EVENT ROUND UP
Y ou ’ d be forgiven for thinking you ’ d stumbled into the mansion of an eccentric billionaire walking into Magazine , London on a crisp morning in early November . Entering the huge black fortress next to Canary Wharf for FinTech LIVE London 2022 , you ' d trust you ' d found the right place .
The idea of trust permeates the financial sector , which relies so heavily on the management of risk – from handing out loans and accepting venture capital investments to the socially built and somewhat arbitrary trust of the blockchain system that underpins cryptocurrencies . Without trust , an entire industry crumbles .
Betting on the right horse The conversation at FinTech LIVE was no different as Stephen Roche , President & Co-Founder of headline sponsor Saphyre , and his twin brother Gabino Roche Jr , CEO & Co-Founder of Saphyre , took to the stage to discuss raising a Series A , referring to the first round of funding fledgling businesses undertake after seed capital , is the earliest introduction many business leaders have to risk . Take a chance on the wrong investor and you gamble on your company .
“ We ’ re going to buy you and you ’ re going to be millionaires ,” recalls Gabino Roche Jr as he speaks on an early offer they received . “... Sounds tempting ”. But upon learning that their initial investors would not come out of the deal so well off , Stephen and Gabino chose not to risk their integrity by discarding the investors who helped them get their start . This was not the only lucrative deal the pair walked away from , but with enough confidence in their product , and their saleability as The Saphyre Twins , they knew that they could negotiate better for themselves .
Open Banking , climate crisis and customer centricity in fintech Trusting your gut when it comes to making a deal is one thing , is one thing , but trusting in yourself as a financial services provider is another . This concept was at the heart of the conversation between Constanza Castro Feijoo , Stakeholder Engagement Manager at OBIE ; Rolands Mesters , CEO and Co-Founder at Nordigen ; and Nicole Green , VP Product Strategy and Operations for Yapily , as they discussed Open Banking .
104 December 2022