Finding Talent

One edge that some firms have is a big network of talent in a particular vertical they are investing in.  One of the activities we actively engage in is just talking to people in the finance industry to keep or establish a relationship.  There are only three cities in the US where the B2B Fin Tech talent is deep; Boston, Chicago and New York.  They have networks that keep attracting people.

This isn’t my opinion.  It’s what entrepreneurs have told me.  When you look at cities and financial technology, a lot of times they are in cities that house financial infrastructure.  For example, if I was going to look for financial services companies to invest in when I went to Canada, I’d probably start in Toronto.  There is a large exchange there.

That’s not to say there isn’t fin tech deal flow in other places of the country.  There is.  But, when you are talking about the B2B problems our firm is looking to invest in the level of discourse and understanding is significantly higher in those three cities than other places of the country. If I had to pick another city that wasn’t in Silicon Valley where there was a fair amount of fin tech talent and understanding, it would be a place like Atlanta.