With UK Fintech Week celebrating its tenth year at the heart of the City of London, and the announcement of Bootstrap’s intention to raise 350 million euros for its fourth fund in Mind Fintech, in April, fintech was firmly on the agenda. To add to that, Forbes released its yearly 30 under 30 list, with Bootstrap acting as a judge for the Europe 2024 edition, plus, one of the authoritative voices on private equity and debt, The Drawdown, featured Bootstrap Europe’s COO in a open and honest piece highlighting his career and the firm’s future plans.
Mind Fintech
Co-founder and Managing Partner, Fatou Diagne talked to Mind Fintech about the nuances of venture debt, the type of deal flow Bootstrap has and how much the firm is raising for its fourth fund.
You can find the full article at Mind Fintech.
UK Fintech Week: Innovate Finance Global Summit (IFGS)
Co-founder and Managing Partner, Stephanie (Galantine) Heller spoke at this year’s Innovate Finance Global Summit (IFGS), the flagship event of UK Fintech Week. Stephanie sat alongside representatives from Fidelity International Strategic Ventures, Fintech Growth Fund, 1835i and Orrick. Growth debt and venture capitalists’ support of fintech innovation was the focus of the conversation where Stephanie commented: “When you’re a lender, you have to be extremely patient with your clients. You can’t just pull the trigger, you have to continuously support any ecosystem over a longer period of time”.
Tech London Advocates & Global Tech Advocates Future Frontiers
Stephanie also spoke at Tech London Advocates & Global Tech Advocates Future Frontiers event with renowned MC, Oli Barrett, and Antler’s, Adam French, about the next ten years in tech and the investor’s role to play in it. There are so many areas of tech that are growing within the city (and the country) including life sciences, deeptech hardware, climate tech and fintech (which was said to be a crown jewel of London at the event). Stephanie stated: “Deeptech hardware is an area investors should look more at. It’s difficult for these businesses, not just investment-wise, but to also find the right talent as the knowledge needed is very specific and high-level”
You can find out more about the event over on LinkedIn.
Forbes 30 under 30: Manufacturing and Industry
The highly anticipated (and talked about) 30 under 30 list, released yearly by Forbes, highlights the future talent leading industries across the globe. In the Europe 2024 edition, Stephanie was invited to judge the manufacturing and industry category, an all encompassing umbrella term for those “creating the products, methods and materials of tomorrow”.
You can find the full list over at Forbes.
The Drawdown
“Covid 19 hit while I was at Blackmoor and I suffered a personal bereavement at the time. After some introspection into all areas of my life, work-wise I began to question whether I was happy in a liquid asset class and whether I was allowing myself to thrive. I decided I wanted somewhere that would give me flexibility and time to focus on work and other passions, including working with charities.”
We really enjoyed reading Bootstrap Europe’s COO, Kasun De Silva’s piece with The Drawdown about his career to-date, the lessons learnt and the firm’s future plans.
You can find the full article over at The Drawdown (behind a paywall).
As a growth debt provider, we are so pleased to be finally joining these important discussions and showcasing the importance of the smart financing tool within so many sectors such as fintech, life sciences and manufacturing. We believe that founders need to have diversified investment options including growth debt, and we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to continue educating these different ecosystems through well-respected publications and thought-provoking events.
More can be found on our portfolio and team over at the Bootstrap Europe website.
