If you had 6 minutes to talk with Alexa Von Tobel about all things fintech, what questions would you ask?
For those new to the fintech industry, let me fill you in. Alexa is the Founder and Managing Partner of Inspired Capital and was the Founder and CEO of LearnVest, a wealth management platform she sold to Northwestern Mutual for $250 million in 2018. She is also the author of Financially Fearless and Financially Forward. All this is to say, Von Tobel is a long-standing expert in the fintech industry.
I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to chat with Von Tobel at FinovateFall last month. Here are some of the highlights of our conversation.
Dealflow in fintech has changed a lot this year. When I asked Von Tobel what we can expect moving forward, she said that the fintech industry is full of dry powder. She said to ignore the spike in funding that has occurred in the past couple of years, and instead look forward to the future. “This is when the best builders come out,” she said. “When times get tough is when you see resilient, committed founders saying that they want to build a business. I want to meet those founders.” In fact, Von Tobel is excited about the downturn because it will bring out the mission-oriented builders and founders that are seeking to fix the big gaps in the industry.
In our interview, we also looked at retirement. According to Von Tobel, retirement looks different today, thanks in part to the gig economy. Many people are looking to leave their full time job to work in a more flexible environment that allows them to choose how frequently to work. On the flip side, young people are also seeking more flexibility in their working environment, and because they are not working the traditional nine to five career, they need solutions to save for their retirement that fit this unique need.
Von Tobel also shared the top trends she expects to see rise in the next few years and offered up advice for founders of mid-to-late stage companies who are having difficulty finding VC funding in today’s environment.
Catch the full interview below.