Sunday 29 March 2015

Fintech's Badass Women


Fintech Lists Galore - So where are the Badass Women? 

City A.M. has published the first Powerlist for Fintech and the result are in. Canary Wharf is full of the real movers and shakers in fintech. 
To paraphrase Nutmeg‘s Nick Hungerford: if you dropped Stanford University into London, it would be the fintech centre of the world. And when you look at the statistics, it becomes clear why dismissing the motherland of Silicon Valley and embracing London’s revolutionary heartland makes total sense. Yet even with 44,000 people working in the fintech capital, there remains a curious absence of a certain kind of entrepreneur: the women in fintech.
fintech statistics

A worrying lack of women are part of the fintech revolution, especially in senior level positions.

Statistics dissected by Anna Irrera, a pioneering writer on fintech, show that none of the top twenty European fintech companies that received the largest venture capital investments in 2014 had a female chief executive. Moreover, only 9 of 114 key executives at those firms were women. In the top fifty companies, there are only 11 women out of 222 key executives. And only one female CEO.
Fintech’s extraordinary growth is largely due to its perfectly balanced ecosystem. London has a dense population of innovators, a pipeline of technologically driven talent, as well as a core of highly collaborative entrepreneurs supported by a sympathetic government. Plus investors are interested enough to actually invest, meaning London alone has raised more money for fintech than the rest of Europe. The industry is now worth over £20billion. And London is the biggest global centre for financial technology based on the number of people employed in the industry.
The benefits of gender diversity in the development of any business are already evidenced and championed. Sarah Turner of Angel Academe, emphasised the need for ‘diversity throughout the entrepreneurial ecosystem’. Yet, put simply, this does not yet exist. The ‘disruptors’ seem to be just as traditional in their gender biases as any other part of finance.

What is reassuring is that, for a relatively young industry, it is also one of the most pioneering.

The inaugural Innovate Finance Global Summit, which took place on March 10th 2015, was the brainchild of a board of women CEOs. The Women in Fintech supplement was released to coincide with the summit. Containing twenty pages dedicated to senior-level women, it listed the women who are not just part of the fintech sector, but defining it.
Software engineer turned investor, Eileen Burbidge, has used mentorship, investments and co-working to become a powerhouse behind dozens of burgeoning fintech ideas. This includes both Transferwise and DueDil. Which is pretty impressive considering their CEOs are both listed on City A.M’s fintech Powerlist. Just below her of course.
Gemma Godfrey, who might well be the most popular #business influencer on social media and a quantum physicist, is also the Head of Investment Strategy at Brooks McDonald. Her emphasis on simplicity and open communication ensures her popularity, but it also means she’s right up-to-the-minute with the fintech scene which thrives on exactly those qualities.
A true innovator is Julia Groves, CEO of the crowd financing platform for renewable energy projects, Trillion Fund. Trillion Fund are not only innovating the sustainability landscape, but also the conversation around crowd funds and alternative finance options. Others include Monitise’s Elizabeth Buse, and Seedr’s Karen Kerrigan, both of whom are making a tangible difference to the way we think about money in the digital world.
And then there’s Claire Cockerton. From start-ups to global enterprises, Cockerton’s brainchild has fully established the Silicon Roundabout and it’s voice. Innovate Finance, a cross-sector, member-driven organization, it is founded on the desire to see the UK boom as a global financial center. It also Finance demonstrates just how fintech is pulling in the talent.
Yet Cockerton is the one who said that ‘30% is the first step’ for women in fintech. That it is beyond time for aspiring women to take that step.
Because the continued success of Britain’s fintech sector depends on talent wanting to come into it.
As an industry, it is growing so fast that to sustain its momentum it needs a pipeline of creative, intelligent, passionate people.
Diversity is crucial to this.

Women are crucial.

And with so few women recognised at the top (only 8 of 61 are women on the City A.M. Powerlist), it’s time for girls to believe that they can do it.
If London is the blueprint for fintech, it’s time that it became the blueprint for gender equality in finance as well.  



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Tuesday 3 March 2015

Feel So Millennial Like You : Money Edition



Feel So Millennial Like You
3 Things About Millennials & Their Money


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Confident, self-expressive, liberal, receptive to new ideas and ways of living: these are some of the descriptions the Pew Research Centre in America applies to the generational personality of the millennial.
Something they probably ought to add is our tenacity when it comes to technology. We are digital natives, techno-literates. Our dependency on mobile gadgetry, wearables, social media and the Internet make the millennial generation one of the most comfortable with innovation.
And suddenly... we're all becoming adults. 
Adults with loans. And obligations. And jobs. And social lives that sort of kinda have to come second to work even though we really really really don't want them to. Suddenly staying in with your best mates and having a movie marathon sounds better than going out for the third night in a row. We grew up. And we're totally ready for it... right? 
Well according to FICO, we are at least figuring out the Big Question Of Independent Living : Money. 

 This means things like salaries and tax, and council tax, and more taxes, and budgeting for a work wardrobe, and rent (or mortgages if you're super lucky). 
As a generation, we are skeptical of traditional banking institutions. We grew up in the wake of the financial crash, the oldest experiencing the pains of joblessness in a hostile economy and the youngest witnessing the rise of the anti-bank narrative. However, we  do know what we want to do with our money. We also know who we want and how we want it. Our contemporaries have even started making it happen: young entrepreneurs appealing to the relationship millennials have with their money.

  1. 52% of Millennials Prefer Non-Traditional Payments

What does this mean? It might look like our scepticism has grown into explorative new territories from online payment options like Paypal, to money transfer companies like Xendpay and peer-to-peer lending options like Zopa. In actuality, it’s because we like things socially integrated, streamlined, easy-to-use. There’s a reason the mantra of so many fintech companies is ‘fast, simple, safe.’ It’s because that’s all we really want.
It’s also why we’re so open to mobile wallets. 32% of us say we’re likely to use Apple Pay or a Google Wallet in 2015 compared to only 16% of the older generation. We like things easy and simple.
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  1. 80% of Millennials Conduct Basic Banking Digitally

According to Business Insider, our most common digital banking activities include checking balances on accounts (80%), checking for fraudulent activity (76%), and performing internal transfers of funds (65%) – which is significantly higher on all counts than our Baby Boomer parents.
Plus, we like our alerts and notifications. We value minimally invasive information coming from our banks and alternative financial platforms. Especially when this is related to overdraft warnings and potential fraudulent activity. Just the other day, a friend’s card was blocked and she received a message about possible fraud. Why was she buying sushi in London, but also trying to take out hundreds of pounds in the Philippines?
That said, it might seem anomalous, but 30% of us don’t want to download a banking app. It’s all connected to the way we like to communicate and be communicated with.
Do it right, however, and we’ll be open to sales messages too. If they’re targeted based on our individual financial situation. And aren’t too frequent.


    1. 43% of Millennials Don’t Receive Communication Via Their Preferred Channel

It might be email, text, a mobile app or the bank website, but not all of us want the same thing and most of the time we really don’t like it when we’re bombarded on all fronts. So if banks want to keep us happy: communicate with us using the right channel. 
Personally, I’d rather I was called immediately about fraud and texted only if I wasn’t picking up. But if you’re trying to push a new credit card on me, send it to my email so I can deal with the sales pitch when I have time. 
FICO’s research shows that the trick is in determining each person’s preferences and matching their interactions with different kinds of communications. Successfully figuring out that what Lauren in Edinburgh wants is different to what I want, which is different to my brother’s wants or any other millennial, and putting it into practice – well that’s the piggybank we want.
It’s also what enterprising finance apps like Slice, Money Dashboard, and other growing fintech companies are using to keep on the front foot.  
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Right now, most millennials still use banks. Banks are still a thing. But the canny millennial is probably still out looking for the app that will help them more. We're FOMOs with our money - wanting the best deal so that we can make our dreams a reality. 
We want the option that understands us. Understands the reason that first generation internet humans are the big name bloggers and vloggers we know and love. Why Taylor Swift is an icon. Why we spend money on the things we do. 
Basically, we want an Internet of Banks... one that'll integrate, innovate, communicate.   
So with that in mind … it’s time for the banks to catch up with the millennials. Because we're adults now.  



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 Originally Posted @PHAMedia : Millennials Like Me, with a bit more about what BANKs can do to help themselves : COMMUNICATE.
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Sunday 1 March 2015

BookADayUK : Harry Potter Edition



I read the first three before I was ten, queued up at midnight for a copy of The Goblet of Fire in a Tesco after a Shakira concert in 2000. I went to the last film when I was just 21. I don't think there's another series that could possibly encompass my childhood so completely.

Harry Potter was one of those books that I think defined a generation - those that read and loved the books, those that preferred the films, those who refused to be put under its spell. 

Even now, the fascination with the world of Harry Potter is strong. Have you ever checked out JK Rowling's twitter account? Every tweet causes a storm of excitement, especially when it reveals a new Harry Potter film or illumines another corner of magic. 

So with that in mind, here is my 'Book A Day: Harry Potter Edition'.



1. Book that defined my teenage years
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was late. It was SO late I was nearly thirteen by the time it got published. And then I must have reread it dozens of times waiting for the next one. Fortunately, that one was pretty quick out. 

2. I’d like to know what @_____’s favourite book is #passthebook
JK Rowling's favourite book is. I'd also like to know Luna Lovegood's. I'd ask Hermione but she'd probably be like me and give an answer like 'oh that's too hard, there are so many!'.

3. My favourite character’s favourite song would be
I think Minerva McGonagall is probably a massive fan of show tunes. 

4. Matchmaking: these two characters should get together
I don't know if I should tell you all my OTP. I was always a fan of Severus Snape, he deserved to be happy even if he was all dark and twisty. 


5. The author I would love to meet (living or dead fictional) ?
Has anyone else noted that all the writers in Harry Potter are slightly dickish? Gilderoy Lockhart is a cheat, Rita Skeeter is a locust, Bathilda Bagshot is a snake (literally ... but perhaps not once upon a time), Eldred Worple takes on many of the characteristics of his bloodsucking friend Sanguini, let's not mention Xenophilius Lovegood... Basically most of them seem to be pretty psycho. But I think Miranda Goshawk is meant to be ok. So whilst I'd love to meet JK (who wouldn't?), my writer of choice will have to be the excellent Newt Scamander. 

6. And the question I would ask them is:
Any top tips for raising a dragon? 

7. My favourite opening line
I mean, I'm sorry to all those publishers that didn't realise how bloody brilliant that first line is. That first line, the first paragraph, the first everything : it has that Dickensian narrator feel without ever completely breaking the fourth wall. Genius. 


8. Bought entirely for its cover
The entire series with 'grown up' covers so my parents would read them as well. 

9. The book that has always stayed with me
Hands down. Prisoner of Azkaban. I've re-read all of the books, but this one I must have thumbed through over a hundred times. When I'm having a bad day, Prisoner of Azkaban. Don't know what book to read first, Prisoner of Azkaban. 

10. A great book to read aloud
All of them. Have you ever listened to Stephen Fry reading them? JK plays with language. It's clever, subtle and fun to read out loud. 

11. These two characters should not have got together
Harry Potter with Ginny Weasley. I know, I know. Total cliché. BUT aside from the obvious mummy-issues, the girl is defined by the ability to throw a bat bogey hex. I’ve heard the argument that it’s all about her sense of humour, (they once both laughed at Percy Weasley in Book the Third, and in Book the Sixth she manages to make a bitchy joke – or five – about Fleur, and then they have a little banter about bad tattoos before they make out) but as far as I can tell Ginny is the source of zero hilarity of her own making. Rather, she’s a whole lot of girlish scorn. So sure, she can throw a hex and isn’t completely vapid like the majority of female characters Harry’s age, but that’s about as much love as she’s ever going to get from me. #BadShip

12. Feel-good read
The Half-Blood Prince is actually pretty hilarious despite the deepening darkness that lurks in the corners of the novel. Not only do you have the wonderful Horace Slughorn who is as ludicrous as he is pitiable, but you also have the Romilda Vane / Lavender Brown storyline, the Weasley Wizarding Wheezes truly come into their own with You-No-Poo, and there's this booming sense of hope through-out as the characters come into their own. 

13. This book is precious to me because…
Harry Potter, and my copies of them, is precious in a thousand little ways. They're not the only or even the first books that I loved but they are inextricably interfused with much of my life. I grew up with them. I was a 10-year-old that desperately awaited an owl on their 11th birthday (I know a lot of others who felt the same). I'm a twenty-something writing a blog post that's essentially an ode to the series. Why are they precious? Because yes, they're well written, compelling stories - not written to be clever or to win awards. And yes, they provide an intricate plots set in a rich, imaginative world brought to life through hundreds of tiny, fantastical details. But the truth is, as cliche and corny as it seems, those books are magic and they cast one helluva spell on me. 

14. The book that reminds me of an ex
Harry Potter is one of those deal breaker things - I went on a date with someone recently and I honest-to-god couldn't go on a second because he told me he'd never read, watched or understood Harry Potter. I don't need a fanatic, but I someone who at least sits on the same page when it comes to appreciating them would be nice. 

15. Book set in the place you’re from
None are set in the home counties, although London features and Edinburgh is well-known for inspiring Hogwarts... Does that count? I lived there once. 

16. Favourite book in translation
Harry Potter has been translated into 67 languages. This makes JK among the most translated authors in history. When I learnt Latin, we were given the Latin translations which are brilliant. But my favourite has to be the different translations of names in Harry Potter. Is there anything more satisfying than knowing 'Hufflepuff' is a 'Poufsouffle' in French? Or that French Voldemort becomes 'Tom Elvis Jedusor'? Yes, that's right. Slytherin's heir was an Elvis. But this is even better in Icelandic where he becomes a 'Trevor' and of course 'Romeo' in Danish. 


17. Book you were wrong about
The last book, I really really thought Harry was going to die and stay dead. But I call it about Draco landing on the Light side in the end. 

18. Book you read after seeing the film
I reread most of them after the films were released... 

19. Favourite book about music
Well the sheet music to all the films was one of those things I used to love trying and failing to learn so I'm sticking that in here. Also Starkid deserves a shout out here. 

20. Slept with the lights on after reading
About dementors for the first time. The idea of a creature that thrives on such misery, and devours souls... they're possibly the most terrifying monsters I've ever encountered in literature.  

21. Brings back good memories
My Harry Potter memories range from days lying on my bed with the newest book, completely lost to the world, to the evenings dressed up with all the gang at the cinema to catch the latest movie. From reading terrible fanfiction aloud with Katie and Olivia (how do people come up with this stuff?!) to going to Harry Potter World with Fiona for Spring Break. Also, this: 


22. Glad you took a chance on
The first two books. My friend Greta told me to read these books - she and I always had similar tastes in stories growing up - and she wanted to play pretend Harry Potter. I was not happy because I hadn't read them yet. But my mum bought them consequently and by Merlin, YES. 

23. Favourite book published in your lifetime
Umm... They were all published in my lifetime. But you know, whilst Prisoner of Azkaban is the one that sticks with me, I suspect the Deathly Hallows is my favourite. 

24. Character you’d least like to turn up on a blind date
Slughorn. Shudders. 

25. Book you would give to a lover
Tales from the Beedle and the Bard - it's simple, beautiful and the stories are pure wonder. 

26. A book you’d love to discuss with your favourite author
I'd love to discuss Potter with Marina Warner, writer, mythographer and author of From the Beast to the Blond, the Phantasmagoria, Stranger Tales and Once Upon A Time: A History of Fairy Tale. I feel like she'd have some really fascinating ideas about Rowling's writing. 

27. Longest owned unread

It probably took me about fifteen minutes from the moment of purchase of Goblet of Fire to bury myself in my bed and in the book. And that's because we had to drive home first. 


28. Book to convert a non-reader
I'm not sure if you can convert a non-Potterhead into a Potterhead. If they don't love the books and aren't captivated by the films, it's not like you can force them to do so. But here's a top tip - the audio books can be great tools for positive conditioning - make them feel happy when they're listening to Harry Potter. I'm sure it's totally ethical. 


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