Navigating Financial Service Growth: Lessons from Bo Jiang, CEO of Lithic
Expanding a Financial Services Enterprise: A Decade of Insights and Surpassing $1 Billion in Total Processed Volume
Scaling a financial service business is no small feat, but with the right approach, it's achievable. Bo Jiang, CEO of Lithic, shares eight key insights from his decade-long journey to $1 billion in total payment volume.
- Steady Progress
Scaling isn't about exponential growth overnight. It's about building momentum, learning, and adapting with each stage of development. For Lithic, this meant doubling TPV twice in just two years, from $250 million to $500 million, and then to $1 billion.
- Solve Real Problems
The foundation of any successful financial service business is solving real-world problems. Lithic learned this the hard way when their reliance on legacy systems for card issuing caused unreliability. This frustration led to the creation of a reliable and flexible card-issuing platform from scratch.
- Adapt to New Roles
Shifting from serving consumers directly to providing infrastructure for businesses was a transformative moment. Lithic learned the importance of stability as they transitioned from a "move fast and break things" mentality to building enterprise-grade solutions.
- Invest in Partnerships
Strategic partnerships are critical for growth in financial services. Lithic learned this when they underestimated the importance of relationships with card networks, which ultimately proved pivotal to their growth.
- Balance Speed with Stability
Speed isn't everything when scaling. Stability becomes paramount, especially when you're dealing with clients whose millions of cardholders rely on your services. Lithic achieved best-in-class fraud detection by prioritizing stability over speed.
- Empower Your Team
As a business scales, decision-making becomes more complex. Lithic adopted a documentation-centric culture and focused on sharing context to empower teams to make better decisions independently.
- Stay Close to Customers
Running a consumer-facing program gave Lithic valuable insight into the needs of cardholders. This empathy influenced how Lithic built its infrastructure, enabling success for clients and their end users.
- Evolve with the Market
The fintech landscape is constantly changing. Lithic stayed agile and responsive by offering innovative, user-centric experiences that cater to specific customer needs.
A Framework for Growth
Bo Jiang's lessons serve as a blueprint for financial service businesses looking to scale. The journey requires focus, partnerships, a commitment to customer success, and a culture of thoughtful decision-making. Use each business milestone as steppingstones, reflecting the success of a well-executed strategy, and stay adaptable and innovative to remain competitive in the ever-evolving fintech landscape.
Lithic, in collaboration with Veritex Community Bank, provides flexible, compliant, and user-friendly card issuing solutions for businesses. By leveraging a digital-first approach, Lithic ensures their clients can offer bespoke, seamless money movement options to their customers. Join the growing community of successful businesses using Lithic's services by visiting the Lithic website.
- Reflecting on Bo Jiang's insights, scaling an enterprise in the financial service sector in 2023 will necessitate a balanced approach of steady progress, strategic partnerships, and solutions tailored to solve real-world problems.
- As Bo Jiang, CEO of Lithic, pointed out, navigating the journey to scale an enterprise requires adapting to new roles, investing in partnerships, and empowering teams to make informed decisions, all while maintaining a strong focus on customer satisfaction and staying ahead of market trends.
- In the words of Bo Jiang, navigating financial service growth in 2023 means mastering the art of balancing speed with stability, maintaining a deep understanding of customer needs, and constantly evolving to meet the ever-changing landscape of fintech, all while ensuring compliance and delivering user-friendly solutions.
