Fintech's second chapter: Turning from growth to profitability

Last week was incredible!

After our Series A announcement on Tuesday, I had the pleasure of sitting on a panel at Founders Forum with Max Floetotto from McKinsey & Company, Ante Spittler from Moss | All-in-one spend management, Paul Sisnett from Satellite Moving Devices Group B.V., and Julian Teicke from wefox about the Future of the Digital Economy. It was great to hear their thoughts on where the industry is heading.

One theme stood out over my conversations from this week: the turn from growth to profitability.

If chapter one for fintech was about growth, where the goal was user acquisition at all costs, chapter two is focused on profitability.

Previously, we saw fintechs make great inroads against incumbents by offering better user experiences. With money freely available, it was possible to be successful simply by having a great value proposition and solid growth.

But at the end of the day, it’s not enough. You need to make money.

This challenging economic turn has brought about a new chapter, one that is forcing growing fintechs to grow up, acquire sound customers, and watch their bottom line. To truly compete with the incumbents, we need to focus on profitable growth, not growth at any cost.

At Taktile, we’re thinking about that in terms of our business and the lending industry as a whole. By helping our customers assess risk precisely, we give them an edge against incumbents. They can sign the right customer, not any customer.

The second chapter has started across banking, lending, insurance and the entire Fintech industry. The question is: How will companies adapt and find their wedge?

If companies can adjust their strategy and find a competitive advantage, their success won’t be limited to financial gains. Finding the right wedge with customer acquisition will lead to progress on financial inclusion and better results for customers.