In this episode of The Tech Trek, Amir sits down with Sadi Khan, Co-Founder and CEO of Aven, to unpack how technology can make capital fairer for everyone. Sadi explains how Aven is tackling one of the world’s biggest inefficiencies—the trillion-dollar burden of consumer credit card debt—and why the solution lies in reducing the cost of capital through innovation. This is a deep dive into building products that require not just engineering skill, but endurance, conviction, and a long-term mindset.
Key Takeaways
• Aven’s mission is to cut credit card interest payments in half by rethinking how consumers access and use home equity.
• True innovation often comes from solving inefficiency, not chasing market trends.
• Complex problems create strong moats when founders are willing to grind through technical and regulatory barriers.
• Founders should pick problems worth spending a decade on—pivot less, persist more.
• Product success depends on identifying your “axis” and going all-in on being the best at that one thing.
Timestamped Highlights
00:40 — How Aven’s hybrid credit card + HELOC model is lowering the cost of borrowing for homeowners
04:10 — The moment Sadi realized the cost of capital was a massive, overlooked problem
12:34 — Why most lenders haven’t solved this yet and how Aven’s approach differs
19:33 — Building what others couldn’t: how persistence and engineering precision led to breakthroughs
23:36 — Choosing execution risk over market risk and what it takes to stay with a problem long enough to solve it
37:47 — Why picking the right “axis” is how great companies build an unshakable moat
Memorable Line
“The only problems worth working on are the ones worth working on for a very long time.”
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