The Tyto Tech 500 Power List is out for 2018 and, for the second year running, it has found FinTech to be by far the most prolific subsector.
Aside from those falling into the ‘general tech’ subsector (28%), no other subsector comes near to FinTech concerning the number of people who made this year’s list. Key opinion-formers in FinTech make up 19% of this year’s list, while no other subsector comprises more than 6% of the overall 500. Not only does the sector continue to dominate others such as AI, SecureTech and RetailTech, but numbers are growing. Last year FinTech also proved to be the largest subsector in the ranking, with 74 entrants. This year, that number has risen to 95.
In a year which has seen Brexit cause considerable concern over the future of the UK as a key Financial Services and FinTech hub, it’s reassuring to see that, for now at least, there seems to be no sign of interest in the FinTech sector slowing.
If we dig a little deeper, the make-up of the ranking, which is based on earned media coverage, social media activity and conference circuit profile, makes for interesting reading.
Forty-nine of this year’s 95 are new entrants to the list. These include Megan Caywood, Chief Platform Officer at Starling Bank, Jaidev Janardana, CEO of Zopa, and Anil Stocker, Co-Founder and CEO of MarketInvoice. What this shows is just how possible it is, with some concerted effort across many platforms, to become one of the key opinion formers in one of the UK’s most prolific industries, in only a short space of time.
It’s also interesting to note that 79 of those in this year’s FinTech list are business leaders. While journalists will always be a crucial and fundamental part of any PR campaign aiming to raise awareness of a brand and enhance its reputation, the importance of engaging with those outside of the media shouldn’t be underestimated. Read more on business leaders’ growing influence in Connor’s blog here.
Before announcing this year’s FinTech Power 10, it would be remiss not to highlight the stubborn gender imbalance that remains in the sector, with only 25% of this year’s 95 FinTech influencers being women. Sadly, the number of women in the top 50 FinTech entrants has declined, with just nine women in the top 50 compared to last year’s 15. Read more on women in tech in Rebecca’s blog here.
So, without further ado, congratulations to the following key opinion formers, who top this year’s FinTech Power 10.
- Chris Skinner – Blogger, thefinanser.com
- Simon Taylor – 11FS
- Anne Boden – Starling Bank
- Jamie Burke – Outlier Ventures
- Lex Sokolin – Autonomous Research
- Megan Caywood – Starling Bank
- Faisal Islam – Sky News
- Goncalo de Vasconcelos – SyndicateRoom
- Eileen Burbidge – Passion Capital
- Jaidev Janardana – Zopa
Download the Tyto Tech 500 Power List to read the full report.