A little over two years ago, Intuit moved its office from Toronto’s suburbs to the heart of the city. Toronto is a rapidly growing hub of innovation, with strong infrastructure and a welcoming community, which makes it an ideal environment for fintech companies to thrive.
Toronto is the second largest financial hub in North America after New York. It has over 1,200 fintech companies, 12,000 financial services companies, and more than 380,000 financial services professionals in this sector. Despite decreased investment activity in Canada in 2023, Toronto continues to flourish. Firms in the greater Toronto area were responsible for 90% of funding in the fintech sector. A McKinsey & Company report states that fintech companies will grow almost three times faster than the banking industry between 2022 and 2028, and B2B firms are demanding more fintech solutions than ever before.
It’s an exciting time for the fintech industry, so we decided to host our first fintech meetup on November 7 to give Toronto professionals a chance to connect and share industry knowledge with each other.
The power of community building
I joined Intuit earlier this year as a product marketer for experimental products. Before Intuit, I led go-to-market and sales strategy for B2B SaaS products across multiple industries. As a newcomer to the fintech industry, I’m eager to contribute to the dynamic community in Toronto by joining a fintech leader like Intuit and organizing in events like the Intuit fintech meetup.
The event attracted professionals from major Canadian banks, fintech disruptors like Wealthsimple, KOHO, and Brim Financial, and from top tech companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Stripe. We also got a glimpse of future talent from students who attended from top business schools like Rotman, Schulich, and Ivey.
The importance of building a strong community within the fintech space was a major theme. The meetup served as a powerful reminder that by connecting with fellow professionals, we can accomplish so much more together.
With this in mind, here are three areas of collaboration that I found to be the most valuable from the fintech meetup:
knowledge Sharing
The fintech landscape is constantly evolving, and the next big idea is often buried in niche circles. Being part of a like-minded network exposes us to new concepts early. Events like these offer a platform for exchanging insights, best practices, and emerging trends.
Himanshu Sharma, an experienced Intuit developer, shared a useful Intuit framework called Design-4-Delight. It shows how every member of a development team can get customer feedback through quick prototyping. To quote him, “Design is not just for designers.”
Mohammed Rahman and Ali Siddiqui from our TurboTax team added their insights by explaining how to filter out some of the noise from customer feedback. The moment that resonated strongly with me was when they explained why not all good ideas get funded. In a nutshell, funding strategy hinges on prioritization. Leaders often have more information and context than anyone to establish those priorities and decide what should be funded.
Learning from the experience of others
Everyone brings a unique perspective and set of experiences. Engaging in open dialog lets us learn from each other’s successes and challenges.
This was evidenced in the talk by Aditya Mhatre, CPTO and Co-founder of Beacon. Having led large product teams in both India and Japan, he shared how his experiences have shaped his vision for best practices in Canada. Whether assessing real-time payments or cost-effective KYC processes, he explained how he successfully applied best practices from other countries to benefit his team in Canada.
Most of us don’t have firsthand knowledge of multiple cultures like Aditya does. Fortunately, Toronto has a diverse cultural tapestry, and community events like this one let people hear different voices and perspectives.
Collaborating across organizations
Innovation thrives in collaborative environments. And these meetups often spark new ideas and lead to exciting partnerships.
Our team wanted to collaborate with members of the fintech industry. We asked some of them to speak so our team could work closely with them to get ready for the event.
I was overwhelmed by the generosity of our attendees who offered to host, speak, or help with logistics at future meetups. I saw subject matter experts discussing the latest technology and someone being invited to join a go-to-market strategy discussion. These are the moments that make these meetups truly shine.
Fostering knowledge sharing, innovation, and growth
Hosting this fintech meetup was an incredibly enriching experience for me. I’m grateful to the Intuit team in Toronto, the speakers, and all the attendees for making it such a success. It reinforced my belief in the power of community, the importance of collaboration, and the need for more face-to-face interactions.
As the fintech industry continues to evolve, events like these play a crucial role in fostering knowledge sharing, innovation, and growth. I look forward to participating in future meetups with this vibrant fintech community!
