Figure Co-Founder: How Figure Became A $10B Business | Mike Cagney
This week, Mike Cagney joins the show to discuss Figure and how it became the leading non-bank HELOC lender in the U.S. We deep dive into how Figure leverages blockchain rails to scale the next evolution of capital markets before Mike shares his thoughts on tokenization, being a public vs private company, how to fix tokens and more. Enjoy!
--
Follow Mike: https://x.com/mcagney
Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz
Follow Empire: https://x.com/theempirepod
--
Timestamps:
(00:00) Introduction
(03:20) How Do Blockchains Disrupt Capital Markets?
(09:28) Why Did Mike Build Figure?
(27:00) Will Figure Launch a Wallet?
(38:05) SoFi’s Superbowl Ads
(45:42) Tokenizing Equities
(55:08) The Provenance Blockchain
(01:01:46) Being a Public vs Private Company
(01:07:18) How To Fix Tokens
(01:12:27) What’s Next For Crypto In 5 Years?
--
Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, Rob and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
Lessons From A Successful Tokenization Project & What Market Structure Reveals About Trump-Linked WLFI’s False Promises: Bits + Bips - Ep. 986
In this double-header episode of Bits + Bips, Steven Ehrlich first speaks with Figure CEO Mike Cagney about why most tokenization projects fail, how Figure built an onchain mortgage replacement, and why he believes big banks may now be leading blockchain innovation.
Then, Jason Brett joins the show to explain how an upcoming crypto market structure bill could expose President Trump’s World Liberty Financial as centralized, and why that matters for DeFi, regulation, and the industry’s credibility.
Sponsors:
Uniswap
Mantle
Host:
Steve Ehrlich, Executive Editor at Unchained
Guests:
Mike Cagney, Co-founder and CEO of Figure Technology Solutions
Jason Brett, Former Banking Regulator With FDIC
Links:
Unchained:
Inside Robinhood’s Big Super App Plan: ‘There’s Still a Lot of Work to Be Done’
Coinbase Launches Stock Trading and Prediction Markets
How the GENIUS Act Creates a Built-In Advantage for Banks and Deposit Tokens
Timestamps:
🚀 00:00 Introduction
🧠 1:48 What is a HELOC?
💡 4:48 How Figure is turning HELOCs into a mortgage replacement
⚡️ 7:58 How Figure issues loans from origination to disbursement
📍 11:28 Why Figure uses a blockchain
⚠️ 12:15 Cagney explains how liquidity poses a challenge for many tokenization projects
🧏♂️ 13:10 Why the real value proposition is in DeFi and how Figure is bring $1 billion on-chain
📃 14:14 Cagney reveals Figure's preferred DeFi platforms
💥 16:09 How the GENIUS Act could drive assets onchain
⚡️ 17:46 How Figure is working towards stablecoin settlement of loans
👀 23:40 Why Cagney says the big banks are doing more disruptive work than the likes of Coinbase
⚖️ 27:53 What Cagney is advocating for around DeFi in DC and his litmus test for decentralization
❕️ 31:30 Why Cagney believes anonymity is not necessary for decentralization CLIP
💡 33:32 How Cagney deals with the pressures of going public
🧠 34:32 Why Cagney has taken a different philosophical approach to Robinhood and Coinbase
💥 37:05 Cagney explains what it takes for tokenization projects to succeed
41:55 Intro
45:51 If crypto finally gets rules, what then?
49:39 Frozen wallets: the DeFi dealbreaker
55:51 Has the White House picked a DeFi side?
56:36 Why this goes beyond “ethics”
58:49 If Trump’s DeFi fails the test… then what?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Best of 2024 (so far) with Sarah Guo and Elad Gil
Believe or not, we’re almost halfway through 2024. Sarah and Elad have spent the first of this year talking with some of the most innovative minds in the AI industry, so we’re taking a look at some of our favorite No Priors conversations so far featuring Dylan Field (Figma); Emily Glassberg-Sands (Stripe); Brett Adcock (Figure AI); Aditya Ramesh, Tim Brooks and Bill Peebles (OpenAI’s Sora Team); Scott Wu (Cognition); and Alexandr Wang (Scale).
Watch or listen to the full episodes here:
Build AI products at on-AI companies with Emily Glassberg Sands from Stripe
Designing the Future: Dylan Field on AI, Collaboration, and Independence
The argument for humanoid robots with Brett Adcock from Figure
OpenAI’s Sora team thinks we’ve only seen the "GPT-1 of video models"
Cognition’s Scott Wu on how Devin, the AI software engineer, will work for you
The Data Foundry for AI with Alexandr Wang from Scale
Sign up for new podcasts every week. Email feedback to show@no-priors.com
Follow us on Twitter: @NoPriorsPod | @Saranormous | @EladGil
Show Notes:
(0:00) Introduction
(0:46) Emily Glassberg Sands on the Future of AI and Fintech
(4:23 Dylan Field on AI and Human Creative Potential
(9:03) Brett Adcock on Running Figure AI’s Hardware and Software Processes
(12:43) OpenAI’s Sora Team on Artists’ Creative Experiences with their Model
(17:43) Scott Wu Gives Advice for Human Engineers Co-Working with AI
(21:06) Alexandr Wang on How Quality Data Builds Confidence in AI Systems
EXCLUSIVE: $3B Founder Reveals His Next Big Idea
Episode 597: Sam Parr ( https://twitter.com/theSamParr ) talks to Brett Adcock ( https://x.com/adcock_brett ) about his next big idea, his checklist for entrepreneurs, and his framework for learning new things and moving fast.
—
Show Notes:
(0:00) Solving school shootings
(3:15) Cold calling NASA
(6:14) Spotting the mega-trend
(8:37) "Thinking big is easier"
(12:42) Brett's philosophy on company names
(16:22) Brett's ideas note app: genetics, super-sonic travel, synthetic foods
(19:45) "I just want to win"
(21:46) Brett's checklist for entrepreneurs
(25:17) Being fast in hardware
(30:15) Brett's framework for learning new things
(33:00) Who does Brett admire
—
Links:
• [Steal This] Get our proven writing frameworks that have made us millions https://clickhubspot.com/copy
• Brett Adcock - https://www.brettadcock.com/
• Cover - https://www.cover.ai/
• Figure - https://figure.ai/
—
Check Out Shaan's Stuff:
Need to hire? You should use the same service Shaan uses to hire developers, designers, & Virtual Assistants → it’s called Shepherd (tell ‘em Shaan sent you): https://bit.ly/SupportShepherd
—
Check Out Sam's Stuff:
• Hampton - https://www.joinhampton.com/
• Ideation Bootcamp - https://www.ideationbootcamp.co/
• Copy That - https://copythat.com
• Hampton Wealth Survey - https://joinhampton.com/wealth
• Sam’s List - http://samslist.co/
My First Million is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by The HubSpot Podcast Network // Production by Arie Desormeaux // Editing by Ezra Bakker Trupiano
Mike Cagney on bringing every market onchain
Mike Cagney is the co-founder and CEO of Figure Markets.
In this episode, Cagney discusses the need for a 'marketplace of everything,' the potential for equity trading on the blockchain, and more.
OUTLINE
00:00 Intro
07:21 The 'Everything' Platform
12:16 Onchain Equities Trading
17:50 Institutionalization of Crypto
27:12 DeFi Lending
29:59 Rebuilding Crypto's Credit Markets
33:51 Wall Street Appetite for ATS
36:28 Regulatory Considerations
38:09 Closing Thoughts
The argument for humanoid AI robots with Brett Adcock from Figure
Humans are always doing work that is dull or dangerous. Brett Adcock, the founder and CEO of Figure AI, wants to build a fleet of robots that can do everything from work in a factory or warehouse to folding your laundry in the home. Today on No Priors, Sarah got the chance to talk with Brett about how a company that is only 21 months old has already built humanoid robots that not only walk the walk by performing tasks like item retrieval and making a cup of coffee but they also talk the talk through speech to speech reasoning.
In this episode, Brett and Sarah discuss why right now is the correct time to build a fleet of AI robots and how implementation in industrial settings will be a stepping stone into AI robots coming into the home. They also get into how Brett built a team of world class engineers, commercial partnerships with BMW and OpenAI that are accelerating their growth, and the plan to achieve social acceptance for AI robots.
Sign up for new podcasts every week. Email feedback to show@no-priors.com
Follow us on Twitter: @NoPriorsPod | @Saranormous | @EladGil | @adcock_brett
Show Notes:
(0:00) Brett’s background
(3:09) Figure AI Thesis
(5:51) The argument for humanoid robots
(7:36) Figure AI public demos
(12:38) Mitigating risk factors
(15:20) Designing the org chart and finding the team
(16:38) Deployment timeline
(20:41) Build vs buy and vertical integration
(23:04) Product management at Figure
(28:37) Corporate partnerships
(31:58) Humans at home
(33:38) Social acceptance
(35:41) AGI vs the robots
This $3B Founder Is The Next Elon Musk
Episode 499: Sam Parr (https://twitter.com/theSamParr) talks to Brett Adcock (https://twitter.com/adcock_brett) about how he nearly went bankrupt after his +$100m exit from Vettery (now Hired). How? Betting everything on the next big idea. And he’s doing it again today with Figure.ai, a robotics company bringing a general purpose humanoid to life.
Want to see more MFM? Subscribe to our YouTube channel here.
Want MFM Merch? Check out our store here.
Want to see the best clips from MFM? Subscribe to our clips channel here.
—
Check Out Shaan's Stuff:
• Try Shepherd Out - https://www.supportshepherd.com/
• Shaan's Personal Assistant System - http://shaanpuri.com/remoteassistant
• Power Writing Course - https://maven.com/generalist/writing
• Small Boy Newsletter - https://smallboy.co/
• Daily Newsletter - https://www.shaanpuri.com/
Check Out Sam's Stuff:
• Hampton - https://www.joinhampton.com/
• Ideation Bootcamp - https://www.ideationbootcamp.co/
• Copy That - https://copythat.com/
—
Show Notes:
(0:00) Intro
(2:00) How Brett self-funded Archer Aviation
(13:00) Nearly going personally bankrupt
(19:00) Street of Walls and being a self-taught finance expert
(24:00) How to choose the right idea to work on
(28:00) Why Future could be the biggest business in the world
(32:00) Addressing objections to a robot workforce
(35:00) Why hardware is actually easier than software
(40:00) How big is Figure going to be in 5 years?
—
Links:
• Brett Adcock’s website - https://www.brettadcock.com/
• Figure (AI Robotics) - https://www.figure.ai/
• Archer Aviation - https://www.archer.com/
• Vettery (now Hired) - https://hired.com/
• Ikagai - https://tinyurl.com/3x9mytpb
• Street of Walls - https://www.streetofwalls.com/
• The Fast Track: https://tinyurl.com/yeyz7j7p
Past guests on My First Million include Rob Dyrdek, Hasan Minhaj, Balaji Srinivasan, Jake Paul, Dr. Andrew Huberman, Gary Vee, Lance Armstrong, Sophia Amoruso, Ariel Helwani, Ramit Sethi, Stanley Druckenmiller, Peter Diamandis, Dharmesh Shah, Brian Halligan, Marc Lore, Jason Calacanis, Andrew Wilkinson, Julian Shapiro, Kat Cole, Codie Sanchez, Nader Al-Naji, Steph Smith, Trung Phan, Nick Huber, Anthony Pompliano, Ben Askren, Ramon Van Meer, Brianne Kimmel, Andrew Gazdecki, Scott Belsky, Moiz Ali, Dan Held, Elaine Zelby, Michael Saylor, Ryan Begelman, Jack Butcher, Reed Duchscher, Tai Lopez, Harley Finkelstein, Alexa von Tobel, Noah Kagan, Nick Bare, Greg Isenberg, James Altucher, Randy Hetrick and more.
Other episodes you might enjoy:
• #224 Rob Dyrdek - How Tracking Every Second of His Life Took Rob Drydek from 0 to $405M in Exits
• #209 Gary Vaynerchuk - Why NFTS Are the Future
• #178 Balaji Srinivasan - Balaji on How to Fix the Media, Cloud Cities & Crypto
• #169 - How One Man Started 5, Billion Dollar Companies, Dan Gilbert's Empire, & Talking With Warren Buffett
• #218 - Why You Should Take a Think Week Like Bill Gates
• Dave Portnoy vs The World, Extreme Body Monitoring, The Future of Apparel Retail, "How Much is Anthony Pompliano Worth?", and More
• How Mr Beast Got 100M Views in Less Than 4 Days, The $25M Chrome Extension, and More
Recode Decode: Mike Cagney, CEO, SoFi
SoFi CEO Mike Cagney sits down with Kara Swisher to discuss why financial technology startups are suddenly hot and how SoFi hopes to eventually replace your bank, even though it has no permanent physical locations. He also talks about why SoFi is planning to launch a dating app (no, really) and why it ran an ad during Super Bowl 50.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
.jpg?width=400){kind=small}