Year after year, the fintech landscape changes, driven by new technologies that challenge old ways of doing business. At UNCHAIN, we celebrate these changes and the people behind them. It is here, in Oradea, at the crossroads of tradition and innovation, that fintech leaders from across Central and Eastern Europe and the wider world come together to push the boundaries of what is possible in fintech.
In the past few years, we’ve had the pleasure of not only interacting but awarding the best fintech start-ups that made their mark in the industry. Two such examples are Synapze and Filmchain, both celebrated for challenging traditional banking systems and redefining the ways in which financial transactions and services are made.
Today, we’ve had the pleasure of catching up with them and discussing how they approach fintech innovation, exploring their strategies, challenges, and the insights they have gained along the way.
The Growth of a Fintech Startup
Modern finance can be tough. In this landscape, it’s up to each startup to successfully use regional resources and build strong local networks to grow. Both FilmChain and Synapze had their own way of doing this—effectively leveraging these regional assets to expand their operations and refine their offers.
FilmChain: Facilitating Real-Time Royalty Payments
FilmChain’s approach to growth involves tapping into a variety of global markets, each with its distinct regional resources. Co-founder Maria Tanjala explains their mission:
Concerned with the slow and opaque settlements in film, TV and games, we built FilmChain to pay participants their royalties in real-time.
Maria Tanjala
This solution addresses the massive inefficiency in a lucrative industry where a significant portion of revenues can go missing due to outdated practices.
Access to immediate cash flow is a huge problem in the £280B industry, where up to 30% of revenues go missing. The opacity is provoking big shifts in legislation in Europe, after the European Commission assessed that such a lucrative sector is bleeding money lost to human error and poor accounting practices. We have 1,900 clients that we pay entitlements to in near real-time.
Maria Tanjala
This is, of course, amazing, especially with the company’s strategy extending across continents:
The productions are set up in a variety of geographies: 42% are in the UK, 9% in Australia, 7% in the US, and the rest are in Europe. But we also have productions in Asia and Latin America.
Maria Tanjala
Maria highlights FilmChain’s global outreach which leverages local market conditions and regulations to optimize their service delivery.
Synapze: Streamlining Financial Services through AI
On the other side, Synapze has created a niche for itself by aligning its artificial intelligence solutions with the conservative nature of the financial sector. Their approach emphasizes gradual integration over disruptive innovation, a strategy that resonates deeply with most local traditional banks and regulatory frameworks. The founder of Synapze, Rohit Bhosale, states:
Most people think that AI is going to be a revolution… out with the old and let’s do something brand new. But none of the banks in this world are going to do that. Just not going to happen.
This realization has led them to focus on incremental improvements that customers are more likely to accept. Instead of advocating for a complete overhaul of existing systems, Synapze proposes what they call an ‘AI evolution.’ This approach targets specific inefficiencies within the process, enhancing them with AI to achieve measurable gains without disrupting the core operations.
Can I keep my process that I have and maybe find some really weak points in my process which are consuming time, resources, energy, and improve that portion so that I can get maybe 5%, 10% incremental efficiency gain? And if that works or doesn’t work, I can still go to the manual process. If it works, I’m happy. Then maybe let’s try the next one. And then maybe try the next one
Rohit Bhosale
Synapze’s careful and considered approach to integrating AI within the industry illustrates a key strategy in fintech development: understanding and respecting the pace and comfort levels of traditional financial institutions.
Discussions With Financial Investors
Succeeding in this industry requires more than just innovative technology. You need strong relationships with investors who are committed to the sector’s growth. FilmChain’s approach to investment emphasizes the importance of strategic partnerships and the acquisition of ‘smart capital.’ The company focuses on investors who bring more than just funds to the table—looking for those who can provide valuable industry insights, mentorship, and connections.
Like any founder, it is imperative that we find investors who bring smart capital, not just a wire transfer. We sit at the intersection of fintech, blockchain, and entertainment, so we touch upon some great industries where we are looking for mentors and networking.
Maria Tanjala
Their investors come from diverse backgrounds, including fintech space experts who help navigate banking challenges, successful entrepreneurs who provide lessons from their own experiences, and industry insiders from film, TV, and games who facilitate high-end introductions and market openings. This eclectic mix allows FilmChain to strategically position itself at the nexus of technology and creative industries with a business model that aligns both artistic and financial ecosystems.
For Synapze, engagement with investors is closely tied to its strategy of incremental innovation. Rather than seeking out massive funding rounds typical of many tech startups, they look for investors who understand the nuances of AI integration within the heavily regulated banking sector.
In terms of engaging with investors, we prioritize those who are not just looking for a quick turnover but are genuinely interested in the evolutionary path we are charting in the fintech ecosystem
Rohit Bhosale
The company values investors who appreciate the slow yet steady progress typical of innovations within traditional industries. Their focus is on investors who can support a gradual process of development and integration, mirroring their approach to product implementation.
On stage at UNCHAIN Festival
In any industry, it’s important to have a platform where you can meet your peers, exchange ideas, and come up with the next big thing. UNCHAIN is where fintech is at home. For both Filmchain and Synapze, UNCHAIN was the platform to connect with the community.
Maria highlights the significance of such events:
It is a fine balance between building brand awareness and visibility and focusing on the business. The roadshow of presentations and festivals can be consuming, so selecting the best stages to speak on is very important in a founder’s work.
FilmChain’s participation in events like UNCHAIN has led to multiple awards, including Startup of the Year at the London Business Awards and Best Investment at the UKBAA, which have further solidified their reputation in the fintech space.
The benefits derived from their participation in the UNCHAIN Festival are just as memorable:
We were honoured to be the winners of the first edition, and I believe that UNCHAIN had an incredible energy. Everyone was attending the festival in Oradea for the first time and felt the responsibility of shaping something outstanding, building the DNA of the festival
Maria Tanjala
Rohit’s viewpoint on visibility and opportunity at UNCHAIN is similar:
Getting your message out is very important, right? It’s not just the marketing and the LinkedIn and all that, but I think standing on stage showing a demo and speaking about it is super, super valuable.
This visibility is particularly crucial for early-stage startups that might otherwise struggle to stand out. The focused nature of the event allows participants to engage more meaningfully with potential partners and clients, facilitating deeper connections.
So I think what I love about Unchain is it’s not a 4,000 to 40,000 people event. It’s a very curated event of very important people from the industry and investors from the industry who are interested in this vertical.
Rohit Bhosale
Some great investment conversations came out from my time in Oradea, and fintech explorations with the likes of Visa. Such ecosystems in CEE are hugely needed.
Maria Tanjala
As we reflect on the journeys of innovative fintech startups like Synapze and FilmChain, it’s time to turn our attention to the upcoming edition of the UNCHAIN Festival in Oradea. This year’s festival promises to continue its tradition of highlighting fintech solutions by hosting the highly anticipated Fintech Startups Tournament.
The Startup Tournament offers a unique platform for early-stage startups to showcase their projects, with opportunities to gain recognition, support, and investment from a global audience. For more information about the Startups Tournament and to register for the UNCHAIN Festival, please visit the official event website.
