Posted: 01/07/2019
If sitting on a beach watching the sun go down isn’t an ideal time to stop and reflect on a successful mission, then when is?
Except in this case the beach was a temporary man-made affair in the heart of the capital of Denmark.
We’d put a call out to Digital Jersey members to see if any wanted to join us for this insight into how European countries are developing their FinTech sectors, and to – hopefully – open the door to new connections, networks and professional relationships on the continent for our island-based entrepreneurs and business owners.
Dave Hannam from SharesInside and Steve Pomfret from Cygnetise made contact with us almost immediately and, suddenly, here we were sitting on the sands in Copenhagen, having helped two Jersey firms promote their businesses and services, with exhibition space, seminars, and one-to-one pitching opportunities.
Indeed, the people we were able to connect Dave and Steve with were the very people they’d previously spent months trying to get face time with.
It’s one of the missions of Digital Jersey to work to promote our own tech sector off-island, and to work with members to remove the barriers they face as they focus on their own global growth.
SharesInside is a next-generation platform for investors, listed companies and stock exchanges to communicate with each other wherever they are. We just knew their product would draw attention from delegates in Copenhagen. And that was certainly the case.
Dave Hannam from SharesInside said: “The Copenhagen FinTech Week has been of great value for SharesInside and a lot of fun. We pitched our product to a Belgian Committee who was attending the event and benefit from meeting key stakeholders from a company we have been willing to reach.”
“It was a good opportunity to learn more about trends like Sustainability, Big Tech and Data Ethics and see how FinTech is impacting much more than traditional finance. The Nordic-style venue made it so easy to network with like-minded individuals and created quite a cool atmosphere.”
Cygnetise is the blockchain application that makes managing signatory lists and bank mandates secure and efficient. An issue of growing importance in Jersey, and right around the world.
Steve Pomfret from Cygnetise told us: “The event was extremely beneficial for Cygnetise as a start-up, and hopefully it was the same for all the corporates. We had the opportunity to present our product to several large banks and exhibit at the conference obtaining significant interest. I can only recommend that other member firms attend these kinds of events. The organisation was seamless, the venue couldn’t have been cooler. If Carlsberg did Fintech conferences…”
And that’s the point for us. We’re building an increasing number of connections with tech hubs and communities around the world. We’re signing memorandums of understanding at one end of the spectrum, but at the other we’re also showing our faces and making our name known at myriad events. We’re telling the story of Jersey and Digital Jersey, but we’re also using these opportunities to fast-track the efforts of our members.
The conference was over, the sun was setting, and the party was continuing on this pop-up beach. We were already moving in our minds to the next event where we could connect our members with key contacts.
If you’re a Digital Jersey member, let us know the people and places in the world where that kind of introduction could take your work to the next level. If you’re not yet a member, don’t let the sun set on an opportunity that could take your business to the next level.