Elliott Limb, CEO and Co-Founder of Cubed.
It’s commonplace within the fintech world for CEOs, CROs, CPOs and CTOs to be seen and celebrated as the masterminds behind a firm’s success.
Occupying very visible C-Suite positions, these figures make invaluable contributions towards the success of organisations. Yet there are two roles, often found working diligently with purpose in the background, that I would readily make the case for as the real power duo driving sustainable growth and innovation. In my book, they are fintech’s secret weapons.
The CFO and CHRO do not receive anywhere near enough attention or recognition at a C-Suite level. It’s high time that we change that. So frequently overlooked, these crucial positions are the backbone of a fintech’s journey from being a fledgling startup to transforming into a formidable scale-up.
The CFO: Innovation Roadblock or Strategic Risk Taker?
Chief Financial Officers have long been labelled as the “no” people — the innovation assassins within businesses. That viewpoint isn’t without its merit: CFOs are the ones responsible for tightening the purse strings, after all. Yet to say that CFOs put the brakes on innovation does a great disservice to what today’s fintech CFOs truly bring to the table.
Having a CFO that can strike a fine balance between caution and bold decision-making is crucial to any organisation that wants to drive genuine growth and achieve long-term success. It’s a real skill to be able to carefully align financial strategies with business objectives, ensuring that resources are effectively allocated to support new ideas and aid market expansion. The right kind of CFO brings endless value and plays a critical role in innovation through their ability as a leader to prudently evaluate financial risks while also being nimble enough to jump on opportunities.
The CFO’s multifaceted role goes way beyond crunching numbers; they’re strategic visionaries with an acute understanding of financial stewardship. CFOs don’t just guard the coffers; they identify and champion investments that propel companies forward.
The CHRO: Culture Keeper or Architect of Talent Strategy?
A strong, authentic culture is the lifeblood of any organisation, and the role of the Chief Human Resources Officer transcends being a mere culture coach: the best CHROs are strategic architects of talent acquisition, development and, most important of all, retention.
In the fintech world where the competition for top-tier talent is fierce, few roles are as important as the CHRO who takes responsibility for not only attracting but also nurturing and keeping hold of the very best minds. The ability to be agile and scale rapidly is key to fintech success in today’s world, and a CHRO who is skilled in attracting top digital talent, fostering a culture of continuous learning and implementing people-centric policies that support both growth and compliance is worth their weight in gold.
Good talent is the backbone of all successful fintechs, and a good HR Chief knows that culture is about actions, not catchy slogans and PowerPoint slides presented in an eye-catching pitch deck. The CHRO will implement strategies that hard-bake the company’s values into the day-to-day, ensuring that culture becomes a lived experience for all. They’ll encourage professional development, work-life balance initiatives and commit to diversity, equality and inclusion to help to drive real growth.
In my experience, great fintech CHROs are unsung heroes of business, working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure their organisations remain dynamic, competitive and an employer of choice in a fast-evolving space.
A Tough Journey: From Headline-Grabbing Startup to Sustainable Scale-Up
Three-quarters of venture-backed fintech startups fail. That’s my experience after over 20 years working in this sector. It just goes to show that making the leap from startup to a scale-up is no small feat. The harsh reality is that most don’t make it. But with the right leadership — especially a forward-thinking CFO and a strategic CHRO working in tandem — the path to success becomes much smoother.
As your company evolves through different funding stages, so do its challenges: in the early days, agility and innovation account for so much. During the startup stages, a great CFO will ensure that financial strategies are put in place that can fuel rapid experimentation and product development, while a strong CHRO can build a resilient, adaptable team culture that thrives in uncertainty.
Yet once an organisation hits Series B and C funding, the goalposts change and the focus has toshift to sustainable growth. A strong CFO can ensure the right resources are allocated in the right way, while a forward-focused CHRO will develop leadership pipelines, refine company culture and ensure the organisation’s people are ready to embrace the next stage of expansion.
At every step, hiring strategically, onboarding talent with potential and sometimes making tough calls on letting go of misaligned team members is key. Business is business, and not every decision that has to be made will be an easy and popular one: the team that got you from A to B may not be the same team that will get you from B to C, and that’s just a reality. Those fintechs that successfully grow from headline-grabbing startups to scaleups that make a meaningful impact and profit are the ones who have their eyes focused on the bigger picture.
By having a great CFO and CHRO working together in partnership to maintain the right mix of fresh talent and institutional knowledge, you will find yourself on course to having an organisation that is strong, focused and ready for what’s next – and that’s why these overlooked roles are the true power couple of fintech.
