I feel very privileged to be working in Glasgow's fintech
hub. It's true I can go for a run along the Clyde at lunchtime or
wander up to the Finnieston strip of eclectic restaurants and
trendy bars after work. But more importantly, it's just great to
feel part of a thriving community that's releasing disruptive
technology onto a global stage and getting noticed.
My company, Castlight Financial is a serial disrupter as we
develop and launch products into the mortgage, asset management and
debt space which transform the way people are empowered to manage
their finances. We work with banks and lenders, using open banking
technology and the UK's most powerful categorisation engine to help
people make the most of their money, right across the affordability
spectrum, from those struggling with debt at one end to those with
wealth to invest most effectively at the other. For people in the
middle of the spectrum, we offer a number of products such as the
Affordability Passport, which ensures that people only take on
mortgage or credit debt that they can actually afford.
In these exciting times, as we play our part in Glasgow's
flourishing fintech community, our ongoing challenge is to attract
and retain talent, people who are not only brilliant developers and
data scientists but people who are able to identify the business
challenges that fintech solves and use fintech to create new
business opportunities.
We're delighted that, despite the fact that just 17% of
people working in technology across the UK are female, 23% of our
employees are women. And in the even more traditionally
male-dominated developer sector, 4 out of 7 in our development team
are female. These are important statistics not just for Castlight,
but for Glasgow too, as one of our developers pointed out to me.
Hayley said: "In a lot of companies I would be the only woman on
the developer team. I didn't want that." Now that we are getting
the reputation at Castlight and in Glasgow of having a diverse crew
of developers and data scientists, we are in a powerful position to
attract the best people for the job, not just the best men for the
job.
I like the way that our staff team is shot through with an
entrepreneurial flair. They've travelled the world, they've done
multiple degrees and worked in different industries, but they've
chosen to invest their skills and their ideas in Castlight and our
local fintech community. It's important we nurture this talent with
an investment in ongoing professional development both within the
company and through participation in the wealth of conferences and
meet ups that Glasgow offers such as Women in Tech and The Scottish
Business Exhibition.
But we need to think of the future too and the next
generation of talent coming through.
We're particularly lucky in Glasgow to have two of our
universities ranking in the top 300 of the QS World University
Rankings. Both the University of Glasgow and the University of
Strathclyde produce high calibre computer science graduates every
year and we are regularly able to seamlessly incorporate them in
key positions across our product development and data scientist
teams. I am also enjoying our partnership with the University of
Strathclyde which has given me guest lecturing spots on their MSc
in Fintech degree course, as well as the opportunity to mentor an
undergraduate intern who was using Castlight as a
project.
So, as I take that run along the Clyde, or work out in the
gym next to the office, its good to feel part of an innovation hub,
surrounded by talented people. After all, Glasgow has a reputation
for coming up with bright ideas which change the way we live. It
was Glasgow talent after all that gave us the improved steam
engine, antiseptic, the cash machine and PIN number, waterproofs,
fridges, the TV, beta blockers, the modern police force,
ultrasound, the Glasgow Coma scale for measuring the conscious
state of patients and chicken tikka masala.
Big shoes to fill maybe - but we are successfully recruiting
people with big feet!
Find out more about Martin by connecting with him on
LinkedIn
or for more information about Castlight visit the
website
.
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