Dedicated
to tradecraft.
[ THE TRADECRAFT INVESTOR ]
Darrery finds and backs the new class of founders transforming financial services through precision, persistence, and a fixation on removing human toil.
We call these founders the forgers: operating outside the hype cycle, conscientiously building and perfecting tools that wrap around foundational AI models, and deploying the judgment and excellence of a master craftsman at scale.
The tradecraft revolution is underway. Darrery backs the forgers who are leading it.
[ OUR APPROACH ]
Practical vision and technical fluency that unlocks potential.
In an industry awash with AI hype and riddled with complexity, Darrery finds high-quality companies and offers practical guidance on the most meaningful ways they can build resilience and generate long-term value.
Find the forgers
We look beyond the hype cycle to identify high-quality fintech and enterprise software businesses meticulously building solutions that are intuitive, powerful, and enduring.
Add the catalyst
We help founders figure out "the how"—the most powerful way to transform intelligence into operational leverage and defensibility in response to human behavior.
Embed delightful utility
We founders design and ship delightfully useful solutions that address and anticipate customer needs so thoughtfully they feel magical.
Essential reading
on the art of tradecraft.
[ OUR TEAM ]
Accumulated wisdom, built over decades, to de-risk operations and deals.
Michael Degnan
Founder and General Partner
Category pioneer. Enterprise-wide executive operator. Investor with foresight.
Founder
As a Co-Founder at Moven, one of the world’s first neobanks, Michael helped define the fintech category that has created tens of billions of dollars of enterprise value and serves millions of customers worldwide. Michael founded Darrery Capital as the first investor dedicated to tradecraft, an essential operating strategy in the age of commoditized general intelligence.
Operator
As a Senior Executive Operator with enterprise-wide jurisdiction at PNC Bank and Santander, Michael launched businesses and solved problems through emerging technologies and human-centered design.
Michael’s fields of fintech expertise span: lending, deposits, payments, institutional finance, retail banking, asset management, eCommerce and digital marketing, new financial and digital products, generative AI, cryptocurrencies, tokenization, devops, quantum computing, and more. Several patents were developed as a result of his and his team’s work.
Investor
Michael’s concentrated angel portfolio of seed-adjacent fintech investments has produced highly competitive investment returns. He blends foresight, critical listening, and deep cross-functional knowledge to connect dots and add catalysts, unlocking long-term value for the companies he invests in.
Serving as an Executive-in-Residence at Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business, Michael advises the rising generation of business and technology leaders and has early access to the leading AI research hub in the U.S.
Michael began his career as a software engineer. He is a graduate of Columbia Business School and Columbia University, where he was a varsity athlete in football and track & field.
Ron Shevlin
Venture Partner
Chief Research Officer at Cornerstone Advisors,
Author, Fintech Snark Tank
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As Cornerstone Advisors’ Chief Research Officer, Ron Shevlin heads up the firm’s fintech research efforts and authors many of the firm’s studies. He has been a management consultant for more than 30 years, working with leading financial services, consumer products, retail, and manufacturing firms worldwide. Prior to joining Cornerstone, Ron was a researcher and consultant for Aite Group, Forrester Research, and KPMG. Author of the Fintech Snark Tank blog in Forbes, he is ranked among the top fintech influencers globally and is a frequent keynote speaker at banking and fintech industry events. Ron received a master’s degree in finance and statistics from the University of Texas at Austin and a bachelor’s degree in economics from SUNY Binghamton.
Brad Leimer
Advisor
Founder, Leimer One Advisors
Former Head of AI & Fintech Partnerships, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
Co-author of Beyond Good
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Bradley Leimer is Founder and Principal of Leimer One Advisors and a financial services, fintech, and venture advisor with more than 25 years of experience helping banks, startups, and investors translate emerging technology into enterprise value. Bradley was Head of Partnerships and Open Innovation at SMBC Group, where he led fintech and AI ecosystem engagement across the Americas and built structured partnership models connecting startups, venture firms, and enterprise technology partners to business priorities. Previously, he served as Head of Innovation at Santander, where his team connected the bank to the U.S. fintech ecosystem and supported Mouro Capital. He also co-founded fintech consulting firm Unconventional Ventures and co-hosted more than 250 episodes of the One Vision podcast. An active angel investor, Bradley advises startups and venture firms, with three exits and $160M raised.
[ WHAT WE BELIEVE ]
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Every aspect of our investing process is driven by our understanding that humans are the ultimate decision-makers and technology exists to unlock human potential. To forge ahead as a fintech or enterprise software leader, nothing is more essential than solving problems that matter to people in ways that earn their trust and loyalty.
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The next wave of tools that will transform the industry can and should be delightfully useful: adaptive to new technologies, empathetic to human needs, and effective in removing complexity and pain. The ultimate measure of product success is users’ delight in using it.
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In a world where everyone has access to the same superhuman reasoning capabilities, the outperformers won't have the smartest models. They’ll have the deepest understanding of how to apply, orchestrate, and deliver intelligence through impeccably tailored experiences that address and anticipate customer needs so thoughtfully they feel magical.
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Forged metal—meticulously hammered and pressed into shape under extreme pressure—is stronger and more resilient than cast metal. We are dedicated to finding and unlocking the forgers in fintech and enterprise software who use craftsmanship, persistence, and intentionality to build companies that endure.
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In a world awash with AI hype and a financial services industry riddled with complexity, we know standard pattern matching cannot reveal the most unique and profitable business models. We unearth lesser-known companies that are steadily building and unlocking significant value through tradecraft and applied intelligence.
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When technology removes toil, humans rise to new heights. We invest in companies solving real problems and, in the process, freeing people to be more productive and prosperous.
Build the future of finance. Smarter, simpler, and powered by human potential.
We're assembling a new class of founders building the next generation of fintech and enterprise software solutions.