Name: Patrick Rivenbark 
Company: MEDICI VP, Strategic Partnerships
Background (Education/Career etc):
- BA, Art History – Duke University
- Career in financial services, FinTech, HealthTech, and Manufacturing covering products, operations, finances and training/development
Connection to Carolina Fintech Hub (CFH):
Our company, MEDICI is a participating member of CFH. Because of that, it helps us enable FinTech-at-Scale on the regional level to what we do on the global level — hear and participate first-hand in the solving FinTech problems for enterprises, startups, and service providers.
Charlotte and the Carolinas are unique in that some of biggest banks in the world reside alongside emerging startups. CFH bridges connections between the banks, startups, and the many other stakeholders. Personally, involvement in CFH allows me to engage in the fintech ecosystem and give back to an area that I call home.
Main passion [what keeps you busy and what do you love about work and/or life?]:
My mantra is people, tech, and mission. I love solving new problems with the combination of people and empowering technology. The bigger the “mission”, the more fun I have trying to help make progress. I studied Art History in undergrad, and while that may sound out of place in fintech, my liberal arts background both fed my love of problem solving with people and ideas from different domains. Art is unique that it goes beyond quantifiable metrics while also having a marketplace to show people’s appreciation — last Picasso sold for $189 million!
This perspective gave an appreciation for the “fuzzy” parts of how people work together, or customer engages with a product or service. I love the intersection of the “messy” aspect of people and the power of data, math, and engineering to help organize and structure complex processes. I see that as the heart of technology.
Why fintech? [why are you in the fintech industry?]:
I’m a reluctant fintech convert. I wasn’t enamored with financial services early in my career; however, the more I learned about the potential of fintech, the more interested I became. Very few industries have the ability to provide infrastructure, experience, and influence entire economies. How you pay, how you invest, and how you engage in the economy can change everything.
The rapid changes in financial services and fintech are centered around the industry realizing finance is more than ledgers, models, and interest rates. It’s fun to be in the middle of this evolution. Why is it that financial institutions are now so interested in the user experience? What number defines the “best user experience”? How do you quantify “I really enjoyed using that service”?
Any metric, like active users, is merely a proxy for a good experience. Everyone in fintech is realizing what the arts (and designers) have known for millennia – how the customer feels about an experience is a critical component to the success of every business endeavor.
Right now, I’m excited about two things in fintech: first, the sheer amount of people trying to improve the financial health of customers and businesses. This is bringing a lot of new ideas and entrepreneurs into the space, which is great for everyone, including consumers who will start seeing reimagined financial products and services. Second, there is untapped potential to narrow the gap between technological capabilities and financial services. This will eventually reach and alter every part of the financial services experience.
Why the Carolina Region?:
Truthfully, I’m from the area. The explosive growth and ability for the Carolina Region to embrace the next generation of the economy means are best days should be ahead of us. Thankfully, my career in Charlotte has coincided with massive growth and change. I’ve been fortunate to meet people from all over the world who are tackling interesting problems and want to grow with Charlotte. While Charlotte is known for its conservativeness in business and isn’t yet the global hub of tech-innovation, the culture is changing. It takes time; groups like CFH are working to accelerate the evolution.
In order for Charlotte to keep growing and supporting the fintech community, and for the best days to be ahead of us, we need to attract people. We need to keep the young, enterprising talent we foster through our great schools to stay In the Carolinas. Generally, the whole region is well positioned for growth as we have all of the “quality of life” factors working in our favor. Now, it is up to us as a community to have public and private alignment that foster and enables people to flourish here – both in the cities and rural areas of the Carolinas.
What is Next?… (for you, the industry, the next 5 years?):
I plan to continue to help the people and companies connect and improve financial services and fintech globally. My hope for the industry is that technology helps bring about more access to capital for families and businesses to develop unique services for tomorrow’s economy. This means more than just new technology, but rather a change in how today’s financial products are marketed and delivered to customers.
How can financial services companies better market and relate their missions to customers? A 401k, IRA, HSA, or Roth IRA doesn’t connect with me, at all. Many people have no idea what they are. However, a product that helps me save for my family’s future in new ways is really compelling–everyone wants to be able to build his or her family’s future. Second, how can the financial services industry enable small companies (even if they only have one person) to grow? The digital and internet era is empowering individuals and small teams to serve large markets. How can financial services enable these companies survive and get the necessary capital even if they don’t have access to a traditional bank?
What advice do you have for others interested in fintech?
I would encourage someone new to fintech to remember that financial services is an integral part of the economy, which means it moves at its own pace. Push the envelope—but know that it will never move as fast as an unregulated, consumer business.
To those already in fintech: reimagine how financial products and services engage the customer — costumers want buy a good or service, they want to save for vacation and retirement, they don’t care how as long as it fits in their life. And don’t get forget, it’s always more than the numbers!
To those students and early professionals who may not have the “right degree” for fintech: don’t be a victim of the “what are you going to do with that?” joke.
- Start with a willingness to learn, to put in the time, and reach out to those in the industry. There’s no substitute, degree, or certification for any of that.
- Use your background. There are skills and concepts you’ve learned that others do not possess. How do you use them to your advantage? How can you solve a new problem?
- In the same way liberal arts majors don’t want to be categorized as ‘useless’, don’t make the same mistake when you engage with others. There are millions offinance, engineer, and business majors who appreciate your skills. Degrees do not define people.
- Learn some “hard skills” to complement your experience. Learn Excel, familiarize yourself with banking, finance, and read up on business and technology. Recognize you have to ‘catch up’ with peers who have degrees in finance, computer science, statistic – and that’s ok! You can offer something new.
- Finally, seek and ask for help landing that first job or internship in the industry you want to work in. Nothing beats real life experience.
