Corporate culture crucial for the success of FinTechs

On Tuesday, 18 February 2020, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management held its first event in this year’s Start-Up Now - FS Entrepreneurs in the Spotlight series. Chris Bartz, an alumnus of the business school and co-founder of Elinvar - a digital platform for banks and asset managers - spoke about his own fintech and founding a start-up.

"'Culture eats strategy for breakfast' - Corporate culture is crucial to the success of a start-up, even more important than the original business idea. It is essential to select the right employees and to treat them well. Furthermore, how they work together is important – only as a team you can be successful as a young company", says Chris Bartz.

In order to be successful at a start-up, intercultural skills are particularly important. In addition, as an employee you can achieve and do a lot at a start-up – in established companies, this is rarely possible due to existing structures, emphasises Mr Bartz, who is also chairman of the Fintech-Rats der Bundesregierung (German Fintech Council)

Concentration on the core business: the secret of success for the financial and tech sector

"Banks and other companies are always successful when they concentrate on their core business and can score with a special competence – this also applies to fintech. Banks that used to provide all services themselves are now concentrating more and more on specific market segments".

The cooperation between banks and fintech works particularly well when start-ups offer tech solutions that make work easier for large companies. "Developments in the fintech sector, as well as many other changes brought about by digitalisation, are only just beginning. Right now, start-ups have a good chance of finding market niches. Cloud technology in particular has great potential," says the Frankfurt School alumnus.