Steve Kirsh. He’s the CEO of Token, a Silicon Valley startup company developing a modern platform for open banking. He’s pioneered several computer core technologies like optical mouse, Internet search, spam filtering, and secure identity and founded 7 high tech companies—two with billion dollar market caps such as Infoseek and Frame Technology. He received his BS and MS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT in 1980.

Famous Five:
Favorite Book? – Like A Virgin
What CEO do you follow? – Elon Musk
Favorite online tool? — SimplyFile
How many hours of sleep do you get?— 6.5
If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? – “Just hire good, strong and experienced people”

Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:25 – Nathan introduces Steve to the show
02:04 – Token supplies open banking software to banks
02:24 – There’s no real API that works with banks and this is the problem
03:00 – One of Token’s customers is Fidor Bank
03:02 – The problem is most banks don’t have an open API where you can do things like move money
03:19 – Token can get into Fidor’s API to drive its API
04:13 – Token has spent time creating an end-to-end secure architecture that is based on digital cryptography
05:24 – Steve thinks that there’s no real need for blockchain for a lot of financial applications
05:38 – “The technology for blockchain is just not appropriate”
05:48 – The Bank of England did an experiment with etherium
06:24 – Token was launched in 2015
06:50 – Steve shares how Token came to life
07:15 – Token raised $18.5M in a series A
07:26 – There’s legislation in Europe that requires banks to open their APIs and that’s when Token came in
08:07 – Token charges per API calls
08:10 – Token gets the calls for free from the banks
08:50 – The charge depends on the API calls
09:18 – Nathan simplifies how the model works
10:05 – There’s no equivalent to PSD 2 in the USA and it’s only for banks in Europe
10:20 – This can only happen in the USA if people want to be compatible with the banks in Europe
11:33 – Token’s first bank
12:11 – There are currently around 5 banks that are integrated with Token
12:25 – Team size is 25, split between San Francisco and London
14:20 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points:
Find the perfect timing and opportunity to pitch your business.
It is easier and more secure for banks to adapt a technology that has been tested than it is for them to create their own.
Hire good, strong and experienced people for your business—it just makes like easier.

Resources Mentioned:
The Top Inbox – The site Nathan uses to schedule emails to be sent later, set reminders in inbox, track opens, and follow-up with email sequences
GetLatka - Database of all B2B SaaS companies who have been on my show including their revenue, CAC, churn, ARPU and more
Klipfolio – Track your business performance across all departments for FREE
Hotjar – Nathan uses Hotjar to track what you’re doing on this site. He gets a video of each user visit like where they clicked and scrolled to make the site a better experience
Acuity Scheduling – Nathan uses Acuity to schedule his podcast interviews and appointments
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for the cheapest price possible
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he’s driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5-hour drive) to listen to audio books
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

763: He's Raised $18.5m To Help Banks Use Open API's, Makes Money From # of API Calls

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763: He's Raised $18.5m To Help Banks Use Open API's, Makes Money From # of API Calls