Credit card transactions provide limited information about the recipients, making it challenging for banks to determine if the money is being sent to a bakery, a marijuana dispensary, or a fraudulent operation. “Banks are using data systems that date back to the 1960s,” says Oban MacTavish, 29, who co-founded Spade with Cooper Hart, 28, and Tess Bloch, 30. Through data partnerships, artificial intelligence, and human oversight, the three-year-old New York-based startup has created extensive databases covering millions of businesses, offering banks accurate details about merchants, business types, and locations.
This data is crucial for financial institutions battling credit and debit card fraud, which cost banks $36 billion worldwide in 2023, according to Nilson. Spade, which now has 18 employees, processes over $1 billion in transactions monthly for more than 20 clients, including Stripe and Corpay. It has secured $16 million in funding from investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Gradient Ventures, and Flourish.
MacTavish and Hart are among the honorees on the 30 Under 30 list in finance for 2025, which covers fintech, cryptocurrency, and traditional financial services. The winners were selected from over 600 nominees and judged by Chris Britt (Chime), Marc Lasry (Avenue Capital), Laura Spiekerman (Alloy), and Nikil Viswanathan (Alchemy).
Several fintech entrepreneurs also made the list this year. Mukund Tibrewala, 29, from Mumbai, who built three iOS and Mac apps at 16, co-founded Salient in 2023, a startup using AI to automate customer interactions for auto lenders. The company reached $6 million in annual revenue in 2024 and has raised $4 million in venture funding.
Anthony Zhang, 29, founder of Vinovest, is making wine investing accessible to more people. Vinovest has over 1.7 million bottles in custody, with over 20,000 customers investing $140 million. Despite being a C5 quadriplegic, Zhang has found purpose and excitement through wine, aiming to inspire other entrepreneurs with disabilities.
The rise of digital assets and continued innovation in the crypto space have resulted in strong representation on the list. Shayne Coplan, 26, CEO of Polymarket, a blockchain-based prediction platform, processed over $3.5 billion in transactions in 2024. Despite controversy surrounding alleged violations, the company has raised $74 million in funding.
Cindy Leow, 27, co-founded Drift, a blockchain platform for trading cryptocurrency-based derivatives. Drift has facilitated over $35 billion in trades and manages over $400 million in deposits, with a projected $40 million in revenue in 2024.
After a career in ballet, Kaledora Kiernan-Linn, 28, co-founded Ostium Labs, a crypto startup developing a platform to trade commodities and replicate global stock market indices.
In traditional financial services, leaders like David Fershteyn, 29, CEO of Altera Investments, manage assets totaling $450 million, while Evelyn Duan, 29, a VP at Sixth Street Partners, has helped invest $500 million in software companies. Jenny Chen, 25, a trader at Citadel Securities, specializes in U.S. Treasuries and previously worked on major commercial mortgage-backed securities deals.