How to bet on yourself (without venture capital)

He describes Column as “a software company that also owns a bank,” using the bank charter as a regulatory moat and building software others can’t because they’re not a bank. Column provides API “primitives” that let customers run deposits, payments, credit, and network connections on Column’s rails.

Using Bilt as an example, he explains Column is the issuer behind the card and provides the account/routing numbers, while Bilt builds the consumer experience and marketing. Column handles connections to entities like the Federal Reserve, TCH, card networks, SWIFT, and charges in a SaaS-like per–API call model while passing much of the bank-side economics to customers.

He argues Silicon Valley (like Beijing, per a Dan Wang criticism he cites) can become highly consensus-driven, which is useful for some “outlandish” ideas but also isolates founders from how most Americans and much of the world live. He says this contributes to building “software for elites” and weakens resonance with everyday needs.

He says emerging markets operate under tighter constraints that force different creativity, and that dollarized places often need US financial services most. He also claims financial services innovation often appears in “the worst countries,” citing examples like mobile payments emerging early in Africa and bespoke systems built under constraints in places like Iran and Argentina.

He chose to fund Column without venture capital to avoid optimizing for the next fundraise and the trend-chasing that can follow (his examples: needing a “stablecoin strategy,” then an “AI strategy”). He says self-funding enables investments with 10-year paybacks and a straighter path to the goal.