Q&A with Victor Cruz
CEO at VC Innovations
Hi, all!
Today I have an interesting Q&A from someone in the FinTech event space. As you probably know I love events. Live events are my favorite place to meet with my network and meet other FinTech fanatics.
With that in mind, there’s a major event coming up in November that I will be attending, FinTech Talents.
So today, I’m inviting you to hear from Victor Cruz, CEO at VC Innovations, the architects of Fintech Talents and Future Identity brands, as he shares insights into how the team launched the largest and most impactful fintech festival in the UK.
Let’s get to it!
How and when did you get into the FinTech space?
Whilst travelling across Sub-Saharan Africa I came across Mpesa… my mind was blown and from that day on I knew I had to get into fintech.
And are there any channels you are active in and our audience can follow you?
I am big on LinkedIn – it is by far my favourite social platform where I keep my network updated about our events and content.
What makes you so enthusiastic about FinTech? And do you have specific fintech segments (payments, open banking, digital banking, insurtech?) you like the most?
I am super enthusiastic about Embedded Finance and the opportunity retailers, manufacturers, insurers, telcos, financial institutions, fintechs and tech innovators have to drive profound change across the industry and beyond.
We are so enthusiastic about Embedded Finance to the point where we have now created an entire portfolio of content and event properties on that theme, with shows in 2023 in London, New York, Jakarta and San Francisco.
Which are the FinTech trends to watch out for in the next 6-18 months?
Again, I am super excited about how non-financial institutions are embedding financial products as part of their user journey in order to create more value, enhance LTV and improve retention. I come across great use cases on a daily basis and those numbers will grow exponentially over the next 10 years with some great enablers out there; Griffin, Toqio, Vodeno, Railsz, Finastra and Marqeta to mention a few.
What’s on your bookshelf / reading list?
I am obsessed with Yuval Harari at the moment, and I am working my way through his box set, including Homo Sapiens, Homo Deus and 21 lessons for the 21st century.
What’s one interesting thing most people won’t know about you?
I grew up in Brazil and moved to London at the age of 18. I have two gorgeous kids (Scarlett & Phoenix) an amazing wife (Alex) and a wonderful little sister (Gaby). I’ve always played the guitar (own a Gibson Les Paul 1960’ studio) and MMA is my main sport.
Why did you launch the Fintech Talents Festival?
We identified an opportunity to deliver better value across the ecosystem through our content, community and experience model. As we like to say, we are not an event only experience.
That comes through in the partners that we have worked with, the relationships that we have developed and the value we have built for them. They come for the experience, stay for the community (and perhaps the craft beer and music) and grow their networks in the process.