👉🏼 Description:
Tune in as Mika talks about building consumer trust for her fintech startup, going through a scam during launch, and recovering stronger than ever.
👉🏼 About the Guest:
Mika (Featured in Forbes, TechCrunch, HuffPost, and Business Insider) is the exited startup founder of Parallax, a stablecoin fintech that raised ~$5M in venture capital and reached over $100M in transaction volume. Additionally, she has been recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30, the SPC Founder Fellowship, and the Kleiner Perkins Fellowship. She worked in product at LinkedIn and is an active angel investor.
👉🏼 About the Host:
Shriya Nevatia (50K+ followers on LI and X) has been building community for 12+ years for founders, investors, and builders around the world. She launched the On Deck Catalyst community for elite global young leaders, helped hundreds of women start angel investing at The Council Capital, and founded The Violet Society, a pre-accelerator for female & non-binary startup founders.
👉🏼 Timestamps:
- 00:00: Episode Highlight
- 00:30: Intro to Taste & Tactics
- 00:46: Intro to Mika Reyes, founder of Parallax
- 01:55: Why stablecoin payouts were necessary, especially for people outside the US
- 02:58: How Parallax's launch nearly spiraled into a scam disaster
- 03:43: How a promo for new signups went wrong
- 08:00: Why every fintech needs KYC (Know Your Customer) checks
- 10:26: Working urgently to solve the scamming problem
- 14:04: How another hack took place right before launch
- 15:45: Tracking down the hackers
- 16:48: Why automation won't replace all manual checks
- 18:00: Helping people reach the "aha!" moment with your product
- 20:00: How scams can harm more than just your bank accounts
- 21:45: Preventing scammers from causing harm
- 26:55: How cultural nuances impact fraud patterns
- 29:08: When cash promos work...and when they don't
- 31:50: When taste overtakes data (and pays off)
- 35:35: Learnings and takeaways from the episode
- 37:39: Outro
👉🏼 Resources:
👉🏼 Where to find Mika:
👉🏼 Where to find Shriya:
What is Taste & Tactics?
Taste & Tactics breaks down the real playbooks behind iconic products, told by the people who built them.
Each episode goes deep on one bold launch: what sparked the idea, how it reached the right audience, and the moves that made it stick.
Hosted by Shriya Nevatia, the show is made for founders, marketers, and brand builders who are sick of vague advice and want practical frameworks.