The HiveMind Interviews: Sharing the secrets of successful Fintechs
jamesbarkert
26 episodes
2 weeks ago
Building sustainable Fintech companies isn’t easy. Selling is more complex and risk-driven, decision making is syndicated, and sales cycles are longer. Delivering product requires more resilient and expensive engineering, and the market it crowded.
I wanted to explore how to build a commercially successful Fintech from every perspective; from the buyer, through product and across sales and marketing. Revenue isn’t simply a ’sales’ challenge - it only happens when the entire machine is working perfectly. Let’s unlock the secrets together with my guests.
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Building sustainable Fintech companies isn’t easy. Selling is more complex and risk-driven, decision making is syndicated, and sales cycles are longer. Delivering product requires more resilient and expensive engineering, and the market it crowded.
I wanted to explore how to build a commercially successful Fintech from every perspective; from the buyer, through product and across sales and marketing. Revenue isn’t simply a ’sales’ challenge - it only happens when the entire machine is working perfectly. Let’s unlock the secrets together with my guests.
Building Griffin: The Developer-First Bank Built by Engineers, with David Jarvis Founder of Griffin Bank
The HiveMind Interviews: Sharing the secrets of successful Fintechs
34 minutes 30 seconds
4 months ago
Building Griffin: The Developer-First Bank Built by Engineers, with David Jarvis Founder of Griffin Bank
What happens when a D&D-playing data scientist decides the banking industry needs a developer-first overhaul? In this episode of The Hivemind, I speak with David Jarvis, co-founder and CEO of Griffin, the UK’s platform bank built for fintech builders.
We dive deep into David’s unconventional path to becoming a founder—from flunked coding interviews to launching one of the most talked-about infrastructure banks in Europe. We unpack Griffin’s self-serve product philosophy, the future of embedded finance, and why David thinks salespeople are optional (but helpful).
For fintech operators, B2B SaaS founders, and anyone scaling in a regulated space, this one’s full of sharp takes, hard-won insights, and no-BS stories from the trenches.
Timestamps / Chapters:
00:00 – Cold Open: “If you describe yourself as a game changer…”
01:20 – Meet David Jarvis: Fintech operator, failed coder, founder
03:40 – Griffin’s origin story and early pivots
06:38 – Why “the bank you can build on” is evolving
08:20 – Building for developers: No demos, just APIs
10:00 – The self-serve roadmap: Stripe-style onboarding for fintech
14:50 – Branding, tribes, and ClearBank shade
17:00 – Griffin’s ideal customer profile (and who’s not)
20:15 – Why mature financial firms are slow adopters
22:15 – Climbing the credibility ladder
24:45 – The role of luck (and regulation) in early traction
27:40 – Fundraising lessons and investor shoutouts
32:20 – CEO lessons: Overpromising, board friction, and trusting your gut
34:17 – Final thoughts: resilience and responsibility
The HiveMind Interviews: Sharing the secrets of successful Fintechs
Building sustainable Fintech companies isn’t easy. Selling is more complex and risk-driven, decision making is syndicated, and sales cycles are longer. Delivering product requires more resilient and expensive engineering, and the market it crowded.
I wanted to explore how to build a commercially successful Fintech from every perspective; from the buyer, through product and across sales and marketing. Revenue isn’t simply a ’sales’ challenge - it only happens when the entire machine is working perfectly. Let’s unlock the secrets together with my guests.
