Harnessing Wealth in the Digital Age
I recently went one on one with Katie Prentke English, the Co-Founder and CMO of digital wealthtech platform Harness Wealth. Katie previously served as CMO of Nutmeg, the largest European robo-advisor, and has held a number of marketing and product roles at American Express in both the UK and the US, including Director of UK Digital Acquisition and Centurion Product Manager. Katie has also worked in the Investment Bank and Private Bank at JPMorgan and has received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. from Princeton.
Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your best advice. First things first, though, how did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?
Katie: While I’ve learned a lot throughout my career that has contributed to my growth, two experiences really were the most instrumental.
The first was when I took on the role to run all digital acquisition for the UK business at American Express. It was a big role with a big team in an entirely new space for me. I learned a lot from that role about how to lead a team, how to embrace something new and unknown and learn quickly. It gave me more courage to jump into new things.
The second was joining Nutmeg, Europe’s largest robo-adviser, where I was CMO and led the Commercial Team. That role was really my first foray into working at a start-up. It really solidified my passion for building and growing businesses.
Adam: How did Harness Wealth come about? What compelled you to launch the business and how did you take it from idea to its current iteration?
Katie: The idea for Harness Wealth resulted from a combination of personal and business experiences. My co-founder, David Snider, started exploring the idea for the business when he was an Executive-in-Residence at Bain Capital Ventures, having previously spent half a decade as CFO/COO of Compass, the Real Estate technology business. There they had seen the effectiveness of combining the best technology with the best experts and saw an opportunity to apply it to the wealth management space. He also saw first-hand how the wrong financial advice can have significant impacts – he received the wrong advice related to his Compass equity, which ended up having a meaningful financial impact.
Separately, I was spending a lot of time experience financial advice models at Nutmeg and found consistently that as financial complexity increased (which tends to happen when investible assets increase), customers want to talk to and work with an expert adviser, yet still have strong expectations for interacting with advisers and brands digitally. I had also faced my own challenges with cross-border financial complexity having spent nearly 6 years living in London.
When David and I connected on building Harness Wealth, we were compelled by the goal of helping consumers tackle their complexity and get access to the best tools and advice to do it. And we felt like we were building the best solution to deliver against that at a time when increasingly more individuals need it.
Adam: What were your biggest takeaways from your serving as CMO of the largest robo advisor in Europe? Where do you see the robo adviser business headed? What trends do you expect in the next three to five years?
Katie: I had two big takeaways from my time at Nutmeg – the first was the value and strength of customer-centricity in an organization, and the second was the power for customers in taking complex concepts and making them clear and transparent within financial services.
In terms of robos more broadly, I think they have been really effective in providing more access to smart, low cost investment products. During my time at Nutmeg, 50% of our customers were new to investing. Over the next few years, I think we are going to see robos focusing on expanding their product offering to own more of the customer wallet and explore partnerships to tap into scaled distribution channels.
Adam: More broadly speaking, what are trends in the fin tech space you believe are on the horizon and that entrepreneurs and consumers alike should be aware of?
Katie: Similarly, to the trends in robos, I think we are going to see fintech players expanding their offerings, with increased overlaps between once more distinctive businesses as companies vie to own the customer relationship more holistically. I think we will also see an increase in digital banking, particularly as European challenger banks continue to move into the U.S.
Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader? How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?
Katie: Being an effective leader means both knowing your strengths as well as your weaknesses and blind spots and building out the right team who has strengths in areas where you are weak. It means setting clear goals but giving your team the leeway and trust to own and deliver on them and set them up for success. Lastly, you have to lead by example and earn the trust and respect from your team every day.
Leaders should be constantly learning and evolving. Taking your leadership skill to the next level is a combination of educating yourself continually and also getting honest feedback from those around you (and creating an environment where honest feedback can be given).
Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives and civic leaders?
Katie:
You will inevitably make mistakes, but success means identifying and remedying those mistakes quickly. And not making them again.
Your team is your most valuable asset. Treat them as such.
No decision or choice is permanent. Balance taking thoughtful decisions with moving quickly.
Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading and managing teams?
Katie:
Be clear on what your hiring for and clear on objectives.
Hire for skillset and leadership.
Hire for potential and capacity.
Give people the trust and space to achieve their goals and feel ownership over there role.
Hold everyone to a high cultural standard.
Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?
Katie: Don’t worry about things you can’t change. That’s advice my dad always gives me, and I think about it a lot.
Adam: What should everyone understand about Gen-Xers?
Katie: This generation is often overlooked as companies focus on Millennials and Gen Z. However, Gen-X will have nearly twice as many total assets as Millennials by 2030 – $22 versus $12 trillion. They will also be the biggest beneficiary (57%) of the largest wealth transfer ever, which is the $68.4 trillion that US households will transfer to heirs and charity over the next 25 years. Historically they have been bucketed with boomers by wealth managers, but their needs are distinct in wanting a human/hybrid approach to managing their wealth.
Adam: What is one thing everyone should be doing to pay it forward?
Katie: Be the mentor to others that you wish you had – open doors, share advice, provide support, and take a chance on high potential individuals.
Adam: What are your hobbies and how have they shaped you?
Katie: I was the coxswain of the crew team in college and that really shaped how I think about teamwork. There is a term in crew called “swing.” It’s where everyone is rowing in perfect unity – it’s a moment of greatness where the output of the team is greater than the sum of its parts. I’ve been lucky to have rowed with crews like that. We aim to run our business that way.