Hey, fintech fam! 💜

Two years ago, during a Humans of Fintech interview, Sallie Krawcheck said something that lodged itself so deeply in my brain I swear it’s been living rent-free ever since:

“I just decided to give.”

She was talking about launching Ellevest’s earliest content — financial education designed for women, with no paywall, no gatekeeping, no “lead magnet.” Just give the knowledge away and see what happens.

That one line changed the way I think about building everything — this newsletter, this community, this company. And it became the perfect lens for today’s story.

Because if anyone has built a fintech on giving as strategy — not charity, not sentiment, but strategy — it’s Susan Langer, CEO and founder of Spave, one of the longest-running purpose-driven fintechs in the market.

Today, we’re exploring why generosity is one of the most misunderstood growth levers in our industry — and how it ties directly into a content series I’m finally ready to announce:

✨ The Trust Club — our new movement with Middesk.

Let’s dive in.

(P.S. No Thursday newsletter this week — I’m taking Thanksgiving off to rest, recharge, and eat my weight in pie. In the meantime, enjoy today’s column, and ICYMI, a bunch of new podcast episodes just dropped. You can binge them all here!)

INNOVATION

If you’ve ever spent five minutes with fintech founder and CEO Susan Langer, you know she has this rare ability to make generosity feel like oxygen — not a resource you have to ration.

Before Langer founded Spave, she had already lived what many would consider an entire career portfolio:

This is not a founder who “just had an idea.”

This is a founder who lived the research.

But everything shifted in 1995 during a trip to East Africa.

She was standing in a village bank in Tanzania, watching groups of women — many living in extreme poverty — repay their micro-loans at a 99% repayment rate through tiny daily actions.

The women told her a local proverb:

“Little by little, a little becomes a lot.”

And that sentence — that truth — cracked something open.

And Langer realized:

These women weren’t just repaying loans.

They were building financial infrastructure — without access to the tools we have here.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., we had salaries, tools, credit, choice… and still struggled to save, give, or build consistently.

That was the spark.

If women with almost nothing could create sustainable financial behaviors, what could Americans do with the right technology and mindset?

A decade later — when the tech finally caught up — she launched Spave, the first all-in-one app that lets you spend, save, and give in a single flow.

A fintech built not on consumption or optimization, but on purpose. Where every dollar reflects what you value most.

And what she learned in those early days aligns with what behavioral science has proven since:

In other words:

Generosity doesn’t drain a business.

It strengthens it.

“You get what you give,” Langer told me in an interview. “Not someday — immediately.”

This isn’t manifestation. It’s mechanics.

Every founder who’s ever dragged themselves to a coffee they didn’t have time for — only to walk away energized — knows this.

Every operator who’s lifted another woman up, only to suddenly find their own door opening, knows this.

Every person in this community who’s ever hit “share,” “comment,” or “amplify” for another person’s win knows this.

Generosity is not a leak.

It’s a loop.

And yet, it is one of the hardest things to practice when you’re building. When you’re strapped for time, money, energy, and belief.

As founders, we default to scarcity:

Not enough capital. Not enough time.

Not enough progress. Not enough certainty.

But as Langer told me:

“Scarcity dissolves when you start giving,” she said. “Because giving pulls you out of your head — and into your heart.”

And if you were at the Academy of Fintech’s FEMMY Awards last year, you remember Sheila Lirio Marcelo’s iconic line:

“The longest journey you’ll ever take is from your head to your heart.”

That’s generosity.

That’s leadership.

Spave is built on one of the most underestimated forces in finance:

Tiny actions, taken consistently, compound massively.

The same is true for:

We overestimate the power of a single big moment — the raise, the job, the acquisition, the viral post — and we underestimate the power of every small moment that led to it.

Generosity works the same way.

Give a little attention.

Give a little support.

Give a little encouragement.

Give a little space.

Give a little belief.

Little by little… a little becomes a lot.

Generosity is not about amounts.

It’s about intention.

“It’s not the size of the gift,” Langer said. “It’s the motivation of the heart.”

And that is what turns generosity into strategy.

We are closing out a year where:

And yet, one thing feels undeniably clear:

➝ Fintech will be rebuilt by leaders who choose generosity over gatekeeping.

➝ Communities over companies.

➝ Purpose over posturing.

We proved it this year.

We’re about to prove it again in 2026.

Langer said something in our interview that I haven’t stopped thinking about:

“You’re blessed to be a blessing.”

Which is another way of saying:

Your gifts aren’t meant to be hoarded.

They’re meant to multiply.

If you’re building a fintech, leading a team, raising capital, or simply trying to stay grounded in this wildly unpredictable economy, here’s the truth:

Giving is not softness.

Giving is strategy.

“Generosity isn’t a transaction — it’s a sacred exchange,” Langer said. 

And it loops back, every time.

Give attention → gain connection.

Give value → gain trust.

Give consistency → gain credibility.

Give space → gain community.

Give recognition → gain power.

When I built Fintech Is Femme, I wasn’t sure what it would become.

But I kept circling back to this exact principle: just give.

That choice built a 100k+ community, two podcasts, a book, summits, partnerships, and now — something brand new.

Which brings me to the next chapter of this ecosystem we’re building.

Earlier this year, Jackie Wylie, Head of Marketing at Middesk, said something that hit me with the same force as Krawcheck’s quote and what Langer is building:

“Trust isn’t a feature. It’s a lifestyle.”

Then I watched Middesk take that line and turn it into the most culturally resonant activation at Money20/20 — the Trust Club retail store, a high-fashion boutique.

A few weeks later, I’m moderating a GTM panel at The Fintech Summit by Fiat Growth…and even there, founders brought up The Trust Club.

Finally, our industry felt ready for the conversation:

Money is culture.

Trust is infrastructure.

And in fintech the two are colliding.

Because trust is no longer just:

Trust today is:

✨ Who we break bread with

✨ Who we share space with

✨ Who shows up consistently

✨ Who builds community, not just products

There is no shortcut to spending time with your customers or clients.

No hack. No AI model can replace it.

Trust is built — slowly, intentionally, repeatedly.

Little by little… a little becomes a lot.

Which is exactly why we built The Trust Club, a new limited podcast series under the Humans of Fintech network designed to explore trust as the core infrastructure of modern fintech.

Join me as I host 8 podcasts filmed inside luxury retail stores in New York City (because trust is always cool and always in style) featuring fintech + finserv’s most trusted leaders.

💚 Powered by Middesk.

We kick things off with:

Flora Zhang, Director of Business Operations Analytics at Brex.

This is culture meets capital meets community — IRL.

Expect:

✨ Custom engraved merch

✨ Espresso martinis

✨ A live Humans of Fintech recording

✨ Real conversation

✨ Zero boring content

Just trust being built in the only way trust ever is:

Through people.

Through presence.

Through generosity.

As we step into the final weeks of 2025, Langer left us with one question:

“How can I be a vessel for someone else’s next step?”

And I’ll add three more:

✨ What am I ready to transform?

✨ What am I ready to give?

✨ What am I ready to claim?

And if you walk away with one thing today, let it be the proverb that built an entire fintech:

Little by little, a little becomes a lot.

This is how we build the future of fintech — and this is how we do it together.

If you’ve been looking for a meaningful way to give back this season — here’s one that takes 30 seconds and creates real opportunity:

Nominate a brilliant woman in fintech to pitch at the Fintech Best-In-Showcase, powered by Empire Startups.

Each virtual event features five standout founders pitching live, with real-time feedback from judges across FIS, TruStage Ventures, Artemis, Fiserv, and others shaping the future of financial innovation.

And yes — one will take home Best in Show. 🏆

✨ Are you the best-of-the-best CEO in fintech?

Nominate yourself — or the powerhouse woman you think should be on that stage.

Awards = visibility.

Visibility = credibility.

Credibility = momentum.

And if you want to see the next generation of fintech before everyone else…

💻 Join us from anywhere.

Ring in the New Year with the leaders defining what’s next.

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We all know who holds the real power.

📰 Share this newsletter with a friend and start growing your network.

🔗 Connect with me on LinkedIn for daily insights on female leadership.

📚 The holidays are coming, in charge of purchasing office gifts? Grab my book, Fintech Feminists! It looks nice on the coffee table 😉

That wraps up today’s edition—thanks as always for reading! Until next time, keep innovating and challenging the status quo.

See you next Tuesday!

Love,

Nicole 💜