Visa recently acquired Plaid for $5.3 Billion, which is almost twice its last valuation. What does Visa’s acquisition of Plaid really mean for Fintech? The fintech market has been undergoing a shift behind the scenes for a few years now into a new trend called data unification. Businesses, in general, have been getting more keen about data utilization within their organizations. Big data analytics using AI and machine learning are helping more and more businesses make smarter decisions about growth, …
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For the last couple of years, banks have been shutting down branches at an alarming pace, while limiting the opening of new ones. Well over 2,000 large to midsized bank branches in Canada and the US have been shut down with more to come. After all, many analysts have criticized the closure of bank branches. These critics claim that banks closing have disenfranchised low-income communities and are forcing them into higher-cost banking situations. While big banks may provide physical convenience …
The founding team is the heartbeat of every company. Their decisions, attitudes, and dynamics can make or break the ultimate success of any business. If you think you can do it all alone and still make it, you will be in for a rude awakening. Here are some important things to consider when building the right founding team: The Power of A Great Team As they say, two heads are always better than one. Building your founding team should be based …
2020 is going to be important, and most likely, a milestone year for the fintech industry going forward. We are just beginning to see the initial trends that could drive a new state of the industry going forward. If the big industry players in the game aren’t careful, the age of technological innovation may just push them out. There are some very important new trends that are beginning to flesh out and are sure to have a huge impact on …
Product development in today’s cluttered market has never felt like a more daunting task. However, if you look a little closer, you may be surprised to learn that it has actually never been easier. You’ll be surprised to find that most of the successful products launching today have been working backwards for success. Getting Started You have probably heard the same talk all before while embarking on a new product development process – there is just too much competition, it costs …
The current status-quo of big banks handling everyone’s money is beginning to be phased out by new and forward-thinking financial companies. Consumers are craving modern banking tools that give them control of their data, minimal fees, and also the ability to freely use new financial applications that make moving money easy. We are living in a hyper-personalized world now, and legacy banks are struggling to loosen their grip on their customer’s freedoms. If they are not careful, they are going …
The big question these days in the early-stage startup world is what’s better for you? To be bootstrapped or Unicorn? When all is said and done, the success of a company will always rely on the vision and plan of its founders. Venture capital has always been a taboo option for financially-savvy business owners. The prospect of starting a business and becoming completely self-reliant is the proverbial entrepreneurial dream. It removes the stress of paying off debt and satisfying a …
Building the Right Team To Scale: 4 Ways to Succeed If you follow Silicon Valley leaders on Twitter you’ve definitely heard in some form or another that building the right team for your company is the most important thing. Too often do startups fail or never scale because of poor management and hiring decisions. In fact, 23% of startup employees believe that this is the top reason why startups fail. If you are solid on your personal vision and value …
Historically, scaling your startup has always been a measured and calculated process. Modern silicon valley SaaS companies have been shattering stereotypes and setting new trends for how a company can scale at lightning speed. While some of these ideas may seem blasphemous according to classical startup wisdom, there is no denying the success and ingenuity that these businesses have achieved. Let’s get right into it: Establish Your Value Before you can start to scale and reach the exit velocity necessary …
I had a call today with a potential new (very exciting) client. Typically, we deal with the CEO’s, Management Team, Investors, etc. In this case, I was talking with the Chairman. This was one of the most enlightening discussions I’ve had making me recall my tech start-up CEO experience and the many mistakes I made. First off, I could tell tension existed amongst the management and board and I wanted to understand this more. I could see that the CEO’s …
Going through due diligence for an early stage start-up is at times daunting and mostly a complete time suck. However, people are trading money for opportunity and return on an investment so this work is expected and completely reasonable. This past weekend I read a post from VC Mark Suster Both Sides of the Table blog — which I think is a must read for those seeking capital in the pro-VC market. He somewhat emphatically points out that a data room is …
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