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Michael Pearson

Founder

Clarus Investments

Member since

30 Dec 2006

Location

LONDON

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Michael's opinions

What has happened to seed investment in fintech during the pandemic?

Some sources, such as CB Insights, are reporting that venture capital investment in fintech has remained robust during the pandemic. After an initial dip in the second quarter of 2020, funding levels recovered quite rapidly with some large, later stage funding rounds driving the market. However, first round investment for companies trying to get s...

18 January 2021 /startups /covid-19 Fintech

What Funding Circle Tells Us About Fintech Valuations

Funding Circle achieved an IPO in September 2018, raising £300 million and valuing the company at £1.5 billion. Since then the share price has fallen by 72 percent (as of 22nd July 2019). The market capitalisation of the company is now less than the total equity that has been invested in the business since inception in 2010. An interesting aspect ...

22 July 2019 /startups Fintech

Fintech Valuations Show that Investors Can Tolerate Weak Financial Performance, For Now

The valuation of fintech startups remains relatively high even though financial performance for most is very weak. Investors are currently supporting the higher valuations because of expectations of future performance, but the lack of profitability and in some cases very low revenues (given the investments made) cannot continue indefinitely. There...

10 December 2018 /startups Fintech

Some Insights on Fintech Financing and Performance

My updated research on fintech financing and performance shows that valuation growth for most of the start-ups in the sector is still very strong (on paper) but that revenue growth and profitability continue to be a challenge, even for the companies which have been operating for more than 5 years. The analysis is based on a sample of 39 privately-...

26 July 2018 /startups Fintech

The Profitability Challenge for Fintech Startups

The evidence from a sample of 20 fintech startups in the UK is that there are substantial profitability challenges that still need to be overcome. As of June 2017, the total equity investment in the sample companies I have looked at has been £852m. The total valuation of the sample at the last valuation round for each company was £2.6bn, but none ...

27 June 2017 /startups Fintech innovation and startups

The Impact of M-PESA on Bank Performance in Kenya

M-PESA in Kenya is widely regarded as an outstanding success in mobile money. The service has around 17m active customers and in 2016 generated about $400m in revenue for Safaricom, its parent company. It is therefore interesting to reflect on how this success has impacted the banks in Kenya which have largely ceded the basic money transfer market...

18 April 2017 /payments /inclusion Financial Inclusion

Assessing the Value Created by Fintech Investment

The amount of investment in venture capital backed fintech companies is well documented but how much value is being created and how does that relate to the value of established financial services companies? There are various sources of data on fintech investment levels but the one we have used is from CB Insights. According to this source, the tota...

14 March 2017 /startups Fintech innovation and startups

Innovative Start-Ups: A Comparison of Metro Bank and Funding Circle

If you were investing in a new financial services business in 2010, would you have chosen to invest in a multichannel bank or a disruptive fintech? Metro Bank and Funding Circle from the UK provide us with an interesting comparison. Both companies are regarded as a success, although only one so far has realised any value for investors. You can rev...

28 February 2017 /startups Fintech innovation and startups