Steve Dukes, CEO at Confused.com: “While we are a deeply competitive industry, a lot of businesses are closely connected”
If there’s one word to describe Steve Dukes, CEO at Confused.com, it isn’t confused: it’s excited. Or determined. Or proud. As you will discover in this interview, he’s excited about the opportunities fintech offers, determined to make products that solve customer problems, and proud to be part of a Welsh community of technology innovators.
But fundamentally, it’s about using technology to help people save money. Something that isn’t limited to Confused.com, which was the first ever comparison site (established way back in 2002), although perhaps they share the same DNA.
“With established fintech businesses now in the main financial categories like banking and payments, it’s those that focus on particular customer experiences and do it brilliantly that excite me most,” Steve told us.
“Across the industry we’re seeing fintech businesses… honing in on a specific customer need and burning the midnight oil to design an experience that is streets ahead of those offered by incumbents.”
Here, Steve explains what else is keeping him excited, determined and proud. With more than one mention of South Wales.
Recommended reading: Top ten breakthrough fintech companies
Could you please introduce yourself to our audience and share how you ended up working in fintech?
I’m Steve Dukes, CEO of Confused.com. I have been with the company since 2019 when I joined as Chief Operating Officer. Initially, my primary focus was bringing together product, commercial and data operations to drive growth in a key phase for the business leading to its acquisition in 2021.
Now, as CEO, I work with the talented team behind Confused.com to evolve each and every element of what we do, from improving our technology to optimising our marketing efforts to giving our customers the best possible experience.
I started out my career working in finance, before moving into tech at the birth of smartphones and mobile commerce. As fintech became an exciting emerging category, it seemed like a natural progression for my career. I haven’t stopped since and nor has fintech – I still feel we’re at the start of a category that can run and run.
Fintech is a dynamic and competitive industry, one where there is always an opportunity to improve and evolve. The ecosystem has grown rapidly over the last ten years across the UK and there have been many successes, but I doubt there is a single business that feels complacent about its position.
It’s an industry that hinges on businesses evolving quickly to meet customers’ rising expectations. This is a challenge I’ve spent much of my career focusing on, looking not just for growth but also to evolve the service to customers.
Which geographical hubs around the world are leading the charge when it comes to fintech innovation?
Naturally, when people think of the leading tech businesses, they look to Silicon Valley, and there’s no doubt they are leading the way for the tech industry as a whole. But the UK has such a strong position in the fintech space, and being a global financial hub has helped us get there.
But when it comes to the leading fintech hubs in the UK, London and the South East typically get most of the focus due to the density of businesses based in these regions. However, other regions are making a huge impact on the UK fintech industry.
South Wales, for example, has made huge progress in recent years in becoming a leading fintech ecosystem. The Welsh Government has also invested millions into the sector and now we’re seeing others from outside of Wales increasingly taking an interest too. South Wales is home to a lot of startup fintechs companies too, and this is largely due to the ecosystem that we have jointly built which is incredibly collaborative.
Many people are recognising South Wales not only as a positive and supportive place to start or build their business, but a great community to work in too.
Recommended reading: Sarah Kocianski, CEO of FinTech Wales, explains why she remains cautiously optimistic about the growth potential of fintech companies.
What are some of the biggest challenges the fintech sector is experiencing as a whole?
It’s a positive thing, but the fintech sector, both in the UK and in South Wales, is growing at such a rate that there is a lot of competition for talent.
We make significant investments in people to make Confused.com a place professionals want to explore, join and build their careers.
This might be working with organisations within the Welsh fintech space or skills-based organisations which focus on building up and nurturing new talent in South Wales. This allows us to have an impact on the promising talent that is coming out of education – schools, colleges and universities in South Wales and beyond.
But we also put a lot of investment into the skills and talents of our team. On top of offering training and encouraging our team to constantly build on their skills through learning, we know that hands-on upskilling is important too. Our technology partners are there to help us evolve our business so that we can improve our services, and this has a lot of benefits to our team too.
We want them to be the best in the industry at what they do because I strongly believe that in order for a business to grow, the talent behind it needs to feel like they themselves are growing too. My aim is to create an environment where colleagues do the best work of their career to date at Confused.com.
We also have the added benefit of working alongside a group of amazing companies based around the UK – as part of RVU – which means we have the opportunity to work in multiple categories with peers we can share and learn from.
Recommended reading: Nigel Thacker, CCO at Silverflow: “The need for disruption in the fintech and payments sector is as urgent today as it was 20 years ago”
What advice do you have for aspiring professionals wanting to work in fintech?
One of the appealing things about fintech as a career to step into is the many routes. You might have domain expertise in finance or transferable skills in areas like marketing, product, design, technology and more.
All of these capabilities are in high demand so my advice would be to use any of these routes and, then be as curious as possible. In fast-moving categories, you can become relatively expert relatively quickly, if only you’re prepared to ask a lot of questions and dig one level deeper than others around you.
It’s also worth engaging with and supporting the fintech ecosystem around you. The South Wales fintech sector is a welcoming and supportive community and we’re all really keen to attract and support talent, both from other parts of the UK or further afield. While we are a deeply competitive industry, a lot of businesses are closely connected so it isn’t unusual for talent to move between businesses, often returning at a later date.
In South Wales, there are organisations like FinTech Wales which were founded to bring together businesses in the industry, showcase the work we do and help to connect businesses with rising talent from the region. Following organisations like this will give you access to networking events, skills workshops and open days which not only give you a taste of what businesses are looking for but get you in front of them too.
Recommended reading: Tomas Gogar, CEO and Co-Founder at Rossum: “While the world is becoming digital-first, the challenge lies in the diversity of digital formats”
What are some fintech startups you are excited about?
With established fintech businesses now in the main financial categories like banking and payments, it’s those that focus on particular customer experiences and do it brilliantly that excite me most.
For example, temporary insurance is a category in fintech that serves customers extremely well. These businesses have looked at a broader product or service – in this case, personal lines insurance – and recognised how focusing on a specific customer need and putting all their efforts and capabilities into making the experience exceptional can attract customers and grow the business via word of mouth. Customers find themselves better served compared to their previous options and moreover it raises the bar for everyone else on what a great experience looks like.
Across the industry we’re seeing fintech businesses taking a similar approach – honing in on a specific customer need and burning the midnight oil to design an experience that is streets ahead of those offered by incumbents. This doesn’t mean to say there isn’t still a strong role for businesses who have a broader offering – often these services are complementary rather than substitutes – but to see businesses singling out specific use cases and tackling them with real focus is good for fintech as a whole.
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