Fintech is only 1% Finished - David M. Brear 11:FS

Welcome back to Fintech Chatter Podcast! In this episode your host Dexter Cousins invites guest No2 back onto the show.

David M. Brear is CEO of 11:FS Group and 11:FS Holdings. The award winning digital consultancy has built digital banks all over the world and through 11:FS holdings, David and the team are finally going to build the next generation of financial services, this time for their own company!

Having first appeared on the show in January 2020, David and Dexter talk about the evolution of fintech, the challenges facing the fintech industry, and the future of digital banking. 

They also discuss the impact of AI on the consultancy model, the importance of understanding customer insights to drive innovation, plus the current state of fintech in the UK and Australia. 

David also reveals his new favourite hobby, the increasing role of influencers in fintech media and his personal health challenges that have him more motivated than ever.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction 
01:16 About 11:FS
03:05 Changing the Fabric of Financial Services
17:20 Regulatory Challenges and Market Dynamics
23:07 The Future of UK FinTech
26:00 Maturity Challenges in FinTech
29:05 Emergence of Influencers in FinTech
33:26 The Power of Podcasting in FinTech
38:13 The Reality of FinTech Media
41:54 Cult of Personality in FinTech
48:55 Building 11FS Holdings
54:30 Health, Work, and Life Balance

For more information on 11:FS - https://www.11fs.com/

Listen to Fintech Insider Podcast - https://content.11fs.com/podcasts

Antony Jenkins On The Future Of 10x Banking

Dexter Cousins interviews Antony Jenkins, the CEO and founder of 10X Banking, the core banking platform that makes banking ten times better.

Antony Jenkins on The Future of 10x Banking

Antony stands out in Fintech as the global CEO of Barclays who decided to start a fintech. Tune in for a deep dive into the challenges of core banking, the outdated technology in the banking sector, and how 10X Banking helps banks like Westpac and Chase innovate fast and move into the future. 

We talk about fixing the banking technology silo problem, Antony's transition from a large bank to a startup, and his approach to creating a high-performance culture within 10x and how it differs to running a global bank.

Antony also shares his thoughts on the future of 10x Banking, fintech more broadly and the opportunities in the Australian market (and their partnership with Constantinople.) Plus we get his expert advice for any banking professional considering a move to fintech.

Find out more https://www.10xbanking.com/

"We can still have a positive impact in the world."

Antony Jenkins - 10x Banking

Chapters

00:00 From CEO to Fintech Founder
02:55 The Challenges of Core Banking
05:48 Defining the Problem in Banking
09:12 Building a Technology Solution
12:07 Navigating the Transition to Fintech
18:18 Creating a High-Performance Culture
27:28 The Future of Fintech
30:18 Opportunities in the Australian Market
31:42 Career Advice for Bankers

Graham Strain - Citoplus Ep 196

About this Episode

In Episode 196 of the Fintech Chatter podcast, Dexter Cousins is joined by Graham Strain, Co-Founder of Citoplus a digital platform for commercial broking.

The Citoplus Journey

Dexter and Graham look back at their first meeting and discuss Graham's journey from traditional Banking to Start up. His recognition that he was a transformation guy at heart and wanting to do "cool stuff for customers" was the driver behind founding Citoplus.

He chats about support from great shareholders, and how they funded Citoplus through, what he calls the "Friends, Families & Fools" model, who have shown great faith in their vision.

Graham outlines the plans for the future and how Citoplus aims to reach 100% of the digital broking market through partnerships with Banks and Non-Banks. Watch out for lots of new announcements.

About Citoplus

CitoPlus is the cornerstone of modern, frictionless commercial lending. Designed by industry leaders, they launched a product that streamlines the laborious process of SME lending.

Citoplus has focussed on removing the paperwork-heavy process through automation. The result is a broker-friendly data-rich system that delivers better client service and achieves quicker outcomes, meaning deals are closed faster.

About Graham Strain

Co-founder of Citoplus, Graham’s background is in banking, including 13 years at NAB in product, business bank and corporate development executive roles. He held the position of interim CFO and Product Head at start-up Angle Auto Finance, an asset finance company. He was GM - Business Products at Judo Bank in the SME lending space.

Chapters:

00:01:15 Citoplus The Journey and Solution

00:19:45 Graham's Backstory and Career in Banking

00:25:20 Why Startups and Banks are so different

00:39:00 Big News from Citoplus

Links & Resources:

Subscribe Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/fintech-leaders-7092732051488980992/

John Crutchely & Dave Malcolm - Mist Ep 193

In episode 193, Dexter Cousins sits down with Co-Founders John Crutchley and Dave Malcolm, the brains behind Mist, an innovative solution helping students organise their new life in Australia. It doesn’t sound glamorous, but it is an untapped market ripe for digital innovation.

Dave and John share their vision for what promises to be a unique Fintech scaleup. Mist stands out as an ambitious concept. Where many Fintech’s have essentially created a business that could easily be a feature in an app, Mist is an app that makes Fintech a feature of their design.

Dave and John share their Mist journey so far and how their contrasting startup experiences at MarleySpoon and Volt Bank are helping them navigate the pitfalls of a Fintech startup.

Key Take Aways


About Our Guests:


John Crutchley
John gained extensive experience in various leadership roles in the Banking sector before founding Mist. He specialised in migration and international banking for ANZ and Volt Bank, where he was specifically hired as Head of International Banking to lead their go-to-market strategy in the international student market.

Dave Malcolm
A passionate C-Level executive and entrepreneur with a proven track record of founding, building, and scaling digital ventures across web2 and web3 in Australia.
He pinpoints the co-founding of Marley Spoon & Dinnerly in 2015 as his career highlight, which went on to be listed on the ASX in 2018 (ASX: MMM).


Show Notes:


Links & Resources:


Subscribe & Review:
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review on [Apple Podcasts/Spotify/Your Preferred Platform]. Your feedback helps us bring more engaging content and insightfu

Send us a text

Subscribe Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/fintech-leaders-7092732051488980992/
Connect on Linkedin: https://bit.ly/3DsCJBp

PropHero - Pablo Gil Brusola Ep 189

In episode 189 of Fintech Chatter Dexter Cousins is joined by Pablo Gil Brusola, CEO of PropHero. 

About PropHero

PropHero, founded in July 2021, is Australia’s leading PropTech platform redefining property investment through cutting-edge data & AI technologies. The platform empowers over 1000 clients worldwide to craft high-return, low-risk property portfolios.

PropHero simplifies the entire investment journey by connecting clients with trusted partners and handling everything from market research to property management. As we fast forward to today, the PropHero team has grown to over 100 dedicated members and expanded to property markets in Sydney, Spain, Bali, and Ireland.

Prophero has sought minimal investment from Jelix and Afterwork ventures as it continues its global expansion.

About This Episode

Pablo dials in from Barcelona to share his secrets on building a global Fintech/Proptech.

Dexter goes in depth with Pablo to understand how he, and his co-founder Mikael Roger, have built a global business with over 100 people across Australia, Spain, Bali and Ireland.

Dexter digs deeper to understand Pablo’s values, principles and motivations that drive him towards success.

Tune in as we discuss:

About Pablo Gil Brusola 

As a native Spaniard Pablo moved to Australia to study in 2009. He instantly fell in love with the country and decided he had to come back. Starting his career in a Big 4 consulting firm, he quickly realised he was an entrepreneur and started his first company Growpro. After a successful exit, Pablo teamed up with a friend and fellow co-founder Mikael Roger to launch PropHero.

Find out more www.prophero.com.au

Peita Piper - Avenue Bank

Meet Australia's newest bank CEO, Peita Piper of Avenue Bank.

Avenue Bank were recently granted a full ADI banking license and Dexter Cousins chats to Peita about their journey.

In this episode Peita shares the strategy of Avenue and their focus on a niche business banking product neglected by banks, the bank guarantee.

Avenue have digitised this paper process which takes up to 60 days to offer a bank guarantee in 24 hours!

We also talk about the challenges of dealing with regulators in the aftermath of failed digital banks Xinja and Volt, while also looking at the big successes like Judo.

Peita also shares her personal experience as we talk about the 'glass cliff'. Peita shares her own inspiring story of backing herself and taking on the CEO role at a very difficult time in the business.

I also get the chance to ask Peita about what I believe is the hardest part of being a scale up CEO, taking the reigns from founders whilst they remain in the business.

Finally I just want to say a MASSIVE well done to everyone involved in the Avenue journey. There is no tougher startup challenge than building a bank - it's the Everest of startup mountains to climb.

You can find out more about Avenue Bank and careers https://www.avenuebank.com.au/careers

Until the next episode, keep well!

Dexter.

Fintech In The Nordics - Pål Krogdahl

In episode 182 of Fintech Chatter Podcast Dexter Cousins is joined by Pål Krogdahl, Director of Advisory at Samlink and co-host of Fintech Daydreaming Podcast.

In this episode, Dexter chats with Pål Krogdahl about the Fintech scene in the Nordics. They talk through Navigating the Transformative Trends in Banking, a report highlighting the latest customer trends and research based on 40-plus banks, revealing the key themes and areas for innovation.

Covering everything from AI to Open Banking, Banking as a Service to Embedded Finance, and everything in between the research reveals where customers are shifting their focus and expectations from their bank.

Pål also shares some key findings on the major issues keeping banking execs awake at night, giving some clear indications on where the next wave of Fintech entrepreneurs should focus their energy.

The Nordics is the birthplace of Fintech OG's like Klarna and Tink. It is a region with a rich history of innovation and Pål gives a rundown on the Fintech scene in his native Finland. There are some startling similarities to the Fintech scene down under and lessons can be learned from our European cousins.

You can follow Pål on LinkedIn  - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/

Download the report - https://samlink.fi/news/the-samlink-equation-2024-navigating-the-transformative-trends-in-banking/

Listen to Fintech Daydreaming - https://fintechdaydreaming.com/

2024 Fintech Predictions

Fintech predictions for 2024! From Fintech leaders Greg Moshal of Prospa, Sebastian Watkins of Lendi and Patrick Coghlan of CreditorWatch.

Join us for this live recording of Fintech Chatter recorded at the CreditorWatch offices in Sydney.

In part one Dexter Cousins is joined by guests from the podcast to review 2023 as we look back at the key events and share the amazing stories of fintech founders.

Hear from Constantinople, Parpera, LoanOptions, Primer and Prospend.

Part Two - Fintech Predictions

CreditorWatch CEO, Patrick Coghlan unveils the latest Business Risk Index report and gets expert commentary from Prospa CEO, Greg Moshal and Lendi Group COO, Sebastian Watkins.

Each guest shares their expert insights on consumer and business trends across trade finance, small business and the home loan market providing. Using the latest data they share accurate insights with predictions on what we can expect in 2024.

Will there be a rebound or is Fintech in for another tough year? What will happen to interest rates? And will the job market bounce back or are more redundancies in store?

Tune in as we celebrate the year that was 2023 and get set for another rollercoaster ride in 2024!

Check out the CreditorWatch BRI report

Thanks to CreditorWatch for making this live recording possible and a special thanks to the audience for making this such a great event.

Richard Joffe - Honey Insurance

Combining AI, Smart Sensors and Insurance to create Australia's fastest-growing Fintech!

In episode 179 of Fintech Chatter Podcast, Dexter Cousins chats to Honey Insurance CEO Richard Joffe

Making his Fintech Chatter debut is Richard Joffe, CEO and founder of Honey Insurance, arguably Australia's hottest early-stage Fintech!

Honey Insurance is the smarter way to protect your home and contents. Backed by RACQ, Honey uses sensors in the home to offer a new type of insurer whose focus is on helping avoid accidents and protect against damage rather than just paying out after events.

Dexter chats to Richard in the week he was awarded CEO magazines Entrepreneur of the year and Honey featured in the Deloitte Fast 50. Expect to see some massive announcements from Honey in 2024!

As a 3x founder, Richard shares his secrets on:

Watch the 20 minute version on Fintech Chatter TV

About Honey Insurance

Honey is Smart Home Insurance, and they are on a mission to eliminate the 50% of avoidable accidents that happen to homes. Honey gives customers free technology and services from day 1 to keep homes safer, then rewards them with a lower price on their insurance.

https://www.honeyinsurance.com/

About Richard Joffe

Richard Joffe is the founder of 3 successful startups and currently the CEO of Honey Insurance. Previously, Richard founded Park Assist which automated the parking industry, and after expanding to 20 countries was acquired by TKH in 2012.

Then Stella.ai which automated the recruitment industry using AI, and was acquired as part of a $1.1 billion merger with Trustaff.

Formerly, Richard was a strategy consultant with McKinsey and an investment banker with Morgan Stanley.

Now with Honey Insurance, Richard has turned his attention to home insurance, where he is on a mission to give Australians free technology and services, to eliminate the 50% of avoidable accidents that happen to homes

Richard believes technology and automation can make everyone’s lives more efficient, so we can spend more time doing the things that matter most in life.

FIntech Chatter Podcast 4th Birthday

Ryan Edwards-Pritchard from Cape joins Dexter as they celerate the fourth anniversary of the very first episode of Fintech Chatter.

Dexter delves through the archives picking his favourite memories from the podcast. And Ryan does a great job of interviewing dexter about the 4 year journey of Fintech Chatter Podcast.

Thank you to all of our guests, partners and co-hosts.

Special mention to Fintech Australia, Patona, NAB, Chloe White, Simon Lee, Ben Ford and Joanne Cousins

And a very BIG thank you to you for listening and supporting the show

Episode list from Todays show

002: David M Brear
Katherine McConnell Brighte - The Finnies 2020
Rebecca Schott-Guppy Intersekt Afterparty
088: Matt Baxby - Revolut
Business Fintech Special
048: Lee Hatton - Afterpay
025 Anthony Thomson
032 Neal Cross
Simone Joyce Farewell

Prospend Sharon Nouh: Breaking Stereotypes and Building a Fintech.

Dexter Cousins is joined by Sharon Nouh, Founder and CEO  of Prospend in episode 175 of Fintech Chatter.

Prospend automates and digitises all of the business spend processes for businesses.  They build next-generation finance tools that empower businesses to make proactive financial decisions while also enabling their people to be more productive.

Throughout ProSpend's journey, Sharon has maintained a laser focus on solving challenges for mid to larger businesses and has competed with global players. ProSpend is now recognized as a world-class solution with more than 600 customers, reflecting Sharon’s understanding of customer needs and her ability to provide solutions that address real problems.

Prospend - Creating the Spend Management Category of Fintech

Sharon pioneered the expense management market in Australia by developing and launching the first locally built expense management platform. At that time, expense management technology was in its infancy.

Although the original version was simple, it provided a powerful alternative to businesses managing their processes manually.

However, Sharon didn't stop at automating expenses. She foresaw a desire among businesses to automate all their spending processes within a unified platform. Two years later, she incorporated accounts payable automation into the platform, establishing herself as a global pioneer in this technology, not just in Australia.

Sharon, who has a deep understanding of the intricacies of financial technology, has been able to leverage and develop technology that addresses real business problems, as opposed to merely following trends.

About Sharon Nouh

Sharon's journey as a female entrepreneur in the predominantly male fintech sector has had its challenges. In the early days, she faced difficulties securing venture capital funding due to a lack of confidence and role models for female tech entrepreneurs. The company's growth is a testament to her unwavering belief in her vision and her dedication to success. She is passionate about fostering diversity in the fintech sector and hopes her story will inspire and encourage more women to pursue fintech careers.

Sharon's leadership has been pivotal in guiding ProSpend's growth and development. She has displayed her ability to inspire and lead a team, navigate challenges, foster a positive work culture, and adapt to changes in the fast-paced fintech landscape.

The Amazing Story of Lendi Group.

Lendi Group Co-founders David Hyman and Sebastian Watkins join Dexter Cousins for this special episode of Fintech Chatter Podcast.

Celebrating the 10 year anniversary of Lendi, David and Sebastian share their incredible journey of meeting after Uni and becoming serial entrepreneurs.

David and Sebastian are two of the smartest, humblest and likeable Fintech founders you will ever meet! They intentionally keep a low profile so we are delighted to bring you this exclusive interview and glimpse into their amazing journey together.

"If Product is King. Distribution is God"

David Hyman - Lendi Group

Lendi Group is Australia's fifth largest distributor of mortgages and processes an astonishing $30bn of home loans each year!

From meeting each other in their first job out of uni, borrowing money from their parents to start their first business together, to a successful exit with Living Social and then taking on Australia's Big 4 Banks in the housing market, David and Sebastian share their remarkable journey together.

Make sure to tune in as David and Sebastian share their insights and tips on bootstrapping, raising capital and blitz scaling!

You can find out more about Lendi - https://lendigroup.com.au/