In Profile: Vivi Friedgut, Founder and CEO of Blackbullion

In H1 2023, solely 2.2 per cent of enterprise capital offers have been accomplished by female-driven fintechs: a harsh drop from 4.9 per cent in 2022. Highlighting methods through which this alarming hole in funding may be closed, we spoke to Vivi Friedgut, founder and CEO of Blackbullion.

A former wealth supervisor, Friedgut is an everyday public speaker, creator and passionate advocate of fintech for good. She was additionally named in FinTech Journal’s Prime 100 Girls. To know extra about her profession and the significance of economic training and inclusion in fintech, we sat down with Friedgut to study concerning the monetary wellbeing platform, Blackbullion and the way it’s democratising finance.  

Inform us extra about your organization and its goal

Blackbullion is the monetary wellbeing platform that homes UK assist funds, scholarships and grants for college kids. We associate with over 75 universities, faculties and companies throughout the UK, Eire, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa to proactively assist pupil monetary wellbeing. In the present day, over 1.2 million college students can entry Blackbullion’s platform.

Our imaginative and prescient is to turn into the all-in-one cash administration area for college kids that helps them earlier than, throughout and after their research. Finally, serving to each pupil to develop monetary expertise and confidence for all times.

 What are a few of your current achievements you’d like to spotlight?

Our Funds Administration System (FMS) was designed to energy monetary inclusion and revolutionise entry to funding. It’s a completely customisable fintech answer that simplifies and accelerates how college students uncover and apply for funds. It’s developed right into a world-class utility system that’s actually student-centric, genuinely useful, enjoyable and simple to make use of. Up to now we’ve awarded over £20million in funds to college students through our FMS.

My workforce! We’re 26 as I write, and rising. It’s only a vastly proficient, dynamic group of people who consider deeply in what we’re making an attempt to realize.

How did you get into the fintech trade?

Monetary training has all the time been an obsession for me. I began my profession in finance as a wealth supervisor, spending nearly a decade managing the wealth of high-net-worth households and people. I seen how the shoppers who understood cash – had a level of economic literacy and training – made this work for them. However as I helped the rich turn into wealthier, I puzzled what would occur if monetary training was accessible to everybody? That nugget turned Blackbullion.

Because the enterprise developed, I may see the worth of extending the affect of economic training utilizing the most effective of fintech as a strong mechanism to assist folks.

What’s the most effective factor about working within the fintech trade?

The dynamism and innovation in fintech is in contrast to what I’ve seen in different sectors. It means it’s potential to make adjustments which can be implementable, wide-ranging and rooted in a stable knowledge basis. Which is what we wanted to carry to energy the change Blackbullion desires to make.

The sector is wealthy in partnership alternatives and there’s extra ease round collaboration. I’ve all the time believed that collaboration is a good way to speed up your mission. This 12 months noticed us launch partnerships with each Bud and Currencycloud and we’re wanting ahead to growing this workstream extra in 2024.

What frustrates you most concerning the fintech trade?

Traditionally it’s been about the way you earn money cheaper and quicker. Coming into fintech from edtech too, I discovered it much less mission-driven. Or that manufacturers discover it tougher to inform their mission story. I don’t assume you may succeed as a fintech for those who’re not making your clients’ lives higher. I’d prefer to see extra in fintech for good, for positive.

 How have your earlier roles influenced your profession?

I arrange my first enterprise instructing neighbourhood children maths once I was six; each step I’ve taken has moved me thus far. Clearly, my time as a wealth supervisor gave me the spark of the thought round monetary inclusion by means of monetary training.

They are saying that beginning a enterprise is the largest self-development journey you may go on. As a founder too, there’s been a lot studying as the corporate’s grown: one minute you’re managing a HR problem, the following you’re seeking to shut a spherical of funding.

Finally, I began Blackbullion because the founding father of an edtech startup and I’m now CEO of a fintech scale-up that operates in 5 nations. The corporate’s progress and my profession path have influenced one another.

 What’s the most effective mistake you’ve ever made?

Refusing to get a male co-founder regardless of being suggested to at many crossroads factors in Blackbullion’s story. I’ve all the time had a really clear imaginative and prescient of the place I needed to take the corporate and I used to be involved a co-founder would dilute that. I don’t assume we’d be the place we’re at the moment if I’d gone down that route.

I’ve a monitor report of constructing seemingly controversial selections. Corresponding to, buying The Scholarship Hub two years in the past in the course of a funding spherical. It’s an extremely promising income stream and it additional amplifies our mission and attain all whereas taking us into the worldwide expertise area in addition to integrating social mobility into our monetary inclusion objectives.

What has the long run obtained in retailer in your firm?

Our purpose is to turn into a globally recognised monetary wellbeing model, as we attempt to construct a culture-driven enterprise and broaden our scholarship proposition.

Our Funds Administration System underpins a lot of what we do as we create a future-proof, actually digital end-to-end answer to assist college students to find, apply for, and obtain funding.

Extra effectively distributed funding – with embedded training – is an answer that has functions far past training. Every part from small emergency funds at college all the best way to common credit score is the place this might go.

What are the following key speaking factors or challenges in your trade as an entire?

Fintech has had a extremely good run. However finally, the deal surroundings has slowed down significantly within the final two years. Whereas we’re nonetheless seeing companies safe funding, in depth due diligence and longer cycles are very a lot at play – with a lot decrease multiples. I feel 2024 will begin to flip the tide however not until the second half or later.

We’re going to see founders and groups double down on environment friendly consumer acquisition methods, the worker expertise, and income progress. Because the sector “grows up” it can focus much more on essential metrics and fewer on vainness awards or spot-the-next-unicorn. Fintech will cease being the enjoyable, rebellious little cousin and turn into extra of a legacy participant, albeit a extra user-centric one. Fintech will take the monetary providers ahead, and problem the established order to really have interaction with the following era of consumers.