For many businesses, the 2008 financial crisis was a death blow. But for at least one opportunistic entrepreneur, it was the moment he made a game-changing dive into a fintech business. David Gens is the Founder, President, and CEO of Merchant Growth, a fintech specializing in delivering financing to small retail businesses in Canada. David joined me on the Payments Innovation podcast to share how he’s leveraging AI to deliver game-changing financing to small business. What we talked about: How the 2008 financial crisis impacted financial services Traditional financial institutions aren’t really competitors anymore in the small business financing arena David’s first challenge was building trust with small business owners  David alleviated some of the trust issues by partnering with big-name logos Merchant Growth’s financing structure: built on data Leveraging AI to drive financing One fintech CEO’s predictions about the financial services Small retail businesses needed a new funding source after the 2008 financial crisis To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.  Until next time!