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Shamir Karkal

Founder of Sila

Portland, Oregon

Overview 

Shamir Karkal is the Co-founder and CSO at Sila, with a background in entrepreneurship, payments, and banking. He has held key roles at notable companies like Simple Finance and BBVA, while also serving on the boards of Mighty | Start A Business and AIR - Alliance for Innovative Regulation. Karkal's career highlights include co-founding Simple Finance and currently leading strategic initiatives at Sila, showcasing his expertise in financial services and business development. Additionally, his involvement in advisory roles and investments in companies like TeamOhana and Jar demonstrate his commitment to fostering innovation in the FinTech sector.

Work Experience 

  • Board Member

    2021 - Current

Alliance for Innovative Regulation is a global non-profit that advances a fair financial system.

  • Co-founder and CSO

    2018

Sila is the leading money API for fintech. An API platform that provides banking and payment infrastructure-as-a-service.

Raised $20,700,000.00 from Revolution Ventures, Oregon Venture Fund, The R-Group, Mucker Capital, Taavet Hinrikus and Madrona.

  • Board Member

    2023 - 2023

Mighty helps young entrepreneurs start and grow their own businesses.

  • Advisory Committee Member

    2018 - 2020

CGAP is an independent think tank that works to empower poor people to build resilience and capture opportunities.

Raised $100,000.00 from FSD Africa.

  • Head, Open APIs

    2015 - 2017

    Manage the development of Open APIs at BBVA

  • Board Member

    2010 - 2015

  • CFO and co-founder

    2010 - 2015

    Simple is an online replacement for traditional checking accounts. We're redesigning the retail banking customer experience with modern online and mobile apps, no surprise fees, and great customer service.

Simple is a web and mobile application that unifies various accounts into one accessible bank card..

Raised $15,290,000.00 from Life.SREDA.

  • Management Consultant

    2006 - 2009

    Involved in multiple Strategy and Operations engagements for Fortune 500 corporations, Private Equity firms, and Hedge Funds.

McKinsey Growth Tech serves leading growth stage tech players, venture capital, and growth private equity

  • Summer Associate

    2005 - 2005

    Analyzed UBS’ strategic positioning in the Japanese electronic trading marketplace, and reported findings and recommendations to senior management.

UBS Realty Investors is an institutional investment advisor that managed real estate equity assets on behalf of its clients.

  • Systems Engineer/Release Manager

    2003 - 2004

    Web programming, mainly using Java, Struts, JBoss, and Hibernate. Analysed business processes to create requirements documents and develop design proposals. Optimized product release processes on a World Bank project, reducing the testing cycle time by 57%. Co-ordinated testing and release process for clients located across five countries.

  • Software Engineer

    2001 - 2002

    Focused on network programming using SNMP and Java. Led a team that rebuilt a reusable interface component, improving its performance by 50% while making it easier to use. Managed offshore resources for multiple projects while based in Japan.

Intelligent Software Solutions, a software development and services company, provides development and consultancy services.

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