• Phil Siarri, Principal Advisor at psiarri.xyz


• 24.10.2016 10:30 am
Fintech

1. Thou shall consider that Fintech is a complex ecosystem comprised of many disciplines often overlapping one another. Insurance, payments, currencies, cybersecurity, encryption ... the list goes on and on. Do not be afraid to explore and go beyond your area of expertise. This is the best way to think outside the box and expand your thought process.

2. Thou shall not focus solely on London and New York City. There are plenty of other burgeoning Fintech hubs such as Berlin, Toronto and Sydney to name a few. Furthermore Africa is one of the epicentres of the mobile payment revolution. Two good reasons to explore new horizons.

3. Thou shall stay away from the startups vs big banks paradigm. It’s not just young startups with exotic names that are disrupting financial services. History has shown that established institutions have brought their share of innovation.

4. Thou shall not get overexcited about blockchain. Despite their high potential, blockchain technologies are still in their infancy and won’t solve world hunger yet (so to speak). One has to be conscious that its sole semi-successful application remains bitcoin.

5. Thou shall closely monitor regulations. Without the benediction of governments and associated entities, the speed of innovation can be slowed down dramatically.

6. Thou shall curate Fintech content on a regular basis. Every major news outlets are covering the subject as well as many specialised publications. Make the best of it.

7. Thou shall produce Fintech content. If you happen to have editorial skills (written communication, video production, etc ...), do not hesitate to share your ideas and commentaries with the community (and beyond).

8. Thou shall follow the following experts / influencers: Chris Skinner, Duena Blomstrom, Don Tapscott and JP Nicols.

9. Thou shall not start Fintech companies just for the sake of it. Do not emulate, innovate.

10. Thou shall connect with other Fintechers. Pick your poison: conferences, Meetup groups, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Research, thoughts and opinions are my own.