This is an excerpt of the episode published on Sunday. In this episode, I revisit the world of treasury management, a realm I have been deeply involved with since my younger years. It's a world filled with treasury bills, certificates of deposit, and REPO. Managing treasury involves placing funds, effectively managing risk with clear visibility and transparency, and accessing institutional markets. My fascination with this subject is shared by my guest this week, Kevin. He shares insights into the FinTech company he co-founded, which is revolutionising how clients manage their treasuries with a sophisticated approach. This London-based scale-up has moved beyond traditional Excel sheets, developing Fixed-Term Funds to enable more sophisticated management. You'll learn about the financial product's structure, the diverse client base ranging from private equity funds to large listed corporations, their outreach strategies, and their geographical focus. It's an inspiring journey akin to scaling the north face of Everest.

When I first heard about Ramp Network, two things impressed me: the youth of the founders and their ability to surround themselves with senior profiles, as well as their investors and their ability to deliver in an regulated and increasingly changing environment. This start-up, which already employs 160 people, provides a powerful fiat <> crypto toolkit that enables anyone - from established brands to blockchain pioneers - to easily onboard their next million users into web3.  Since 2018, they’ve been building and improving their core on-ramp and off-ramp products to take web3 mainstream in a secure and compliant way, boasting an impressive track record with 40+ fiat currencies supported, 90+ supported cryptoassets, availability in 150+ countries, and $134 million in funds raised. During this discussion with Szymon, you will discover the vision they have, use cases, including that of Sorare. We also discuss clients worldwide, offices in Europe and the US, and their plans for development.

This is an excerpt of the episode published on Sunday. When I first heard about Ramp Network, two things impressed me: the youth of the founders and their ability to surround themselves with senior profiles, as well as their investors and their ability to deliver in an regulated and increasingly changing environment. This start-up, which already employs 160 people, provides a powerful fiat <>  crypto toolkit that enables anyone - from established brands to blockchain pioneers - to easily onboard their next million users into web3. Since 2018, they’ve been building and improving their core on-ramp and off-ramp products to take web3 mainstream in a secure and compliant way, boasting an impressive track record with 40+ fiat currencies supported, 90+ supported cryptoassets, availability in 150+ countries, and $134 million in funds raised. During this discussion with Szymon, you will discover the vision they have, use cases, including that of Sorare. We also discuss clients worldwide, offices in Europe and the US, and their plans for development.

After extensive searching within Sequoia, I finally connected with George, who generously shared his insights about many many subjects.  He joins me for an in-depth discussion on Sequoia's growth in the European tech sector. We dive into a range of topics, starting with the structure of Sequoia and exploring the reasons behind its decision to expand into Europe.  The conversation then shifts to current and future trends in Fintech, highlighting their focus in this area. Particularly noteworthy are our discussions about two significant deals: Trade Republic and Pennylane. These examples provide a glimpse into Sequoia's investment strategies and successes in Europe. We also touch on the mafia phenomenon in Europe and the emergence of the companies originating from European scale-up mafias. Finally, we cover the Sequoia Scouting Program, with a special focus on the Arc Programme. This initiative supports pre-seed and seed-stage founders who are in the early stages of developing their ideas, products, and companies. 

This 200th episode is not just a simple celebration. It also symbolises a retrospective, a look back at the significant trends, fruitful collaborations, and, above all, the skills and qualities of all the outstanding entrepreneurs I've had the chance to interact with. I will talk about how I got started, the soft skills I rediscovered, the trends I followed, and the entrepreneurial lessons I learned.  Expect a journey through time, a deep dive into what "Finscale" has discovered, shared, and celebrated. I'm excited to share this synthesis with you. Thank you for joining me on this adventure, and I wish you an excellent listening experience for this special episode of "Finscale".  And as I say every week, I'm counting on you to rate this episode on podcast platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcast. It's also a way for me to get feedback.

This is an excerpt of the episode published on Sunday. After extensive searching within Sequoia, I finally connected with George, who generously shared his insights about many many subjects.  He joins me for an in-depth discussion on Sequoia's growth in the European tech sector. We dive into a range of topics, starting with the structure of Sequoia and exploring the reasons behind its decision to expand into Europe.  The conversation then shifts to current and future trends in Fintech, highlighting their focus in this area. Particularly noteworthy are our discussions about two significant deals: Trade Republic and Pennylane. These examples provide a glimpse into Sequoia's investment strategies and successes in Europe. We also touch on the mafia phenomenon in Europe and the emergence of the companies originating from European scale-up mafias. Finally, we cover the Sequoia Scouting Program, with a special focus on the Arc Programme. This initiative supports pre-seed and seed-stage founders who are in the early stages of developing their ideas, products, and companies. 

Starting out in the financial sector brings many surprises, and often, the greatest comes during audits and regulatory visits. The challenge of squaring away the central client file, a seemingly routine task, can throw even the most established financial institutions into disarray. This vital KYC remediation process, filled with complexities and operational challenges, is often overlooked. Institutions grapple with inconsistencies in customer data across different systems and not to mention the looming concern of inadvertently facilitating financial crimes. Data privacy, security challenges, and the risks of not conducting proper KYC remediation - both legal and reputational - are pressing matters. Krik provides valuable insights into navigating these intricacies, emphasising the importance of understanding and adapting to an ever-evolving regulatory landscape to maintain compliance. He also shares advice on how organisations can sustain customer relationships during the KYC process and offers strategies to mitigate any negative impact. Delving deeper into Fourthline's offering, we explore how they assist clients from onboarding to maintaining long-term customer relationships, showcasing solutions they provide, with Qonto as a case in point. The conversation also touches on the need for country-specific adaptations for optimal performance and the innovative approach of advanced signatures provided by this European firm based in the Netherlands.

This is an excerpt from the episode published on Sunday. Starting out in the financial sector brings many surprises, and often, the greatest comes during audits and regulatory visits. The challenge of squaring away the central client file, a seemingly routine task, can throw even the most established financial institutions into disarray. This vital KYC remediation process, filled with complexities and operational challenges, is often overlooked. Institutions grapple with inconsistencies in customer data across different systems and not to mention the looming concern of inadvertently facilitating financial crimes. Data privacy, security challenges, and the risks of not conducting proper KYC remediation - both legal and reputational - are pressing matters. Krik provides valuable insights into navigating these intricacies, emphasising the importance of understanding and adapting to an ever-evolving regulatory landscape to maintain compliance. He also shares advice on how organisations can sustain customer relationships during the KYC process and offers strategies to mitigate any negative impact. Delving deeper into Fourthline's offering, we explore how they assist clients from onboarding to maintaining long-term customer relationships, showcasing solutions they provide, with Qonto as a case in point. The conversation also touches on the need for country-specific adaptations for optimal performance and the innovative approach of advanced signatures provided by this European firm based in the Netherlands.

Back to payments and Forex this week. Patrick delves deep into the intricate fabric of Convera, a dominant player in the payment industry. We kick off our conversation with a retrospective, as Patrick provides a comprehensive overview of WU Business Solutions' 2021 activities. He shares the motivations and strategic intricacies behind Goldfinch Partners and BauPost Group's acquisition of WUBS. Shifting focus to the core of Convera, Patrick paints a vivid picture of the company’s current positioning: its expansive geographical presence, the pillars of its value proposition, and the diverse suite of solutions it offers. The discussion becomes more insightful when we explore Convera’s significant global footprint, which spans 200 countries, operates in 22, and deals with 140+ currencies. Patrick touches on the company’s strategies that have driven this global success and the tailored services catering to a broad spectrum of clientele, from SMEs to NGOs. Naturally, we couldn't discuss Convera's growth and development without exploring the transformation projects of this major player, particularly from a technological perspective, including its AWS Cloud migration. This leads us into a discussion about regulatory strategy and the factors that prompted the American company to establish its European headquarters in Luxembourg. Additionally, we delved into their risk management approach, especially concerning hedging foreign exchange (FX) risks.

This is an excerpt from the episode published on Sunday. Back to payments and Forex this week. Patrick delves deep into the intricate fabric of Convera, a dominant player in the payment industry. We kick off our conversation with a retrospective, as Patrick provides a comprehensive overview of WU Business Solutions' 2021 activities. He shares the motivations and strategic intricacies behind Goldfinch Partners and BauPost Group's acquisition of WUBS. Shifting focus to the core of Convera, Patrick paints a vivid picture of the company’s current positioning: its expansive geographical presence, the pillars of its value proposition, and the diverse suite of solutions it offers. The discussion becomes more insightful when we explore Convera’s significant global footprint, which spans 200 countries, operates in 22, and deals with 140+ currencies. Patrick touches on the company’s strategies that have driven this global success and the tailored services catering to a broad spectrum of clientele, from SMEs to NGOs. Naturally, we couldn't discuss Convera's growth and development without exploring the transformation projects of this major player, particularly from a technological perspective, including its AWS Cloud migration. This leads us into a discussion about regulatory strategy and the factors that prompted the American company to establish its European headquarters in Luxembourg. Additionally, we delved into their risk management approach, especially concerning hedging foreign exchange (FX) risks.