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I have worked with and for Geoff Miller for a period of time, primarily during his successful tenure as CEO of GLI Finance, a London listed fintech company. This is a conversation I've had with him now a while back, focused on corporate governance and other issues that we both care about deeply. Geoff Miller now is an investor in and consultant to a variety of principally early stage technology and finance companies, a Director of various businesses across a number of sectors globally drawing on his 20 years of listed company Board experience and a mentor to a variety of entrepreneurs. At the heart of his approach to business are good corporate governance, equality and diversity. He does not believe that these are words to be thrown around but rather they are fundamental to the core of any great organisation. Where a company does not agree with this, he will not work with them. Outside of his work with corporates he is managing the creation of a food forest in Guernsey and he is involved in encouraging the introduction of more permaculture principles to the unique and precious environment on the island. Latest updates on this can be viewed on Instagram @larameefarmhouse. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/WYFT/support
I have the pleasure to be joined today by Geoff Miller, CEO of Afaafa and former CEO of GLI Finance which he built from having no presence in AltFi to having over two dozen share stakes and loan agreements. If existing FS has gone far to far in the direction of endless PC box-ticking – […]
In the latest episode of the Business Finance Bulletin Rob Warlow reviews the recent Entrepreneur’s Index survey released by Barclays Bank and the Regional Growth Fund. As well as looking at the UK business scene the report focuses on High Growth businesses. Turning to growth finance raised via equity crowdfunding a new report issued by Altfi poses the question of how businesses have fared in raising equity by this method. The ‘Where Are They Now? Report reveals some interesting findings on the benefits of equity crowdfunding Staying with alternative finance Rob looks at study by GLI Finance and Cambridge University Centre of Alternative Finance which states that there a significant funding gap faced by SMEs which are unaware about sources of alternative finance. If you’re suffering from cash flow problems Rob takes a looks at a product from Just Cashflow called BusinessPlus Mastercard which is designed to ease the cash crunch which SMEs typically face. And in the Business Tip of the Week…. invest, don’t spend!
The European Online Lending Opportunity at LendIt USA 2015, with James Meekings, Chief Commercial Officer & Co-Founder of Funding Circle; Peter Behrens, Co-Founder & Chief Commercial Officer of RateSetter; Geoff Miller, CEO of GLI Finance; Jaidev Janardana, COO of Zopa; Partel Tomberg, Founder & CEO of Bondora; Etienne Boillot, CEO & Co-Founder of Eiffel eCapital; and moderator Cormac Leech, Equity Research at Liberum.
GLI Finance Limited company demo at LendIt Europe 2014 by CEO Geoffrey Richard Miller.
What the Arrival of Institutional Investors Means for Europe at LendIt Europe 2014, with Etienne Boillot, General Partner at Shepherd Capital; Simon Champ, CEO of P2P Capital Solutions; Charles Moldow, General Parnter at Foundation Capital; Geoffrey Richard Miller, CEO of GLI Finance; and Matt Burton, Co-Founder & CEO of Orchard.
GLI FInance’s Platforms The Economist has described the emergence of huge numbers of Fintechs as a Cambrian Explosion. Will this be followed by a Mass Extinction? I am delighted to be joined on the show today to discuss this by a uniquely qualified individual who has a background in solid BigCos, has co-founded a successful Fintech and advises key government departments on UK Fintech including the current Blackett review on Fintech. This week she has been appointed as Head of Public Affairs and Marketing for GLI Finance. GLI Finance is an AIM listed company that both invests in AltFi vehicles (see above) as well as investing through their platforms. Louise is also a woman and one who was showcased in Brummell magazine as one of the top 30 most inspirational women entrepreneurs in the City. So we warm up the show with the angle of women in Fintech – there ain’t many and the social narrative is rather PC these days. I see three threads at play here. First what I experienced as the “70s narrative” of equality of identity; then the narrative (to which we all subscribe) of equality of opportunity; but more recently and a little perniciously perhaps a third of equality of outcome. This last can (ironically) get unwittingly sexist – so for example one sees plenty of calls for more women in tech – but I have never seen many calls for more men in social media – whats that about then? Louise talks about five challenges, or vice versa five guiding principles for avoid the Mass Extinction of UK Fintech plc (we will have masses of extinctions at the startup level of course purely as so many startups die off anyway). Around these challenges we touch on a number of issues which London needs to retain in order to not be a “second-best US” Fintech venue but a “first best UK” fintech place. Not being excessively PC as per the women issue; retaining a sense of humour; the more European (social democratic?) model of at least some “heart-based” capitalism (to add to the more greed-based US version which certainly took over the City in the past twenty years). Louise outlines five key challenges to the potential success of UK Fintech plc. Funding – fierce competition for low levels of development funding in the £2-10m zone; Balance – stopping being too obsessed with technology and not enough on focusing on the impact of a business on its stakeholders. As a consequence of being overly tech-focused there has been something of a failure to capture the imagination of funders. There needs to be a balance of a tripod of Technology, Operations and Sales&Marketing (with a glue of management ability to guide and hold it all together); Legislation and regulation – essential to create an environment in which we can be succesful. Equity crowdfunding is a notable example where good legislation/regulation has facilitated the competitive advantage/lead of the UK (technically it’s still illegal in the US I believe). In this way we also lead the creation of an environment worldwide as other countries look to the UK’s example. “Good regulation” also requires a process of engagement with the industry for consultation (which is happening well right now). It is also required to level the playing field between the incumbent Goliaths and the new David’s challenging them; Globalisation - this is often seen as a threat whereas we also need to embrace is as an opportunity. I raise the historical/psychological perspective on this namely that the British used to be very outwards in their orientation. On the positive side of this legacy London is now perhaps the most tolerant, multicultural city in the world. Think Big - think beyond the widget, beyond the platforms, see how our Fintech fits into the global supply chain and changes it forever. Following a centuries long Imperial expansion, the British have been undergoing a contraction in their mentality for the past five decades and are perhaps less culturally global in business ambitions than the Americans whose turn at the global empire game it is. Added to this the increasing size of FS organisations has narrowed the horizons of the average FS person to a certain “white-collar factory” corporatism in the past twenty years. Somehow we need to overcome these and find a “European” or “UK” paradigm to thinking global again (without the Pith Helmets), without going down the neo-imperial US conquest route (most every major global tech firms is American which is extraordinary from one perspective (but perhaps not from a historical perspective (East India company qv))). Louise outlines her thoughts on how to do this (as well as now doing it in her day job for GLI Finance which has platforms in several continents and several types of business line). Finally we recorded this at Crowdshed – which as a crowdfunding platform involves crowds (which can be heard roaming around the prairies in the background at some points). Louise ends with an incredibly impressive tale of one of the deals bringing together investment and philanthropy funding. I won’t spoil the tale by relating it here but listen to the praiseworthy success rate of a campaign by the Running Charity which helps young people who are homeless or at risk of being homeless get into education and employment. Now doesn’t that kind of thing make you think that along with: a) GLI’s mission of funding SMEs (which are a massive part of the economy); b) Fintech can be A Good Thing; and c) that there is perhaps some chance of London FS regaining the social conscience it lost when it got sucked into greed-based capitalism (after all look at all those livery companies that have been around for a long time “doing good”).