Financing conditions for tech companies specializing in financial services
In a recent podcast discussion, Tom Filip Lesche, a partner at Speedinvest, shared insights on the current trends and promising business models in the Fintech sector, particularly focusing on the funding landscape.
Speedinvest, an Austrian-based venture capital firm, has built an impressive Fintech portfolio, including companies like Bitpanda, Upvest, Billie, Wefox, and Holvi. Lesche, who is also an entrepreneur himself, focuses on later-stage funding rounds.
The discussion covered various aspects of the Fintech industry, including the current funding landscape, the subsequent funding drought, and the role of regulators and politics.
Lesche highlighted several trends that are driving innovation in the Fintech sector:
- Embedded Finance: This trend involves seamlessly integrating financial services into non-financial platforms and ecosystems, improving user experience and expanding reach.
- B2B Fintech Solutions: Providing technology and financial services tailored for businesses, including areas like automated accounting, payment processing, compliance tools, and supply chain finance.
- Regtech and Compliance: Tools and platforms that help financial institutions comply with regulations more efficiently using AI, automation, and data analytics.
- Neobanks and Challenger Banks: Digital-only banks offering user-friendly, tech-driven banking experiences.
- Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and Blockchain: Innovations leveraging blockchain technology for financial products, including lending, insurance, and asset management without traditional intermediaries.
- Financial Inclusion: Solutions aimed at providing access to banking, credit, and insurance for underserved or unbanked populations globally.
- Payment Innovations: Enhancements in payment processing, instant payments, cross-border remittances, and buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) models.
In the funding landscape, Lesche noted that investors are increasingly looking for Fintech startups with strong unit economics, clear paths to profitability, scalable platforms that leverage data effectively, and regulation-aware business models. Speedinvest itself often targets early-stage startups focusing on these promising verticals, emphasizing technologies that can integrate deeply into existing workflows and provide measurable financial or operational benefits.
Kevin Hackl, a community builder and lobbyist for financial themes at the digital association bitkom, also engaged in the discussion. Hackl is most comfortable where new things are emerging, with areas of interest including Open Finance, Retail Investing, Crypto Assets, and Digital Euro.
Hackl is a key figure in the Payment & Banking Bubble, and the discussion covered the Fintech gold rush before the pandemic. For more detailed examples or specific insights from Tom Filip Lesche's talks or Speedinvest reports, feel free to ask!
Business models in the Fintech sector, as discussed by Tom Filip Lesche and Kevin Hackl, show a focus on embedding finance into non-financial platforms, providing B2B solutions, enhancing compliance through Regtech, promoting neobanks and challenger banks, leveraging DeFi and blockchain, and addressing financial inclusion. Investors, such as Speedinvest, are keen on Fintech startups with strong unit economics, clear paths to profitability, scalable data-driven platforms, and regulation-aware business models.
