is no longer declared — it’s demonstrated. At ASVLP — Africa Startup & VC Landscape Preview, this high‑signal roundtable brings together experienced investors, capital allocators, and ecosystem leaders to unpack what it truly takes to compete — and survive — as a new fund manager in the current cycle. This is not a discussion about starting funds. It is a candid examination of how capital is actually being allocated, where emerging managers face real constraints, and what separates those who scale institutional credibility from those who stall. Speakers Emmie van Halder — @/MPower Netherlands Varun Turlapati — Chaanakya Capital Abiola Adediran, MBA, FCA, FIMC, CMC, M.CIoD — GENEA FAMILY OFFICE Emmanuel Adegboye — Madica Mope Abudu — AfriGloCal VC Zachariah George — Launch Africa Ventures Amb. Dr. Dunston P. — Private Office of H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Faisal Al‑Qassimi Moderator Maha M. — COREangels MEA The conversation will explore: • What LPs are truly underwriting in emerging managers today • Where structural constraints — not talent — limit fund performance • How new managers can build defensible edge in portfolio construction, signalling, and partnerships • What must change for emerging funds to graduate into durable institutions Who should attend Emerging fund managers, LPs, DFIs, and ecosystem builders focused on shaping Africa & MENA’s next generation of venture capital — with discipline, not hype. ASVLP 2026 Participation is FREE but strictly by invitation. To join: Repost and comment #ASVLP2026 — your registration link will be sent via DM. This Session is Powered by COREangels MEA
40
12 Comments -
David Weiss
Pershing Ventures • 4K followers
Jeff Gerstner, great post Jeff. We (at Pershing Ventures) operate in slightly different spaces, but your words ring true for many customers evaluating debt or debt-like products. It is often forgotten (or ignored) that equity, even in a flat or up round, is ultimately many times more expensive than non-equity options. For a business that is growing the sale of equity represents a likely permanent loss of future earnings paid for through the dilution of existing shareholders - add into the mix a "down round" and the results compound. Not to say that equity doesn't have its place, as it surely is a better source of capital for certain activities (just as debt is better for others). However, the debate around the cost of equity is usually not clear in business owners' minds because it is harder to calculate and perhaps less tangible as it doesn't have serviceability and the effects aren't felt into later in the business life cycle. I always like to show founders, using their own forecasted growth rates, the exact time of breakeven between debt and equity. With modest growth rates, it's usually measured in months, not years...
-
Salesfully.com
2K followers
Startups don’t need VC to grow. Revenue-based financing doubled from $1.8B in 2021 to over $3.8B in 2024 and average deals are ~$350k with a 6% cap. Funding mix in 2025: VC 52%, crowdfunding 14%, RBF 11%, angels 10%, partnerships 7%, grants 6%. 1,500 companies raised $700M via crowdfunding in 2023. Explore smarter funding options: https://lnkd.in/ebTeA_MX #StartupFunding #AlternativeFinance
-
Patrick Curtis
Wall Street Oasis • 51K followers
😨 5 rounds of interviews. 🌄 One at 6:30 AM. 🫠 Multiple modeling case studies. That is how intense the process at Citadel really was. 💡 In this video, Chris (Head Mentor at WSO Academy) breaks down exactly how it worked, 📞 from the headhunter outreach to the final round, 💸 even down to compensation and sign-on details. 🧐 Top hedge funds are meticulous. They are NOT guessing. They are selecting. ❌ If you want to compete at that level, you cannot wing recruiting. 📖 You need structure, positioning, and execution. 😎 Learn the exact frameworks inside WSO Academy. 🎯 Apply to WSO Academy now and secure at least one top job offer 👉 https://lnkd.in/giBB7x7k 🔗 #investmentbanking #hedgefunds #wallstreet #financecareers
2
-
Michael Sidgmore
Broadhaven Capital Partners • 27K followers
Don't get "stuck in the middle." A recent Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) white paper highlighted the tensions and concerns that institutional LPs are having over the race for "retail" by alternative asset managers. Balancing the needs and demands of both institutional and wealth channel LPs is a question that’s moving to the forefront of conversations between GPs and LPs as the industry evolves to cater to the needs of the new, relatively untapped LP: the wealth channel. Institutional LPs are wondering how GPs that decide to work with the wealth channel will handle the influx of capital from private wealth and what that means for their own relationships with GPs. Scott Ramsower, Head of Private Equity Funds at the $221B AUM Teacher Retirement System of Texas, said this topic is “is top of mind for limited partners.” Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) then said the quiet part out loud. "More pointedly, ILPA elevates these issues at a time when the underlying mix of investments of these products may exacerbate a strategy-structure misalignment ..." Reorienting an asset manager to be able to properly serve the wealth channel requires capital, commitment, and comprehension. Perhaps the most important “c” for firms to internalize? Comprehension. Asset managers will do well to comprehend the nuances of balancing the needs of both the wealth channel and their long-standing existing customers, the institutional LPs. EQT Group CEO Per Franzen said it well when he remarked recently that responsible growth is critical: “If I had a magic wand, I would use that and make sure that every larger player in the private markets industry pursues that opportunity in a long-term responsible way.” Responsible is the keyword here. With people’s retirements hanging in the balance, it’s never been more important to get retail right. If asset managers — and the industry — want to be successful, they can’t afford to get “stuck in the middle” of not serving either institutional or wealth channel LPs well. Read on for more👇 This week's Alt Goes Mainstream's AGM Alts Weekly, brought to you by Nomura Capital Management, covers: 🗂️ AGM Index, an index that tracks the leading publicly traded alternative asset managers. 💻 Who is hiring: Senior-level positions from companies Blackstone, KKR, Apollo Global Management, Inc., Blue Owl Capital, Franklin Templeton, iCapital, Goldman Sachs, Partners Group, Ultimus Fund Solutions, Allocate, SageSpring Wealth Partners, MSCI Inc. Subscribe👇 to see the latest trends & navigate this rapidly changing landscape as alts go mainstream. https://lnkd.in/ehsbjSBA
18
2 Comments -
Charles E. Gregg Jr.
6K followers
Revel, a Los Angeles, CA-based provider of a software platform for hardware test and control, raised $150M in Series B funding. The round was led by Index Ventures, with major participation from Redpoint Ventures, Capital, Felicis, Abstract Ventures, Dylan Field. The company intends to use the funds to support team expansion, continued product development, and broader market deployment. Founded by CEO Scott Morton, Revel is a provider of a unified software platform for hardware test and control enabling teams across aerospace, defense, robotics, and advanced energy to develop, deploy, and monitor complex physical systems.
1
-
Maddi Holman
Daring Ventures • 10K followers
💡Emerging GP Fundraising Insight #8: Rolling Closes Keep You Moving Small funds can't always afford to sit still until the target is hit. Rolling closes let you start deploying earlier, build a track record, and show momentum to prospective LPs. One GP told me that for Fund I ($5M target), he took capital as it came, signed, wired, and got to work. It wasn't perfect, but it kept the lights on and the deals moving. Sometimes the "sign and wire as it comes" approach is the only way to get moving. Takeaway: Momentum is a fundraising asset and rolling closes can help you keep it. Has anyone here used rolling closes as a strategic advantage?
29
13 Comments -
John W. Barbre
Plausible Potentials… • 7K followers
In every economic system I've worked in — traditional finance, venture capital, family offices, even most DAOs — wealth and power are the same thing. More tokens = more votes. More shares = more board seats. More capital = more control. We've accepted this as natural. It's not. It's a design choice. And it's the wrong one. The C3 Alliance separates wealth accumulation from governance participation. Completely. By design. In the token architecture. Here's how it works: COMM (Commons Coin) is your wealth token. It represents your stewardship stake in the cooperative. You earn it. You accumulate it. It appreciates as the cooperative succeeds. You can use it as collateral for VELOC credit lines. At the highest tiers, you get 0% interest on credit backed by your COMM holdings. COMM is your financial reward for contributing to the commons. PPT (Patronage Proof Token) is your governance token. It represents your ongoing contribution to the cooperative — not your historical wealth. PPT is earned through active patronage: completing Impact Offers, participating in Vickrey Auctions, contributing to faction governance. Your PPT weight determines your vote, your influence, and your standing. COMM has zero governance rights. Zero. You can be the wealthiest member of the cooperative and have no more voting power than someone who joined yesterday — if you stopped contributing. Conversely, you can be the most influential governance participant with modest wealth, because your PPT reflects what you're doing now, not what you accumulated in the past. This is not theoretical. This is enforced in the token contracts. COMM tokens carry no governance metadata. PPT tokens carry no wealth transfer rights. They exist on separate rails, with separate contracts, serving separate purposes. Why does this matter? Because every other system I've seen — including most "decentralized" governance tokens — conflates economic success with political power. The result is plutocracy with extra steps. DAOs where whales control governance. Cooperatives where founding members entrench themselves. Family offices where generational wealth compounds into generational control. The C3 Alliance says: earn all you want. Accumulate as much COMM as your contributions warrant. But if you want governance power, you show up. You contribute. You earn it fresh, every cycle. Day 1: SEID — sovereign identity. Day 2: Three-faction governance — structural power balance. Day 3: Dual token path — wealth and power on separate rails. Tomorrow: VELOC — what happens when your reputation becomes better collateral than your property. → C3-Alliance.org #C3Alliance #Tokenomics #CooperativeEconomics #Governance #Web3 #DeFi
2
Explore top content on LinkedIn
Find curated posts and insights for relevant topics all in one place.
View top content