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10X CEO Antony Jenkins
Gorgeous in an expensive waistcoat and shirt combination, Antony Jenkins looks like the model of a successful banker.
The fintech entrepreneurs I tend to talk to are likely wearing a quarter-zip jumper or t-shirt under their jackets rather than the more formal attire favored by bank executives, so I only mention that. But Jenkins treads on both worlds. After three years as CEO of Barclays Plc, he is now in the driver’s seat of financial technology company 10x.
10 X was created to (primarily) incumbent banks to meet the agility and customer friendliness of technology-driven challengers. 10X is part of a somewhat underreported corner of the fintech market, offering solutions to institutions rather than consumer-facing brands. Jenkins describes 10X as business-to-business-to-consumer.
When I spoke with him on Zoom, I was curious about the realities of moving from a corporate job to the uncertain life of an entrepreneur.
After Barclays
Jenkins’ tenure as CEO of Barclays was relatively short, three years from 2012 to 2015 to be exact. During that time he oversaw the period of restructuring. His resignation resulted in a dispute with the board over the pace and method of the change, according to contemporary reports.
Still, it’s usually not difficult for corporate executives to find high-level roles within the industry.Jenkins had a long career in banking, including time at Citigroup and various roles at Barclays itself. So why jump into the life of an entrepreneur?
“I was doing well in my corporate life, but I think I always had aspirations of being an entrepreneur.
Perhaps more importantly, his experience suggested to him that incumbents in the banking sector had problems that needed resolution. Serving customers and launching new products were relatively weak.
“During my career, I’ve had to launch a lot of products,” he says. “That could take him seven to eight months at most.”
By contrast, 10x is essentially a banking-as-a-service platform, bringing together all the data it needs and making it available in real time, allowing banks to cut that time to weeks, he says. . In this way, his aim is to enable large banks, often hampered by legacy IT systems, to compete with challengers.
big tech
This is very important, he says. Not only because “neo” banks are catching up with their longer-established rivals, but also because big tech companies are entering the financial services market.
But why would banks look to fintech? They’re not short of money and they’re not necessarily struggling to attract digital talent – after all, they pay the wages. You can – so why should they buy technology from outside? Indeed, why should they look to FinTech for answers?
“Banks are our competitors,” admits Jenkins. “And there are a lot of people doing it for themselves. But it’s hard for incumbents to reform themselves,” he said.
Similarly, it can be argued that it is difficult for outsiders of fintech to gain a foothold in the B2B or B2B2C market. Customer-facing fintech companies can capitalize on consumer frustration to build highly focused services without the constraints of traditional technology. B2B players market their products and services to industry centers that have their own way of doing things.
This is where bankers can have an advantage. They know the industry and its problems. At the same time, you can focus on developing your solution. “We’ve been working on this for the past seven years,” Jenkins says.
A corporate background is also helpful when it comes to fundraising. Jenkins was in the happy position of being able to invest £1 million of his own money into his 10x before asking for funds. To date, he has raised around £252m from Series A to C.
The change of viewpoint?
But running startups morphing to scale up probably requires a different mindset. There are no safety nets like those found in corporate life. “There’s more accountability,” he says. “You know it depends on your team, and you make it work. Highs are high, lows are low.”
At the same time, there is also a sense of openness. “You feel very unrestrained,” he adds.
to date 10 times has signed six clients, including JPMorgan Chase, Nationwide Building Society and Westpac. The short-term goal is to serve approximately 20 institutions (mainly tiers 1, 2 and 3 of the banking market) by 2025. Jenkins sees it as a realistic goal. “By that time, we will be Cash Plus.”
Fintech remains a staple of the UK tech ecosystem, but challenging banks and financial providers continue to make headlines, while the industry itself is looking for new ways to compete. This opens up possibilities for B2B solutions without the consumer experience. Perhaps another career for bankers.