Phase 1 Fintech startup creates a tool using engineering logic borrowed from information technology methodologies, tries to go it alone.

Phase 2 Fintech startup realises client acquisition is really hard and costly. Oh, and the tool either doesn’t scale or there’s some other unintended consequence related to risk or liquidity.

Phase 3 Fintech startup tries to sell the tool to banks, who engage out of politeness to avoid the risk of passing off on the next big thing.

Phase 4 >Banks say… actually there’s a social or compliance reason we do things this way not that way…

Phase 5 Fintech start-up pivots to account for this… tries to resell tech to banks.

Phase 6 Banks say, actually you’ve also overlooked this other factor…

Phase 7 Fintech start-up adapts, and goes into “partnership” with the bank, at which point it realises the compliance headache associated with financial services, and also why the compliance is there in the first place.

Phase 8 Fintech is absorbed into the bureaucracy of banking. Innovation stalls.

Lifecycle completes.