Founder & Chief Executive Officer (Fintech Venture)

What we do

After years of research in the field, we have created a three-step incubation process, during which we give our Founders full 360° support. In the first phase, we help our Founders ideate new solutions and pair them up with engineers and industry partners for validation. Only once we have found a sustainable business model, a process which can take up to a year, we start the incubation phase, where we help our Founders to assemble a team and first project partners. Lastly, we assist in finding the right investors and setting the company up for successful scaling.

The Merantix Venture Studio currently employs over 90 team members and drives the AI ecosystem via its 5,000 square meter AI Campus, where over 400 entrepreneurs, investors, politicians, and AI experts co-create the next big thing in AI. Our growing Venture Studio constitutes a unique brand with a shared tech and operational infrastructure that attracts talent, resonates with industry partners, and leverages the proven network and product building experience.

Why are we Looking for a Founder in FinTech?
The financial industry is going through fundamental changes as FinTechs are reshaping the competitive landscape. Artificial Intelligence provides a multitude of possibilities to generate value for end users, especially in areas such as credit scoring, risk modelling and overall banking as a service solutions.. That’s why we are looking for an ambitious and purpose-driven talent to start ideating at the intersection of the FinTech industry and the Artificial Intelligence space with the help of us, our Venture Studio and our network of researchers, engineers, entrepreneurs, and investors.

Your role

**\_\_This Role is for you If**:
1. You want to start your own FinTech startup;
2. You are excited about FinTechs, particularly about embedded finance and Banking as a Service.

We are looking for stand-out individuals that are driven to disrupt the finance industry with AI and to found an outstanding FinTech with the help of a strong technical team, state of the art machine learning technology, operational support, and secured seed funding. If that resonates with you, here is how your entrepreneurial path at Merantix looks like:

- Identify needs in the FinTech industry, especially in embedded finance and Banking as a Service;
- Conceptualise, test, and valid product ideas commercially;
- Acquire pilot customers and sell proof-of-concept projects to test the technical feasibility of the intended product;
- Develop, lead and grow an organisation that should cover all relevant profiles as well as a strong network of advisors;
- Form a founding team for close collaboration to define, iterate and execute the product development as well as company roadmap;
- Lead the spin-off process and a subsequent fundraising round;
- Shape and grow your venture to a leading organisation in its industry.

**Profile**:
We define ourselves by a culture of ownership and teamwork. We’re looking for driven, capable, visionary, and thoughtful people with a proven track record of personal, academic, and professional achievement: \*
- Solid professional experience and expertise in the finance industry (5+ years), ideally you worked in banking and are now in a leading position at a FinTech;
- Entrepreneurial drive and mindset, high ambition, and the ability to achieve goals collaboratively;
- A Bachelor’s degree or more of a top university;
- Capability and desire to lead people through motivation and inspiration;
- Strong business sense that is based on analytical thinking skills;
- Work or project experience where you have showed a growth mindset;
- Good understanding of machine learning technology is a plus. No coding knowledge required, but an understanding of ML models and how they can be applied in a business context.

**Preferred qualification (optional)**: \*
- A Master’s or a higher degree of a top-tier university;
- Start-up exposure;
- Leadership experience.

What we offer

At Merantix, we believe in the value of ideation, which is why our approach gives you enough time to validate your ideas with our team of engineering experts. We combine this with mentorship, sparring with the other Founders at Merantix or with external partners, and an environment that focuses on knowledge exchange. You will get complete compensation for the ideation and incubation phase, as well as a majority equity stake for you and the founding team once you are ready to take off.\_\_