The Big Kahuna of Fintech Events
/To all fellow Money20/20 attendees out there — those of you whose feet are just starting to recover from days of meandering The Venetian’s hallways and enormous expo hall, or who are feverishly compiling notes to share key learnings with your team — we feel you!
We found Money20/20 to be abuzz with business and learnings:
Fraud is kind of a big deal. In addition to Cybersecurity & Fraud agenda sessions, the focus on fraud was palpable in the expo hall. It seemed like every other booth was a solution aiming to stop the fraudsters, implement biometric verification, or provide a digital authentication service.
Cash Data rules everything around me. We can’t blame the Wu-Tang Clan for not appreciating in the early 1990s how capitalism would be impacted by data, not just dollar bills — but the message was loud and clear at Money20/20. Protecting data, transferring it, sharing it across business units, utilizing it to provide personalized experiences to customers...it’s enough to make your head spin.
Start-up lessons: move quick, know your business model, define your story. We were impressed with the groundbreaking new companies with booths in Startup City, and the Entrepreneurship & Investing sessions offered valuable insights for “the little guys” looking to grow. We latched onto a few lessons that, while particularly relevant for start-ups, are good reminders for everyone in the fintech ecosystem: The more quickly a company can make and sustain a profit, the greater its ability to control its own destiny; you need a business model, not just users; and define the chapters of your story in advance, so you’ll know when and how to start different conversations.
Institutional firms continue to benefit from thinking more like start-ups. Leadership within the incumbents seems to be more and more committed to embracing fintech. We have come a long way over the past few years, indeed, and the number of partnerships announced between stalwarts and the emerging (à la AMEX and Nova Credit, SPIN Analytics and CapGemini, Visa and Marqeta, Finablr and Samsung Pay, SPIN Analytics and DxC Technology, and more) are proof of the market’s continued thirst for innovation.
Networking, networking, networking. The four-day conference wasn’t just for learning. The Connections at the PayPal Lounge area was constantly humming with face-to-face impromptu meetings to talk shop, share information, and forge partnerships. The informal networking, conversations, and connections made at evening networking events, dinners, and parties were second to none. Turns out we’re not alone in finding a complimentary cocktail really good motivation for avoiding turning in for the night.
The debate ensues, but in our book, Money20/20 is still one of the leading places to seize new business opportunities, build connections, and discover the latest disruptions.
