2023 LA First Look — Finance for All: Unlocking Accessible Fintech Solutions
Fika hosted its 8th annual LA First Look Retreat on May 4th after a sad three-year hiatus. It was incredible to be back in-person at the historic Ebell for what turned out to be perhaps the best First Look yet, as many proclaimed this to be one of the top tech events in Los Angeles.
The day began with main stage keynote discussions with esteemed industry leaders touching on a wide range of hot-button topics.
The fintech panel, moderated by Luke Voiles, CEO of Pipe, featured a discussion on the challenges and opportunities across the fintech industry, with an emphasis on democratizing access to quality financial services. The panelists, Sallie Krawcheck, Co-Founder & CEO of Ellevest and Dileep Thazhmon, Co-Founder & CEO of Jeeves, shared their experiences and insights on building their respective companies, the regulatory landscape, and the potential impact of generative AI in the fintech space. The conversation began with both Sallie and Dileep agreeing that international fintech companies face significant gaps in infrastructure compared to the US, making it more difficult to operate and scale.
“What we take for granted sometimes in the US is that it’s not necessarily the same playing field internationally, and so it’s harder internationally compared to the US.” — Dileep Thazhmon (Jeeves)
The panelists went on to address how to close the gender wealth gap through fintech platforms. Sallie discussed how Ellevest’s goal is to close the gender wealth gap by getting more money into the hands of women, and how the role of fintech companies like Ellevest is helping women invest and build wealth through tailored services and support. She highlighted the numerous benefits of women having more wealth, including fairer societies, stronger economies, better-off families, and improved environmental conditions.
“Nothing bad happens when women have more money. And yet we sit here with a gender pay gap that is flat [and] a gender wealth gap that has gone in the wrong direction.” — Sallie Krawcheck (Ellevest)
Sallie and Dileep also noted how the fintech industry must be prepared for increased regulatory scrutiny and challenges in an ever-changing macro environment. Dileep specifically stated that fintech companies must uphold the highest standards for accuracy and reliability. Lastly, Sallie and Dileep discussed how generative AI has the potential to improve fraud detection and optimize financial processes, but it must be highly accurate and reliable to be effective in the fintech industry.
