Jon Zanoff, known as The Ghost of Fintech Future, founded Empire Startups, the world's largest fintech community with 18,000+ members, giving him unusually broad first-look access to deals that feeds directly into his investing at Stella Ventures. He brings a rare practitioner's background from building electronic trading and fintech systems at Goldman Sachs and BlackRock before spending 15 years building bank-side fintech solutions, then moving full-time into venture with a hands-on approach focused on highly coachable founders.

• Deep involvement in fostering the New York financial technology ecosystem through large-scale events. Tweets frequently about organizing gatherings that bring the community together, such as comedy nights or boat cruises, and emphasizes the importance of open-sourcing distribution to lift the entire industry rather than just keeping connections private.
• Critical perspective on the intersection of venture capital and banking infrastructure. Often discusses the pitfalls of investors deploying capital to founders lacking financial services experience, citing the Synapse collapse as a key example, while also questioning whether large banks actually have coherent strategies for partnering with startups.
• Fascinated by the complexities of global payments and financial logistics. Solicits feedback from founders regarding challenges with international SaaS transactions, such as localization and tax law, and dives into the nitty-gritty of cross-border wire transfers and SWIFT codes.
• A focus on product quality and customer experience metrics. Highlights the importance of reducing friction in user experience, noting how bad interfaces in professional employer organizations can drive users to manual workarounds, and emphasizes the value of preparation for public speaking to drive higher audience satisfaction scores.
• Attention to the regulatory landscape and how acquisitions affect the market. Points out how mergers can sometimes stifle innovation, such as Billgo shutting down Prism, and compares regulatory environments by noting how the UK continues to drive trends like secondary liquidity.