Episode #08 Dr. Thomas Bloch – Fintechs, Robo-Advisors and The New Banking

Dr. Thomas Bloch is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Vaamo, a leading German Robo-Advisory platform. Prior to founding an asset management fintech Dr. Bloch has worked in investment banking for J.P. Morgan for almost 9 years. This unique set of experiences makes our today’s guest an amazing conversation partner as he shares valuable insights as seen from both sides of the table.

In our conversation, we jump from topic as we discuss the history of Vaamo as well as the current fintech environment and the struggles of founding a financial startup. We also get very deep into the way a Robo-advisor company operates and what is required to succeed in this field. For anyone who is planning on founding a financial startup this is a must-listen.

And now to the show notes:

• 2:00 How does Dr. Bloch explain what he does
• 3:00 Professional background and the story of Vaamo
• 06:50 How did the idea for Vaamo come along?
• 09:00 How was the switch from investment banking to the Fintech space?
• 10:00 Typical day?
• 11:00 Fintech impact on banking
• 13:15 Fintech business environment in Europe in comparison to the US and Asia
• 16:04 What is a Robo-Advisor?
• 19:00 Should I purchase S&P or give my money to Vaamo?
• 20:50 Typical customer risk profile questions
• 22:35 Human role in Robo-Advisors
• 23:50 Strategies behind Robo-Advisor investments
• 28:20 The biggest problems Dr.Bloch ran into when launching Vaamo
• 32:10 Best method of obtaining capital for a financial business and how did Vaamo do it?
• 33:10 What is Dr.Bloch’s favourite fintech?
• 34:40 Brexit effect on the startup/finance industry in Frankfurt?
• 36:00 What pieces of advice would Dr.Bloch give to himself when starting Vaamo?
• 37:40 Contact
• 38:05 What would you like to leave our audience with?

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The next episode will come out on March 23th, in which we interview Alexander Doll, the CEO of Barclays Germany and the Head of Banking for the DACH region! Stay tuned!