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What was the catalyst for founding Griffin? When was this?
Griffin’s co-founders each have technical backgrounds, first working collectively on the founding staff of CircleCI. David, Griffin’s CEO, additionally labored on the core banking system at an API banking startup, and was uncovered for the primary time to the necessity for larger technical integration between banks and their clients.
He noticed an analogous downside with Airbnb, shocked by the size of funding made by companies simply to handle cash. It was clear to David and Allen, Griffin’s co-founder and CTO, that there was a spot out there for a financial institution that prioritises the accessibility and effectivity of its infrastructure and embeds itself inside a enterprise’s operations. Griffin was based in 2017 and is now a totally operational financial institution.
Inform me concerning the enterprise – what it’s, what it goals to realize, who you’re employed with, and the way you attain clients.
Griffin is a technology-focused financial institution that works with its shoppers to create revolutionary and contextual monetary merchandise for his or her finish clients. As a enterprise, we’re dedicated to a extra equitable distribution of worth e.g. finish clients receiving a fairer deal due to actions like passing alongside extra curiosity on deposits to our clients. At the moment, fintechs and monetary companies corporations have needed to work with conventional banks who don’t prioritise worth or know-how for his or her clients. Integration processes are arduous and infrastructure and connectivity are exhausting to handle.
We now have constructed a financial institution and know-how platform that may get nearer to a companies’ level of want and assist it create worth for its personal clients. One of many methods we obtain that is by enabling interest-generating accounts to be embedded in different purposes, opening up a brand new income stream for our clients.
Griffin is now a totally operational financial institution and we’re inviting UK companies seeking to supply monetary companies to their clients and construct immediately on a licensed embedded banking supplier to succeed in out and take part in Foundations. That is our early-access programme, the place adopters get the chance to work carefully with our staff and contribute to our product roadmap.
How has the enterprise advanced because it acquired a banking licence (with restrictions) final 12 months?
In March final 12 months, the Prudential Rules Authority (PRA) granted us a licence with restrictions, basically enabling us to launch as a financial institution, however with restrictions on the funds and deposits we will maintain. Over the previous 12 months now we have been working very carefully with a handful of fintechs to validate our merchandise in the true world and scale our operations. Our expertise was barely extra sophisticated than the everyday financial institution’s mobilisation, as we don’t supply accounts on to the tip consumer however work with our clients to embed banking companies and regulatory infrastructure inside their very own merchandise. These specialised purposes really add worth to finish clients as they usually encounter them on the level of biggest relevance.
As a totally operational financial institution, we’re wanting ahead to increasing our partnerships with our shoppers and serving to them to proceed to construct and scale revolutionary merchandise. As talked about earlier, we’re excited to accomplice with new, revolutionary corporations via our early entry programme, Foundations.
Inform us concerning the working tradition at Griffin
The staff at Griffin is bonded by a real need to have a constructive impression on the world round us and we care concerning the impression of our operations. The overarching precept of constructing a distinction informs the finer particulars of our tradition as an organization. We try daily to make Griffin an pleasing and supportive place for all our staff members, encouraging kindness, empathy, thoughtfulness and transparency. We’re a predominantly distant workforce with a central hub in London, however be certain that to satisfy up with native Griffilings as a lot as potential.
We’re additionally paying shut consideration to our impression on the setting. From day one Griffin has invested in a deeply moral tradition with strong governance. We’re a member of Tech Zero, making public our dedication to minimising the corporate’s carbon footprint.
How is Griffin funded?
We’re extremely grateful for our community of angel traders and VCs, having all the time proven unbelievable religion in our imaginative and prescient and folks. Final June, we introduced an £11M funding spherical, led by our buddies over at MassMutual Ventures, enabling Griffin to speed up its growth as we strived to turn into a totally authorised financial institution.
We now have additionally just lately raised an additional £19.1M in a funding spherical led by new traders NordicNinja and Breega, and our current investor, MassMutual Ventures. The recent funds will allow us to work with new shoppers throughout a variety of sectors and proceed to develop our product stack as a totally operational financial institution.
What would you say has been certainly one of your greatest challenges to date and the way have you ever overcome this?
Though this can be a boring reply, I must say gaining our banking licence. It’s an extremely tough course of, but in addition a course of vital to realize the targets on the core of our enterprise. This course of was made much more difficult by us breaking the mannequin and constructing a brand new sort of financial institution for the trendy digital period; we’re constructing a brand new enterprise mannequin the place we function as a know-how platform working in partnership with revolutionary shoppers and serving to them ship worth to their clients. It’s helpful to think about Griffin because the AWS of banking – we’re constructing the financial institution that corporations can construct on.
Our tenet all through the banking licence course of was to overshare with the regulators. Fostering belief with regulators while additionally introducing a brand new banking enterprise mannequin isn’t any imply feat, and we subsequently prioritised transparency as we constructed our product stack and labored in the direction of a full banking licence.
Are you able to inform us extra concerning the present state of play within the BaaS trade?
The BaaS trade is a effectively established element of the fintech trade. Present trade leaders are targeted on commodity companies, together with card issuing, onboarding and funds.
Now, we’re seeing a shift away from commodity-focused BaaS to value-creating BaaS, offering credit score and deposit companies. An amazing instance is NatWest’s partnership with Vodeno, demonstrating that conventional establishments additionally recognise the worth of offering their infrastructure to their enterprise shoppers as a service.
How does Griffin reply an unmet want?
As beforehand alluded to, banks have a singular superpower: the power to generate profits from cash. Griffin’s BaaS platform allows companies to additionally profit from this potential, enabling new income streams and enterprise fashions.
We’ve constructed an revolutionary full-stack BaaS platform that embeds threat administration with regulated merchandise like financial savings accounts. This makes it easy, fast and cost-effective for corporations to develop and launch FSCS-backed monetary merchandise utilizing Griffin financial institution licence, know-how and experience.
What’s in retailer for the long run?
Now we’re a totally operational UK financial institution, we’re working with a rising variety of thrilling corporations all through the nation. Particularly, we’re specializing in industries which have undergone digital transformation within the final decade, shifting from paper-based operations to digital, self-service platforms. Nevertheless, these industries are sometimes nonetheless uncared for or underserved by conventional banks, and we’re enthusiastic about working with them to carry revolutionary monetary options to market.
An amazing current instance is the residential actual property trade, nonetheless present process a transfer to digital programs. Rules launched in 2020 ushered in elevated scrutiny for the sector, inflicting a shift in banks’ threat urge for food for proptech suppliers and plenty of selected to draw back from the property trade itself. We noticed a chance to do the exhausting work of correctly understanding the sector and its threat profile, and had been capable of work with proptech corporations like LettsPay to introduce a brand new banking enterprise mannequin to the property trade.
What’s one piece of recommendation you’d give to different innovators in fintech?
My high takeaway from nearly 20 years in fintech is to rigorously and explicitly outline a great buyer profile and keep very, very targeted on the parameters determined upon. The preliminary definition ought to really feel uncomfortably slim. It may be excruciating to show down thrilling corporations that wish to work with you, however it’s extraordinarily necessary to stick to the set buyer profile and iterate on this upon getting confirmed product market match. It’s necessary to not rush that.
A fintech’s clients, particularly early on its go-to-market, are elementary to its future product growth and business technique, and subsequently its key that fintechs preserve their eyes on the ball.
And at last, a extra private query! What’s your each day routine and the foundations you’re residing by in the meanwhile
I don’t participate within the stereotypical founder’s 10km run each morning or fasting rituals. One routine which has caught is obstructing out the primary two hours of every day for reflection and considering. Though I do take the occasional assembly if vital, the primary two hours of each work day aren’t for fixing issues or working with the staff, however for gaining readability on the standing of all my duties, considering brief, medium and long run and difficult my very own beliefs with our enterprise thesis and the route of the trade.
I’m additionally a eager advocate of serving to individuals for the sake of serving to individuals. Regardless of in the event that they work for a competitor, are extra senior or junior, or your views don’t align, there’s all the time worth in taking the time to speak to individuals and inform them what you genuinely assume. Attempting to be useful, deserving of belief and credible is a superb use of your time, and usually finds a means of paying you again.
Adam Moulson is CCO at Griffin.
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