Intelligent Fin.tech Issue 19 | Page 49

SPECIALIST INSIGHT

occasions , but I ’ ve also learned the hard way that companies make mistakes , something I call the ‘ oops moment ’, which is when they become bigger without becoming better .
Although I would consider myself an enthusiastic , out-of-the-box thinker , I ’ ve learned the importance of being data-driven and product-focused and surrounding myself with really strong operators . We are at a key inflexion point of growth and scale at Marqeta , and now it ’ s about focus and execution .
What initially drew you to the FinTech industry , and what aspects of it continue to fuel your passion for innovation ?

OR ATION

The opportunity now is for brands to create beautifully designed , embedded and customised cards that help them engage with customers in entirely new ways . Through our platform , we can help brands reimagine how they earn customer trust and loyalty , build payment experiences directly into their brand experience and offer rewards and benefits customised to each person .
What are some significant challenges you ’ ve faced in your career , and what key lessons have you learned from overcoming them ?
Throughout my career , I ’ ve been fortunate to work for various high-profile CEOs , including Eric Schmidt at Google , and former Yahoo ! CEO , Marissa Mayer . I ’ ve witnessed hypergrowth on multiple
Payment cards are the most adopted technical product with more distribution than water , wheat , Google and Facebook combined . But , for most people , they are still just pieces of plastic . When you think of cards as a digital product , they become a gateway to the digital experience .
If you look at the financial experience , it ’ s a bit like news publishing 30 years ago which had a 24-hour latency from when the news was happening to the moment your newspaper arrived the following morning . I was drawn to the FinTech industry because of the potential embedded finance has to create opportunities for the traditional payment card to become the front page of a brand ’ s mobile experience .
People discover things that are marketed to them in their social networks , through www . intelligentfin . tech
49