William Leonard
Hey ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the Atlanta Startup Podcast. William Leonard here, your host today. I’m eager to be joined by Andrew Morris, who’s the founder and CEO of The Fintech Agenda, LLC. Andrew, welcome to the podcast.
Andrew Morris
Thank you, William. It’s a pleasure to be here. Thanks for having me.
William Leonard
Yeah, anytime, man. You are really like a Swiss Army knife of Sores. I know you’re actively working with multiple groups like Fintech South, TAG, and others. And we’re going to dive more into that throughout our conversation today. And I know you have a pretty traditional Fintech finance background as well. And you’ve seemingly meshed that with this aspect of content creation and community building as well. Tell us more about the Fintech Agenda LLC. And then, tell us more about your background and a little bit more about what you do.
Andrew Morris
Thank you, William. So, it’s interesting how sometimes in our career paths, things seem to happen by accident, right? I’m not sure that there really are any true accidents. There’s a whole series of things that lead you on a journey. But it sort of felt that way for me. So for the last decade or so, the Fintech Agenda is my consultancy, and I’ve been working on, producing events in the Fintech space, events and conferences, and curating content, helping to put together podcasts like this one. But my career in Fintech started like you said in more traditional roles, I was the Vice President for Prudential Bank and Trusts, the insurance company, that had a thrift Chartered Bank in Atlanta. When I first moved to Atlanta, 5 years ago, I was hired to help build the internet channel for their bank. When internet banking was a new thing, and then moved into a role as a payments industry management consultant for a firm called Edgar Dunn and Company and then on my own as kind of a single shingle consultant. And it was while I was doing consulting work, that I would often attend industry conferences. I happened to go to the first year of the Money20/20 conference which was in 2012. and saw that it was a payments conference, where Google was the major sponsor, which at the time really stood out as something interesting, and unique. I went to that event and thought it was great the next year, sent a speaking proposal to speak at the conference, and got a reply back from one of the co-founders and spoke at the conference and built a relationship that launched his career of working on events.
William Leonard
That’s awesome. And it sounds like that was an opportunity that you saw your expertise to align with the conference. And it sounds like you had a synergistic vision of the conference as well. And, as you think about your career, narrowing down your niche in the world of content creation, we’ve heard a lot about, content creators now are that’s a career now for a lot of people and maybe a decade ago, and nobody ever thought, or nobody ever took that notion of this being a career seriously. I want your perspective on this Andrew, as how does someone who has a more traditional finance, and corporate background go about building a brand content creation, growing, building, and sustaining their brand, and being known for somebody like you are as a Fintech genius in a particular space or domain.
Andrew Morris
Oh, about genius, that’s a pretty big word. But, from like I said, that was all it almost was a bit of a happy accident for me, right? And I happened to discover something that as soon as I started to work on, I realized that it was a match, right? It was a good fit for my skillset for what I enjoyed doing. But I didn’t necessarily know that would be the case going in. I was looking into trying to go and speak at a conference to develop business for my consulting firm. And while I did that, I submitted a proposal to some clients was working with retailers. I go about, do they accept mobile payments, and what’s their strategy around, mobile and retail, and the conference organizers were really excited about it. that topic and bringing more retailers to their event. And so they asked me to help them, not just to the session that I had proposed that build one part of the agenda, say, “Hey, could you help us with his piece?” Right? I will. So I started to work on that. And as I did it, I got to know them and I happened to attach myself to a rocket ship. Because the co-founders of Money20/20 are just prolific at building these large-scale events. They’ve gone on to sound a number of big events, Money20/20 had an exit that was around 150 million when they sold it, like three years and so they’re very good at what they do. So I was able to kind of be mentored by them and see what they were building, and then use my own expertise, and my creativity, and my contacts to help them achieve that vision.
William Leonard
Right, and so you worked with Money 20/20 for some time, and now it’s like you are very intimately involved with Fintech South. Tell us more about Fintech South and how you all are working together to bring Fintech to the forefront of a lot of minds of investors and corporates as well.
Andrew Morris
I’m so excited about this year’s event. Fintech South is the largest Fintech conference in the Southeast US, coming up from September 12th to 13th at the Georgia World Congress Center, downtown Atlanta. Even when I was at Money 20/20, my run there kind of went through about 2019, I jokingly never made it to 2020 at the company and went on to do other things. But even when I was there as a volunteer as a member of the Atlanta community, I was involved in the Technology Association of Georgia or TAG Fintech Society and on the board and would help us volunteer to grow this event. So back in 2018, what had been a look is sort of a really good but more local event. Moved to Mercedes Benz Stadium and Larry Williams to his pad had this vision, hey, we can do something more with this, and rent it out to the stadium per day in-house. And in 2018 and 2019, the event was there. And I was involved while I was at Money 20/20 And and went really well, we had maybe 1400 people there. Then during the pandemic, as a consultant have tried left Money20/20 to help produce the event as a virtual event, which was another interesting journey two years of doing things virtually. But what was nice about that is because participation for the event was coming from all over the world. And they didn’t necessarily have to travel to Atlanta to get exposure to Fintech South. I think we sort of raised the awareness and the profile of the conference. So now we’re in the second year of coming back and being in person, you can feel the momentum growing. We’re expecting over 1000 attendees, and we can chat more about what’s planned for the conference. But that’s sort of my journey in helping when I was at Money 20/20 helping them through the pandemic, and then now, coming on board to help for this year’s in-person conference.
William Leonard
Yeah, I’m glad that the world is opening back up and things are becoming more face-to-face. I think virtual was a nice option but most people probably prefer a conference to be face-to-face. And so, tell us more about what the visitors who will be in attendance can expect from a programming perspective at Fintech South.
Andrew Morris
Yeah, happy to do it. It’s still still a fairly short event. It starts at 1 o’clock on that first day on the 12 runs through the afternoon into the early evening. We’re gonna have a really fun sort of industry night social event with food, drinks, and a band and we’ll enjoy ourselves that first night. And then it’s the whole second day, Wednesday, the 13th is a full day. So, we’ll open on with a general session in our big ballroom. We had Governor Kemp recorded some welcome remarks, It’ll be part of our opening to hear those remarks. He was trying to arrange to be there, but couldn’t make the schedule work. But we’ll have remarks from the Governor. Then is a full lineup of keynote speakers of that first afternoon. A gentleman named Rob Park, co-founded the iEX exchange. People will be familiar with Michael Lewis, the author who wrote “The Big Short”. He wrote another book called “Flash Boys”, that is based on the founding of IBM. So that’ll be interesting to hear about this AI-driven new model of an exchange. You also have Ashley Bell, who is the founder, CEO of Ready Life and also partnered with Dr. Bernice King, in the purchase of a Bank in Utah, thrift Chartered Bank, they’re calling it Redemption Bank. And it’s one of the few black-owned proof chartered banks in the country. So Ashley’s a tremendous entrepreneur, focused on economic empowerment for underserved communities and that’ll be a really interesting interview. Yeah, we’re talking about open finance that first day, we had the head of Fintech for AWS. So that’s exciting. And then we have nine different what we’re calling deep dive tracks, each about two hours long that will happen on three different stages that cover different aspects of Fintech. So artificial intelligence payments innovation, banking, innovation, identity and fraud, financial health and inclusion, blockchain, on this view, but the full breadth, right, and in the overall speaker lineup has over 125 speakers, half of them are men, half of them are women, half from Georgia, half were from elsewhere around the world. 40% are the founder and CEO of their organization. So, great content and then we can talk more about this some really cool networking plan for the event. Right? I can get into that a little bit as well.
William Leonard
I’m excited man, it sounds like this is going to be a conference that is going to benefit just every person that comes multiple years. I want to talk a little bit more about TAG and really what that organization has meant to you because I know you’ve been working with them as a consultant and advisor type of passion. We’ve also been a member on the board there as well. What does TAG meant to you personally and really, to the state of Georgia as an organization as well as drive have it.
Andrew Morris
I’m happy to talk about that. It’s a great organization. And it’s been a big part of my kind of involvement in Atlanta’s Fintech Ecosystem has been through TAG. I will comment just to round out our programming. So the last day of the event will include Co-founders of Greenwood Bank, and a really interesting session with Laura Hodgson, Stacey Abrams, and Goldman Sachs talking about some work that they’re doing for small businesses. But in terms of TAG, I mentioned that I was involved in the Fintech Society of TAG. TAG is statewide technology membership-based organization that has a number of special interest groups that are called societies. No matter what aspect of technology you’re involved in, you can find a society probably that fits your interest. For me, it was financial tap fintech. There are regular events every month, or every other month, that are produced by the members, there’s a lot of opportunities to be involved in putting on piece lunch and learns and various local events with content and networking. So it’s a great way to kind of participate in that way and learn and make connections. And then there are two major conferences that are produced. One is Fintech South, and the other is a Georgia Technology Summit. That is the broad based event for all the societies. And then the Fintech focuses and protects output. For me, it’s meant, building friendships, building meaningful connections for business having an opportunity to contribute to the Georgia Technology community. And then I’ve been a TAG’s been a client or as an advisor, been able to help them grow their community and produce these big conferences have been so successful.
William Leonard
And TAG has been a crucial organization in vain to the innovation that’s happening here in the state of Georgia. And I would love to get your thoughts on that as well. How have you seen the state of Fintech here in Atlanta, Metro Atlanta, and the state at large, really become impacted positively by conferences like Fintech South and the impact that they’ve had on the state?
Andrew Morris
Well, it’s really interesting. So, I remember early on Fintech when I say early, it’s like when I was at Money 20/20 or even before that Fintech was kind of emerging, Atlanta had been known as the place where payments are processed, like 70% of the card transactions in the country. Go through cloud companies based in Atlanta or in Georgia, the term is transactionality. But in terms of broad-based Fintech and banking and other aspects, it was still kind of early. And so there was a lot of effort around this Fintech out of it, to bring the community together and kind of define what is the Georgia community. Now, I think we’re at a level where that Georgia, Atlanta community is pretty mature. And we’re starting to give recognition around the country and globally as a hub. And when we do these events, we have people come to us. And you see in Atlanta, Fintech’s broadening beyond payments to other aspects. And you’ve had a few companies become a unicorn, billion dollar companies maybe have exits, companies like Green Light, and Cabbage and Green Sky that was acquired by Goldman Sachs, Cabbage was acquired by American Express, Green Sky is growing. And then the founders of those companies after the exits, becoming angel investors and members of the community and starting their next venture, or mentoring others. So it’s really maturing. Events like Fintech South become a place for the community to gather, and also for us to attract people outside Atlanta. And then the other thing with Atlanta is just the talent of all the universities here and quite frankly, the diversity of the community. Companies like Visa and Mastercard and Capital One setting up shop and Atlanta to get access to that talent.
William Leonard
Yeah, you really hit the nail on the head there. You’ve got support from the corporates, you’ve got the university talent here as well, and there’s a growing mature scene of later-stage companies as well. And then also have to give credit to the tech-forward leadership that we have in the city, as well in this running metropolitan, as well. So Atlanta is really, I’m excited. I know you’re excited. You’ve been here for some time, and you’ve seen how the city has evolved and continues to evolve from a Fintech and broader SAS perspective, as well. And so, I know you’ve seen some areas, particularly within Fintech, that you’re excited about you are a people-driven, human-driven person. And I know that you and I talked about this a few days ago, but you’re really interested in the human aspect. Tell us what that really means and opportunities that you see within this realm of Fintech?
Andrew Morris
Well, it’s interesting. So my parents were not involved in the business line. So my father was a social worker and Disciples of Christ pastor and it was about serving people, right? My mom was an Albert Hill elementary school teacher. And then I decided, hey, “I’m gonna go get an MBA and go into banking” I was like the old Family Ties series with Michael J. Fox, Alex P. Keaton was the business guy and kind of liberal do-gooder family. So that was sort of me, right? But when I got to Money 20/20 and was working on the content of the event, I started to meet all of these founders in Fintech, that is the reason they started their company, and they wanted to be successful financially, but it was about seeing some group of people that needed to be served, that needed access to financial services, a small business owner or a consumer, and they really wanted to meet that need. And they were driven by the mission and that really inspired me. And I was able to give them a platform at the event and talk about those issues. I started to recognize that within the world of Fintech, I actually could have a lot of social impact, just like my parents had in their careers. And so, it’s really interesting to see how companies do provide access to people that have not been served by the traditional system, the opportunities it provides for entrepreneurs and the employment it creates. And I think all that’s really exciting. And ultimately, all these businesses are about helping people and helping them have a better life. So I think focusing on that really, I think, gives meaning to what we’re doing with all this tech and finance, and is really what it’s all about.
William Leonard
Yeah, that’s great insight, Andrew. This has been a really interesting conversation about your segue from traditional finance into this more event space where you are curating conferences and creating incredible content around a vertical in a region that is poised for growth. And how can our listeners who are oftentimes investors, ecosystem stakeholders, and founders of all stages? How can they learn more about you know, Fintech South, the conference coming up? Where can you register?
Andrew Morris
Absolutely. So, just it’s fintechsouth.com right, which, as you would expect fintechsouth.com. Tickets are very reasonably priced for this, if you’re a member of TAG, maybe a good reason to join TAG, because you have a discounted rate for the conference when you’re a member of the TAG, organization. Our agenda has been published, and there is more information about the event, and opportunities to register. You can also reach out to me directly on on Linkedin, or I’m happy to engage with folks who are still a few weeks before the event and maybe a way to get involved, other than just attending. So we’d love to talk to anyone who’s out there and just him being engaged.
William Leonard
I love it. Well, Andrew, really appreciate your time and your insights today on the podcast, and really excited about what you’re doing here in the ecosystem and organizations that you’re working with, as well.
Andrew Morris
Well, thank you, William, it was a pleasure chatting with you. I’m excited about this event, I have another event coming up. I’m involved with in the Caribbean called Fintech Islands. So, that’s exciting, and then hope to be involved in Fintech South again next year, and it’ll be even bigger and better in 2024.
William Leonard
I love it. It sounds like it’s gonna be great, Andrew, and how can some of our listeners just get in touch with you if they want to just have a personal connection with Andrew more?
Andrew Morris
I am very active on Linkedin and I’m one of those people if you message me there, I will get back to you. So you can do that. I also have a website, the fintechagenda.com that has a log and you can contact me that way as well.
William Leonard
Perfect Andrew. We really appreciate you joining us today, man.
Andrew Morris
Oh, absolutely. Thank you.
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