Travolta Mohan- My Move from Treasury Global Markets to Fintech Treasurer- A Candidate’s Experience

My journey from Banking Capital Markets to Fintech

After many years working in capital markets, Travolta Mohan made the move into fintech, and is now the Group Treasurer at Tide – the leading provider of UK SME business accounts. We spoke to him about the reasons behind his decision, the challenges he’s faced, and his advice for anyone looking to make a similar move.

Tell us about your career so far…

For 16 years, I worked in capital markets, moving from operations to trading to treasury. In that time I grew more interested in
treasury from a strategy point of view, so applied for my current role: Group Treasurer at Tide – an online financial platform that helps small business owners. I’m also on the board of ALMA, looking after 100+ firms in the UK and Ireland.

Why make the move to fintech?

I’ve always moved around in my roles and been keen to learn new skills. I was a generalist, but with added depth to my portfolio. Over the years, I’ve watched the UK fintech space grow into a world-class ecosystem. And I’ve been impressed by the level of innovation in the sector, for instance, the support offered to new companies by the Regulatory Sandbox. When a mentor told me graduates were going straight into fintechs, that got me thinking… You’ve got a new digital native generation driving change.
From mobile-first banking and apps to Banking as a Service, good ideas will always develop and grow with innovation.

Keen to be part of this, I started thinking about where my treasury experience fitted in. I realised smaller firms might need liquidity specialists with experience of treasury operations, but also with the ability to think strategically about legal entities, banking relationships and everything else needed to grow a business. I also realised how much variety fintech offered.

Describe a typical week in Fintech Treasury.

I spend a lot of time talking to banks. Even though we’re competitors within the business banking space, that’s where we place our cash. I work with them on things like risk appetite and account structure. Other daily operations include moving payments around, moving cash across accounts, and making sure legal entities have enough liquidity. Because fintech is product-driven, I regularly work with the product team, making sure products are ready to be launched from a treasury and risk perspective.

What do you most enjoy about your role?

I enjoy being involved with new products. As each new product launches, I know I’ve contributed to its success. I also enjoy the fast cycle – it’s what makes fintech competitive and what makes my role so exciting.

What can candidates expect from a fintech role?

From the outside, fintechs appear very data-driven – and they are. But that’s the customer-facing side of business. On the treasury side, it’s about looking after internal funds, balance sheets and the company itself. Often the data simply isn’t there. So coming into one of these smaller firms, you get the chance to roll up your sleeves and start building things
from scratch. It’s important to understand the direction everyone wants the business to go. For Tide, our purpose is to build an excellent financial platform that we can take to different countries. And that means global thinking and group strategy.

What skill sets are most relevant to these roles?

First up, you must understand what the role requires. For a treasurer or senior role you need broader experience, as well as hands-on and analytical skills. While for a liquidity role, you need to be laser-focused on where small amounts of cash can be trapped as fintechs don’t tend to have access to excess liquidity.

What would you say to candidates with a couple of years’ treasury experience who want to move into fintech?

In larger banks you benefit from having lots of people to learn from. However, there’s a risk you become siloed, which is fine if you’re self-motivated. But if you’re not, you might struggle to progress, so a smaller firm is a much better place to be. You can grow with the firm and when new people start, they will look to you for answers and guidance.  Essentially, if you want to make the move to a smaller firm, you need to make the role your own. You’ll be able to learn management and leadership skills very early on and be involved in decision-making from the get-go.

With recession looming, what do candidates need to be aware of?

Businesses cannot rely on revenue in 2023. The success of a fintech today rests on its ability to scale. So, if you develop a product that can operate at smaller segments and understand the economics to make the product work, opportunities will arise when the market picks up. You can then bring in investment to scale up. The companies that do well in a recession are the ones
who’ve figured out how to scale at the right time and not over-invest.Candidates need to do their research. Make sure you understand as much as you can about businesses in the fintech space. And find out what you can in terms of financials, awards, leadership team, and what makes them unique.

Final piece of advice?

Look at a transition into fintech, not just in terms of the end goal, but also what you need to do to adjust. To do well, you need the
right mentality. If you’re willing to be hands-on, learn new analytical and practical skills, and be ready to grow with the company, you can go from strength to strength.