Author: Frida Bryndis Jonsdottir
2014 was a watershed year for FinTech in Europe, with FinTech investments going up by 215% from the previous year. More than two thirds of these investments were made in the UK and Ireland, where investments reached £417m, and the FinTech sector currently generates around £20bn in revenue for the UK economy.
Technology and society are changing faster than big companies can adapt. We are seeing new disruptive technologies emerge in the market that are completely changing the way we do business, the way we live our lives! And our clients are recognising that. It is therefore important we, as a company, differentiate ourselves and help our clients stay relevant. To do this, Deloitte is training its staff to think innovatively and offer them exposure to innovation first hand.
I was seconded into two companies; Startupbootcamp FinTech, a London-based FinTech startup accelerator, and Venture Scout, an innovation consultancy.
Startupbootcamp help seed-stage startups accelerate their growth
through investment, and expert mentoring and coaching, during a 3
month programme. During my time there, I got to see first-hand what
it takes to set up a successful accelerator programme and help
young companies expand their operations. The best part of the
experience was getting to meet all these amazing and passionate
people who have dedicated their lives to creating products they
truly believe will improve people's lives.
The other half of my time I worked with Venture Scout, helping
large corporations become more innovative. This was a great
experience that took me all the way to Dubai where I was part of a
team helping one of the largest corporations in the UAE foster
innovation amongst its employees and leadership team.
Being seconded into these two companies gave me a unique view from
both sides of innovation – the startup side and the corporate
side, and I have to say they can learn a lot from each other. As a
large corporation we tend to be slow in changing and adapting to
new circumstances, while startups tend to be much more dynamic and
fast paced – although perhaps sometimes a bit too fast paced.
A lot of startups are set back or even fail because they make rash
decisions where they haven't fully considered the consequences
of these decisions – it's called 'fail fast, fail
cheap'.
You could argue that the 'fail fast, fail cheap' model is
great because it lets you try lots of different things in search of
the right thing – the thing that will be hugely successful.
Similarly, you can argue that large corporations are doomed to
become dinosaurs because of all their bureaucracy and red-tape
barriers. However, I think the best model lies somewhere between
the two. If we, as a firm, can find the right balance, I believe we
can deliver something truly fantastic and innovative for our
clients –that is why we need to be making investments in this
space and allow our people to get in-depth knowledge of both
worlds.
This is an incredibly exciting time to be a part of the disruptive
technology space. I feel very lucky have experienced both sides of
innovation – the corporate and the startup side, and I
can't wait to see where this crazy journey will take me.
Note: if you are a fast growing technology company you may wish to enter the Deloitte Fast 50 – celebrating innovation and entrepreneurship. Now in its 18th year, it is a ranking of the country's 50 fastest growing technology companies. Enter today! http://www.fast50.co.uk/
Related links
http://www.startupbootcamp.org/accelerator/fintech-london.html
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