041: Racing Stripes | Andrea Reynolds and Swoop

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Hey there, welcome to episode 41
and money, never sleeps podcast,

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it looks inside the head of
entrepreneurs in at what makes

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them do what they do.
I'm Pete Townsend your co-host

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of money.
Never sleeps, so long with this

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week's Comeback Kid.
I want Fitzgerald this episode

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of money.
Never sleeps is kindly sponsored

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by Ireland's fintech and
financial services recruitment

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specialist.
Top-tier recruitment, you are a

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colleague need help, attracting
retaining great talent for your

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fintech or financial services
company.

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We Highly recommend, you have a
chat with a team at top-tier

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recruitment, as they really know
their stuff.

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You can find them at top-tier
Recruitment.com and tell him we

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sent you.
I first heard about what Andrea

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Reynolds was up to when she
spoke at this year's high

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potential startup event put on
by Enterprise Ireland and I

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like, what she had to say,
Andrew is a founder and CEO of

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swoop who simplified speed up
access to loans, grants and

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Equity funding for businesses.
Be on the extreme relevance to

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what Owen.
And I both do with our day jobs

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and was just a really cool
person.

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So we're thrilled to chat with
her.

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Here we go, with episode 41 of
money.

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Never sleeps.
Here we go again.

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Welcome to money.
Never sleeps were here and we

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worked up and Landings in the
offices of our sponsor top-tier

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recruitment.
I'm Pete Townsend, and I'm old

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Fitzgerald.
And we're here with Andrea

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Reynolds the founder and CEO of
soup.

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Welcome to the show, Andrea.
Thanks Paige.

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It's great to be here.
Awesome, thanks for coming.

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So I think that you and Owen
know each other probably a

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little bit better than I know
you given we just met just weird

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moderated.
A panel Iran last week.

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Correct.
Interscope said I was okay.

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Matt relationships a week old
You were not at the HPS you

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event.
That is my darling.

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Hold on.
No, I should.

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You have been there possibly?
Okay.

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You were.
And you were on stage.

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I was yeah.
So I remember hearing what

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you're up to.
I'm like, ooh, we got to talk to

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her.
Yes.

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And then I was very pleasantly
surprised that Owen made it all

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happen.
Great.

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So here we are.
So maybe just to get things

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started.
You can give us a bit of your

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back story on what got you to
this point in life and what

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you're up to now, sure.
So I started my career With

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KPMG, Dublin in the financial
services division and I trained

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as an accountant had a
wonderful.

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Wonderful time, their wonderful
career spent most of my time

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with gonna speed Aviation so
GPA.

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And so was really surrounded in
a very entrepreneurial

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environment from the get-go.
Most people associate auditing

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as very staid but my experience
was completely different.

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And then I decided like a lot of
Irish people that I was going to

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London for a year and I went for
the year and didn't come back.

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I worked with KPMG in London,
but felt that the atmosphere was

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not the entrepreneurial
environment that I'd experienced

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in Ireland.
So I was actually seconded to

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the financial conduct authority
to write insurance directives

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and I thought, no, this is not
me or my personality so I left

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and that was back in 2014.
I decided I was going to set up

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my own Corporate Finance
advisory arm and Serendipity.

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McLaren the formula one team had
just set up McLaren Applied

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Technologies, and that was for
them to do joint ventures.

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So, spinnings to McLaren and
spinouts from McLaren and I

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looked after those those
businesses that they were

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incubating.
And so my job was to actually

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raise all the finance that those
businesses needed.

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And as you can imagine, they
were highly Innovative Capital

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intensive businesses
pre-revenue.

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So I had to look under every
single Rock to find every form

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of funding, that was out there.
And that's where I got into this

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space of looking for funding for
growth businesses.

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And that's how I got to this
point now.

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Okay, so with KPMG give me speed
Aviation be a big client and

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then McLaren with F1 that whole
kind of that that transition

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with the the the background of
the types of companies that you

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were either auditing more
Consulting.

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Or helping.
Yes.

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How did you how did you do that,
right?

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How did you, what was that
transition?

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Like, across the different kind
of product lines.

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I've always been really curious
about businesses, and when I was

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actually an auditor, one thing
clients used to always say to me

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was, but you're not an auditor,
you don't come across as an

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accountant or an auditor and
probably, because my, just my

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genuine curiosity was, I wanted
to know how these businesses

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worked And I wanted to
understand what were the

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weaknesses and the strengths of
every particular business within

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a sector.
So I've never had a problem

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understanding any form of
business.

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And I think that experience that
I got from KPMG of assessing,

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lots of different types of
businesses.

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Help me.
Then when I moved into my into

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my own Consulting business to
never get overwhelmed by

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whatever the business is, at the
end of the day, there is a

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universality about businesses.
Is regardless of what the

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product or the sector is.
Okay, I got you.

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And do you think when you were
an auditor, I know there's going

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going a little bit, little bit
back but just curious about that

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because I had.
So I was never an accountant

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myself but I've played one on
TV.

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We do you think you kind of went
above and beyond you had your

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own framework for auditing and
how you looked at companies and

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you were doing probably a bit
more of a SWOT analysis than an

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audit?
Yes, my favorite aspect of

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auditing a business and actually
it's stood me in great stead and

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I'll come on to it in terms of
where we are today and what

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we've achieved my biggest Joy
was doing the walkthrough

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process of the business, so
literally you take it from

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inception through to it.
Going out the door through two

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Collections and just really
understanding the business at.

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It's very core.
What's the business model and

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that to me was probably the best
training I've ever.

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Okay.
Okay.

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And with, I saw arc consultancy
on your LinkedIn profile.

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That was the where you got into
the McLaren area and that?

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Yes.
And I combined because and why I

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led to to building a platform,
but I combined large clients

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with younger ones.
So I preferred working with

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younger more challenging
businesses, that really need a

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growth Finance with the larger
ones because the ones I really

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wanted to work with could never
afford it.

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Corporate Finance advisor.
And So I Married it with working

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with larger organizations and
again that wasn't something I

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had designed and thought about
it actually worked out really

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well because I was able to stay
in touch with what are the large

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companies looking for, what's
happening, what are the trends

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occurring and then being able to
go back and say, oh, there's all

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of these Innovative companies
and sometimes I'd actually match

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both my clients together, we're
a young Tech.

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Penny would have solved a
problem for what a large

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Enterprise was having.
So that's, that was quite

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useful.
Actually, yeah, I'm totally with

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you.
I think the same way and, you

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know, initially, for me, it was
that there were no big clients

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there.
They were just small ones.

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Yeah.
And then you get the big ones

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and that gives you more Liberty
to work with the small ones.

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Like I said.
Yeah.

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Yeah.
And then you start connecting

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the dots between the two.
Yes.

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Oh we're totally aligned on
that.

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Yeah.
Cool.

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Since the the are consultancy
things since you've kind of

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transitioned how How did that go
moving?

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And what was the decision point
to say that you were going to

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launch swoop here?
Lots of you know years of

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experience there and
opportunities to get a real.

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Like I said at the beginning
framework there for you to

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assess businesses, the funding
situation, what do they need?

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But then kind of make it more
accessible for people for

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companies.
Tell me about how you made that

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decision.
Sure, I think when you leave a

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large corporate so you've been
in this environment of large.

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Ization, where there are
departments, that solve certain

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things for you and you focus on
your one track to move out of

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the large corporate environment.
Your salary gets paid at the end

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of every month to move out of
that.

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And start your own business is
one huge leap to make and so I

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think moving from large
corporate to consultancy doing

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similar work that I was doing
was a good idea.

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It was a nice transition before
starting my own Tech business.

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And so you have to learn how to
run your own business and that

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is a challenge in itself.
And I felt that the Consulting

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side of things allowed me to
make those mistakes that

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everybody makes when you don't
know what it means to to run and

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grow a business.
And so that was my learning

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ground and what it also enabled
me to do was to earn a living

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and set aside revenues that I
could then put towards what my

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hypothesis was that the market
needed my X.

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And I didn't want to to lose my
earning capabilities while I was

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testing that out.
So what it enabled me to do was

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actually put money aside to
build prototype and to then be

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able to go out and speak to key
stakeholders.

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And say, Here's my idea.
And, by the way, here's a

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click-through prototype and get
reaction to see.

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Was I right?
And so that for me was a nice

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way to transition into starting
a tech company?

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And when did your feet when did,
You sort of get that idea that

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you wanted to go down the route
of building a tech company, was

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it kind of prior to stepping out
to do to Consulting with that?

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The first step to get to
something later?

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Or did it just come over the
course of doing the consultancy?

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Or I never actually set out to
start a tech company?

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How is came about was as a
corporate finance advisor?

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First of all, the UK Market in
particular is highly fragmented.

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Second of all the market was
growing.

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It was expanding massively
because 2010, the British

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Business Bank came in and they
really seeded the alternative

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Finance Market in the UK.
So, the good news for a business

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owner was that there was all of
these alternative Finance

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providers out there.
The bad news is they still had

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the same amount of time to try
and navigate the market.

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And so, every time I'd work with
a company, or I was getting all

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of these word-of-mouth referrals
saying apparently you know where

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to get a grant you know what the
lending markets like.

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And so I was getting all of
these clients By Word of Mouth.

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And I realized I can't be
everywhere.

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Half of them.
Can't afford me.

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Surely, I can bring all of this
together in a scalable way

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through technology.
And so, it was more about how

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can I automate what I do?
Rather than, oh, hey, I'm going

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to start a tech business.
That's that's how it came about.

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Yeah, yeah.
It's having first-hand

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experience with the problem that
you're solving.

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Yeah.
Right.

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I was just annoyed that I
couldn't go somewhere.

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Yeah, and find what.
A my business is eligible for

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I'm fully enough.
My annoyance started mainly The

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UK government and, and being an
auditor funny thing.

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I decided I'd ordered how much
the UK government spends on SME

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interventions.
And what return do they get for

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the taxpayer?
And, and what, how is that

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moving?
The dial for actual smes and I

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did a whole order went through
the Public Accounts committee

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got every single piece of
evidence, put it together and I

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presented in Downing Street,
It's to the Enterprise adviser

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to the cabinet office.
I had, literally this Roundtable

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in Margaret Thatcher's old
office, I was terrified and I

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was essentially embarrassing
them into how badly they are

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running the grants intervention.
And so I was like well you're

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spending 12 billion a year and
four billion goes in admin and

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two billion gets lost and Grand
fraud.

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Oh and by the way, you're not
moving the dial at all and you

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don't even know what's working
and not working and I gave them

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00:12:04,300 --> 00:12:07,600
Really, really embarrassing case
study and they said, you know

231
00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:13,100
what, you are. 100% right?
We know it's broken, we love

232
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your solution.
You're the first one in the door

233
00:12:14,900 --> 00:12:17,600
with this solution, and that was
the moment.

234
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After getting that feedback,
they wrote to me and said that

235
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was one in the top 1% of
presentations we've ever had

236
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Downing Street and I was like,
that's it.

237
00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:28,700
I'm I'm putting everything into
this.

238
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Well no.
And that was the day.

239
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I basically started to hire a
tech team, when was that?

240
00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:37,200
That was in 2016 in 2016.
Yeah, okay.

241
00:12:37,500 --> 00:12:39,400
Yeah.
And when did you when did you

242
00:12:39,400 --> 00:12:42,300
hit MVP?
When was that when was that

243
00:12:42,300 --> 00:12:44,600
long?
So this comes into the one of my

244
00:12:44,600 --> 00:12:50,300
learnings, what did I do wrong?
So I did not have any experience

245
00:12:50,300 --> 00:12:55,600
of tech tech people didn't know
what an API was didn't know what

246
00:12:55,600 --> 00:12:59,000
a piece of code look.
Like, I knew nothing, I was a

247
00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:03,900
domain expert, and I've had a
painful Journey.

248
00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:08,600
Of Miss spending on, poor tech
for tech people.

249
00:13:09,100 --> 00:13:13,100
And I think, if I was to to say,
you know, if somebody starting

250
00:13:13,100 --> 00:13:16,800
out today similar to me, where
you, you want to bring something

251
00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:19,300
to your world where you are a
domain expert.

252
00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:22,300
The I think that's an area where
you really need to take your

253
00:13:22,300 --> 00:13:24,800
time on, choosing your Tech
providers.

254
00:13:25,100 --> 00:13:28,300
How do you know whether someone
is good or not, you're just

255
00:13:28,300 --> 00:13:33,400
going by what you're being told,
and I made mistakes and I lost

256
00:13:33,800 --> 00:13:36,100
time.
Time and investment into that

257
00:13:36,100 --> 00:13:39,000
process.
And I think I was speaking with

258
00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:42,600
Enterprise Ireland about, you
know, we won the overseas

259
00:13:43,100 --> 00:13:46,400
competitive start fund.
That's how I we ended up back in

260
00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:51,000
Ireland, and relocating here.
And thankfully, I had made my

261
00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:53,800
mistakes before we won that
because then I was able to use

262
00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:57,000
that funding, to build the
correct version with the correct

263
00:13:57,000 --> 00:14:01,600
team and I sometimes hear from
others who have one last that

264
00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:06,900
they lost that money.
Through making bad Tech partner

265
00:14:06,900 --> 00:14:09,500
decisions.
So that's we would have launched

266
00:14:09,500 --> 00:14:12,800
earlier but we launched in May
2018.

267
00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:15,200
Okay.
And how do things look today?

268
00:14:16,400 --> 00:14:21,400
We're on that part of the cycle
where nothing seems to be going

269
00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:24,300
wrong for us.
And I don't know how long that

270
00:14:24,300 --> 00:14:27,600
lasts and I'll take it while I
can because it's not always

271
00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:31,700
going to be like this but we
launched in me and our momentum

272
00:14:31,700 --> 00:14:34,600
has been phenomenal.
I could not have I've wished for

273
00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:38,300
more and I say that because it
wasn't always like that.

274
00:14:38,300 --> 00:14:43,500
I've had many painful long talks
with myself to say is this the

275
00:14:43,500 --> 00:14:47,300
right thing to do but we
launched in May and then really

276
00:14:47,300 --> 00:14:50,800
the game changer for us was we
won a competition called the

277
00:14:50,800 --> 00:14:55,200
open banking challenge in the
UK, and open banking as a

278
00:14:55,200 --> 00:15:01,000
phrase, that not many people
know, but by 2020 to 80% of

279
00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:04,100
businesses will be using open
banking every day of their

280
00:15:04,300 --> 00:15:05,800
Lives.
And essentially it's based

281
00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:10,400
around PSD to all.
It means is that you as a bank

282
00:15:10,400 --> 00:15:13,800
account holder or any accounts
that you hold you are the owner

283
00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:17,200
of your data and and it
basically moves ownership of

284
00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:21,000
your data from the banks to you
and you can share that data via

285
00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:23,500
platforms like us to get the
best deals for you.

286
00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:27,900
So timing for us, was
incredible, we launched in may,

287
00:15:27,900 --> 00:15:32,800
we entered a competition, which
we won in July, twenty twenty

288
00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:37,300
eighteen and And they gave us a
hundred thousand to build out.

289
00:15:37,700 --> 00:15:41,000
A piece of functionality in our
platform which enabled us to

290
00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:45,600
integrate with all of the banks
in the UK, our customers can

291
00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:49,500
integrate their bank accounts
and then in seconds, we analyze

292
00:15:49,500 --> 00:15:52,600
how they're using their bank
account, and then we start to

293
00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:54,400
show them.
Actually, you're with the wrong

294
00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:57,000
Bank actually, you shouldn't be
paying for your International

295
00:15:57,000 --> 00:15:59,300
payments with your bank because
you're getting fleeced, you

296
00:15:59,300 --> 00:16:02,600
should be using transfer meat or
transferwise and we help them

297
00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:04,500
switch over to those.
Eyes.

298
00:16:04,900 --> 00:16:08,700
So we identify the savings that
businesses can make we.

299
00:16:08,700 --> 00:16:11,600
And the reason we do that is to
improve their Financial Health,

300
00:16:11,700 --> 00:16:14,500
as soon as we improve their
Financial Health that helps

301
00:16:14,500 --> 00:16:16,600
their affordability to go get a
loan.

302
00:16:16,700 --> 00:16:20,300
So one example I give you a
small business starting out like

303
00:16:20,300 --> 00:16:24,500
ourselves turning over 100,000.
We identified he was using

304
00:16:24,500 --> 00:16:27,700
Lloyd's and they're all the same
so I'm not poking.

305
00:16:27,700 --> 00:16:32,900
I'm Lloyd's he was spending 15
pounds per transaction and then

306
00:16:32,900 --> 00:16:36,000
we compared the spot right here,
I was getting with Lloyds to

307
00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:40,300
transferwise and we worked out
that in that 12 month period.

308
00:16:40,300 --> 00:16:44,400
He could we could save him 6,000
pounds at the same time, he was

309
00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:48,100
looking for a 25,000-pound loan
from his bank.

310
00:16:48,100 --> 00:16:49,600
They told him he couldn't afford
it.

311
00:16:50,100 --> 00:16:53,500
When we'd saved him, the 6,000
pounds that equaled a years

312
00:16:53,500 --> 00:16:57,100
repayments on his 25 Grand low.
So within a few clicks on the

313
00:16:57,100 --> 00:17:00,500
platform, not only saved and
that we've now given him his

314
00:17:00,500 --> 00:17:03,500
first year as repayments
nothing's changed in his life,

315
00:17:03,500 --> 00:17:07,700
other than He's gotten a bit of
intelligent analysis, about how

316
00:17:07,700 --> 00:17:10,200
did financial decisions, he's
making and how he's using his

317
00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:13,200
bank account.
So, that for us, was a

318
00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:16,300
game-changer, in terms of we
built that functionality and

319
00:17:16,300 --> 00:17:19,700
then we presented that to the
competitions and Market

320
00:17:19,700 --> 00:17:24,700
Authority in the UK.
And a lot of Judges was 24

321
00:17:24,700 --> 00:17:28,099
judges on the panel, including
the global head of Digital

322
00:17:28,099 --> 00:17:31,500
Services for Mackenzie has quite
a Quite a feat.

323
00:17:31,700 --> 00:17:34,300
And and they selected us as the
Her.

324
00:17:34,500 --> 00:17:36,800
Okay.
And so that, now means we've

325
00:17:36,800 --> 00:17:40,600
launched with nine banks in the
UK and that in itself, brings

326
00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:43,500
its own momentum.
So that's really been the

327
00:17:43,500 --> 00:17:46,400
majority of why things have
really gone, well, for us this

328
00:17:46,400 --> 00:17:48,900
year.
And I thought that's fantastic.

329
00:17:48,900 --> 00:17:52,000
I mean, how have the bank's
responded to, yeah?

330
00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:54,500
I mean, it seems like an element
of something that's forced upon

331
00:17:54,500 --> 00:17:56,500
them.
Open Banking, and PST to, and

332
00:17:56,500 --> 00:17:58,300
yes, you know, in that law is
example.

333
00:17:58,300 --> 00:18:03,000
Not necessarily good, for them
know, when we started out, when

334
00:18:03,100 --> 00:18:06,700
in 2016, I started out, I could
not get a meeting with the bank,

335
00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:11,100
just nobody cared.
Why would they and fast forward

336
00:18:11,100 --> 00:18:13,800
to today?
I can the conversations I'm

337
00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:18,500
having are just unimaginable and
what's happened particular in

338
00:18:18,500 --> 00:18:22,300
the UK, but it is changing here
in Ireland to initially.

339
00:18:22,300 --> 00:18:26,000
They saw it as a threat and then
they realized well these you

340
00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:28,800
know, Challengers are coming in
revolutes, taking our customers

341
00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:30,700
mons.
Oh they're all taking our

342
00:18:30,700 --> 00:18:32,600
customers.
So we're just going to have to

343
00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:35,500
get over this and Come up with,
what's our strategy for the

344
00:18:35,500 --> 00:18:38,000
future.
So they've gone from seeing this

345
00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:41,100
as a as a challenger competitor
space.

346
00:18:41,100 --> 00:18:46,400
To actually, let's Embrace this.
And let's work out our new, our

347
00:18:46,400 --> 00:18:48,200
new strategy.
And so what they're doing is

348
00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:52,300
collaborating, they still own
the customer relationship.

349
00:18:52,300 --> 00:18:56,400
They have the brand Equity, so
they still have time to turn

350
00:18:56,400 --> 00:18:59,100
this around.
And, you know, I was just

351
00:18:59,100 --> 00:19:02,400
reading or BS has strategy for
the future and they see

352
00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:05,800
themselves as the Amazon.
Of the financial services

353
00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:08,500
industry, that it'll be a
Marketplace that if they're not

354
00:19:08,500 --> 00:19:13,000
the ones to give you the the
loan or any other service that

355
00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:14,900
they'll show you the marketplace
to do that.

356
00:19:15,700 --> 00:19:18,600
So we are, we're running Pilots
with some of the banks here in

357
00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:23,000
Ireland, as well as the UK and
we're integrating with nine of

358
00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:25,700
them in the UK.
So I've seen a complete shift,

359
00:19:25,900 --> 00:19:30,400
we are speaking with the three
main Banks here where they are

360
00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:33,600
embracing open banking.
They don't have to in the UK was

361
00:19:33,600 --> 00:19:34,400
mandatory.
Three.

362
00:19:34,500 --> 00:19:38,500
Whereas here, it's a choice.
Yeah, so that this is truly you.

363
00:19:38,500 --> 00:19:40,900
Taking everything that was
inside your head for how youth

364
00:19:40,900 --> 00:19:42,400
look at a company.
Yes.

365
00:19:42,700 --> 00:19:45,500
Big or small correct.
And you'd say, how can I

366
00:19:45,500 --> 00:19:49,100
actually automate that and we're
going to use the word

367
00:19:49,100 --> 00:19:51,500
automation, we're not going to
use artificial intelligence.

368
00:19:51,700 --> 00:19:53,600
We're not going to use natural
language processing.

369
00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:56,100
We're just we're just saying
automated yes.

370
00:19:56,100 --> 00:19:58,100
Gail it.
Yes, yes.

371
00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:00,500
But it nap.
Yes.

372
00:20:00,500 --> 00:20:01,600
That's effectively what you've
done.

373
00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:05,000
Yes, that's pretty cool.
And you know, it Tricks I used

374
00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:07,900
to do for businesses was, I
would say, you know, because a

375
00:20:07,900 --> 00:20:11,200
lot of businesses, they're not
accountants and why, should

376
00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:13,100
they, why should they be?
But they need to know their

377
00:20:13,100 --> 00:20:15,600
numbers.
So I used to build this little

378
00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:18,000
Fitbit for their businesses, and
I'd say, okay, don't be

379
00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:20,300
terrified of the numbers.
Just look at these little

380
00:20:20,300 --> 00:20:23,600
indicators, like you do when you
look at your weight or anything.

381
00:20:23,700 --> 00:20:26,200
When it goes up, this is good.
When it goes down, you need to

382
00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:28,000
worry.
Look at your overhead.

383
00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:30,200
See if you can improve that
number by the time I get back to

384
00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:34,000
you next week and it worked and
I would see growth and business.

385
00:20:34,100 --> 00:20:37,400
Has I would see business owners
becoming empowered about their

386
00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:41,900
financial understanding and so
we built that piece of Kiss into

387
00:20:41,900 --> 00:20:45,500
the into the platform as well
and yes it is Automation and yes

388
00:20:45,500 --> 00:20:49,800
I'm sure machine learning and AI
comes from this but yes.

389
00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:54,100
In simple man's terms.
It's just my brain and it seems

390
00:20:54,100 --> 00:20:55,800
like a bit of a mission I
suppose given to us.

391
00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:57,500
Yeah.
It's it was a frustration you

392
00:20:57,500 --> 00:21:01,900
felt now and do you find that
you're on a path to helping

393
00:21:01,900 --> 00:21:04,900
businesses?
And yes, I'm quite He can

394
00:21:04,908 --> 00:21:11,100
probably tell, I just think it's
so unfair that smes are make up

395
00:21:11,100 --> 00:21:15,500
99% of businesses and they are
what the economy relies on to

396
00:21:15,500 --> 00:21:18,900
get countries out of recession.
So smes are well, got this

397
00:21:18,900 --> 00:21:22,400
country out of recession and
yet, it's the most underserved

398
00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:25,300
Market.
Why is that, why, why should a

399
00:21:25,308 --> 00:21:29,400
company sitting in Longford, if
it's a brilliant company, why

400
00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:34,000
should that company not access
investor Finance as easily as?

401
00:21:34,100 --> 00:21:37,600
A business sitting in London is
that for me is kind of, it

402
00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:40,500
doesn't make any sense and I
think if you're a great company

403
00:21:40,500 --> 00:21:42,900
and you're eligible for that
finance and you needed to grow

404
00:21:42,900 --> 00:21:45,200
your business then it should be
available to.

405
00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:48,100
Okay what was that moment that
you were sitting in Downing

406
00:21:48,100 --> 00:21:50,600
Street or perhaps afterwards,
where they gave you, the good

407
00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:53,700
feedback on that that you
realize you had something?

408
00:21:53,700 --> 00:21:55,600
Or was it at some point after
that?

409
00:21:56,700 --> 00:21:58,800
I thought I had something before
that.

410
00:21:58,900 --> 00:22:02,700
Okay, I just didn't have the
courage to say, I have

411
00:22:02,700 --> 00:22:05,100
something.
Yeah, and I suppose, I just

412
00:22:05,100 --> 00:22:09,400
wanted a little bit of external
validation that I wasn't, you

413
00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:13,200
know, to Tunnel Focus that I
thought I had something great

414
00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:17,000
and working with a lot of young
businesses, you do come across

415
00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:19,500
businesses where they think they
have something great.

416
00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:24,400
And it's not a viable business.
And so, I'd seen that myself and

417
00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:28,000
working with clients and I
thought Just need somebody who

418
00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:31,400
knew doesn't know me.
Yeah, a challenging group of

419
00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:34,200
individuals, and I don't think
he can get more challenging than

420
00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:38,400
that group and, and to go there
and hear that.

421
00:22:38,500 --> 00:22:40,600
Yes.
Because I had the Department of

422
00:22:40,608 --> 00:22:44,700
Business and UK t.i., which is
the, you know, the export agency

423
00:22:45,700 --> 00:22:49,000
individuals who work with a lot
of businesses and to hear them

424
00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:52,400
say this is a great idea.
All my customers were telling me

425
00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:55,000
it was a great idea but I
thought I'd they just being nice

426
00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:57,300
because yeah I do.
A lot of work for them so that

427
00:22:57,300 --> 00:22:58,700
was until they pay you more for
it.

428
00:22:58,700 --> 00:22:59,600
Yes.
Yeah.

429
00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:02,100
They're just thinking well I can
get it for free now.

430
00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:05,600
Yeah and you talked about the
learning as opposed over that

431
00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:09,200
first year of when you were
looking to start his wash what

432
00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:11,200
different learnings have.
You had known the last year when

433
00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:16,500
things have been on an upward
trajectory yes, building a team,

434
00:23:16,900 --> 00:23:20,000
building a team and how to be a
good leader.

435
00:23:20,500 --> 00:23:22,700
So it's all very well when
you're on your own and then

436
00:23:22,700 --> 00:23:26,600
you've a co-founder and you have
this sort of your your Little

437
00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:30,800
group, tight-knit group and then
you're scaling fast.

438
00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:35,200
So you've started hiring fast.
And I think that for me managing

439
00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:40,700
that growth of people and and
trying to instill in them the

440
00:23:40,700 --> 00:23:45,400
passion that we all feel.
And for me, it would just kill

441
00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:47,400
me.
If we had somebody who joined

442
00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:50,600
our platform and didn't feel
that they got value out of it

443
00:23:50,900 --> 00:23:52,800
and that they had someone on the
other end of the phone that was

444
00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:55,400
intelligent.
That wasn't just reading a

445
00:23:55,408 --> 00:23:57,900
script and trying To push them
through the sausage machine.

446
00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:03,000
I was looking for so all of our
team are really well except have

447
00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:06,400
great experience in so they're
either X Equity analyst or

448
00:24:06,400 --> 00:24:09,200
Underwriters or financial
advisers.

449
00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:13,600
So I want to marry the
technology with an empathetic

450
00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:19,100
smart team and trying to find
that you know, that it's really

451
00:24:19,100 --> 00:24:22,100
hard.
So that for me I think has been

452
00:24:22,500 --> 00:24:25,800
the challenge that I thought.
Yeah, I'll just recruit people.

453
00:24:26,300 --> 00:24:29,500
Then you realize it recruiting
people who have the same

454
00:24:29,500 --> 00:24:32,600
philosophy.
Same empathy for businesses that

455
00:24:32,600 --> 00:24:36,900
I do has been challenging and
and then motivating them when

456
00:24:36,900 --> 00:24:38,900
you're not there all of the
time.

457
00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:41,900
I think that's been the most,
the most challenging and I had

458
00:24:41,900 --> 00:24:44,100
to fire someone.
That was the worst thing I've

459
00:24:44,100 --> 00:24:47,100
ever had to do.
Did it take a long time?

460
00:24:47,700 --> 00:24:50,900
I did talk me about Founders
Forum.

461
00:24:50,900 --> 00:24:54,700
That is where I would say.
I love my Founders Forum group.

462
00:24:55,500 --> 00:25:00,400
We eat Each bring our challenges
to the table and that is just

463
00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:02,800
the most phenomenal program,
that Enterprise Ireland has

464
00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:05,800
created, and it's just world
class.

465
00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:08,900
So I brought my Challenger.
I know, I have to follow this

466
00:25:08,900 --> 00:25:11,800
person, I don't want to.
I've never fired anyone in my

467
00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:19,000
life and they really talk to me
through the process and and also

468
00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:21,400
they're saying you have to
report back on the, what's up

469
00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:24,700
for?
So I've no choice, I've got to

470
00:25:24,700 --> 00:25:27,800
go do it and then you do it.
And you, Realize actually that

471
00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:29,800
that person probably done them a
favor.

472
00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:32,200
We weren't the right fit for
them as much as they weren't the

473
00:25:32,200 --> 00:25:34,400
right fit for us.
So yeah, yeah.

474
00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:37,900
We're with the Ali Walsh who's
the founder and CEO of pipit out

475
00:25:37,900 --> 00:25:40,300
in Galway.
He's spoken just as well about

476
00:25:40,300 --> 00:25:42,800
the founders form.
I hadn't been aware of it until

477
00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:45,500
I was at that high potential
startup event that you were at

478
00:25:45,500 --> 00:25:47,100
and saw the video on that
talking.

479
00:25:47,100 --> 00:25:51,400
Yes, yeah, seems pretty cool.
Yes, hiring is hard.

480
00:25:51,400 --> 00:25:53,800
Firing is just as hard, if not
harder.

481
00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:56,100
You mentioned courage, a few
minutes ago.

482
00:25:56,200 --> 00:25:59,100
Go right as something that you
perhaps didn't have the courage

483
00:25:59,100 --> 00:26:02,500
to the beginning, to take some
of these fantastic ideas you had

484
00:26:02,500 --> 00:26:04,400
and basically turn them into
products, right?

485
00:26:04,400 --> 00:26:08,000
Or turn them into services that
injection of inspiration that

486
00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:10,700
you got from that.
Experience on Downing Street,

487
00:26:10,700 --> 00:26:14,200
seems to have gone a long way in
terms of creating the courage

488
00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:14,800
there.
Right?

489
00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:17,900
What else, what are some of the
other personality traits that

490
00:26:17,908 --> 00:26:20,100
you think have been helpful or
enabled you to get to this

491
00:26:20,100 --> 00:26:24,100
point?
I perseverance.

492
00:26:24,300 --> 00:26:26,200
Mmm.
And I don't say that.

493
00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:29,200
As in perseverance, I think
about who I have perseverance, I

494
00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:33,500
just get on with it.
I don't really got huge highs

495
00:26:33,500 --> 00:26:36,100
and lows.
So, when when things are really

496
00:26:36,100 --> 00:26:40,700
bad, I just go great.
I'll just knuckle down and get

497
00:26:40,700 --> 00:26:42,900
on with it.
And when things are really high,

498
00:26:42,900 --> 00:26:44,600
I think that's great.
But this is just a little

499
00:26:44,600 --> 00:26:47,000
Milestone Tomorrow.
There's going to be something

500
00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:51,700
else so I try and keep an even
Keel as to you know today's a

501
00:26:51,700 --> 00:26:53,900
good day.
Tomorrow's bad day can be the

502
00:26:53,900 --> 00:26:58,700
same in one day.
I So for me, that just keeping

503
00:26:58,700 --> 00:27:01,800
it together, whether it's a good
day or a bad day.

504
00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:04,300
I think probably one of the
things that have stood me in

505
00:27:04,300 --> 00:27:07,000
good stead so I don't panic
about that things.

506
00:27:08,100 --> 00:27:12,400
I can quickly think on my feet
when I'm put into a situation

507
00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:17,600
and that's helped a lot.
I think I've got empathy for who

508
00:27:17,600 --> 00:27:20,200
my customer is.
I like I've sat in their seats

509
00:27:20,700 --> 00:27:23,600
so I didn't come from this as oh
there's a market opportunity

510
00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:27,400
because of legislation changes
in PSD to I came from it from

511
00:27:27,600 --> 00:27:30,800
this is really frustrating.
If you're a business owner, it's

512
00:27:30,800 --> 00:27:33,300
just not right.
And so I think knowing my

513
00:27:33,300 --> 00:27:36,300
customer because I've lived and
breathed that experience has

514
00:27:36,300 --> 00:27:39,700
been the biggest strength of
all, and I think differentiates

515
00:27:39,700 --> 00:27:42,500
us from our competitors and
empathy.

516
00:27:42,500 --> 00:27:46,100
I have huge amount of empathy.
I love people, I love

517
00:27:46,100 --> 00:27:48,200
businesses.
Love getting to know those

518
00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:52,000
businesses and I think there the
the qualities that I think will

519
00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:55,300
sustain me throughout this.
So I'll always love what I do

520
00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:57,800
because I love working.
NG with different businesses.

521
00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:00,600
So it's not really a chore ever.
Yeah.

522
00:28:00,900 --> 00:28:03,300
Okay.
And what's the, what to do next

523
00:28:03,300 --> 00:28:06,100
12 months old and it's been a
fantastic last 12 months, but it

524
00:28:06,100 --> 00:28:07,300
sounds good.
Yes.

525
00:28:08,300 --> 00:28:12,100
So we're really, really focusing
on our building our

526
00:28:12,100 --> 00:28:16,700
relationships with the bank's we
are direct to Market ourselves.

527
00:28:16,700 --> 00:28:19,100
So the platform is available,
it's free to use.

528
00:28:19,100 --> 00:28:23,400
It's free to register and get
all of the the results that you

529
00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:28,700
are eligible for reaching.
The SME, Marcus is a difficult

530
00:28:28,700 --> 00:28:32,000
task even with our years of
experience in it.

531
00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:35,700
So we did we get our name out
there and awareness out there

532
00:28:35,700 --> 00:28:39,400
through Partnerships and the
other route is now working with

533
00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:42,600
the banks.
So building our relationships

534
00:28:42,600 --> 00:28:47,400
with the bank's both in Ireland
and the UK is priority. 101 in

535
00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:49,700
some cases, their licensing, our
technology.

536
00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:53,400
So we're white labeling it and
then they can have their own

537
00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:56,900
version of it themselves.
In some cases it's Just through

538
00:28:56,900 --> 00:29:00,300
Integrations with certain
aspects of their platforms.

539
00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:02,900
So I think for us that's that's
the focus.

540
00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:10,400
We have Ambitions to launch in
Asia, so we have already started

541
00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:16,100
the investigation process of
Asia and it looks like Singapore

542
00:29:16,100 --> 00:29:18,500
Shanghai would be the good entry
point for us.

543
00:29:18,500 --> 00:29:22,400
Most likely, Singapore.
So that's another huge challenge

544
00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:24,800
that I've never experienced
before and taking something

545
00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:27,200
Global.
So Being actually, in the Irish,

546
00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:29,200
in the UK Market is very
interesting.

547
00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:31,900
You probably think actually
we're very similar.

548
00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:34,600
Absolutely not.
Yeah, absolutely.

549
00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:39,700
Not the, the psyche of an Irish
business owner versus the UK.

550
00:29:39,700 --> 00:29:42,200
When is completely different.
The market is completely

551
00:29:42,200 --> 00:29:45,000
different.
An Irish business owner is a lot

552
00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:50,300
more, conservative, a lot more
Savvy in terms of achieving

553
00:29:50,300 --> 00:29:52,400
better rates for what they're
looking for.

554
00:29:53,500 --> 00:29:56,000
And, and yeah, I just think
actually.

555
00:29:56,100 --> 00:30:01,600
Lee, I would say better run when
you when they're at a certain

556
00:30:01,600 --> 00:30:06,300
stage better run businesses, the
UK, our psyche is more.

557
00:30:06,500 --> 00:30:10,000
I need the cash I needed.
Now, I'll figure out the radar

558
00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:12,800
after all refinancing.
Three months tired.

559
00:30:12,900 --> 00:30:15,100
What's going on right now?
The UK.

560
00:30:15,100 --> 00:30:18,000
Yeah, yeah.
And and, and you have to look at

561
00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:19,800
that eye.
They move faster.

562
00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:24,800
So they grow faster with that
attitude and they understand or

563
00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:26,600
I can refinance, yes.
Rate today.

564
00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:28,500
I'm not going to be paying in
three months time.

565
00:30:28,700 --> 00:30:32,400
So I think it's a younger Market
here in terms of the alternative

566
00:30:32,400 --> 00:30:34,700
Finance Market.
A lot of businesses, think the

567
00:30:34,700 --> 00:30:36,600
only place they can still go was
the bank.

568
00:30:36,700 --> 00:30:38,600
Yeah.
And then they get rejected and

569
00:30:38,600 --> 00:30:39,600
then they think.
Well, that's it.

570
00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:42,800
I'll have to put my plans on
hold or or use my own cash flow

571
00:30:42,800 --> 00:30:47,200
to reinvest, whereas the markets
of a bit further on down the

572
00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:49,900
line in the UK.
So I just very well run

573
00:30:49,900 --> 00:30:52,600
businesses here, but more
conservative, for sure.

574
00:30:52,700 --> 00:30:54,600
Yeah, yeah, and in terms of
people knowing what their

575
00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:57,500
options are here in Ireland.
I mean, We before we got started

576
00:30:57,500 --> 00:30:59,300
today, Andrea, we talked a
little bit about blockchain

577
00:30:59,300 --> 00:31:01,700
Ireland week.
It's going on here at the end of

578
00:31:01,700 --> 00:31:05,700
May.
And one of the projects as part

579
00:31:05,700 --> 00:31:09,400
of the working groups that I'm
heading up for four blocks in

580
00:31:09,400 --> 00:31:13,000
Ireland, is looking at.
What is it that blockchain

581
00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:16,600
enabled startups need to know
about funding about grants about

582
00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:20,200
how to get investment because
there is a lot of Word of Mouth

583
00:31:20,200 --> 00:31:24,000
that goes around.
There are the, you know, the

584
00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:26,000
usual places that people may
direct you.

585
00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:27,900
Such as to Enterprise Ireland,
right?

586
00:31:27,900 --> 00:31:30,100
Or two.
Perhaps they very small VC

587
00:31:30,100 --> 00:31:36,100
Market here, but it's just,
there needs to be a way to level

588
00:31:36,100 --> 00:31:38,300
the playing field.
So, everybody just has access to

589
00:31:38,300 --> 00:31:40,500
the same information.
So, one of the first things

590
00:31:40,500 --> 00:31:43,200
we're doing, is just taking a
very basic one page approach to

591
00:31:43,200 --> 00:31:44,700
say.
Here are your options.

592
00:31:44,700 --> 00:31:46,500
Yes.
And here, my on that page.

593
00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:54,700
Yes, I will download the app
afterwards and check it out.

594
00:31:54,700 --> 00:31:57,700
But there's one point I will
Make on this Irish companies

595
00:31:57,700 --> 00:32:00,300
think.
Oh, I'm eligible for Irish

596
00:32:00,300 --> 00:32:04,500
invest investment, or they think
about going to the West Coast

597
00:32:04,600 --> 00:32:08,500
and that to me is the general
theme, I hear Irish business is

598
00:32:08,500 --> 00:32:12,000
need to know that they can raise
investment in.

599
00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:17,100
The UK under the E, is for the
uke is version, and as long as

600
00:32:17,100 --> 00:32:19,200
they have a branch, they don't
have to have anything else, but

601
00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:22,300
a branch in the UK, those funds
flow back to their Irish

602
00:32:22,300 --> 00:32:25,300
company.
So we are funded both by

603
00:32:25,300 --> 00:32:29,200
Enterprise are Some Irish
investors and UK investors and

604
00:32:29,200 --> 00:32:33,400
soon-to-be Chinese investors.
Yeah, and for me an Irish

605
00:32:33,400 --> 00:32:36,500
business needs to know, get the
most out of both markets.

606
00:32:36,500 --> 00:32:42,500
So Ireland is really good at the
early precede stage so your

607
00:32:42,500 --> 00:32:45,900
Leo's your feasibility, grants
your Innovation, vouchers

608
00:32:46,200 --> 00:32:50,500
Enterprise Ireland, fantastic.
Those do not exist in the UK.

609
00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:55,000
So what it means is when you
come to raise your first, 150,

610
00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:58,800
and in what's called udonge
prize investment in the UK Irish

611
00:32:58,800 --> 00:33:02,200
businesses are a little step
further and stronger than their

612
00:33:02,200 --> 00:33:05,100
UK peers.
So they're very popular in the

613
00:33:05,100 --> 00:33:08,500
UK at the moment and we have
great success for Irish

614
00:33:08,500 --> 00:33:10,800
businesses.
So, I'm I would say to any Irish

615
00:33:10,800 --> 00:33:12,800
business, whether in blockchain
or anything.

616
00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:16,200
Yeah, if you are looking to
raise investment do not just

617
00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:19,400
think of it as the parameters of
Ireland, see it as Ireland and

618
00:33:19,400 --> 00:33:22,800
the UK, and your deepening, your
investor Market Gadget that

619
00:33:22,800 --> 00:33:25,500
makes sense.
In terms of your business split

620
00:33:25,500 --> 00:33:30,400
between Kind of, you know, 12 to
18 to 36 month old companies

621
00:33:30,900 --> 00:33:33,000
versus those businesses that
have been running, seven, eight,

622
00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:35,500
nine years that you know, may be
struggling to get Beyond a

623
00:33:35,508 --> 00:33:38,600
million in Revenue.
Where's most of your activity?

624
00:33:38,800 --> 00:33:41,900
Is it on the newer side or the
more mature side of?

625
00:33:41,908 --> 00:33:45,500
Yes, it's interesting when we
started, I thought oh it'll be

626
00:33:45,500 --> 00:33:50,400
the zero to nine employees, you
know, just starting out and

627
00:33:50,400 --> 00:33:55,400
actually it's just such an array
of businesses that so we have

628
00:33:55,400 --> 00:33:59,100
businesses Start earning over,
23 million looking to scale to

629
00:33:59,100 --> 00:34:01,600
the next level, and in those
instances were giving them

630
00:34:01,600 --> 00:34:05,900
access to the VC Market.
In the UK, we have everything

631
00:34:05,900 --> 00:34:10,600
from pre-revenue right through
to we're doing one of the moment

632
00:34:10,600 --> 00:34:12,400
that is 15 million in Revenue.
Okay?

633
00:34:12,400 --> 00:34:16,000
So I thought we would wouldn't
be relevant to that customer in

634
00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:17,300
the 15 million.
Mark.

635
00:34:17,500 --> 00:34:20,800
What I've discovered is that
they actually had used a

636
00:34:20,800 --> 00:34:24,199
corporate finance advisor spent
thousands of pounds on one and

637
00:34:24,199 --> 00:34:25,699
they realize their Corporate
Finance advisor.

638
00:34:25,699 --> 00:34:28,500
Had a Very small network of
potential investors.

639
00:34:28,699 --> 00:34:32,000
They made it through that list,
didn't get a didn't get a bite.

640
00:34:32,300 --> 00:34:36,300
And so they came to us to say
your network is huge, we have

641
00:34:36,300 --> 00:34:39,500
over 1,000 VC funds in the UK,
on our, on our platform.

642
00:34:39,699 --> 00:34:44,100
So we were able to even in that
case, help a business that I

643
00:34:44,100 --> 00:34:46,699
thought.
That's not our customer, but

644
00:34:46,699 --> 00:34:48,100
actually has become our
customer.

645
00:34:48,199 --> 00:34:50,199
Yeah.
Does having a nap lessen?

646
00:34:50,199 --> 00:34:53,000
The opportunities for people to
lean on Andrea.

647
00:34:54,400 --> 00:35:01,500
Yes, it's I can't help everyone.
The only way I can help people

648
00:35:01,500 --> 00:35:06,300
is by bringing awareness to it.
I run a lot of funding master

649
00:35:06,300 --> 00:35:09,000
classes.
I did one of the ndrc last week

650
00:35:09,300 --> 00:35:11,700
I do we have a partnership with
Virgin.

651
00:35:11,900 --> 00:35:17,300
I go on road shows with Virgin
to get the word out there and so

652
00:35:17,300 --> 00:35:21,700
I think when I do classes where
we can have a big cohort, we get

653
00:35:21,700 --> 00:35:25,300
everything out there, every form
of Finance, And I do a download

654
00:35:25,300 --> 00:35:29,400
and bespoke to what they have
and then the platform helps them

655
00:35:29,500 --> 00:35:32,700
tangibly to actually go and get
that Finance then.

656
00:35:32,700 --> 00:35:33,600
Yeah.
Okay.

657
00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:37,200
And who leans who do you?
Lean on.

658
00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:42,200
I have a brilliant co-founder.
I'm so lucky that has been the

659
00:35:42,200 --> 00:35:44,800
changer for me, in terms of not
having to have sole

660
00:35:44,800 --> 00:35:47,800
responsibility for the
development of the business.

661
00:35:48,200 --> 00:35:53,200
He had experience of building
very successful platform in the

662
00:35:53,200 --> 00:35:55,900
past.
He was able to take on the role

663
00:35:55,900 --> 00:35:58,500
of, no, I'm going to choose the
tech team.

664
00:35:58,500 --> 00:36:02,700
I'm going to challenge them on.
Every Sprint, his name's Kieran

665
00:36:02,700 --> 00:36:06,100
Burke, and he had built a
platform called Hive, which is

666
00:36:06,100 --> 00:36:09,800
like LinkedIn for the creative
industry had built that up, huge

667
00:36:09,800 --> 00:36:13,100
community.
And it was a similar similar

668
00:36:13,300 --> 00:36:19,000
bringing together a Marketplace
of creatives and all of the ad

669
00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:23,000
agencies, Etc.
So that was just fantastic for

670
00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:26,500
me to have Have that support and
that type of co-founder.

671
00:36:27,300 --> 00:36:28,700
Look, it's been great to hear
the story.

672
00:36:28,900 --> 00:36:30,300
Thank you.
Aunt fantastically well over the

673
00:36:30,308 --> 00:36:31,700
last 12 months.
Yes ma'am.

674
00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:33,900
We usually like to finish up a
one.

675
00:36:33,900 --> 00:36:36,200
My favorite question which is
what would people not expect to

676
00:36:36,200 --> 00:36:42,200
know about you that well I
suppose they might know but I'm

677
00:36:42,400 --> 00:36:46,200
a huge formula one fan.
I'm a petrol head, not a petrol

678
00:36:46,200 --> 00:36:48,800
head in terms of road cars.
I couldn't care less if I had

679
00:36:48,800 --> 00:36:51,600
them but if you want to know
anything about the design of any

680
00:36:51,600 --> 00:36:53,500
Formula 1 car, that's on the
grade right now.

681
00:36:53,500 --> 00:36:57,000
I will Tell you what?
Someone asked me that question

682
00:36:57,000 --> 00:37:01,500
in a taxi from caloric Allen to
Killarney last week.

683
00:37:02,400 --> 00:37:05,100
Do you know much about f1p dice?
Yeah, not a thing.

684
00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:07,700
You can do.
I'm the woman.

685
00:37:08,100 --> 00:37:11,300
All right.
Thank you very much for being on

686
00:37:11,300 --> 00:37:12,900
the show.
Best of luck with everything.

687
00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:14,700
Thank you.
Thanks for having me.

688
00:37:20,700 --> 00:37:22,700
That wraps it up folks.
Thanks to Andrew for opening up

689
00:37:22,700 --> 00:37:24,500
her mind to help us figure out
why she does.

690
00:37:24,500 --> 00:37:26,100
What she does.
Remember, if you were a

691
00:37:26,107 --> 00:37:28,500
colleague need help, attracting
retaining great talent for your

692
00:37:28,500 --> 00:37:30,200
fintech or financial services
company.

693
00:37:30,400 --> 00:37:31,600
Get in touch with the team at
top-tier.

694
00:37:31,600 --> 00:37:33,100
Recruitment, is a really know
their stuff.

695
00:37:33,400 --> 00:37:35,300
You can find them at top-tier
recruitment.com.

696
00:37:35,600 --> 00:37:38,800
As for Andrea you can find out
more about her and swoop by

697
00:37:38,800 --> 00:37:41,800
following swoop on Twitter at
swoop funding.

698
00:37:42,200 --> 00:37:44,300
If you like what you heard
today, please subscribe to

699
00:37:44,300 --> 00:37:45,000
money.
Never sleeps.

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00:37:45,200 --> 00:37:47,200
On iTunes and leave us a five
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701
00:37:47,400 --> 00:37:50,100
You can also subscribe via our
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00:37:50,100 --> 00:37:52,300
and Stitcher.
So just go to the subscribe page

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00:37:52,300 --> 00:37:54,900
on money, never sleeps. .I and
follow the links, if you're

704
00:37:54,900 --> 00:37:57,100
searching directly on iTunes or
Spotify money.

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00:37:57,100 --> 00:38:00,100
Never sleeps is spelled is all
one word for more info and

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00:38:00,100 --> 00:38:01,300
links.
Check out the show notes on

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00:38:01,300 --> 00:38:02,600
money.
Never sleeps that IE.

708
00:38:02,800 --> 00:38:04,700
You can drop us a line on info
at money.

709
00:38:04,700 --> 00:38:09,400
Never sleeps dot IE or at M and
S show on Twitter as for me, I

710
00:38:09,400 --> 00:38:10,900
increase the odds of startup
success.

711
00:38:11,200 --> 00:38:13,400
DM me on Twitter at Pete,
Townsend Envy.

712
00:38:13,400 --> 00:38:16,500
If you want to know more and you
could follow, Owen on Twitter at

713
00:38:16,500 --> 00:38:19,500
Owen Fitzgerald 9, finally,
thanks to Conan, Brophy from

714
00:38:19,500 --> 00:38:22,200
create sound for recording and
editing this podcast.

715
00:38:22,200 --> 00:38:24,300
Till next time, thanks for
listening, see you