The economic challenges of 2022 may have taken their toll on global investments, but they also demonstrated just how resilient the UK’s Fintech industry is and why the sector has a vital role to play in helping the UK economy bounce back this year. 

 

A tough year

From soaring inflation and interest rates to markets rocked by the uncertainty of war in Ukraine, 2022 was a tough year for the global economy. 

Latest estimates predict that we’ll continue to feel the economic shockwaves this year. The World Bank revised its 2023 global growth forecast down from 3% six months ago to just 1.7%, with investment growth in emerging markets set to reach a two-decade low. 

 

First glance at the impact on Fintech 

At first glance, unprecedented global economic conditions appear to have taken a serious toll on  global investment deals which dropped 14%, with a knock-on effect on Fintech. 

Even established Fintech giants weren’t immune: Coinbase hit the headlines in November 2022 when their value plummeted from $79.6 bn to below $10 bn in just a year. 

The UK Fintech sector felt the pinch, with Finextra recently reporting an 8% “funding slump”, with investment dropping to $12.5 billion in 2022, down from $13.5bn the previous year. 

 

Taking a closer look

A closer look at the context behind the headline-hitting numbers tells a different story: given the scale of the economic challenges in 2022, Fintech has proved itself to be a resilient industry that’s worthy of continued investment. 

Whilst globally investments dipped by around a third, Fintech investments only reduced by 8% according to the latest report by Innovate Finance.

The result was that even in the face of extreme economic unpredictability, over $92 bn was invested into Fintech firms around the world last year. 

 

A UK success story

Not only did Fintech hold its own compared to investment in other sectors globally, the UK’s Fintech sector remained a vital force in the UK economy. 

Reductions in Fintech funding in the UK were smaller compared to other markets, with investment in London firms down by just 5%. 

UK Fintech giants continued to grow with SumUp raising €590m and checkout.com securing $1 bn in series D funding. Rising stars also continued to catch investor attention, with GoHenry passing 2 million users and raising $55 million in October 2022. 

Add up the Fintech investment the UK received and we’re second only to the US; in fact, you’d need to add together Fintech investment in the next 10 European countries to equal the amount of funding the UK Fintech industry brought in. 

And that’s in a “bad year”. 

 

The future of Fintech

Fintech’s resilience in the face of global economic turmoil underlines its potential. And investors are ready. 

Backing startups has been a successful strategy for the UK, having already produced 122 unicorns — companies valued at £1 bn or more  — with a staggering 258 more on the “unicorn track” according to Deal Room. 

Fintech accounts for almost 20% of those unicorns, with London alone being home to 21 Fintech unicorns according to figures from Beauhurst. 

 

Building teams for growth

Looking behind the headlines at how Fintech has performed in context demonstrates what an important driver of economic growth it has been and will continue to be throughout 2023. 

Fintech firms with the right team in place will be perfectly positioned to bounce back from the challenges of 2022 and take advantage of the renewed optimism and opportunities of 2023. 

As Fintech recruitment specialists, we’ve seen this positivity and continued investment last year, with firms reaching out to us to help recruit sales leaders, first hires and c-suite execs. 

If you’re looking to grow your Fintech sales team in 2023, get in touch with our team to find out more about how our unique network of Fintech sales talent could help you create the next fintech unicorn. 

Last year saw the financial sector rocked by global economic instability, and Fintech was no exception. 

Despite the many challenges of 2022, Fintech proved its resilience, and we’re seeing companies pull together plans for 2023 with cautious optimism. 

As the only specialist Fintech sales recruitment firm, we take a look back at some of our industry’s key statistics for 2022 and the trends to watch out for in 2023. 

 

Start at the top

Finiti Search figures

• 100% Senior level, commercial hires
• 25% C level / Executive Management

The right strategy is key to surviving in financially challenging times, and that comes from an organisation’s leaders. 

In 2022, the organisations we worked with prioritised investment in their sales leadership. All of the roles we placed were at a senior level, with 25% at c-suite level. 

This applied to Sales teams, but also other high-level specialists such as Chief People Officers that help define and shape an organisation’s strategic approach. 

 

2023 prediction:

DEI rose up the HR agenda in 2022 and will continue to be an important priority in 2023. For UK Fintech firms, fostering greater gender equality in their teams could help firms be more successful according to Ernst & Young’s latest Fintech-focused DEI report. 

As a female-founded organisation in fintech, it’s a priority that’s close to our hearts and one we continue to help our clients navigate, using our talent network to help reach a wide range of candidates.  

 

Reward & recognition 

Finiti Search figures

• Average base salary of placements: £146,000 GBP / $177,000 USD

Cost of living stories were rarely out of the headlines in 2022, and, as rising inflation took hold, salaries became even more of a focus in the recruitment process. 

Talent.com puts the average Fintech salary at $128,928 in the US and £62,500 in the UK, across all types of roles within the industry. 

Specifically in Fintech sales, the average base salary of roles we placed in 2022 was £146,000 GBP / $177,000 USD, though this does reflect our focus on more senior level roles. 

It may be tempting to do the opposite, but when budgets are tight, we always advise clients to take their time with the recruitment process: getting the wrong person in role costs dearly in terms of repeating recruitment and can damage morale and productivity across the wider team. 

 

2023 prediction:

With more candidates on the lookout for their next opportunity, fintech companies will need to think about and articulate what makes them unique – their employer brand. 

Far more than a marketing strategy, research by GlassDoor found that a strong employer brand can reduce cost per hire by as much as 50% and cut turnover by 28%, making this an area with strong ROI for 2023. 

 

Location, location, location

Finiti Search figures

• 50% North America based
• 25% UK & EMEA based

When it comes to Fintech, the US leads the way. With almost 2000 deals and $39.2 bn capital invested, it’s not surprising that half of the roles we placed were based in North America. 

But the UK is hot on its heels: a recent report from Innovate Finance calculated that the UK receives more Fintech investment then the next ten European countries combined. 

A quarter of the roles we placed were in the UK and EMEA where the number of Fintech startups increased 160% between 2018 and 2021 with strong growth set to continue. 

 

2023 prediction: 

Keep an eye on Nigeria. Mastercard’s latest report on the Future of Fintech, calls out Africa’s growing expertise in payment innovation and the central role Nigeria has played in establishing Fintech in Africa. 

The Fintech Times also recently reported on the rapid growth of crypto markets in North Africa and the Middle East, making it one of the markets to watch in 2023. 

 

David vs Goliath

Finiti Search figures

• 50% Fintech Starts ups Series A-C
• 50% Established, larger Fintechs

There’s a battle for talent between Fintech startups and more established companies, with the roles we placed split evenly between the two. 

Investors, however, firmly backed newer startups against more familiar faces. Investment in later stage organisations dropped from $82.4 bn in 2021 to $50.5 bn last year. In contrast, seed investment rounds secured $7.5 bn in 2022, a 29% jump up from 2021. 

 

2023 prediction: 

Whilst investors loved the heady risk of a startup, job seekers have become more risk averse in the current economic climate. 

As Finiti Search Founder Alison Power discussed in a recent article for the Financial Times, global economic challenges may tempt candidates to look at more traditional financial services roles over less established Fintech counterparts. 

This may be a blessing in disguise for Fintech firms looking to recruit in 2023. To be successful in a Fintech sales role, candidates need to be well suited to our fast-paced, dynamically changing industry. 

Candidates with a real love of Fintech and its culture won’t be able to resist finding their next challenge in the most dynamic part of the finance industry. 

If you’re looking for support navigating the changing Fintech recruitment landscape of 2023, get in touch with our team. Made up exclusively of Fintech sales recruitment experts, we help organisations around the world build their Sales Teams to help their business grow and thrive. 

When it comes to things like budgets, overheads, and products, businesses are used to planning ahead. But with recruitment, many organisations are reactive, waiting until after that infamous “have you got 5 minutes?” handing-in-the-notice chat to start thinking about how to fill a gap in their team.  Or just simply not taking the time to really map out what they need, what they need to do to attract these types of individuals and understanding realistic timeframes to achieve this.

It’s especially common at startups and rapid-growth companies. As Fintech sales industry experts, we understand that the potential to go from a relatively unknown firm to the next big thing overnight, makes planning ahead notoriously tricky.

 

A strategic approach to recruitment

Recruiting for a high-growth company can often feel a bit chicken and egg: you need sales people to sell the product, their job will be harder without marketers to drive awareness and create leads, but you won’t have anything for either to sell without engineers and product managers. It’s hard to know who to prioritise and time is always at a premium. 

It’s why more and more firms are investing in senior, board-level HR leaders. People Director, Chief HR Officer, Chief People Officer, it’s a role that goes by many names but has the same fundamental, crucial responsibility: get the right people in the right jobs and keep them there. 

 

The cost of not prioritising people

In the past, it’s been overlooked. Anyone who’s worked in a fast-paced, high-growth environment knows that it’s normal for team members to wear many hats with recruitment often becoming an “add-on” to someone’s role. Often falling to the Founder or CEO, recruitment is incredibly time consuming with lots of CVs to sift before finding that perfect fit. 

Best case? You still find a great fit, but you’ve taken a lot of valuable work hours away from a senior strategic leader. Worst case: you take a lot of precious time away from senior strategic leaders, compromise because it’s taking too long, then have to spend a lot of time and money replacing someone just a few months later when it doesn’t work out. 

It happens more often than you think – especially in high-growth companies like fintech startups. In the first year and a half, startups often find themselves with attrition rates as high as 50% with some reporting that they had to replace a quarter of their workforce in 2021. 

To a growing business where capital is often all allocated before it’s even in the bank account, unexpected people costs can be the difference between success and failure.

 

Building a diverse team

There’s also another hidden cost to reactive recruitment. When recruitment becomes an additional side task, it quite often means people turn to their network in the hope of finding a high-quality hire in record time. 

The “I know a mate” hire, often leads to people bringing in others with similar experiences, backgrounds and mindsets. Whilst this can be a shortcut to team cohesion, it means these teams lack the different reference points and ways of thinking that can often lead to the brilliantly unique ideas that startups rely on to survive and thrive. 

Research has shown that having a diverse team has a tangible impact on financial performance. Diverse teams are 70% more likely to succeed in breaking new markets and, overall, diverse companies are 35% more profitable than their non-diverse counterparts. 

 

Investing in a HR leader

But finding the time to carefully plan a team growth strategy that curates a diverse long-term talent pipeline is a big job. It can’t just be “tacked on” to someone’s role. It requires time, experience, and HR expertise. 

That’s where a Chief of People comes in. LinkedIn reported that Chief People Officer hires had increased by 56% between September 2020 and August 2021 and board appointments for HR leaders jumped by a huge 300% from 2017. 

In addition, the talent recruited to this crucial position often brings diversity to the team. Looking at the 211 HR leaders who hold board positions, almost 90% are diverse either by gender or ethnicity. 

It’s a trend that’s delivering value. Companies who invest in a Chief People Officer are finding themselves to be more agile when it comes to responding to unexpected people’s needs, better able to retain and engage top talent, and able to welcome a more diverse team. 

 

A partnership approach

A Chief People Officer needs the time and headspace to be able to look at the organisation’s current and future people needs. 

This is where partnering with recruitment agencies that specialise in particular areas can help busy CPOs reach high-quality candidates in record time. They can also provide a vital real-time understanding of the market and crucially, advise how you can position your firm and opportunity in a way that gives you the best opportunity of attracting the right talent.

As specialists in Fintech sales recruitment, the Finiti team is always on hand to provide both the support and expertise you need to find and hire top senior level sales talent. Reach out to our team for a chat about your next sales or sales leadership hire.

Often when companies think about their next hire, they focus on finding the “best”. They talk about looking for “high performers”, “the best in the industry” or even finding a “unicorn” – someone almost too good to be true. 

But when it comes to recruitment, focusing on finding the “best” might hold us back from finding the right person for the team, not just the right skills and experience. 

As Fintech recruitment experts, we understand that finding the right fit for your Fintech sales team can be challenging. With an increasingly complicated mix of working environments where colleagues may never even meet face to face, it’s as much about how people collaborate as how capable they are. 

 

The Ronaldo Effect 

Take an incredibly high-profile, recent example of “top talent” not working out: Christiano Ronaldo leaving Manchester United after just a year. And with those loaded words “with immediate effect”. 

Following an explosive interview with Piers Morgan, it was obvious that the fit with the team and manager wasn’t there. 

Recruiting someone that isn’t a good fit doesn’t just impact team morale, it has a huge effect on performance too. 

On paper, Ronaldo is the “best”, having scored more goals in his career than any other player. But during this stint at United, the team scored fewer goals, covered less ground, and were ultimately less successful with Ronaldo in the team, winning just one of the four matches he played in. 

 

The cost of getting it wrong

Just as the attitude and approach of one player is enough to throw off a team on the pitch, it’s no different in the workplace.

Whilst very few employees cost the £500k a week Man United were paying Ronaldo, hiring the wrong person is expensive. 

Taking into account recruitment, lost productivity, and training, one report estimates that mis-hiring a mid-manager on a salary of around £42,000 costs a business £132,000. 

With the cost of replacing that team member coming to around 1.5 to 2 times their annual salary according to Gallup, these are sunk costs that all businesses want to avoid at a time of economic uncertainty. 

 

A whole team approach 

Rather than developing tunnel vision on one “star performer”, it’s about making sure everyone in the team has the conditions they need to perform at their best. That way, the team can collectively achieve big things that outstrip their individual abilities. 

Who’s responsible for creating the right conditions to thrive? The team leader. 

Beyond setting the strategic direction, leaders set the expectations for how people collaborate, they model how they want their team to communicate and interact with one another. 

Getting the right leader in post is crucial to building a high-performing Fintech team. 

 

The person behind the job description

When we receive a brief to find a new Fintech sales leader or the first Chief Revenue Officer for an organisation, finding the right skills and experience for the role is a given. What makes a successful hire is matching people – their profile, their preferences, and their goals – to the organisation. 

Next time you’re looking to expand your Fintech sales team, think beyond the job description to the context that person will be working in. 

If you’re a fast-growing Fintech startup, it might be that you prioritise someone that embraces frequent change. If you’re a large multinational, you might be looking for a considered communicator who’s switched on to cultural nuances. 

When looking for a senior leader, it’s also worth thinking about the existing team members, their preferences and working styles. 

A good question to use is “how do I want a new leader to make this team feel?”. You can then think about questions to help you explore whether potential candidates have the right approach at the interview. 

 

Hiring the right person first time

Moving beyond just looking at skills and experience as part of the recruitment process can be daunting. At Finiti Search, we focus on building a relationship with you and really understanding your business first. It helps us get the right person for the role the first time, every time. 

Our team is always on hand to share insights on the best way to design a successful recruitment process. Whether you’re looking to hire immediately or thinking about sales organisation design and future recruitment, get in touch with us for a chat.  https://finitisearch.com/contact-us/ 

In uncertain economic times it is critical to re-strategise and prepare your start-up to face macroeconomic issues. Between global inflation, increased costs of living, employers reducing their workforce, and a potential recession, the Fintech industry, like most, is facing a variety of challenges. All of these macroeconomic factors have caused fintech M&A exits to decrease 30% in Q2 2022 (the lowest point since Q3 2020). And yet, hiring good people still remains top of the list. 

 

Don’t Panic

The impact of macroeconomic issues is unpredictable. It is impossible to know when and how much the economy will slow down. The key to surviving economic hardships is building a solid foundation to withstand the storm and to turn it into an opportunity. 

 

Creating Opportunity – Finding the Right Fit

For those scale-ups in a strong position, there is a big opportunity at play. While larger companies are suspending or freezing their hiring and, in some cases, reducing their workforce, this creates opportunity for others. Opportunity to dive in and secure good people, fast. Opportunity to attract a different type of candidate than you’re usually able to obtain, e.g. someone that is considering a smaller company for the first time, or a move from financial services into Fintech.

At Finiti, we are seeing some companies with bigger commercial teams shrink, as the popularity of sales teams with up to five members rises. This is where specialist knowledge can help your organisation. Finding specialised talent to strengthen your team is what Finiti is known for. Our clients rely on us to find the perfect match to support their growth, and not only survive, but thrive in their space no matter the financial climate. Whether you need to fill a sales leadership role or an entire sales team from scratch, engaging an agency with years of Fintech commercial hiring experience and an extensive network of high-quality candidates is required.

In times like these, evaluating your team is essential. What area do you think could use more support? How adaptable are your team members? Who / what is missing? At Finiti, we can help provide insight into your commercial team strategy to help you piece together the puzzle and build a solid foundation for success. While lay-offs are one of the first actions companies can take during an economic crisis, sales talent is critical for continued revenue growth.

 

Why work with a recruitment agency?

Using a good agency will save your company time, money and resources. Working with an agency that is an expert in the Fintech industry and a specialist in sales recruitment has many additional benefits. Here are 4 big benefits:

• High quality candidates

Good recruitment agencies draw from a large network of qualified talent to find the missing piece for your organisation. You will only meet with candidates that have been personally selected for your company and requirements. 

• Years of industry experience

At Finiti, we have 15 years of Fintech sales hiring experience. We know first hand what it takes to build a successful sales team, helping your team grow and thrive during economic highs and lows. Also, a good, generic agency may be able to identify a candidate but only the best specialist agencies – with years of experience and credibility in your market space – can actually access the talent and introduce them to your company.

• A bridge

After working in the industry for many years, Founders Kate Sharland and Alison Power recognised the specific challenges of recruiting for Fintech sales roles and being that bridge between clients and candidates. Helping to ensure good communications and negotiations between all parties.

• Faster and more efficient hiring

With an extensive pool of talent ready, Finiti can help you find the perfect hire quickly and efficiently. Our network of Fintech sales talent, from CROs to sales team players, allows us to find the exact person your organisation is looking for. This not only allows you to access high quality candidates, but it can save your company precious time and resources. 

Our team of Fintech recruitment specialists is ready to help you prepare for the uncertain times ahead. Now, more than ever, it is critical to make sure you have top performing talent throughout your team to be effective and successful. To ask us about hiring Fintech sales talent, get in touch here.

Back in the early 2000’s the concept of Paypal was quite alien. Convincing customers to share their emails, banking and credit card information in return for fast, low-cost payments. 

“I remember when PayPal first came to us in the early 2000’s and I re-read their business introductory paragraph at least 10 times. Said Alison Power, 2022. “It just sounded so different and revolutionary and it was hard to imagine a payment gateway that was purely online at the time.” 

Paypal as a scale-up

The PayPal original idea was to create an internet currency to replace the dollar. The first version of PayPal allowed people to send money from one PalmPilot to another. But not enough people had PalmPilots for that to be viable. Instead, since everyone had email, the company created a way to send payments via email. It worked well, but expenses were growing faster than customers.

Small businesses, online merchants, and consumers quickly signed on, with the company handling more than $3 billion in payments from 10.2 million individual consumers and 2.6 million commercial customers within three years of opening its doors. Now, Paypal is worth over $220 billion and is considered one of the most valuable Fintech companies globally. Paypal is one of the first Fintech companies to primarily operate via the internet, making it a trailblazer for the growth of future digital Fintech organizations. 

Earthport bought by Visa in 2019

Earthport, a company that provides cross-border payment and money transfer services to banks and businesses, is another great example of a scale-up changing the way consumers do things. Finiti supported their growth through talent acquisition and sales recruitment, hiring most of their commercial team and working with them during one of their main growth periods. In 2019 Visa purchased Earthport. The ultimate buy-out for any scale-up in the payments space.

This acquisition will allow Visa customers to make efficient transfers to companies and individuals that currently bank. Similarly to Paypal, this is modernizing the way consumers transfer money in a simple, fast and safe way. 

From day one, Finiti has been able to recognize the incredible value these organisations bring to the Paytech sector and have been readily available to help them expand in their space. 

Broadridge and Rockall technologies

Broadridge and Rockall Technologies, have also worked with Finiti Search to expand their team and support their growth. Finiti has hired senior sales in London and their Head of sales for North America before they were acquired and now continue to hire for them now within Broadridge.

 

“At all times I have found Finiti to be excellent, able to source the right candidates both experience / skill fit and team fit ; good at articulating the target role to those candidates to get them interested; and hugely important, well able to manage candidates through the entire interview and offer and closing cycle to actually get them on board,” said Richard Bryce, former President and GM of Rockall.

 

Finiti Search has seen and worked with many start-ups and scale-ups across the Fintech sector and continues to do so even more prominently, given today’s landscape of fast growing start-ups and increasing funding for the sector.

 

Finiti Search is ready and well-equipped with years of industry experience to help your organisation adapt and grow in a continually evolving landscape. Get in touch with us here.

What is Quiet Quitting?

Have you ever felt taken advantage of at work? Unappreciated? Burnt-out? Because of this, have you started doing less at work? Maybe even the bare minimum to get the job done? This has a name and is called Quiet Quitting. Despite what you may think, quietly quitting your job doesn’t mean quitting at all. In fact, it’s the opposite. Quiet Quitting is less about what you do and more about what you don’t do. 

What does Quiet Quitting actually mean? 

It means employees are not going above and beyond their job description and/or pay wage and are no longer exerting any extra emotional energy in the workplace. Specifically, this can look like longer breaks, lack of team communication or comradery and less than superb results. Employees show up when they’re supposed to, without taking on any additional tasks, and go home. The workplace trend has taken Tik Tok by Storm. Users like Clayton Farris have explained the trend stating, “Quiet quitting is empowering, it’s rewarding and it’s something you should try doing today.” 

Start-ups, scale-ups and SME’s often rely on a highly qualified and motivated workforce. Recruiting talent that fits the goals and growth of your company is essential to long-term success and talent retention. In this competitive market filled with exciting Fintech companies and start-ups, it is key for your company to stand out to attract new talent and prevent Quiet Quitting from the start.

How You Can Prevent Quiet Quitting in your business:

1. Establish Clear Job Expectations

Many times, quiet quitters are born from an added pile of expectations that were not initially agreed upon in the job description. While we know sometimes employees need to wear different hats, it is vital to establish clear descriptions within the job.

At Finiti we help organisations to build out job descriptions and compensation planning and this should be a continuous process. Annual reviews of job descriptions are important for talent retention. 

2. Value Employees

It is incredibly important to know the value your employees bring to the table. Know their worth and acknowledge this. As recruiters, we recognise it’s a candidate market currently, so it’s important to retain good talent and to nurture talent too.

3. Offer Competitive Wages And Benchmark

The Quiet Quitting trend is also referred to as “acting your wage.” Meaning if you feel underpaid, you should act accordingly. This is why offering a competitive salary and benefits is principal in hiring and keeping employees that are fully invested in their roles and feel valued. Annual industry benchmarking is also recommended. 

How to turn-it-around – FAST

You can spot quiet quitting by dialing into employees behavior and schedule. Are there signals your employees are heading down this path and is there a conversation you can have to turn things around or address this? Setting expectations and boundaries are two factors that could help turn Quiet Quitting around. Creating time to communicate priorities with employees is helpful in setting expectations and staying productive. This could look like consistent Monday meetings to discuss the week ahead and weekly check-ins to ensure the team is on the same page. 

It is critical to find the perfect fit for your organisation from the start. Our recruitment services draw from a select pool of highly qualified individuals. We match Fintech candidates with roles we know they will thrive in and continue to thrive in from day one. If you’re a Fintech firm looking for insight on attracting and retaining talent, reach out to us!