Time does fly when you’re having fun! Today has been exactly one year since my “official” move from the picturesque Dutch countryside to “The City”. And what a move it has turned out to be.
When I made the 45 minute jump supported by KLM/Cityjet, I arrived with no team, no FCA authorisation (we’d just applied before making the trip) and no UK client. Did I mention that we didn’t have an office or a bank account either?
Today I want to celebrate our journey over the past year…
In 365 days, we have enough weird, wonderful and crazy stories to make a three-part bestseller [think Lord of The Rings with less elves and more bankers and asset managers]. But we acknowledge that this year only represents one chapter, and we really can’t wait to write the rest of our book with our fantastic team.
So where are we now?
- Client – We’ve signed our first UK Client who will use our technology stack and BPO services for their D2C investment solution (sorry, can’t share the name yet).
- FCA – The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has awarded us with full authorisation.
- Bank – honestly one of the most crappy and frustrating processes I’ve ever had to go through and it should not be in this list [even worse than going to the Dentist], but here it goes: opening up a personal and business bank account. It was such a reality check for me to realise what people in the UK have to go through to get this done (maybe more about this later…but it won’t be a pretty story to share).
- Team – We are a team in the making: from flying solo to growing to a flock of 12 likeminded change fanatics whom I can navigate this journey with.
And the latter is perhaps the most important.
A team made up of unique and distinct individuals who differ in every way imaginable and yet share a unified sense of purpose and ambition.
So what’s my goal for next year?
To build one of the most diverse FinTech teams in the UK that just kicks ^$$. A team that lives, breathes and demonstrates our core values: exceed expectations, do more with less and give it all!
Whilst ambitious, I’m well aware that this will be the most challenging goal. So we need help. We are looking to hire about 20 more colleagues this year… are you looking for a new job or do you know someone? Please check www.ohpen.com or mail [email protected].
Thanks to everyone in the UK and our Dutch team who made the first part of this journey possible.
Affecting change isn’t easy (especially in the Financial Services industry). If it were easy, there would be no unique Ohpen UK team, no new office, no highs and lows, no story to tell… but where’s the fun in that?
