StarZero All shows Try the podcast clipper →

Apr 30, 2024 · 32m · a16z

Jeff Sloan (Global Payments): Placing Multiple Bets on ‘Mosaic of Solutions’

Jeff Sloan · 21m spoken Angela Strange · 7m spoken Disclosure Reader · 17s spoken
0:00 / 0:00
▶ Watch on YouTube →

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

Former Global Payments CEO Jeff Sloan joins host Angela Strange on a16z's 'In The Vault' podcast to discuss scaling a global payments enterprise through vertical software integration, M&A governance, diversified distribution, and emerging technologies like Generative AI.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. How this is scored →

The host as informed peer 3.8 Guest teaching 2.3 Guest disagreement 0.2 The host pushing back 0.3
05100:0010:0020:0030:001:15–5:23 · The host as informed peer 4/10 Legal Disclaimers and Regulatory Disclosures Host Angela Strange frames the opening conversation with precise financial statistics regarding Global Payments stock performance, market capitalization, and revenue growth. Jeff Sloan explains his career trajectory across law, banking, and operating executive roles without friction.5:23–13:21 · The host as informed peer 4/10 Early FinTech Trends and Integrating Vertical Software Angela demonstrates strong sector knowledge by citing embedded payment examples like Toast and ServiceTitan. Jeff expands on how Global Payments transitioned into a software-first organization generating $3 billion in SaaS revenue.13:21–16:30 · The host as informed peer 4/10 Distribution Strategy and the Mosaic of Solutions Angela knowledgeable articulates the distribution shift from independent sales organizations to integrated software vendors, mentioning Heartland. Jeff responds by detailing his 'mosaic of solutions' thesis across direct, ISV, and enterprise channels.16:30–19:20 · The host as informed peer 2/10 COVID-19 Operational Challenges and Rapid Pivoting Angela presses Jeff to discuss a bet that failed. Jeff gently reframes the question, asserting that initiatives were derailed by COVID-19 rather than inherently flawed, using Omni software and Teladoc as examples.19:20–24:35 · The host as informed peer 5/10 Best Practices in M&A Integration and Achieving Scale Angela demonstrates extensive knowledge of competitor M&A transactions, citing deal figures for Fiserv/First Data and FIS/Worldpay alongside TSYS. Jeff details post-merger governance and the imperative of technology scale.24:35–28:25 · The host as informed peer 4/10 B2B Payments Opportunity and Generative AI Transformation Angela highlights B2B payment inefficiencies and initiates a discussion on generative AI. Jeff educates on the $125 trillion total addressable market cited by Mastercard and AI applications in fraud and underwriting.1:15–5:23 · Guest teaching 1/10 Legal Disclaimers and Regulatory Disclosures Host Angela Strange frames the opening conversation with precise financial statistics regarding Global Payments stock performance, market capitalization, and revenue growth. Jeff Sloan explains his career trajectory across law, banking, and operating executive roles without friction.5:23–13:21 · Guest teaching 3/10 Early FinTech Trends and Integrating Vertical Software Angela demonstrates strong sector knowledge by citing embedded payment examples like Toast and ServiceTitan. Jeff expands on how Global Payments transitioned into a software-first organization generating $3 billion in SaaS revenue.13:21–16:30 · Guest teaching 2/10 Distribution Strategy and the Mosaic of Solutions Angela knowledgeable articulates the distribution shift from independent sales organizations to integrated software vendors, mentioning Heartland. Jeff responds by detailing his 'mosaic of solutions' thesis across direct, ISV, and enterprise channels.16:30–19:20 · Guest teaching 3/10 COVID-19 Operational Challenges and Rapid Pivoting Angela presses Jeff to discuss a bet that failed. Jeff gently reframes the question, asserting that initiatives were derailed by COVID-19 rather than inherently flawed, using Omni software and Teladoc as examples.19:20–24:35 · Guest teaching 2/10 Best Practices in M&A Integration and Achieving Scale Angela demonstrates extensive knowledge of competitor M&A transactions, citing deal figures for Fiserv/First Data and FIS/Worldpay alongside TSYS. Jeff details post-merger governance and the imperative of technology scale.24:35–28:25 · Guest teaching 3/10 B2B Payments Opportunity and Generative AI Transformation Angela highlights B2B payment inefficiencies and initiates a discussion on generative AI. Jeff educates on the $125 trillion total addressable market cited by Mastercard and AI applications in fraud and underwriting.1:15–5:23 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Legal Disclaimers and Regulatory Disclosures Host Angela Strange frames the opening conversation with precise financial statistics regarding Global Payments stock performance, market capitalization, and revenue growth. Jeff Sloan explains his career trajectory across law, banking, and operating executive roles without friction.5:23–13:21 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Early FinTech Trends and Integrating Vertical Software Angela demonstrates strong sector knowledge by citing embedded payment examples like Toast and ServiceTitan. Jeff expands on how Global Payments transitioned into a software-first organization generating $3 billion in SaaS revenue.13:21–16:30 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Distribution Strategy and the Mosaic of Solutions Angela knowledgeable articulates the distribution shift from independent sales organizations to integrated software vendors, mentioning Heartland. Jeff responds by detailing his 'mosaic of solutions' thesis across direct, ISV, and enterprise channels.16:30–19:20 · Guest disagreement 1/10 COVID-19 Operational Challenges and Rapid Pivoting Angela presses Jeff to discuss a bet that failed. Jeff gently reframes the question, asserting that initiatives were derailed by COVID-19 rather than inherently flawed, using Omni software and Teladoc as examples.19:20–24:35 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Best Practices in M&A Integration and Achieving Scale Angela demonstrates extensive knowledge of competitor M&A transactions, citing deal figures for Fiserv/First Data and FIS/Worldpay alongside TSYS. Jeff details post-merger governance and the imperative of technology scale.24:35–28:25 · Guest disagreement 0/10 B2B Payments Opportunity and Generative AI Transformation Angela highlights B2B payment inefficiencies and initiates a discussion on generative AI. Jeff educates on the $125 trillion total addressable market cited by Mastercard and AI applications in fraud and underwriting.1:15–5:23 · The host pushing back 0/10 Legal Disclaimers and Regulatory Disclosures Host Angela Strange frames the opening conversation with precise financial statistics regarding Global Payments stock performance, market capitalization, and revenue growth. Jeff Sloan explains his career trajectory across law, banking, and operating executive roles without friction.5:23–13:21 · The host pushing back 0/10 Early FinTech Trends and Integrating Vertical Software Angela demonstrates strong sector knowledge by citing embedded payment examples like Toast and ServiceTitan. Jeff expands on how Global Payments transitioned into a software-first organization generating $3 billion in SaaS revenue.13:21–16:30 · The host pushing back 0/10 Distribution Strategy and the Mosaic of Solutions Angela knowledgeable articulates the distribution shift from independent sales organizations to integrated software vendors, mentioning Heartland. Jeff responds by detailing his 'mosaic of solutions' thesis across direct, ISV, and enterprise channels.16:30–19:20 · The host pushing back 1/10 COVID-19 Operational Challenges and Rapid Pivoting Angela presses Jeff to discuss a bet that failed. Jeff gently reframes the question, asserting that initiatives were derailed by COVID-19 rather than inherently flawed, using Omni software and Teladoc as examples.19:20–24:35 · The host pushing back 1/10 Best Practices in M&A Integration and Achieving Scale Angela demonstrates extensive knowledge of competitor M&A transactions, citing deal figures for Fiserv/First Data and FIS/Worldpay alongside TSYS. Jeff details post-merger governance and the imperative of technology scale.24:35–28:25 · The host pushing back 0/10 B2B Payments Opportunity and Generative AI Transformation Angela highlights B2B payment inefficiencies and initiates a discussion on generative AI. Jeff educates on the $125 trillion total addressable market cited by Mastercard and AI applications in fraud and underwriting.

speaking balance: gold is the host, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%0:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%3:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%3:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%6:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%6:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%9:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%9:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%12:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%12:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%15:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%15:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%18:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%18:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%21:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%21:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%24:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%24:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%27:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%27:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%30:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%30:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 16:37 Jeff reframes premise of failed bets

When host Angela Strange explicitly asks for a bet that did not work, Jeff gently rejects the premise by clarifying it was less about failure and more about COVID-19 surprises.

 Hardest push from the host ▶ 16:30 Angela asks for a failed strategic bet

Angela directly prompts Jeff to share a specific bet that failed, breaking away from standard praise to seek genuine vulnerability.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 25:05 Jeff cites $125T market size for B2B payments

Jeff educates the listener and host on the scale of B2B payments by sharing Mastercard data estimating the market at $125 trillion, four times larger than consumer payments.

 The host holds their own ▶ 22:04 Angela breaks down fintech mega-mergers

Angela demonstrates deep industry mastery by citing exact names and transaction valuations across major industry mergers (Fiserv/First Data, FIS/Worldpay, TSYS) to frame her question on scale.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicThe host as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementThe host pushing backWhy
Legal Disclaimers and Regulatory Disclosures 4100 Host Angela Strange frames the opening conversation with precise financial statistics regarding Global Payments stock performance, market capitalization, and revenue growth. Jeff Sloan explains his career trajectory across law, banking, and operating executive roles without friction.
Early FinTech Trends and Integrating Vertical Software 4300 Angela demonstrates strong sector knowledge by citing embedded payment examples like Toast and ServiceTitan. Jeff expands on how Global Payments transitioned into a software-first organization generating $3 billion in SaaS revenue.
Distribution Strategy and the Mosaic of Solutions 4200 Angela knowledgeable articulates the distribution shift from independent sales organizations to integrated software vendors, mentioning Heartland. Jeff responds by detailing his 'mosaic of solutions' thesis across direct, ISV, and enterprise channels.
COVID-19 Operational Challenges and Rapid Pivoting 2311 Angela presses Jeff to discuss a bet that failed. Jeff gently reframes the question, asserting that initiatives were derailed by COVID-19 rather than inherently flawed, using Omni software and Teladoc as examples.
Best Practices in M&A Integration and Achieving Scale 5201 Angela demonstrates extensive knowledge of competitor M&A transactions, citing deal figures for Fiserv/First Data and FIS/Worldpay alongside TSYS. Jeff details post-merger governance and the imperative of technology scale.
B2B Payments Opportunity and Generative AI Transformation 4300 Angela highlights B2B payment inefficiencies and initiates a discussion on generative AI. Jeff educates on the $125 trillion total addressable market cited by Mastercard and AI applications in fraud and underwriting.

Statements from this episode (10)

Assertion Partly supported
Global Payments revenue grew from $2B to $9B under Jeff Sloan
“And grew revenues from two to nine billion dollars as CEO from 20 13 to 20 21.”
Angela Strange Apr 30, 2024 ▶ 0:45
Disclosure
Global Payments generated $3 billion in annual software sales by 2023
“By the time I left and retired last summer in 20, 23, we were actually a top quartile software company by revenue in terms of cloud SaaS if we have been listed just, you know, in the public markets in the U S for cloud SaaS software at global payments. So clea…”
Jeff Sloan Apr 30, 2024 ▶ 8:46
Insight
Enterprise technology bets require 18 to 24 months to evaluate success
“I'm like in tech land, it's going to take 1824 months for you to figure out what was that the right, you know, kind of bet is this, you know, how does this go?”
Jeff Sloan Apr 30, 2024 ▶ 12:53
Insight
Companies must place diversified distribution bets and quickly scale the winners
“It was all part of the thesis of, hey, it's a mosaic of solutions. I don't really know What is going to be predominant, not just today, but five years from today. So it's important to have a lot of different bets in a lot of different areas, and if those are s…”
Jeff Sloan Apr 30, 2024 ▶ 16:00
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Global Payments' remote delivery and telehealth tools generate billions post-COVID
“Those two things, the remote delivery and the Teladoc are key parts of our business today and are generating, you know, billions of dollars of volume years, you know, years post COVID.”
Jeff Sloan Apr 30, 2024 ▶ 19:08
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Global Payments grew its annual technology spending to over $2 billion
“So when I got to global payments, maybe we spent a couple, three hundred million a year, OpEx and CapEx in tech. When I left last year in 20, 23, you know, that number was north of two billion.”
Jeff Sloan Apr 30, 2024 ▶ 22:53
Assertion Contradicted
Global Payments processed approximately $3 trillion in transaction volume in 2023
“So I think the company last year did something like transactions and probably process something like three trillion dollars plus or minus, you know, a volume.”
Jeff Sloan Apr 30, 2024 ▶ 23:34
Opinion
Today's B2B technology opportunity matches the 1990s e-commerce boom
“My perspective is that investing in B to B technology today has the same growth opportunities, if not more so than investing in e-commerce did, you know, kind of at the end of the last century is kind of my view.”
Jeff Sloan Apr 30, 2024 ▶ 25:06
Assertion Supported
The annual global B2B market is $125 trillion, quadrupling consumer markets
“The size of the market, I think MasterCard's paid it at 125 trillion dollars annually, which is four times the size of the consumer driven B to B to C market where global payments historically had competed.”
Jeff Sloan Apr 30, 2024 ▶ 25:18
What-if
Global Payments regrets cutting UK technology investments following the Brexit vote
“And I think our business would have been better positioned, you know, have we not cut those technology investments.”
Jeff Sloan Apr 30, 2024 ▶ 30:43
Made with StarZero

Turn any episode into a week of clips.

This entire site, over 1,000 episodes transcribed, diarized, checked and made playable, runs on the StarZero media pipeline. Drop in your own episode and the podcast clipper finds the moments worth sharing, cuts them, captions them, and reframes them for every feed.

Try the podcast clipper Learn more