Risk and Reason
Fraud is evolving faster than ever. Risk & Reason is where industry leaders, compliance experts, and founders share the real stories behind building secure, compliant products—from the fraud attacks that almost broke them to the strategies that actually work. Hosted by Eli Wachs, CEO of Footprint. New episodes weekly.
Recent Episodes
May 7, 2026
What Banks and Fintechs Get Wrong About Each Other w/ Ethan from FS Vector
In this episode of Risk and Reason, Eli Wachs sits down with Ethan Singleton, Partner at FS Vector, to talk about what it really takes to launch and scale fintech products in today's regulatory environment. Drawing on years a...
April 23, 2026
Why the Right Eviction Rate Isn't Zero w/ Brendan from Findigs
In this episode of Risk and Reason, Eli Wachs sits down with Brendan Phillips, Director of Product at Findigs, to break down the math behind every lease decision. Drawing on his path from Bridgewater to Better's mortgage boom...
April 9, 2026
From eBay Skunkworks to Agentic Payments w/ Shayanth from Highnote
In this episode of Risk and Reason, Eli Wachs sits down with Shayanth Sinnarajah, Founding Engineer at Highnote, to talk about what it takes to build payments infrastructure from the ground up — and where it's all headed. Dra...
March 26, 2026
Zero Fraud Means Zero Revenue w/ Zach from Comun
In this episode of Risk and Reason, Eli Wachs sits down with Zach Trunsky, Founding Business Operations at Comun, to explore how early-stage fintechs build fraud and risk programs from the ground up. Drawing on his experience...
Jan. 15, 2026
Dub's COO, Brett: Why “Move Fast” Breaks Fintechs
In this episode of Risk and Reason, Eli Wachs sits down with Brett Chereskin, COO of Dub, to unpack how real fintechs think about risk, fraud, and operational discipline at scale. Drawing on his background in military intelli...
Jan. 2, 2026
Hurricane Sandy Broke Banking w/ Phil from American Fintech Council
In this episode of Risk and Reason, Eli Wachs is joined by Phil Goldfeder, CEO of the American FinTech Council and former New York State Assembly member, to explore how trust, regulation, and innovation intersect in modern ba...
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