As a technology disrupter, challenging an entrenched incumbent, Fintech products must be innovative solutions. But just being innovative is not enough - for example, developing a new way to make cashless payments is not enough. Success depends on several other factors.
There are three common factors behind every successful technology product. Working judiciously on these factors can create a successful product. Now, lets take a look at those three factors.
Factor 1. Think 10X
To be successful against an entrenched incumbent, one has to be truly innovative. One way to be innovative is to think 10X. For example, if it takes 120 seconds to make a payment with a credit/debit card, a cashless payment system must be able to do it in under 12 seconds! In the second iteration of the product, the transaction times must further decrease by 20% , i.e., under 10 seconds and so on.
10X factor must be applied to all aspects of business. For example, how can the business grow 10X in 1/10th the time taken by the incumbent?
Unless one does not aim high and deliver on it, customers will not switch to the newer technology.
10X formula in business forces one to rethink every aspect of business, and forces innovators to solve more complex challenges of tomorrow today, instead of incrementally solving today's problems.
Factor - 2. Be very agile after product launch
"No Battle Plan Survives Contact With the Enemy" said the German military strategist Helmuth von Moltke. The same is true when launching a new & innovative products. A product is always designed with certain assumptions and all those assumptions must be verified on the ground - when customers are using the product.
Product development teams must be agile to respond to the customer feedback, learn what works (or doesn't) and make changes rapidly in response. A smaller "beta" release helps to make rapid iterations of the product based on customer feedback and never stray too far from what market really wants.
There are no holy cows or egos to massage. If a feature is not liked by customer, be ready to drop it. Remember that the entrenched competition cannot move as fast as the challenger, and Agility is the key for success.
Factor 3. Share all knowledge
Collaboration is essential for innovation. Collaboration happens best when everyone shares information openly and discuss it freely. In case of Fintech, there are several points of data collection and this data & the analysis must be shared openly within the organization - so that the entire organization can act on that information & be agile.
Remember, innovation thrives in a culture of openness.
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