Just watched a founder waste 45 minutes pitching a bank exec without knowing their compliance requirements first

I was at a networking event in Toronto last Thursday and saw a young founder from a payments startup pitch a senior Scotiabank manager for almost an hour. He kept talking about their slick UI and fast checkout flow, but the exec kept asking about OSFI guidelines and data residency. The founder had no idea what OSFI even stood for. The whole thing could have been avoided if he'd spent 20 minutes researching the bank's regulatory framework beforehand. Has anyone else noticed this huge disconnect between how we build and how the big banks have to buy?

2 comments

2 Comments

seanjackson8d ago

Wait, did you try sending them a one-pager on compliance first? Worked for me.

michael_jenkins398d agoMost Upvoted

Yeah compliance one-pagers work. But it's just part of the bigger thing I keep seeing everywhere. People want simple clear info upfront. Nobody reads long emails or manuals anymore. Everyone's time is tight. A short sheet that tells them exactly what's needed it cuts through all the noise. Same reason bullet points beat paragraphs in meetings now. Keep it short keep it simple and people actually pay attention.