Fintech Diaries: A Podcast by SHIFT

Welcome back to another episode of the Fintech Diaries Series 2, where we bring you the brightest minds and the most innovative ideas in the Fintech space. We are excited to share the conversation we had with the brilliant Nicole green from Yapily at end of 2023.

This episode is all about Open Banking – a theme that's not just transforming the financial landscape but impacting each of us in our day-to-day lives. Yapily is at the forefront of the Open Banking movement, and with Nicole's guidance, they've made significant strides in transforming how financial data is accessed and utilized.

 With a career marked by diverse roles across telecommunications, finance and healthcare, Nicole brings a deep understanding and a unique perspective to the table. In this episode we uncover how her journey has led her to Yapily and how her experiences are influencing the company's vision and strategy.

In line with our ongoing theme this season, focusing on women's leadership in fintech, Nicole's story is not just about innovation but also about inspiration. We delve into her career trajectory, the challenges she's faced, and her insights on empowering the next wave of female leaders in this dynamic industry.

Since the episode was recorded,  Yapily announced they were the first to go live with Commercial VRP in partnership with Ant International and Hungry Panda. You can find out more about this exciting partnership here: https://www.yapily.com/blog/ant-international-and-yapily-launch-europes-first-commercial-variable.

Welcome back to Fintech Diaries, where we unravel the compelling journeys of fintech leaders and influencers. We’re thrilled to kick off Season 2 with an exploration into the world of responsible finance, financial education, and a revolutionary approach to saving and spending. Also, this season we will be focusing on Top Women In Fintech and uncovering all the incredible work they are doing to transform the industry.

Today's episode is one we've been eagerly waiting for. Joining us today is Emma Steeley, the CEO of Aro, a fintech that's not just making waves but reshaping how we think about credit. Emma is a true industry leader and someone who's been at the forefront of transforming the credit landscape.

Aro, for those who might not be familiar, is powering credit services for some of the biggest brands in the UK. They're the go-to embedded finance partner, the largest lending marketplace, and a leading second-charge mortgage broker.

What sets Aro apart is their vision for the future of credit, and it all revolves around data. Their dynamic platform leverages powerful data sets to truly understand a customer's financial landscape and profile, which allows for precise matching to the right products.

Emma has a wealth of experience in the finance sector, previously taking roles as the CEO of Accountscore, Director of Marketing at Account Technologies, and various Managing Director roles at different companies – the resume speaks for itself!  

We're in for a treat today to learn all about Emma’s journey, diving into the future of credit and the role of data. We hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we did recording it!

Welcome back to Fintech Diaries, where we unravel the compelling journeys of fintech leaders and influencers. We’re thrilled to kick off Season 2 with an exploration into the world of responsible finance, financial education, and a revolutionary approach to saving and spending. Also, this season we will be focusing on Top Women In Fintech and uncovering all the incredible work they are doing to transform the industry.

In this episode, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Nicola Longfield, Chief Commercial Officer at HyperJar. Forget "Buy Now, Pay Later" – it's all about "Save Now, Buy Later" (SNBL). HyperJar is on a mission to help people not just save wisely, but spend wisely, treating spending as an asset class in itself.

Nicola brings a wealth of experience to the table. From her early days interning at Nike to senior roles at PayPal and Deliveroo, Nicola has been a driving force in shaping the global financial landscape. With a background that spans Goldman Sachs, a Harvard MBA, and a foundation in maths and astronomy from Sheffield Uni, Nicola's journey is nothing short of inspiring.

Join us as we dive deep into how HyperJar is at the forefront of a financial evolution. With a recent successful Series A funding round, HyperJar is poised for exciting developments. We discuss what's next on their roadmap and their plans for the future, as well as the company's focus on financial education and literacy.

Welcome to this bonus episode of the Fintech Diaries, the podcast where we discover the different pathways to success in the Fintech space. We hope you enjoyed Series 1, where we were joined by brilliant guests from top fintech companies including Credit Canary, Waggle, Mistho, BankiFi, Ondato, Eliq and Rnwl. Make sure to check out these episodes if you haven’t already! 

For a very special Christmas bonus episode and to get us warmed up for Series 2, we thought we’d take it right back to the start, and share the story of Woodhurst and SHIFT Open Finance community, our founding fathers! 

In this episode, we sit down with Luke Casey and Josh Rix, Founders of Woodhurst, and uncovered how and why they started Woodhurst and delved into some of the challenges of becoming a start-up consultancy in the financial services space, where building a reputation is key. Lastly they share the most pivotal moments in their career, finding a niche and building SHIFT , the open finance community. 
 

We’re really excited to announce that Series 2 of Fintech Diaries will be launching in January 2024. This season, we will be joined by top women in FinTech, uncovering the highs and lows of becoming successful in a field traditionally dominated by men. Each episode will feature candid conversations with some of the most influential women in the fintech sector, exploring the personal journeys that have led them to the top. 

 Thank you for all your support throughout Series 1. We can’t wait for you to hear from our amazing guests we’ve got lined up!

In the seventh episode of Fintech Diaries, we had the pleasure of being joined by Goncalo de Vasconcelos, Founder & CEO of an exciting company called of Rnwl.

Goncalo shared insights into his impressive and varied career, his journey into the Fintech space and his experience of leading and founding multiple companies, really getting insight into all the highs and lows along the way. 

In the sixth episode of Fintech Diaries, we had the pleasure of being joined by Håkan Ludvigson, Co-Founder & CEO of an exciting company called of Eliq.

Håkan shared insights into his impressive and varied career, his journey into the Fintech space and his experience of leading and founding multiple companies, really getting insight into all the highs and lows along the way. 

In the fifth episode of Fintech Diaries, we had the pleasure of being joined by Liudas Kanapienis, Co-Founder & CEO of an exciting company called of Ondato.

Liudas shared insights into his impressive and varied career, his journey into the Fintech space and his experience of leading and founding multiple companies, really getting insight into all the highs and lows along the way. 

In the fourth episode of Fintech Diaries, we had the pleasure of being joined by Nick Reid, who is the Head of Strategic Growth of an exciting company called BankiFi and has over a decade of experience providing commercial card technology to global FIs.

Nick shared insights into his journey into Fintech, the different challenges he’s had across the industry and his experience leading and growing companies, really getting insight into all the highs and lows along the way.

In the third episode of Fintech Diaries, we had the pleasure of being joined by Max Czymoch, who is the CEO and Co-founder of an exciting new Fintech called Mistho. 

Max shared insights into his journey into fintech, the different challenges he's had across the industry and his experience founding a company, really getting insight into all the highs and lows along the way. 

In the second episode of Fintech Diaries, we had the pleasure of being joined by Sarah Touzani, who is the CEO and Co-founder of an exciting new company called Waggle. Sarah is also the former COO of Creditspring, an angel investor, advisor and involved in a number of startups.

Sarah shared insights into her career journey, including how she took to the leap to move to a new country to join an early stage fintech, to then becoming the COO, before moving onto her next challenge and starting her own company, sharing insights into all the highs and lows along the way.