Hi, please tell us about your role and the team / technology you handle at Nebeus.
I have two hats at Nebeus as I’m the COO and Head of product.
On the product side, I lead all the product development and product management processes. I continually enhance our existing products and work on the development of all future products and services. I also lead all of Nebeus’s marketing initiatives, so you can also say that I’m Head of Product Marketing. I manage all of the internal and external teams for both departments.
On the operations side, I work closely with our MOBs, all of our management, and I dive into processes in every other department at Nebeus. I work with every Nebeus team member, and my goal as COO is to ensure the scalability of Nebeus’s operations and ultimately grow and expand the company.
What is Nebeus and how do you improve digital experience journeys for your customers?
Nebeus’s ultimate mission is to give people a platform to bridge their crypto and cash. Partnered with the industry’s leading crypto & financial institutions, we offer a whole ecosystem of additional services that allow people to earn, exchange, insure their crypto, as well as send and receive cash and crypto online with full security and peace of mind. Nebeus’ convenient, low-fee, and highly efficient services meet the demands and challenges of the rapidly evolving digital money industry.Â
Also Read: Global Fintech Interview with Dave Dabbah, Chief Marketing Officer at CleverTap
Could you tell us how you planned your latest funding round? How do you plan to invest it in your product and marketing?
Our latest funding round was a pre-Series A that we held in December 2020. It was a crowdfunding investment round that we organized through Europe’s leading equity crowdfunding platform, Seedrs. The crowdfunding campaign saw huge success, and we raised more than £860k from 240 investors and with the support of the British Government’s Future Fund. We overachieving our targets by 215%!
Our 2020 funding was a pre-Series A convertible loan round, and so we have already started looking for venture capital investors to close our Series-A sometime during 2021. We now aim to raise £5mmillion ($7.06 Million USD).
All funding that we raise will be used to support Nebeus’ growth and will focus on these core areas:
- Product Development and new product launches (25%),
- Marketing (35%),
- Resource (20%), and
- the Nebeus Mastercard rollout (20%).
Tell us more about your customer base and the new markets you are exploring for your products and services?
More than half of our customers come from the UK, and our two other target markets are Spain and Germany. That being said, people worldwide use Nebeus, but the only customers we do not serve are US citizens because US citizens require special onboarding due to the US tax authority (IRS). However, in the near future, we might.
How did your role evolve through the pandemic months? How did your previous experiences with technology management help you scale your efforts and meet unprecedented challenges?
Through the pandemic, we were primarily focused on fully re-developing Nebeus. As a result, we enhanced our products and services and added many to our ecosystem. We developed and released an entirely new version of our platform, and we changed the look and feel of our brand. The pandemic gave us time to focus on Nebeus to make it what it is today.
Everything that I bring to Nebeus’s management and product development is built on my previous experiences in business operations in five diverse industries across the US & EMEA regions.
My past is the foundation that allows me to meet new challenges and propel Nebeus forward. That being said, I continue to learn, adapt, and consistently implement new knowledge to everything that I do. I never want to stop learning and moving forward.
Cryptocurrency and digital payment trends are positively influencing modern banking systems. How is Nebeus leading the path as an industry leader to improve the adoption of customized crypto payments capabilities across various industries?
We are continually developing the fintech side of Nebeus by adding new methods for depositing and withdrawing funds from the platform.
For example, we have recently added the ability to deposit cash to Nebeus through more than 230k retail locations in Europe.
The release of the Nebeus Mastercard will allow us to go even further, as we’ll give people the possibility to transact and make payments directly through Nebeus. All of the new fintech features that we add to Nebeus are made to increase the usability of crypto, and they help improve the adoption of crypto payments.
Also Read: Global Fintech Interview with Shivani Govil, CPO at CCC Information Services
If we were to evaluate the modern financial technology maturity trends, which industries have been leading in the adoption of these capabilities? How do you enable the slower / lagging industries come to pace with crypto / B2B payments adoption?
There is a lot of hype about the adoption of crypto payments, but I cannot successfully pinpoint a precise industry that has been leading the trend.
Platforms such as Nebeus are leading the way in bridging the crypto and cash worlds. In addition, some Neo banks and many payment platforms have also adopted crypto and are trying to move the industry forward. But we still have a long way to go.
Tell us how hiring trends in fintech would further evolve in the innovation sector? Which domains are you most excited about?
The most significant hiring need that we see at Nebeus is the need for people who have experience in the crypto world. Unfortunately, the industry is still not mature enough to be able to find crypto talent easily. This need goes for each department: product, marketing, finance, compliance, etc.
Moving forward, I believe we will start finding more crypto professionals with industry experience, so I’m excited to see how that evolves. In the meantime, we are helping nurture young professionals to become crypto gurus.​
Any advice for young technology professionals looking at digital experiences market with eagerness;
Identify precisely what you want to do, what department you want to work in, and go for it. I recently hired someone for a Junior Marketing role because during the interview her initial pitch was: “I want to become a Marketing Director.” That kind of absolute determination is priceless!
Tag a person from the industry whose answers you would like to see here:
- Darren Jordan, Managing Director EMEA @ BitGo.
- Katie Haun or Ali Yahya General Partners @ Andreessen Horowitz.
Also Read: Global Fintech Interview with Arun Krishnan, SVP and Head of Engineering at Infosys Finacle
Michael comes from more than ten years of experience managing product development and business operations in five diverse industries across the US & EMEA regions. He comes from a corporate background, has founded multiple start-ups, and served as a consultant to many. Michael studied at the American University of Paris and possesses professional product development certification. He joined the Nebeus team in 2020 as COO and Head of Product.
Nebeus is a fintech & crypto platform on a mission to bridge the gap between crypto and cash with instant crypto-backed loans and financial services. To achieve this, Nebeus offers an ecosystem of secure and compliant products and services, allowing customers to borrow, earn, exchange, and transfer cash and crypto with full security. Nebeus was founded in 2014 in England, operating primarily in the UK and Europe.
The Future of Nebeus
In the future, we see a world without monetary boundaries; where cash and Crypto are used side by side to purchase everyday goods and services
