Disruption Talks by Netguru

Remote work is the new normal - a phrase almost everyone in the business world has said at some point in the last 18 months. Some believe that the dust will settle, and the trend will die out. Others believe that a remote-first world is the future of work.Studies show that employees are increasingly demanding that this trend sticks. According to We Work Remotely, 40-55% of people said they would quit their job if remote work options were not made permanent for at least half the week. 35% even said they would be willing to take a pay cut for it.Aside from the pandemic, technology, tools, and companies like Deel are making it easier than ever to hire remotely and manage remote workers. Deel is a global payroll platform that simplifies the complexities of hiring people in different countries. With a remote-first world looking like it’s here to stay, there’s no better time for a solution like Deel. As a rapidly rising star in the fintech world, Deel recently managed to raise $156 million in 2021 and was valued at $1.25 billion. Dan Westgarth, Chief Operating Officer, joined Disruption Talks to discuss remote work and how Deel has grown in a remote-first working world. Dan previously joined Disruption Talks to explain how a global payroll system works.Hosted by Filip Sobiecki.

How often do you use your credit card or smartphone to make payments? If you log into your bank account right now, you’ll no doubt see a few recent transactions there. They may even outnumber the times you’ve paid with cash. As we head towards a cashless society, credit card and mobile payments are the new normal. The mobile payments market has grown over the past few years, accelerated by a pandemic and increased trust in mobile payments.As a result, new fintechs and older incumbent banks are eager to cash in on this trend. For new or smaller payment providers, competing in such a saturated market is tough. The CEO of SnapScan, Chris Zietsman, joined Disruption Talks to talk all about it. SnapScan is a mobile payment solution provider in South Africa. It can be used with most bank cards, and it’s supported by Standard Bank, a major bank in South Africa. Hosted by Nat Chrzanowska.

Is it time for embedded banking to break out of the fintech bubble?Like open banking and banking as a service, embedded banking is something more commonly targeted towards other fintech companies. However, it’s not just the fintechs out there that could use a way to integrate financial solutions. Businesses in all different industries now need seamless financial solutions, and that’s where Weavr comes in. Weavr allows companies to embed banking and payments into products, platforms, or mobile apps. It targets industries such as education, health & wellness, and real estate to help them integrate financial services. Lars Markull, Banking Lead at Weavr, joined this episode of Disruption Talks to explain more about embedded banking, where it sits in the market, the top challenges, and the benefits of using it. Hosted by Filip Sobiecki.

Is it possible to put the brakes on fast fashion and make it more sustainable?The prevalence of fast fashion makes this industry largely unsustainable. However, there are a rising number of brands committed to making fashion more sustainable and environmentally friendly. As part of our Sustainability in Retail series of Disruption Talks, we invited Silvia Mazzanti, Product and Sustainability Manager at Save The Duck, and Laura Vicaria, CSR Manager at MUD Jeans International BV, to talk about their sustainable brands. Jinder Kang, Innovation Consultancy Lead at Netguru, also joined the conversation.MUD Jeans is a circular denim brand that produces high-quality, sustainable jeans. The company aims to recycle every single pair after use. Save the Duck’s mission is to create products that respect animals, the environment, and people, thanks to cutting-edge technologies that allow them to use sustainable materials.Hosted by Nat Chrzanowska.

As the saying goes, money makes the world go round. It’s something that’s a huge part of our day-to-day lives, and yet financial literacy is lacking in many areas. Without financial education in the school system, many people simply do not have the knowledge they need to make the right money decisions. People like Oleg Izyumenko, a contractor in the financial services industry, are trying to change that. Oleg joined this episode of Disruption Talks to discuss financial literacy and education, how to be smarter with your money, the role of government in financial education, and much more. Hosted by Filip Sobiecki.

How do we combat the growing food waste problem?According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, reducing food loss and waste is key to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and pressure on land and water resources. An estimated 17% of total global food production is wasted, and 11% of that occurs in households. However, if we are to improve sustainability in retail, we can’t ignore the 2% of estimated food waste in retail as well. Huge amounts of edible food are thrown out at supermarkets around the world, and the solution is not a clear-cut one.In this episode of Disruption Talks, part of the ‘Sustainability in Retail’ series, Jinder Kang and Patrick Rowse discuss the food waste problem and sustainable technology in retail. Jinder Kang is the Innovation Consultancy Lead at Netguru and is an advocate of human-centered design to drive businesses forward through product, service, and business strategy. Patrick Rowse is the Sustainability Manager at Delivery Hero. As an experienced sustainability professional, Patrick has a passion for the environment and innovation. He is motivated by the concept of "tangible good" and using environmental economics to build sustainability directly into core business strategy. Hosted by Nat Chrzanowska.

Confidence in cryptocurrency has grown over the past few years, but there’s still a long way to go to educate people about it. Over the past couple of years, new apps and organizations have been talking more about crypto, bringing the conversation into the public space, and educating people about it. One such organization is Börse Stuttgart Group, the second-largest German stock exchange. Börse Stuttgart Group developed BISON, a crypto trading app that seeks to make crypto simple, reliable, and more accessible. In this episode of Disruption Talks, we spoke with Ulli Spankowski, Chief Digital Officer at Börse Stuttgart, about crypto, the BISON app, blockchain, and more.Hosted by Filip Sobiecki.

The last panel at Disruption Forum Retail brought us inspiration from Oliver Lange, who runs the open innovation project at H&Mbeyond and H&M LAB Germany. Oliver shared what his take on running innovative projects in the retail space is, what fuels such projects, and what can stop even the most innovative teams.Throughout the panel, Oliver answered the following questions:How can retailers understand the needs and demands of the market?How does his team at H&Mbeyond work on innovative concepts and ideas? How do they validate them?What is his definition of co-creation and why is this concept important?Examples of the projects Oliver has been recently involved in and what lessons he has learned.What should be the main goal of innovative projects in the fashion industry?Moderator: David Stepaniuk.

What is unified commerce? During this panel at Disruption Forum Retail, Jakub Czerwiński, VP CEE at Adyen, defined this term and explained how many benefits this strategy can bring to retailers. Jakub also emphasized the importance of collecting data from both online and offline sources and presented examples of implementing data-driven business decisions in practice. Throughout the panel, Jakub shared:How unified commerce differs from omnichannel & multichannel approaches.The role unified commerce will play in helping retailers build competitive advantage mainly on customer experience.How does unified commerce work at Adyen - what are the pillars of the products?What kind of decisions companies can make having data about customers centralized on a single platform.Moderator: Filip Sobiecki, NetguruThis episode was recorded during Disruption Forum Retail 2021 by Netguru. Find out more at https://hubs.ly/H0X_0p10

Alina Cahill, Product Lead at Wolt, brought us in on how they’re using the app’s information architecture and mental models to create a frictionless experience for customers in the digital world. Wolt’s vision is to build a digital version of the shopping mall in your pocket. During her chat with us, Alina discussed the following matters:What is information infrastructure and architecture?The definition of mental models.How mental models can be leveraged to make the process of online shopping easier and more intuitive for the consumer.What makes customers stay longer and use the product repeatedly? Is there one, main purpose of ecommerce experience compared to customer experiences at brick-and-mortar stores?Moderator: Tomasz Grynkiewicz, NetguruThis episode was recorded during Disruption Forum Retail 2021 by Netguru. Find out more at https://hubs.ly/H0X_0p10