I Build the Lever.
You Pull It.
Ospina is Carlos Rico-Ospina's Manhattan-based consulting practice.
For revenue-stage founders and operators who need risk systems, data infrastructure, and revenue engines built and shipped.
I founded, built, and scaled a fintech platform from zero to $200M+ in revenue in three years — no funding, no playbook, entirely bootstrapped.
I engineered the risk systems, payment infrastructure, and operating backbone from scratch.
How I Create Value
Not theory. Not slide decks. Production systems from someone who's shipped systems behind $200M+ in cumulative revenue.
Data Speaks. Most Can't Listen.
The data usually tells you what's about to break. Most teams just don't know how to read it. I built monitoring across a dozen processor relationships that surfaced concentration risk before a single termination could threaten the business. That kind of early signal detection helped protect a company that went on to generate $200M+ in cumulative revenue.
- Monitoring across 12+ processor relationships
- Concentration risk detection before single points of failure became existential
- Early warning systems that helped protect a business through $200M+ in cumulative revenue
Revenue Is Architecture
Revenue at scale is engineered. I built the payment infrastructure, risk controls, and operating systems behind $200M+ in cumulative fintech revenue. When pricing, routing, underwriting, and retention are designed as one system, growth compounds instead of leaking through the cracks.
Risk Is Mispriced Information
Risk is often just information other people haven't interpreted correctly yet. During the USDC de-peg, I modeled the reserve exposure in real time and saw value where the market saw panic. The edge came from disciplined analysis under pressure.
Production or It Didn't Happen
Insight is worthless if it never reaches production. I've built systems that process millions of transactions, risk engines that analyze 89M+ trades, and operating tools teams actually use. Speed and quality are not tradeoffs when the architecture is right.
Selected Work
Real systems built for real businesses. Here's what happens when data meets execution.
Risk & FinanceUSDC De-Peg Arbitrage
2023Turned a banking crisis into a calculated trade by reading balance sheets while others panicked.
AI / MLQuantitative Risk Engine
2024Built an ML-driven risk platform that processes 89 million trades and identifies dangerous behavior before blowouts happen.
InfrastructureCrypto Lead-Lag & Market Microstructure
2025Built cross-Pacific infrastructure to measure price propagation between exchanges—and discovered why the arbitrage edge doesn't exist.
What Partners Say
Results from working together. Real outcomes, real businesses.
“I've dealt with 85K merchants during my time in the payments industry. Every so often, one will stand out as an exceptional player. You fall into that category and I have no doubt we'll work together on your next venture.”
“It is clear you represent the top 1% of the prop firm industry and you deserve a central processing relationship that reflects that. We are excited to partner, and have your hands involved in shaping the future of our operation and banking relationships.”
“I was truly impressed by your vision, passion, extensive knowledge, experience, and the positive company culture you've built. Your genuine, honest, and friendly approach made our conversation both enjoyable and inspiring.”
“It's impressive to see how your firm expertly supports success across the entire simulated trading industry.”
“First principle thinking, automation, and process improvement really resonated. I could clearly see your vision of improving and scaling processes to succeed. The culture you have built is one where I can see myself thriving and making a direct impact.”
“Thank you for this, as always, the quality of work has exceeded my expectations.”
“Thanks for leading by example through your hard work ethic, and mindset of always pursuing learning.”
“Really impressed by how you turn data into meaningful insights. That ability to uncover growth opportunities is incredible.”
Let's Build Something
I take on 2-3 engagements at a time. If you've got a revenue problem, a data problem, or a system that should exist but doesn't — let's talk.
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