When web 2.0 started changing the way we understand online service and content generation, people like Michael Zetser saw the importance of building services that would cater to people.
By being quick, efficient, and flexible, his startups were always one step ahead of the financial industry. While the scope of Zetser’s projects are usually smaller compared to behemoths of the fintech industry, his goals are different.
The visionary creator of multiple financial gateways is focused on creating a new generation of online financial services that would change the way we interact with money and digital assets. Experiments are always risky, yet he learned how to make them work.
Below are several tips on how to run a fintech startup from entrepreneur Michael Zetser.
#1. Focus on building a good team
While being a passionate leader is good and your personal creativity can generate unique ideas and new methods to build a business, not a single businessman in the world managed to achieve their success by working alone. The time of Bill Gates and other lone engineers creating a product in their garages is behind.
Today, building a successful company means creating a team of professionals with their passions ignited by your drive! Delegating tasks that other people can do better than you and finding people who will help you create something big make your job easier.
#2. Be unique and be like everyone else
There is a fine line between being original and shooting blanks. While it is important to bring your vision to the table and try to build on top of unconventional ideas, you may sway too far from being familiar to end users. The vast majority of users will not share your vision of the future and will expect to see features that many other fintech platforms perfected.
Michael Zetser says: “when I think of my products, I immediately imagine a regular person using it. Can I use it on my phone? Do I need to set up a bank account? Do I have to pay for using core product features? Is it easier for me than using a traditional payment system?”
#3. Your bottom line is the main priority!
Making it in the fintech industry is often a result of good luck and hard work combined in different proportions. You should not think about making all the money in the world. Instead, focus on serving your product to as many people as possible. Sometimes, you will need to cut prices and overspend on marketing, waiting for payoff down the line.
At the same time, preserving your bottom line and understanding that your team must be compensated fairly for their contributions is another important priority. There is a balance between spending everything on R&D and making sure that you will never run out of money. Michael Zetser also reminds you that you need to ask investors for more. All the time.
#4. Make a flexible product to easily adapt to new market realities
It is possible to completely go out of business in a couple of weeks if you fail to recognize a new trend or a good growth opportunity in time. It is impossible to catch every new trend before it takes the world by storm. However, you can easily adapt to new demands in the market by building your startup in a way that can respond to new challenges.
Have a dedicated team of developers and participate in all processes personally to ensure that you company can roll out a new product in a couple of weeks. Even if it is slightly underbaked, you will be out there faster than competitors.
#5. Quality control is incredibly important
Reaching an equilibrium between quality assurance and product deployment speed is crucial. If you want to have your products out there in the shortest amount of time without causing your customers to run away due to bugs and issues, have a great QA department.
James Thompson