In this episode of Skin in the Game, Saxon Baum sits down with Bam Azizi, founder and CEO of Mesh and the first unicorn founder in the FLF portfolio.
Bam's story is one of grit, resilience, and relentless execution. They talk about his journey from growing up in Iran to immigrating to the U.S., earning a PhD, launching and selling his first company, NoPassword, and eventually building Mesh into one of the most exciting infrastructure companies in fintech.
Along the way, Bam shares what it was like building a company as an immigrant founder, the lessons he learned from hearing thousands of investor "no's," and why resilience matters more than almost any other trait in entrepreneurship.
They also dive into the evolution of Mesh, from its early consumer-focused days to becoming the infrastructure layer connecting digital assets, stablecoins, and traditional financial institutions. Bam walks through the pivotal decisions that shaped the company and why he believes we're still in the early innings of a massive shift in how money moves around the world.
The conversation covers fundraising, enterprise sales, founder lessons, stablecoins, tokenization, and the future of financial infrastructure. Whether you're building a startup, investing in technology, or simply curious about where finance is headed, there's a lot to take away from this one.
Most importantly, it's a conversation about what it really takes to build something meaningful when there is no Plan B.
What is Skin in the Game VC Podcast?
Florida Funders Managing Partner and "Skin in the Game VC" podcast hosts Saxon Baum & Tom Wallace believes that entrepreneurs are game changers and that the companies they envision, create and build make the world a better place. FLF is a hybrid venture capital fund and investor network that discovers, funds, and builds early-stage technology companies. We combine a $300M+ venture platform with 2,000+ accredited investors to back breakout founders in B2B software, fintech, AI, health care, and cybersecurity. Beyond capital, our team of serial entrepreneurs and investors provides operating expertise, strategic introductions, and a nationwide support network that helps founders win. By unifying venture capital with an engaged investor community, we deliver exceptional outcomes for founders and LPs alike. This podcast was envisioned to educate, connect and activate accredited investors to get skin in the game and invest like a VC.