[ENG] #129 - Josh Kaplan (Wilson Sonsini) - From scaling in payments to IPOs

Finscale

A conversation that covers many topics, from scaling a business in payments to Twitter and the timing of IPOs.

In this episode, I speak to Josh, a banking lawyer who worked at the US Federal Reserve, Deutsche Bank, Crédit Agricole and Bank of America before joining the FinTech world at Checkout.com, the payment processing company.

Josh takes us through the macro and micro steps Checkout.com took to prepare for their international expansion when he was COO. He uses Saudi Arabia as an example, providing insight into how the team was assembled, core functions established, and local teams deployed.

We look at the benefits of deploying from Europe, where a standard of excellence is established in the key areas of anti-money laundering and data protection. We learn that data has always been key to their scaling, and get a first-hand look at how it's processed to be very efficient at resolving bottlenecks very fast. We also dive into their regulatory strategy for expanding outside of Europe.

Josh joined Wilson Sonsini, a tech-focused US law firm, a few years ago and we learn about their relationships with big tech companies like Netflix and Apple. Discovering a start-up history, from its formation as a legal entity to more complex litigation cases, is a special treat. You'll also learn about the key roles that these top notch advisors play.

If you want the inside scoop on IPOs, we pinpoint the exact timing required to make it a success.