In the past 24 months the rise of Fintech incubators, all over the world, has taken an incredible speed.
Looks like I am not the only one thinking that the disruption will hit our beloved banks (and financial institutions in general) sooner rather then later.
I have been quite on my blog recently, whilst my life has gotten busier than ever before, but the two facts are unrelated.
The reason why I thought this one was a good moment to “talk” is the launch of Startup Bootcamp in its very first Fintech instance, out if St. Catherine docks in London.
There are four point of attention I d like to make:
– the concept is great: 30 startups, 3 years, equity at stake, great network of entrepreneurs, tailored mentoring, no bullshit
– the team is awesome, and worth to mention another great chapter for my former colleague Nektarios (congrats dude), in all modesty brought to the Innotribe team by yours truly and infected with the innovation virus(es) to a point of no return – literally!
– the partners, the sponsors and the coaches of this adventure have a lot to say in the Fintech space, and I am talking about MasterCard, Lloyd’s, Rabobank, and many more I m sure you will hear a lot about very soon
– SBT Venture Capital, my fund, is proud to be one of the partners (which is kind of the reason why I am blogging this piece, obviously)
I must say I am quite familiar with this matter, in the sense that I always thought that the opportunity to take part of a qualified deal flow, vetted by the community, in the early stage startup space, and in a “sandbox like” environment was a good thing to do (all these drivers are already underpinning the Innotribe Startup Challenge).
Bank should do this too.
There are three different kind of attitudes towards startups banks are generally applying:
– “who cares, in any case what damage can they make, a fraction of a percent of our business?” (The “Dums”)
– let s watch them and simply buy the most successful one (The “Arrogant”)
– stay close. Try them. Eventually, invest. Learn from their lean approach. Engage. Get inspired (the “Smartass”)
So, Bootcamp is for the latter.
You (financial institutions) can stay around without necessarily invest in it.
We are planning to.
See you at the London st Catherine docks.
Stay tuned
Matteo