I’m coming to the end of a wonderful chapter of my career and am about to start an exciting new one, as of March. I have just spent a year and a half working with ClearScore, as Interim Chief Marketing Officer. ClearScore is one of the most successful FinTechs in the world. Founded in 2015 by Justin Basini, it has nearly 9 million users in the UK and over 11 million globally, operating in South Africa, India and (about to launch in) Australia. ClearScore employs over 300 people.

During my time at ClearScore I have learned so much. To reflect and share some of those learnings:

  • Unlocking long-term scale is essential and the way to do this is to test and learn. ‘Test and learn’ has been a principle we have tried to adhere to in every business I’ve worked in, but only at ClearScore have I really seen the power of this because it’s been executed properly. The difference is the desired outcome: in a true test and learn scenario, it’s about generating robust learnings, not necessarily robust growth. This creates different behaviour, where people chase learnings, not numbers.
  • User first wins every time. Genuinely putting the user at the heart of the experience, from day 1, means that the product and experience naturally generate competitive advantage. Bringing this principle to life for everyone who makes decisions on a daily basis is key – giving them ‘permission’ to prioritise doing the right thing by the user.
  • Culture is precious, so make every effort to maintain the culture rather than dilute it when there is rapid growth happening. Relentlessly and unapologetically holding on to what makes you unique is essential. ClearScore do this well by identifying real values that people live every single day – by referencing them in performance reviews, feedback and the honest and thorough probation process.
  • Trust is the glue that breeds success. Creating a genuinely trusting environment, where people trust each other to do the job in hand, is powerful. People feel empowered, engaged, accountable and act as such. Trust them to be where they need to be to do their job. If that’s picking their kids up at 4pm, or visiting their PT at 2pm, so be it.
  • Putting mental health at the fore demonstrates a genuine care and respect for your people and encourages people to show up as themselves. When people show up as themselves, they generally demonstrate more commitment, accountability and productivity. ClearScore have an in-house psychotherapist who any employee can access, trained mental-health ambassadors and a general absence of a stigma around mental health issues, which creates awareness, acceptance and tailored and timely support.

There are so many more learnings I could have touched on, but after careful reflection, these are the ones which I will keep with me forever. I’m so privileged to have contributed to such a progressive, innovative and successful company, but most of all to work alongside a group of talented individuals and brilliant people. I’ll always be watching you, ClearScore – I can’t wait to see this amazing team continue to grow…