On the Square Circle Podcast, we sit down with David Jarvis, Founder & CEO of Griffin — the UK’s first full-stack banking-as-a-service platform, built from scratch to empower fintechs and embedded finance players.Hosted by Mario Rivas, Founder & CEO of Square Circle, and Tiffany Shown, this conversation dives deep into David’s journey — from Silicon Valley software engineer to fintech founder leading one of the UK’s most ambitious regulated startups.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Guest

02:00 David Jarvis: Entrepreneurial Journey and Early Experiences

04:59 The Birth of Griffin: From Idea to Reality

09:18 Navigating Challenges in the Banking Sector

13:35 The Impact of Silicon Valley Bank's Collapse

18:47 Future Strategies and Growth Plans for Griffin

27:05 Navigating Board Dynamics

34:09 Leadership Evolution and Style

38:18 Lessons Learned and Advice for Founders

44:40 Outro Final .mp4

💬 Highlights from the conversation:• David’s entrepreneurial roots — from selling energy drinks in high school to leading a bank.• Lessons learned from his time at Airbnb, CircleCI, and Silicon Valley Bank.• The early days of Griffin: pitching investors during Brexit and building from zero.• Overcoming the toughest years — surviving near-collapse and raising capital when no one would invest.• How to manage your board, choose the right chair, and deal with investor politics.• Leadership evolution — from servant leadership to “founder mode” and owning accountability.• Building a strong, independent board and learning how to “date” your future chair.• Griffin’s exponential growth: from 3 founders to 80 employees and 5× revenue in 2025.• Key lessons for founders building fintechs in the UK and Europe.💡 Key quote:“Life is long and the world is small. Just do good things for other people — and do them for free. It will find its way back to you.” — David Jarvis🎯 If you’re a founder, investor, or board advisor, this episode is a masterclass on resilience, regulation, leadership, and building trust through crises.🎙️ About the Square Circle PodcastA community for Startup and Scale-up People — Board Directors, Fractionals, Founders, and Investors — sharing real stories from the people driving innovation.Hosted by Mario Rivas & Tiffany Shown.📺 Watch the full episode on YouTube🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3804Om0XrGG1gNRsev6DlU🍏 Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/square-circle-for-startup-scale-up-people/id1847157416💼 Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/square-circle-for-startup-and-scale-up-people📩 Want to join the community, be a podcast guest, or explore sponsorship opportunities? Contact Mario Rivas at 👉 mario@squarecircle.life#Fintech #Leadership #Startups #Entrepreneurship #Innovation #EmbeddedFinance #GriffinBank #SquareCirclePodcast #DavidJarvis #BankingAsAService #RegTech #FounderStories #UKStartups #VentureCapital #BusinessGrowth #Scaleups #BoardAdvisors #FractionalExecutives #MarioRivas #TiffanyShown #Podcast