Jaidev Janardana, CEO of Zopa, has criticized the media for contributing to the UK fintech sector’s preoccupation with valuations.
During a fireside chat with Akila Quinio, a reporter from the Financial Times, he stated, “The easiest way to get a story in the media is to say ‘I raised this much money at this much valuation.’ Very little actual diligence is done on the underlying preferences.” He noted that stories highlighting how banks improve people’s lives or achieve customer milestones often go untold. He further added, “The next narrative that follows is the IPO. That’s the next big obsession. I’ve been speaking to journalists today for the last couple of hours, and I’ve made it clear that I’m not in a rush to IPO, yet I’m certain that headlines will emerge tomorrow.”
Janardana’s comments come in light of a widely reported story about Zopa achieving profitability and planning to pursue an IPO while also introducing a current account option. Reflecting on this achievement, he remarked, “It validates that the business model we created is one that customers are willing to pay for, demonstrating that we can build a self-sustaining business, which enables us to be more ambitious.”