Tom Powell is the co-founder and CEO of Bondaval, a London-based fintech redefining credit insurance through proprietary technology. A former professional rugby player for Harlequins and EnglandRugby, he transitioned into venture capital with PassionCapital before launching Bondaval to bring consumer-grade tech to complex B2B financial systems.

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction: From professional rugby to Fintech CEO

1:12 - The Bondaval origin story: Applying tech to B2B credit management

2:47 - 2026 as the inflection point: Breaking out of the "graduate scheme"

4:12 - Sustaining 9x growth with AI and the right people

6:07 - Why founding a tech business is harder than professional sports

8:01 - The 5-year vision: Augmentation vs. agentic replacement solutions

10:02 - The hidden world of credit

11:46 - Removing the "obligations" of complex insurance policies with code

14:44 - Breaking the business model of 6,000-person incumbents

17:32 - The Swiss Re deal: Surviving an 18-month underwriting cycle

19:18 - Where the name "Bondaval" really comes from

21:24 - Building resilience: The "Match Day" concept for monthly milestones

23:46 - The Messy Middle: Avoiding the "highest highs and lowest lows" of leadership

27:18 - Looking ahead: Agentic credit management and 100% growth in Q4