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Hi, fintech fam! 💜

It has been an absolute whirlwind attending events all week for New York Fintech Week. I am definitely tired and so ready to slam my laptop shut until Monday, but also incredibly energized by spending so much time in person together.

Once again, thank you to every one of you who attended the inaugural Fintech Is Femme Leadership Summit for your support.

As I have attended events throughout the week, the outpouring of positive feedback and kind words makes me so excited to host the next Summit. Can’t stop won’t stop — we will be hosting these events a few more times this year.

Go to the bottom of this newsletter to find out when our next Summit is and get first access to our early bird tickets before they sell out.

Let's make history together, again, shall we?

Today's newsletter will be short as I am still processing all the information from this week. However, I would like to share some brief comments and insights from the panel discussion I hosted at Empire Startup's Fintech Conference on Wednesday.

Let’s get into it.

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INNOVATION

NYC To Lead The Charge In Fintech Innovation, If We Can Find Our Grit

New York City's fintech scene is buzzing, and for good reason. 

It's not just because of our towering skyscrapers or the hustle of Wall Street; it's because we're at the forefront of financial innovation. 

Since the chaos of 2008, global investment in NY fintech has skyrocketed to nearly $3 billion, and the city is right in the thick of it, birthing some of the most exciting startups in the game. 

New York even houses 100 unicorns, with nearly 40% belong to the crypto/web3 or fintech realms — think OpenSea and Chainalysis.

But let's talk numbers; they're not all sunshine and rainbows. When it comes to gender diversity, overall, it's a bit of a disappointment. 

Cowboy Ventures didn't mince words, calling the stats "pathetic." We've got more CEOs named Michael, David, and Andrew than female leaders at unicorn companies. At this rate, we won't see gender equality until 2063, which is frankly unacceptable. 

Sure, there's been a slight uptick, with 14% of co-founders having a female partner and 5% of companies boasting a female founding CEO, but we've got a long way to go.

Despite these challenges, the fintech industry soldiers on, facing layoffs, valuation dips, and a squeeze on venture capital. But you know what they say about New Yorkers — we thrive under pressure. 

That's precisely what our fintech firms are doing: innovating and adapting as their businesses depend on it.

At Empire Startup's Fintech Conference this week, Amy Nauiokas, the founder and CEO behind Anthemis Group, offered some insightful thoughts on the topic during a panel I moderated, appropriately titled "Titans of NY Fintech." 

She believes NYC is the perfect storm of entrepreneurial spirit and corporate know-how, making it the ultimate fintech hotspot. 

And she's right — where else can you find a city that blends startup hustle with big-time finance like we do?

Plus, New York is one of the most diverse cities in the world, and it has the potential to improve the industry’s diversity figures even further if we mint more fintech founders in this city.

For many years, New York has been the main port of entry for immigrants coming to the United States, as people journeyed to the city to escape persecution and pursue the American Dream.

Immigrants have played a significant role in building the city, and over the years they have created their own distinct neighborhoods where multiculturalism thrives.

This is where the New York grit comes from — multicultural humans that have faced adversity which prompted them to use their experiences to innovate.

Looking to the future and how NYC can continue to be on the edge of innovation, Nauiokas sees a shift towards making finance invisible rather than just embedded.

As I've covered in my Forbes column, embedded (or soon to be invisible) finance also allows female entrepreneurs without backgrounds in Wall Street or Silicon Valley to break into fintech, creating a new wave of founders who may have previously felt excluded from finance and technology. 

In 2021, Anthemis Group raised over $700 million to invest in pre-seed through Series B embedded finance startups and early-stage fintechs.

Fintech has the potential to provide access to financial services to a broader range of people than ever before, yet sadly, the industry still needs to improve in diverse perspectives. 

According to research by FT Partners, women represent 30% of the workforce and 12% of founders. Additionally, according to PitchBook data, all-female founding teams garnered 1.9% of venture capital funding in 2022, a decrease from 2.4% in 2021.

To improve these figures, venture capitalists need to diversify the industries where they look for startup founders, and entrepreneurs need to explore opportunities to innovate outdated industries and break into the male-dominated world of finance technology.

When women lead startups, there’s a better chance of attracting female talent. Businesses with female founders build teams with 2.5 times more women, and companies with a female founder and executive hire six times more women than those led by men.

Plus, women founders with diverse experiences and backgrounds are well-suited to build outside fintech’s oversaturated marketplace. This is critical to embedded finance as more business sectors look to expand their presence.

So, who better to lead the charge in the next wave of innovation than the OGs of venture capitalism right here in NYC?

But let's address the elephant in the room: the VC industry hasn't been firing on all cylinders lately. 

Nauiokas calls it as she sees — too much money thrown at companies that don't deserve it. And it's not the OGs of fintech making these missteps; it's the folks who don't get what fintech is all about — the investors who just came into fintech when the market was hot but didn't actually know how highly regulated and complex the space truly is. 

But there's hope on the horizon, with Nauiokas confident that NYC's fintech community will rise to the occasion once again — but we’re going to need to invest in women and diverse founders to do it.

Speaking of challenges, the recent dip in fintech funding is a wake-up call. We're down 54.4% compared to last year, the lowest level since 2017. We need to rethink our investment strategies and double down on what works.

In a complex industry like fintech, it's not just about tech smarts; it's about understanding the nuances of regulation and building connections within the ecosystem. That's where NYC shines, with its diverse talent pool and collaborative spirit.

In the end, New York's fintech journey is about more than just dollars and cents. It's about resilience, innovation, and, most importantly, inclusion. 

So let's roll up our sleeves, New Yorkers, and show the world what we're made of.

_{MARK YOUR CALENDARS}

Join us every Thursday to stay updated on the top fintech events each week! These events are a great way to network, learn, and connect with our fintech community. Let's fill our calendars with these awesome events - I would love to see you there! If you have an event to share, please inform me!

_{MONDAY 6/3}

[NYC] Fintech Is Femme Founders Summit NY #TechWeek

You are hearing it here first! We are back at it!

Building on the success of our SOLD OUT New York Fintech Week Leadership Summit, I’m so excited to invite you to our Fintech Is Femme Founders Summit—Building A Resilient Future.

​Part of New York Tech Week, join us at Rise Created by Barclays for a full-day summit centered around the Fintech Founder Experience. Enjoy panel discussions, fireside chats, and founder spotlights that provide the blueprints and tactics designed to help you build a resilient organization in this uncertain economy.

​After the afternoon content sessions, we'll close the evening with our unforgettable Evening of Storytelling— a one-hour intimate session during which industry leaders like Sallie Krawcheck, Asya Bradley, Brandis DiSimone, Laura Lucas, Margaret Hartigan, Sarah Biller, Liza Landsman, and many more have given exclusive insight into their leadership.

_FINTUNES

🎵 RAYE - Escapism.

Prepare to be blown away by the electrifying SNL live performance of Raye's chart-topping anthem. Her sheer talent will leave you speechless.

That’s all for now! Stay safe, everyone. Hug your loved ones. See you Tuesday!

Love,

Nicole

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