Ignite Startups: How Odynn Powers Better Travel Redemption Platforms with John Taylor Garner | Ep150

Ignite: Conversations on Startups, Venture Capital, Tech, Future, and Society

What do derivatives trading and credit card points have in common?

More than you'd think—especially when the person connecting the dots is John Taylor Garner. As the former volatility trader turned founder & CEO of Odynn, John is building the infrastructure to fix the fractured world of loyalty rewards. Named to Focusrite’s 35 Under 35 and featured in Bloomberg and Wired, he’s helping banks and fintechs retain customers by transforming how users redeem points across travel and finance platforms. In this episode, we unpack Odynn’s pivot from B2C to B2B, the collapse of fixed-value rewards, and how embedded loyalty is quietly becoming fintech’s next billion-dollar wave.

Key themes we cover:

🔹 How dynamic pricing broke traditional rewards programs—and why most banks weren’t ready

🔹 Odynn’s modular infrastructure play and go-to-market strategy with zero outbound sales

🔹 Why embedded loyalty is the next big fintech stack opportunity

🔹 How card issuers can fight churn and increase customer lifetime value

🔹 Lessons from scaling a loyalty infrastructure startup in a post-pandemic world

From pricing options to pricing points, John’s always played where the market lacks transparency—and now he’s building it.

Chapters:

Welcome & Guest Introduction (00:00 – 00:38)

From Derivatives Trading to Fintech (00:39 – 02:43)

The Credit Card Churning Era (02:44 – 04:07)

Founding Card Curator (04:08 – 05:22)

The Loyalty Pricing Collapse (05:23 – 06:45)

Misconceptions About Points and Miles (06:46 – 08:31)

The Downside of Stockpiling Rewards (08:32 – 09:19)

The Aha Moment Behind Odynn (09:20 – 10:45)

Dynamic Pricing & Loyalty Chaos (10:46 – 12:06)

Why Card Issuers Were Blindsided (12:07 – 14:00)

Odynn’s Role in the Loyalty Ecosystem (14:01 – 15:53)

Building Infrastructure for Redemption Transparency (15:54 – 17:29)

Chicken-and-Egg Challenges in Fintech (17:30 – 19:13)

Finding Product-Market Fit Without a Sales Team (19:14 – 21:02)

Modular Loyalty Infrastructure at Scale (21:03 – 22:50)

Odynn’s Business Model Explained (22:51 – 24:51)

The Exit Landscape & Loyalty M&A (24:52 – 27:20)

Expedia’s B2B Playbook and Odynn’s Future (27:21 – 29:00)

Fractured Markets & The Opportunity for Consolidation (29:01 – 31:05)

Building a Loyalty Exchange Layer (31:06 – 34:00)

The Mechanics of Points Transfers (34:01 – 38:01)

Odynn’s Integration Approach (38:02 – 40:14)

Fundraising Advice for Fintech Founders (40:15 – 42:26)

Regulatory Landscape & Loyalty Programs (42:27 – 44:36)

Early Pivots and Tough Decisions (44:37 – 46:38)

Remote Culture & Virtual Office Innovation (46:39 – 49:06)

Roam vs. Slack: Creating Connection Remotely (49:07 – 50:43)

Why PR Still Matters in B2B Fintech (50:44 – 52:43)

Advice to His Younger Founder Self (52:44 – 54:20)

Rapid Fire: Travel Hacks, Trends & Fintech Futures (54:21 – 55:47)

//

Our sponsor Byldd⁠ helps non-technical domain-expert founders build and launch tech businesses by providing a complete product team - that's everyone you need from designers to engineers to testers, all the way up to a CTO.

We'll ship products while you focus on the other essentials: validation, sales, and distribution. Our portfolio companies have been backed by YC, Google, ERA, and other top-tier investors.

Get Started Here: https://tr.ee/bylld