Adam Willems

New York

Writer and Reporter at Freelance

reporting around Seattle 📚 books/reviews/sports @TheStranger 📝 other work @SoSeaEmerald @SeattleMet @WIRED @thebafflermag @theappeal @RNS @_reallifemag

Articles

Avatar CEOs Have Entered the Meeting

1 week ago | heyfuturenexus.com | Adam Willems

If you tuned into Klarna’s Q1 2025 earnings call in mid-May — curious, perhaps, about the BNPL giant’s IPO-launch status — you encountered a stoic introduction by CEO and Co-Founder Sebstian Siemiatkowski, donning a clay-toned jacket and dark brown button-down, and standing before a blurred, warm interior seemingly out of an IKEA catalogue. Only this wasn’t Siemiatkowski: It was an AI avatar made in his image, delivering a scripted, and somewhat stilted, 80-second speech.
To Bank or Not to Bank: The ILC Question

3 weeks ago | heyfuturenexus.com | Adam Willems

With vestiges of the Biden regulatory interregnum fed into the woodchipper, fintechs, neobanks, and commercial businesses have set their sights on Trumpian banking policy, gauging the feasibility therein to secure banking and pseudo-banking charters in an effort to maximize consumer LTV and, in some cases, further whittle the long-standing boundary between commerce and banking.
Home Invasion: What Happens if Fannie and Freddie Go Private

1 month ago | heyfuturenexus.com | Adam Willems

Since his swearing in on March 14 as the fifth Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), construction mogul William J. Pulte has executed major policy and personnel changes.
Fintechs Flouting Recession Vibes | Fintech Nexus

1 month ago | heyfuturenexus.com | Adam Willems

Even the most cursory survey of fintech-focused news headlines paints a concerning picture. Deals are down, public markets (plus global trade) possess the same teeter-tottering volatility as a ride at Six Flags, and major IPOs-to-be have been indefinitely rain-checked.
Payroll Is a Nightmare. Can Embedded Finance Fix It?

1 month ago | heyfuturenexus.com | Adam Willems

Being a first mover hinges on timing. Introducing a new product or service before everyone else, leveraging that head start to entrench yourself in the market before others follow suit, requires being first, sure — but timing can also be a double-edged sword. There’s such a thing as being too first, too fast: launching a product before demand for it exists at all, like AT&T’s “Picturephone,” a 1970s predecessor to current video-calling systems.
With USAID in shambles, fintechs look to lend lifelines

1 month ago | heyfuturenexus.com | Adam Willems

It all came to a grinding halt three months ago.
Bill Gates, Paul Allen, and the Executives Who Built Microsoft

1 month ago | seattlemet.com | Adam Willems

Amble through the quiet suburban streets of Redmond and it might not quite feel you are in a place that has shaped the entire region—and globe—in its image. After all, many Microsoft leaders are equally nondescript, tending to blend in with the programmers and engineers who make up the tech giant’s ranks.
Fintechs Flouting Recession Vibes | Fintech Nexus

1 month ago | fintechnexus.com | Adam Willems

Even the most cursory survey of fintech-focused news headlines paints a concerning picture. Deals are down, public markets (plus global trade) possess the same teeter-tottering volatility as a ride at Six Flags, and major IPOs-to-be have been indefinitely rain-checked.
Here Are Some of Microsoft’s Most Memorably Forgettable Products

1 month ago | seattlemet.com | Adam Willems

A half century of product releases and, well, there’s bound to be some half-baked gizmos and doodads. From a hygge-inspired mnemonic-forward computer portal to an MP3 player released five years too late, not every invention coming out of Redmond has offered a worthwhile return on investment. Bob had it all. With an interface resembling a cozy home interior, Bob was intended to provide a more accessible portal through which users could access a range of computer programs.
Our People Brings 2020's BLM Energy Back to the Opera House

2 months ago | thestranger.com | Adam Willems

Grammy Award-winning tenor Freddie Ballentine and (equally accolade-laden) Indian-American pianist Kunal Lahiry premiered their recital Our People, a celebration of LGBTQ and Black artists and histories, at Washington, D.C.â€™s Kennedy Center in December 2021. Itâ€™s a production that Ballentine, who is Black, says was a response to the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of George Floyd.