Topic: The Evolution Of The Multi-Billion Dollar Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) Industry

- How BNPL answered to pandemic buying behaviors, and what will happen next?

- Why BNPL isn't for everyone

- Financial inclusion and the credit effect of BNPL 

- Buyer's remorse: why returns are so important 

Bios: 

Mel Brue: 

Mel Brue is a Senior Analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy and Forbes Contributor covering FinTech, spanning the technologies of payments, lending and crowdfunding, blockchain, FinTech AI, InsurTech, and digital wealth management. Mel comes with 25 years of real, tech industry experience in marketing, business development, and communications across various disciplines, both in-house and at agencies, with companies ranging from start-ups to global brands. She has built a unique specialty working in technology and highly regulated spaces, such as mobile payments and finance, gaming, automotive, wine and spirits, and mobile content, ensuring initiatives address the needs of customers, employees, lobbyists and legislators, as well as shareholders. 

Most recently, Brue was CMO at Lottery.com, where her focus was marketing, investor relations, corporate communications, and brand development, working as a liaison between all contributing departments and agencies. As a key member of the company’s leadership team, Mel managed a $16M per year advertising budget as the company grew revenue at a CAGR of 279% from 2016-2019. Brue also took the company through two rounds of funding, a Series A in 2017 and a Private Placement Security Offering in 2018. Brue has spent many years in the financial tech arena, dating back to the early days of NFC and QR code transactions, with Visa and Qualcomm, and mobile transactions at the point of sale. Mel headed up sales and marketing for Envizio, a mobile redemption solution for POS, and she was a part of the Transaction Wireless team that was eventually acquired by First Data. She was an early advisor to FlashCourse: Learn to Invest App, BAX Investor Relations, Manhattan Street Capital, and Founders First Capital Partners, among others.

Orlando Zayas:
Orlando Zayas is the CEO of Katapult, an award-winning omnichannel payment platform. Zayas is known for his revenue growth strategies and visionary leadership in the eCommerce, payments, and retail space. His future-forward expertise has led companies such as GE Capital’s Warranty Solutions, Safe-Guard Products International, and DRB Capital.

In 2017 Zayas joined Katapult (formerly Zibby) and has led the company in doubling revenue each year, reaching profitability in 2020. Zayas built out a successful infrastructure and a strong and diverse team that focused on the fundamentals of the business and its growth, culminating in a plan to go public in Q2 of 2021. Katapult continues to grow with new retailers and a growing, repeat customer base. By focusing on financial inclusion, Katapult brings a way of acquiring durable goods like appliances, furniture, and electronics to a non-prime customer who had been previously overlooked at high-quality retailers.

Zayas is highly committed to providing educational opportunities to underprivileged communities through his philanthropic endeavors. He has sponsored numerous endowed scholarships at the University of Texas and continues to work with the university on these efforts by being a member of the New York for McCombs Executive Council. Zayas’ business insights are regularly featured in publications such as Forbes, Entrepreneur Magazine, Business Insider, Retail Insights, and more.