Matt Brown's Notes

Matt Brown's Notes

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Your data model is your destiny
Your product's core abstractions determine whether new features compound into a moat or just add to a feature list. Here's how to get it right.
 • Matt Brown
B2B payments aren’t payments, they’re workflows
B2B payments is a ghost market because everyone focuses on the “payments” part. The real problem is in the workflows and data that precede the actual…
 • Matt Brown
Payfac in 1,000 words
Payfac is the model behind fintech’s biggest successes, from Stripe and Square, to Shopify, Uber, and more. It's a critical but misunderstood topic, so…
 • Matt Brown
Stablecoins in 1,000 words
Stablecoins are an exciting and powerful upgrade to financial technology, both in their own right and complementing traditional fiat money movement…
Vertical AI: beware what you wrap
Forget being dismissed as a ChatGPT wrapper. Anyone building vertical AI should fear being a wrapper around a system of record.
 • Matt Brown
Cross-border payments in ~1,000 words
A gentle introduction to correspondent banking, money transmission, payment aggregation, and stablecoins, as well as cross-border payment business…
 • Matt Brown
Why VC and software have PE envy
Gone are the days of minority investments in high-growth, asset-light, software-led startups. Why do so many VCs and VC-backed companies seem to be…
 • Matt Brown
Dark software
How the SaaS and fintech models are breaking down, why food delivery and dark kitchens provide an alternative model, and what the future of software may…
 • Matt Brown
Interchange in 1,000 words
Interchange is a complex but critical topic for fintech operators.
 • Matt Brown
Invisible asymptotes in vertical software
Vertical software is a great category to build and invest in. But the label and strategies behind it are quickly becoming irrelevant. The opportunity to…
 • Matt Brown
Fintech from first principles
Financial services is one of the oldest, largest, and most complex markets. “Oldest” is measured in millennia: the first coined currency is over 5,000…
 • Matt Brown
Vertical software already won the context graph
Everyone is arguing about who will build the trillion dollar context graph. The most valuable ones already exist inside vertical software.
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