Game Changers — Funding Circle’s quest to be the leader in Fintech 5’s Football
Towards the end of last year, Funding Circle entered a team into Corporate 5’s Fintech League. Managed by TA’s Adam Berry (who actually turned out to be quite the goalkeeper) and Tom Frank, who was able to convert 10,000+ hours of Football Manager (a popular video game series) into actual physical realm success. We love a good sports initiative at FC, whether that’s sponsoring the Rugby Premiership, annual charity football tournaments, or even company sports day’s — there is always something going on. So when we got the opportunity to enter the Fintech League, it was a no-brainer. I mean, we already knew we had some pretty talented players within our ranks across various divisions and products within the business.
And that’s the best thing about participating in the league — it brings FC together. We have players from People, Sales, Tech, Ops, to name a few, standing together (FC Core Value!) across our product range of Term Loans, Flexipay, Marketplace, Short Term Lending & Embedded Finance. So we’re a multi-product team looking to become the leader in fintech 5-a-side football! Those at FC might pick up on the in-joke there as “being the leader in new products” is one of the company’s 2024 Strategic Pillars we have all spent the last 2 years working towards, and it has been amazing to witness teams repping our product range coming together like a well-oiled machine.
Multi-Product platform, multi-product dream team 🚀
⚽️Funding Circle 5 Product Line-Up ⚽️
Term Loans (GK) In goal, we have term loans, the backbone of Funding Circle and our main product. Since establishing in 2010, we have lent over £16 Billion to 135,000 SMEs in the UK.
Marketplace (DEF) Marketplace Is a service we offer businesses who do not meet the criteria for a loan at FC, so the team refers them to other lenders on the market that are more suitable. We do all we can to help
Short-term lending (CM) In midfield, we launched this product about 18 months ago and to date have lent over £80 million. It’s a product where we help businesses who might have a higher risk profile build up their eligibility so that we can lend to them with well…. less risk.
Embedded Finance Solution (CAM) Creative API midfielder allowing borrowers to access Funding Circle loans from our partner platforms such as Funding Options, Capitalise, and now Sage.
FlexiPay (CF) Leading the line, we have Flexipay. An exciting product where we offer our businesses a line of credit, a mobile/web app, and credit card that allows our borrowers to tackle any business expense or outstanding invoice in 3 interest-free chunks. This is a game-changer when it comes to one of our borrowers’ most common headaches, cash-flow.
As the corporate world returned to the office in 2022, it wasn’t until 2023 that hybrid life was in full swing at FC where after-work company initiatives could safely resume. This is when the Fintech 5’s midweek league started. I should say leagues as there are 2 divisions, with around 10 teams in each, pitting London’s finest fintechs against each other every Thursday night as each season lasts. Seasons run for about 10 weeks per quarter in a traditional league format with promotions to play for and relegations to avoid.
Funding Circle Football Club (FC FC) was founded in Q4 of 2023. This was the 3rd Season of Fintech 5’s so by the time FC FC entered rank a hierarchy of talent and ability was already formed. Revolut, Mastercard, and Checkout are the teams to beat in the first division and in the second division where FC entered, the teams to watch out for were Worldpay, Monzo, and Wise. Our first game took place in early November which gave us a month to assemble a team. Having run multiple internal-company football tournaments our watchful scouts already had some players in mind, but we wanted to ensure there was representation from multiple teams in the business (not just sales!)
Here are a few highs and lows from the season…
Gameweek 1: Funding Circle vs Worldpay
It wouldn’t be fair to just highlight the highs so kicking things off with a low light. A baptism of fire for FC FC thrown into the deep end against probably the best team in the league. It didn’t go well unfortunately as we were humbled 13–3. The 5-a-side pitches at Shoreditch are small. So so small. You really have to get used to having 0 time on the ball and what becomes more akin to pinball than football at times. Onwards and upwards and on to the next. Monzo. Gulp.
Beating Monzo
After the first week’s pummeling, we quickly steadied the ship and went on a 4-game win streak. First up we had challenger bank legends Monzo. Purple vs. Coral, Banking vs. SME Lending, Fintech football vets vs. the new kids on the block. It was a night that would be remembered for a breathtaking performance from our no.9 James Hammond who scored 6 goals!
Final Score Funding Circle FC 7–2 Monzo
James ̶H̶a̶a̶l̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶Hammond the Goal Machine
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with our top goal scorer James Hammond (Far right on the above pic) to discuss the Fintech 5’s and what it’s like to represent Funding Circle.
Hey, 25 Goals! What an Achievement! But what’s your role in Funding Circle?
So, I started as an apprentice in our Borrower Service Team when I was 19 (5 years ago😅). I’ve since had a few roles within sales, and I now work as an Account Manager on our new/returning side.
My role is essentially to help manage the relationships with business owners who are looking to take their first loan with us.
What does playing football for FC FC at the Fintech 5’s mean to you? And how do you think it impacts the culture?
I was really excited when I first heard the announcement that we were making a team and joining the Fintech League.
Not only has it given me a chance to slot in a game of footie mid-week, but there’s also a level of pride I get knowing I’m representing the company in a positive way and bringing more eyes to our brand and mission.
For me, I believe it has had a great impact on our culture. Each week, I get to meet people from different teams who I haven’t had the chance to meet or speak to in my day-to-day role.
Thank you James! So how did we do in the end?
Final Standings and FC FC Future! 🚀
Despite a shaky start, FC FC became quite the force in Division 2, narrowly missing out on promotion by 3 points. Wise and Worldpay took the 2 promotion spots, and we came quite a respectable 3rd (seeing as it was our first season!). Next season has already begun, and we have started strong winning our first 2 games. More people from across the business have volunteered, so we have a much deeper pool of talent to choose from, and again diversity is key. The main goal is to bring the business through the beautiful game. Whether you’re in the borrower accounts team or loan operations, nothing beats the camaraderie of putting on that purple shirt and playing football with friends (new or old!)
Our day-to-day mission is to help small businesses win, but in this league, we want our business to win! C’mon FC FC!!!
