How Fintech Founders Can Sharpen Their Pitches

Forbes

5 days ago

Paul Davis, Founder, Bank Slate.
If you're building a fintech company and hoping to partner with banks, you've probably been instructed to 'tell a great story.' You've also likely been told to highlight your regulatory compliance, technical chops or product vision.
The truth is that neither approach will succeed in isolation.
That's a key lesson I have gleaned from conversations with bankers, investors and fintech founders. These discussions—paired with years of consulting for banks and fintechs—have reinforced a few critical learnings I believe every founder should take to heart.
Balance storytelling with substance.
Yes, a compelling narrative matters. Banks want to know your 'why.' But, too often, founders lean so heavily into the vision that they forget to ground it in reality. A pitch without substance might grab attention, but it rarely leads to a deal. On the flip side, I've seen technical pitches—heavy with regulatory compliance, architecture and acronyms—fall flat because there's no clear narrative arc explaining why it all matters.
The best pitches marry 'why this matters' with 'how this works.' Founders who can weave both elements into their outreach and meetings stand a far better chance of moving from conversation to contract.
Don't just hear 'no'—learn from it.
Let's be clear: Founders are going to hear 'no' a lot. It's part of the process. But the founders who learn from the 'no' tend to be the ones who make progress and grow fastest.
When a banker or venture capitalist declines to move forward, try to understand why. Was it about timing? A misalignment in the budget? An unclear fit with strategic priorities? Smart founders treat rejection not as a dead end, but as market feedback. Every 'no' is a breadcrumb that can refine your product, pricing and positioning—or all three.
Check your ego at the door.
In my consulting work, I often see founders fall in love with a solution that's clever and elegant, but it isn't what banks are prioritizing. Bankers are hyper-focused on four areas: net new deposits, noninterest income, back-office efficiency and fraud prevention. Founders who can directly align their pitch with these priorities are much more likely, in my experience, to earn a second meeting and a contract.
That sometimes means letting go of the original idea—or at least reconfiguring it. The goal isn't to force banks to see your product your way. It's to frame your solution in terms of their urgent needs. Less ego. More empathy.
Map the org, not just the opportunity.
One of the most tactical and actionable suggestions I have heard involved leaning into network maps—a strategy I've since started recommending regularly to clients. A network map is a visual or conceptual diagram that illustrates the relationships, roles and influence dynamics within a specific group.
Address key questions about your relationships. Who are the key players? How are decisions made? Who are the influencers? What bottlenecks exist?
When selling to a bank, you're not just selling to a single stakeholder. You're selling to a system. That means identifying your internal champions, understanding who controls the budget and knowing who needs convincing. Most importantly, it involves preparing for what happens if your contact leaves, changes roles or loses internal influence.
Founders who track these dynamics early on build resilience into their sales process and avoid starting from scratch when internal dynamics shift.
As the fintech landscape matures, the bar for effective bank partnerships continues to rise. Founders need more than a novel idea—they need a pitch that resonates with institutional pain points, aligns with buying dynamics and survives the internal politics of a risk-averse industry. That balance of vision and execution is where the most meaningful partnerships begin.
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