Timing is Everything | Wednesday, Jan. 4th
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Hi there,
New year. Lesssgo!?
We hope you had a restful and refreshing break and perhaps our short hiatus helped you unlock inbox zero, among any other personal victories.
A lesson that’s been on my mind as of late is,?“Timing is everything.”
Nine years before Apple unveiled the iPad, Microsoft manufactured portable devices with touch screens – aka a tablet.?
Building a full-functioning PC in the palm of your hands is what Microsoft set out to do, and they did. It still failed for any number of reasons.?Perhaps?Moore's Law needed a few more years, a?lack?app store?to manifest a super-app, or the accuracy of GPS tech to name a few.?
Cut to almost a decade later, and the iPad became a category killer “overnight.” Apple understood timing, the environment, and the use case for a product that seemed complex nearly a decade before.
We’ve all kicked ourselves for shelving a project too soon, but it’s often the combination of?innovation and timing?that creates success.
The technology had been there almost a decade earlier, but the timing was just not right. That “perfect storm” had yet to take place.
Jump to today, and ask yourself, which technologies could be “right time, right place” in 2023??Here are a few questions that particularly stick out to me.
1. Are we ready for 'IFTTT" for FinTech?
IFTTT, which stands for If This Then That, is one of many no-code platforms that allow users to create automation or "recipes" to perform specific actions in one app based on a certain trigger occurring in another. “Automatically turn my ringer off (Android) during meetings (Calendar).”
Could NOW be the time for IFTTT for your financial life?
“If my savings account is under X and my checking is over Y, rebalance them automagically.” Or, “if my 1099 income exceeds X, move funds into my tax envelope.”?
No-code workflows could range from automation of consumer financial tasks, to making informed financial decisions and improving planning and budgeting.
Low-code itself is nothing new, but paired with the confluence of a high-yield environment and open banking offering the most complete API view into finances, this may just be the time.?
2. Is Conversational AI having its time in the sun?
AI has gone through cycles of promises and pitfalls since the 1980s, so why might now be the time?
Emerging open source technologies, infrastructure, speed, and scale has enabled algorithms to tackle more ambitious problems over the past few years. More companies are looking to provide smarter solutions, and an explosion of new AI related companies are able to provide that at scale.?
(I know what you’re thinking… ChatGPT didn’t write this letter, but was certainly entertaining through periods of writer's-block)
We’re also in a time where automatic,?direct answers are not a novelty, but an expectation.?
?? Hello, Siri and Alexa.?
I’ve written previously of the real risk that AI-generated content can manifest mediocrity, however, the opportunity is far wider reaching than just spitting out newsletter copy.
Slowly at first and then all at once… Is this what we’re seeing come to life?
3.?Will B2C be the winner for investors??
As 2022 wound down, it seemed everyone was in love with B2B FinTech. Valuations held their ground (flat is the new up), and sectors including CFO tools, capital markets, buy now, pay later (BNPL) and payment rails were what investors found?sexy.
?There are a lot of reasons why B2C is getting beat up right now. Building trust takes time, you can’t sell vaporware to consumers, and hitting sequential milestones is comparably harder.
One reason that investors may be less excited about consumer is that they are?prioritizing markups over long-term gains.
(Hold the phone Jon, you mean venture capital and innovation?aren’t?always aligned?!)
As interest in the consumer sector fades, some “contrarian” investors may actually be able to achieve much higher ownership stakes than they would have a few years prior.?Is now the time B2C returns the fund?????
2023 has a lot of predictions and think-pieces to live up to.? What tech has been around for a minute but you think is right place right time??Is this “perfect storm” for what’s outlined above about to take place??
Our umbrellas are ready.
Cheers, Jon
(P.S - Excited to highlight Jason Mikula's latest?FinTech Business Weekly?episode?in our listens section, below. Make sure to check it out!)
? NY FINTECH WEEK EVENT SPOTLIGHT: FINANCIAL WELLNESS PITCH DAY
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?? FINTECH NEWS
Reads
???FinTech’s biggest hires and departures of 2022?| AltFi
Here’s a round up of some of this year’s biggest entries and exits.
?? What's in store for European FinTech in 2023? |?Sifted
A lot has changed for European FinTech this year —?so what do industry insiders forecast for the next twelve months?
? 'Buy now, pay later' company Afterpay quits in New Mexico | Yahoo News
The regulation in question is House Bill 132, "Interest Rates for Certain Loans," an amendment to the New Mexico Small Loan Act and New Mexico Bank Installment Act. The bill passed the New Mexico House and Senate last year and will take effect Jan. 1.
?? Banks and FinTechs see collaborative opportunity to reach emerging market consumers?| PYMNTS
Brazil proves boosting financial inclusion and giving underserved populations bank account access is a smartphone away.
?? The FinTech Reckoning Is Upon Us?|?CNBC
领英推荐
“Through good times and bad, great products win. The best of the existing solutions will come out stronger and new products that are fundamentally better will win as well.”
Listens
?? Interview: Scott Sanborn, CEO of LendingClub |?FinTech Business Weekly
In this episode, Jason Mikula talks to?Scott Sanborn, CEO of “OG” FinTech?LendingClub, which made the transition from being a FinTech “peer-to-peer” lender to acquiring and becoming a bank.
Special thanks to episode sponsor?TripActions, the end-to-end travel, expense management, and corporate card solution.
?? What should crypto regulation look like??| American Banker
It has become increasingly clear in recent weeks that cryptocurrency companies, and perhaps the banks that work with them, need regulatory rules and supervision. The SEC's findings about Ripples XRP cryptocurrency and the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX are two cases in point, but far from the only examples that illustrate the need for government involvement. But who should supervise such companies and what kinds of rules should be applied?
?? Culture of belonging??| OneVision
From the great resignation and quiet quitting to career cushioning and layoffs, we have witnessed a great deal of turbulence in the workplace in 2022. As the culture continues to evolve, how can organizations best support their employee’s expectations for work-life balance and flexibility? And more importantly, how can leaders foster an open, honest, and safe environment that is conducive to innovation and productivity??
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2 年Empire Startups - Everything FinTech I'd say innovation, timing and amazing go-to-market execution