Metro Bank founder launches acceleration partner Archie for early-stage fintechs
Anthony Thomson, the founder and former chair of Metro Bank and Atom Bank, is teaming up with Steve Brennen, a former PayPal and Uber director, to launch Archie, a new acceleration partner for early-stage fintechs.
Archie is an acceleration partner for early-stage fintechs
The venture is seeking to connect a “select portfolio of early-stage fintechs” with the intellectual capital and growth expertise required to develop them from start-ups to fully fledged high-growth businesses.
This support will be specifically targeted at Series A and B firms “at the most critical stage of their go-to-market strategy” within Australia, the UK and the Middle East.
Backed by two decades of industry experience founding and scaling notable brands and fintechs, the company’s leadership team, including Thomson as chair and Brennen as CEO, will collaborate “side-by-side” with fintech founders to “help supercharge partners’ growth, de-risk go-to-market strategies and maximise their chances of success”.
Thomson explains that despite bringing “great ideas” to the market, many fintech start-ups ultimately fall short due to a lack of appropriate support.
“Archie will change that,” he comments, adding that the team is “perfectly positioned to offer the real hands-on, senior support they need”.
Brennen ensures that the team has “the know-how, expertise and experience of scaling global businesses”.
“We’ll be able to parachute in and help founders develop and implement go-to-market strategies, avoiding the pitfalls and levering Archie’s deep experience in strategy, marketing, sales and governance across tech and fintech,” he adds.
These efforts will be backed by the creation of the Archie Network, which will serve as a platform for start-ups to “build partnerships, support capital requirements and recruit talent”.
Archie is set for a phased launch, starting in Dubai on 12 September.
