Happy New Year!

I hope you enjoyed the holidays as much as I did and I want to wish you a fantastic new year!???

Last week, I took some time off to enjoy the holidays with family in Curacao.?

Although it was a short trip, I really enjoyed it. I feel extremely fortunate to be able to have a cozy Christmas dinner with my family during these crazy times.

With the ongoing pandemic and the new variants, 2021 was undoubtedly another hard year. If this is year was difficult for you, I feel you and I wish you a better new year.

What’s next

On a more positive note, FinTech boomed in 2021! I’m sure this trend will continue in 2022.?

In the new year, a lot of people come up with some New Years’ resolutions. Personally, I don’t kick off the year with resolutions on the very first day. Instead, I’d like to live by my resolutions regularly every other day. Today, I’d like to share one of these with you:?

A few weeks ago I read an article from?11:FS?CEO and co-founder?David Brear?about a subject called “Stop wasting time on low impact activities” and it really resonated with me.?

How does it work

→ Something that I live by, is a question I ask for everything I do:?Is the impact worth the effort? ??

To contextualize this question I’d like to share a brief anecdote of our team’s weekly traffic meetings.

Every Monday we meet to discuss the week that passed and plan the week ahead. The only rule of our meetings is: every opinion is valid and I never dismiss a suggestion off the bat.?

So, obviously, we’ve come up with some pretty outlandish ideas, including having me tour the US on an enviable road trip visiting the brightest Fintechs of the land. We even came close to planning where I was going to stop for some authentic Southern BBQ.?

So, is the impact worth the effort? No.

Now, are our meetings worth the effort? Absolutely.?

Why? Sometimes we get a nugget of gold that is high impact with low effort. Or we uncover a brilliant idea that has a high impact and involves a ton of effort. But, always, when the impact is worth the effort we know we are on the right track.?

Another interesting example: to date, I have not accepted any Podcast invites. Not because I hate podcasts (I’m starting my own), or that I don’t see the benefit for the brand (of course I do), but I just can’t do it all.?

So, I had to make a decision regarding the distribution of my time. I decided to decline all offers (in order to be fair to all) and focus all of my time on sharing the most relevant FinTech news I come across every morning through my?LinkedIn?channels and?newsletters. I knew that by doing so, the impact was worth the effort.

So, in the morning I only need to focus on sourcing the most relevant FinTech news.

The rest of my day I can spend on my?angel investments, where I’m trying to become as efficient as possible as well. As you can see, there’s definitely a learning curve but I think I’m getting better at it every day! ??

My advice for 2022:

Our time is finite.?

If we don’t pick and choose what activities we invest our time in, we are not being cautious with our most valuable resource. Speaking as someone who’s an?Angel Investor, it would speak poorly of my investment skills, if I didn’t do this for myself.

Luckily for my portfolio companies,?that resolution?is one I live by, every single day. It has done wonders for me, and most likely it would do the same for you.?

Also, don’t waste time sourcing FinTech news every day. Let me do the heavy lifting for you and be your filter.?

It’s easy to get started: sign up for one, or more, of my?newsletters?and be sure you get the most important FinTech news updates in your inbox?daily?or?weekly.?

If you prefer to hear the news, check out my?podcast. Its main goal is to get you up to speed in just a few minutes!

I’d like to close off with a quote from David Brear’s Linkedin blog/newsletter:

“We are what we do every day. So be ruthless with your time. After all, it's your most valuable asset. Plot this diagram and you'll see that half the things you have in your calendar?are pointless. Put them to one side and focus on what really matters. The success of your business depends?on it.”

I couldn’t agree more. Have a great new year and talk soon!

Cheers,

Marcel.