Latest news with #underwriter


Forbes
5 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Why VCs Are Betting Big On Tradecraft AI In Financial Services
Ai agent thinking and making decision metaphor. Artificial intelligence visualization in human form ... More with laptop head. Black and white collage in pop art style illustration. OBSERVATIONS FROM THE FINTECH SNARK TANK In a world awash in AI hype, the next wave of innovation won't come from general-purpose tools, but from a new class of highly specialized applications designed to embed expertise directly into workflows. Think of this emerging category as "tradecraft AI." What Is Tradecraft AI? Tradecraft AI is the fusion of applied domain knowledge and AI technology. It captures the tacit, apprentice-learned knowledge traditionally acquired through years of experience and embeds it into software that executes with the precision, nuance, and adaptability of a seasoned expert. Think of a veteran underwriter, experienced analyst, or seasoned enterprise banker. They don't just follow checklists. They apply deep judgment, pattern recognition, and learned instincts to complex, variable situations. Tradecraft AI aims to replicate and scale that kind of professional decision-making. Unlike horizontal AI platforms (e.g., chatbots, summary generators, generic assistants), tradecraft AI is hyper-verticalized. It's tailored to a specific job family within a specific domain. Examples include: Tradecraft AI refers to AI applications that: This isn't "AI that can do a task" in the abstract--it's AI that understands the job because it's been trained, shaped, and constrained by tradecraft. According to Mike Degnan, founder of VC firm Darrery Capital: 'At its core, tradecraft AI is about the human element—the honed skill set of an expert who has lived the nuances of their craft. There's a difference between canned spaghetti sauce and your Grandma's slow-simmered Sunday sauce. Grandma's cooking isn't just about ingredients--it's about innate timing, feel, and adjustments. That's tradecraft. And that's the essence of what this new generation of AI tools captures.' Tradecraft AI isn't just data-fed software. It's a digital master craftsman, using AI trained by masters--through observation and direction--and built to deploy judgement and excellence at scale through an application layer. Why Tradecraft AI Is a Compelling VC Theme Tradecraft AI sits at the intersection of three powerful investment theses: What sets tradecraft AI apart from traditional vertical AI is its depth of specialization. Tradecraft AI understands the jobs-to-be-done and translates that understanding into software that thinks, recommends, and acts like a domain expert. Emerging Tradecraft AI Startups Companies emerging in the new tradecraft AI space include: Tradecraft AI: Why Now? Several forces are converging to make tradecraft AI not only possible but inevitable: And perhaps most importantly, the market is ready. The financial services industry is defined by apprenticeship, manual workflows, and regulatory burden—a perfect breeding ground for productivity tools that can offer speed and precision. Tradecraft AI Benefits for the Industry Professionals stand to gain immensely. Benefits include: This doesn't mean job displacement. It means enabling bankers to focus on high-value work, and bringing sophisticated decision-making to a broader range of institutions. Tradecraft AI Benefits for Consumers and Businesses The downstream effects of tradecraft AI are profound: By embedding AI into the fabric of financial services, institutions can deliver better outcomes, at lower cost, with greater transparency. Final Thoughts on Tradecraft AI Tradecraft AI isn't a buzzword. It's a shift in how software is built and delivered. According to Darrery Capital's Mike Degnan: 'Tradecraft AI is built on the belief that expert systems can be more than brittle rule engines—they can be adaptive, empathetic, and programmatic.' For founders, this is a greenfield opportunity to reshape the financial services industry. For investors, it's a category that combines deep moats, real workflows, and massive market need. For bankers, it's a productivity revolution wrapped in software that finally understands your job. And for the consumer tradecraft AI offers better service, better outcomes, and a more human financial system—powered by machines that finally know what they're doing.


Fast Company
30-05-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
The best leaders hire people who are smarter than they are
Early in my career, I was a loan underwriter at a bank. I was responsible for training a new employee, one with very little banking experience. During the training, she caught something I had missed and asked about it. I was shocked because I considered myself a diligent underwriter. But I quickly realized something: She was better than I was. She had a knack for noticing little abnormalities and was confident enough to point them out. For a moment, I was nervous. We worked at a small bank, and I felt threatened by her skill. But I quickly realized that she was an asset. She could work on the detail-driven parts of underwriting, which freed me up for other work. So I encouraged her to keep learning. Great leaders don't compete with their teams. Instead, they build teams that complement them and recognize that the entire team is stronger with high-performing people. 'No room for ego' A good manager shouldn't be the smartest person in the room. Strong teams are never built on ego, and when you hire smart people, you get a more innovative team and better outcomes. Keep in mind that 'smarter' can mean different things—technical skills, creativity, or subject matter expertise. More than likely, you'll hire someone who may be 'smarter' in one area, which will allow you to shine with different skills. That was my experience with the new loan underwriter; I moved on to compliance work, which required some critical thinking skills I had. AI app-building startup Lovable is known for hiring top-tier talent. The company puts its principles right on its careers page, stating that there is 'no room for ego' and that employees 'amplify each other.' As one of the fastest-growing startups in Europe, Lovable has now reached $17 million in annual recurring revenue—due in part, no doubt, to hiring the best and its approach to teamwork. Ideally, you uncover someone's potential during the hiring process. Ask questions that might help you determine that someone has the skills you don't have, or might be smarter than you in certain aspects of the job. Look for exceptional problem-solving skills or boundless curiosity—signs that a person can take a project and run with it. Let others shine Once you hire them, you have to give your new employees room to do their best work and grow. You should set goals and offer resources, but not micromanage. It will be an ongoing process of giving the employees more responsibility to see how they handle the work. Smart employees will be up to the challenge, and you'll gradually transition your own role to other work. Make sure your talented employees feel appreciated. Give them credit publicly and advocate for their growth. They should know that you know how smart and capable they are. You might fear that if you nurture a smart employee, they might eventually outgrow the role. Maybe they'll move to another team or leave the company altogether. That's a legitimate concern and bound to happen at some point. But you can't hold people back. If employees reach a ceiling within your team, they should move on. Think of yourself as a talent developer, capable of finding and nurturing people in their careers. That's a skill by itself. And when someone moves on, it creates opportunities for others to rise.