Ian Horne, Let Fintech Grow
Career & Background
Let’s start with your career journey. What were the key moments or turning points that led you to where you are today?
I started my career as a writer for a tennis website. I was mostly writing basic match previews and features but occasionally had opportunities to interview players. My proudest moment was asking Roger Federer a question in a press conference at the French Open. I was in my early 20s, so it was fairly nerve-wracking. Thankfully, he was nice.
After completing a masters degree in management I realised that nobody was hiring for a 24-year-old manager. I fell into a role at Citywire, where I later became the UK Head of Audience Development. It was a fantastic job, in which I met with financial advisers, wealth managers and family offices across the UK, and was able to write about my experiences and chair events for investors, often in fancy hotels.
I did that for 8 years. About 6 years in I wanted to try something new and pitched several ideas to the board. The one they warmed to was Citywire Wealthtech, which would become a newsletter, podcast, and series of events (mostly online), focused on financial advice and investment technology. This adventure in wealthtech opened the door to fintech, a sector I knew I had to be in. Shortly after being nominated for Headlinemoney’s Fintech Journalist of the Year Award, I was hired as the EU Head of Content for Money20/20 and embarked on a new adventure.
As you’d expect, Money20/20 was a mindblowing experience. The challenge of creating a best-in-class industry event is really quite special – the fintech community is just as passionate about it as the team. There’s a lot of grunt work that goes into an event that people don’t notice, but it’s worth it for the opportunity to meet the best and brightest minds in finance, and likewise to work with some of the incredible creative minds at Money20/20.
Another major moment for me, achieved during this time, was the international publication of Why DeFi Matters. The book was written alongside my job, which led to some of the busiest and most anti-social months of my life, but the eventual Las Vegas launch was the sort of thing you dream about as a writer.
The conversations that shaped the book would go on to shape the Money20/20 agenda, and it felt fitting that my final year at the show would coincide with the ‘Stablecoin Summer’. There was also something strangely fitting about signing the contract for the book in the week that FTX went under. You truly learn to appreciate highs and lows when you follow DeFi.
I’m now independent and intend to spend my time doing fractional roles, MCing events, and writing. My focus is fintech and DeFi, but I’m glad to say I still host roundtables and webinars for wealth managers at Citywire.
Alongside this I’ve launched Let Fintech Grow (LFG!), a newsletter that profiles big ideas and exciting fintechs. My first few articles feature a Hollywood star fixing the housing crisis, a return to the metaverse, and one of Britain’s most notorious fraudsters. I love writing about these things, and hope that shines through (anyone interested can subscribe here). Anyone who wants to pitch an interview can do so at info@ianhorne.media.
How did you first get into Fintech? What drew you in, and how has the industry evolved since then?
I got into fintech during my time at Citywire, where it dawned on me that billions of pounds of assets were being managed with outdated technology. Businesses had been built upon strong relationships with clients and trust, but only the best were tech savvy too.
I was fascinated by this and launched Citywire Wealthtech, a newsletter, podcast and events series that highlighted everything from AI portfolio builders to savings apps to tech-led solutions to the cost of living crisis.
My initial attraction was simply to discuss how technology could make people’s financial lives better. The advice and wealth markets can only serve those wealthy enough to access them, and I felt optimistic that fintech could close the ‘advice gap’. I also felt that wealthy clients could receive better value for money.
The draw of fintech was probably a little cultural too. I had a soft spot for the wealth market and still do, but there was undeniably an appeal to seeing people go about their business wearing hoodies and T-shirts.
The biggest transformations I’ve seen since jumping into fintech have been from AI and blockchain. The former is changing the nature of work itself, and in particular the rules of building a startup. The latter is already transforming payments, and I believe it will transform asset management too.
Another big change is that fintech no longer feels optional. Fintech is everywhere and customer expectations have shifted accordingly.
Looking back, is there a piece of advice you wish you’d received earlier in your career?
The obvious one is “buy Bitcoin”, isn’t it?
Seriously though, I would encourage a younger me to put more time into distributing my writing and content, rather than just producing it. I’ve spent hours trying to perfect articles that I barely spent seconds promoting.
Industry Insights
What are the biggest trends you’re seeing in Fintech right now?
Where to begin? One thing I’d note is that every major trend has consequences. AI, tokenisation, embedded finance, stablecoins and so on, are facilitating scale, speed and personalisation in ways we’ve not seen before.
On the other side of this, personalisation and speed create a heightened need to protect privacy rights and counter fraud. On the last point, the fraud market is absolutely booming, but it’s not always something that generalist fintech events or publications want to put front and centre.
What do you see as the biggest opportunities and challenges in the market and in your role specifically?
I’ll zero in on fintech content and marketing – I’m creating content primarily.
In content, AI is making a huge impact, and there’s a huge opportunity to write and record video/audio at speed. The challenge is that everyone else can do that as well. I’d say it’s a moment to double down on the quality of your message and add value to your audience.
Another challenge is that the media landscape is more fragmented than ever, and that trend shows no signs of reversing. Focus on your actual market, build authority and trust, and bring expertise and personality to the table. Generic and bland won’t cut it. What worked yesterday might not work today.
An extension of this, and another challenge, is the abundance of metrics. Make sure you’re tracking the ones that actually matter to your business. Try not to waste time on the ones that don’t.
Which latest fintech news story has stood out to you and why?
Probably J.P. Morgan’s recent acquisition of WealthOS. From a pragmatic stance, I think it’s inevitable that banks will look to improve their capabilities in personal wealth and pensions. On a personal level, the founders of WealthOS were supporters of my Citywire Wealthtech platform, sponsoring the first in-person event and appearing as the final interviewees on my podcast. I’m delighted to see that they’ve had a successful exit.
What are three things Fintech companies should be prioritising today?
Every company is different so this is tricky to answer. That said….:
- Don’t shy away from AI. You can scale teams with fewer people than ever before
- Find ways to make sure your ideal customer knows who you are and why they need you. Figure out where your customers get their news and content.
- Strategic partnerships. Speed to market is crucial, and blending competencies is often far quicker than building your own. I don’t think everyone should be partnering for the sake of it, but exploring it is usually worthwhile, especially if you’re looking to differentiate from competitors or can’t do something alone.
What’s one thing you see companies doing from a PR or marketing stance that you wish they’d stop?
Thinking as an events professional, I dream of the day that senior execs stop turning up to panel debates and interviews with scripted answers. Notes are great, but scripts… no. For the marketing and compliance professionals that insist on this, I want you to know that most of your execs go off-script anyway. Also, it sucks.
How do you see regulation and compliance shaping the future of Fintech?
Huge question. We’re at a point where the speed of progress is creating impossible situations for regulators. Just look at crypto and AI, and in the near future quantum too. It takes incredibly sharp minds to create effective and ethical frameworks around this stuff, especially when it’s international.
Right now, regulation and compliance are increasingly following in the footsteps of new technologies and capabilities. Innovation happens, things get built, regulators step in, and then we try to untangle it and build new regulatory frameworks.
I mentioned crypto and AI. They’re great examples here. DeFi could never have emerged from regulated entities or within the boundaries of legal certainty. Likewise, AI has shot to prominence through mass data harvesting, again a legal grey area (to be polite).
Companies and governments have big questions to answer. One of the biggest is ‘move immediately or move more carefully?’ We all want ethical and responsible frameworks, but how long are we willing to wait for clarity, especially when other nations step into the open space? Likewise, how long are companies willing to wait to deploy, when an opportunity can close up in the blink of an eye? Would they rather ask for forgiveness or permission?
Aside from the unique challenges facing regulators, they also have a major role to play in international competition. I’m intrigued by the proposed EU-Inc company structure, for instance, a standardisation effort to boost European growth.
What role do partnerships and ecosystems play in driving innovation in Fintech?
A huge role. As I said earlier, it’s a good time to be seeking out other organisations with complementary competencies. In some cases, this may even mean partnering with someone who’d previously been more of a competitor, or someone who appears to be in a completely different realm. In an ecosystem sense, there’s clearly value in being able to call upon a wider pool of expertise, especially if founders want to bootstrap with smaller teams.
There’s also been a general rethink of bank partnerships. It used to be common to hear talk of fintechs and neobanks being on the cusp of breaking down the banks, but that sentiment has softened. Bank and fintech partnerships are so commonplace.
It’s also clear that partnerships can send clear signals to the market. Stripe’s acquisition of Bridge is a great example, and seemed to really move the stablecoin conversation forward. As an aside, I’m enjoying the increasing integration between crypto/Web3 and banking, which will surely continue for the foreseeable future.
Quickfire Round
Fintech company to watch?
Ubyx
Most overused Fintech buzzword?
Gamechanger
Favourite news source?
LinkedIn. I’m not proud of it.
Favourite TV show?
Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve rewatched it.
Favourite drink?
Negroni
Final Thoughts
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to Fintech founders or leaders today?
Subscribe to Let Fintech Grow! Besides that, I could say something about AI or funding, but honestly I’d just encourage leaders to think about the experience they create for the people they’re building with, and to build cultures that allow for healthy collaboration, disagreement, and communication.
One of the biggest privileges of my career has been meeting with hundreds of CEOs and industry leaders. Some are hugely successful but create a horrible experience for employees. Others are hugely successful and it’s the exact opposite. For instance, I recently moderated panel debates for HPS in Marrakech and was blown away by the kindness and warmth of the leadership and team.
As for the negative side of this, I don’t have any axe to grind. It’s just something that’s stuck with me since walking into countless offices while networking in financial advice and wealth.