Find your purpose. Seize this day. Seize this moment.

By Theodora Lau and Bradley Leimer 

“This is not the time to back away but to keep going forward — with products and services that help everyday people do well. We cannot get this time back.”  

Now — more than ever — is time for purpose. 

Today is not like any other day. These past months like no other moment. 

The financial services industry is at a crossroads. Not because of anything the industry caused — at least not this time around — and not just because of this pandemic. 

Why hasn’t the industry innovated to provide more customer value over the past decade? Why did it take so long to change as it was inundated by new business models and thousands of fearless founders? Simply because their heart wasn’t in it — because large organizations and profit hungry industries are constrained by what has already been done — they felt there was no compelling reason to change. But now there is no longer a choice. 

Beyond the physical and economic devastation caused by COVID-19 and its growing toll on humanity, this very unexpected period of social isolation and social unrest has triggered much soul-searching. And it is impacting the workers in financial services more than anything before it, including the Great Recession. 

The long term impact of the pandemic on our collective humanity — our shared psyche — is quite unlike anything in our connected history. This moment, of course, is so much more than a shared feeling, a shared emotional toll for all of us. The real impact of the health crisis — those more than half a million worldwide that have lost their lives and the countless millions more suffering from its effects — has been exceedingly cruel to lower income households, people of color, essential workers, women, and the older adults. 

These communities most impacted physically and financially — people most often left out of the richest of riches within our society — are whom our industry must fight for, whom we must change for, and whom we must reimagine ourselves for. 

It’s as if the entire world is contemplating their lives a different way. This great pause is a watershed moment, where individuals, communities, and entire industries are able to think more clearly. It is no longer about incumbents, challengers, or platforms; the next plane to the next fintech conference, the next board meeting, the next planning session, the next product meeting, or the next all hands. 

It is about questioning what needs to be done and why. Between our virtual conferences and ‘how are you all doing’ conference calls, surely you have felt that at least once or twice? 

What is our purpose?

Sir Winston Churchill once said, “never let a good crisis go to waste,” and neither should we. And neither should the industry we call home. 

Let’s not forget how we feel right now. Let’s not lose the ideals and the shared synapses that are being formed these past months together. 

Do you know what we mean? 

You’ve felt it too, right?

You are indeed awake. 

This is all far too real, though it all feels far too surreal.  

But this. All of this. It’s far too important — to simply let go.  

We must all choose to seize this moment. Find our purpose. Reclaim our soul.

Together.  

We must not be constrained by the tools we have at our disposal. We must not lack imagination, aspiration, and fortitude. We must, as an industry, look at what needs to be done and move things forward to create a better, more impactful, fairer and more equitable set of solutions that can uplift our communities, and those we have historically left behind. 

Purpose is not a PR campaign.

We must rethink everything. 

Let’s leverage our educated, informed, committed tribe to go forward with a sense of optimism from this moment on. Give them the tools they need and be the shield to help them get done what needs to be done. The world is now anything but normal. 

The decisions we make everyday in life matter, none more important than during times of crisis. The real visionaries are the ones who accept that if nothing they have historically held on to is guaranteed, then this is the time of opportunity to do the thing as it needs to be done.  

The world has changed, and we need to act accordingly.  

Seize this moment.  

Seize this day. 

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Tune in for a new episode of One Vision via iTunes and Spotify with Dr. Leda Glyptis, Chief Executive Officer at 11FS Foundry and the author of the weekly column #LedaWrites on Fintech Futures, as she chats with Theo and Bradley of Unconventional Ventures about finding her own path, her motivations for the future, as she inspires us to do the same. Listen to every episode of One Vision podcast on your favorite player. Thank you for listening and for helping bend the arc of our future toward the common good.  

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Unconventional Ventures helps drive innovation to improve systematic financial wellness. We connect founders to funders, provide mentorship to entrepreneurs, strategic advisory services to a broad set of corporates, and broaden opportunities for diversity within the ecosystem. Our belief is that anyone with great ideas should have a chance to succeed and every voice should be heard. Visit unconventionalventures.com to learn how you can partner with us today.