From Buy or Build to Buy & Build

Driving the Future of Exchange Infrastructure

In a compelling episode of FinTech Focus TV, Toby Babb sits down with Dan Davis, Head of Growth at Connamara Technologies, to explore how the exchange technology landscape is being transformed in real time. Filmed live at the TradingTech Briefing NYC, hosted by A-Team Events, this conversation offers a timely deep dive into the evolution of capital markets infrastructure, the shifting priorities of institutional clients, and the role of product-led innovation in FinTech.

This session is essential viewing for FinTech professionals, exchange operators, technology strategists, and investors who are navigating the future of financial trading. For Harrington Starr, a global FinTech recruitment business, the insights offered in this episode are not only reflective of wider industry trends, but they also align with the growing talent demands we see across both established institutions and emerging market players.

Foundations of Connamara Technologies: Incubation and Product Maturity

Dan Davis kicks off the episode by offering a detailed history of Connamara Technologies and its flagship product, the EP3 exchange platform. While Connamara Technologies was officially formed in 2022, the story begins much earlier, with the platform being incubated within a firm called Connamara Systems (now known simply as Connamara). Connamara has deep roots in the Chicago trading ecosystem, having been founded in 1998 by a team with extensive front-line experience. Its founder was a trader, and the Co-Founder served as the president of a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) and chair of the National Futures Association (NFA). This depth of domain knowledge continues to inform the ethos and technological excellence of Connamara Technologies.

Dan joined the business in late 2023, but EP3 was already in strong demand. The exchange technology had gained rapid traction in CFTC-regulated markets, prompting a strategic decision to carve out the platform into a separate entity. The result is a company that is purpose-built to scale exchange infrastructure for a new generation of trading venues.

FinTech Buy vs Build: The Shift Towards Hybrid Infrastructure Models

One of the recurring themes at TradingTech Briefing NYC, and a focal point of this episode, is the evolution of the “buy vs build” debate in FinTech trading technology. Toby notes that many firms are moving away from polarised choices and instead embracing a “buy and build” model. Dan Davis wholeheartedly agrees, describing how even in our personal lives, we now choose to outsource what’s routine in favour of focusing our time where it matters most, like spending time with family instead of doing the weekly shop.

The analogy holds up in capital markets. For institutional clients, the goal is no longer to build every element of infrastructure from scratch. Instead, they want robust, scalable platforms that can be tailored to their unique workflows and compliance environments. Connamara’s EP3 enables this shift by offering a base platform that covers 80% of what an exchange needs out of the box, while retaining flexibility for customisation, either in-house or with Connamara’s continued support for bespoke development.

This hybrid approach is redefining the FinTech hiring landscape. More than ever, financial services firms are seeking technologists who can integrate pre-existing platforms, adapt modular solutions, and focus their energy on strategic differentiation. At Harrington Starr, we’re seeing increasing demand for platform specialists, DevOps professionals, product engineers, and cloud-native developers who thrive in buy-and-build environments.

Productization and Strategic Separation: A New Business Model for Exchange Tech

A key turning point in Connamara Technologies’ journey was the decision to separate EP3 from Connamara’s consultancy model. Dan discusses the contrast between consultancy and product-led approaches. In consultancy, teams often start from scratch, creating unique solutions for each client. But productization demands a new way of thinking, one that prioritises shared roadmaps, scale, and reuse.

By launching Connamara Technologies as a standalone company, the team could establish a clear product strategy, shaped not only by their vision but by the evolving needs of their customers. EP3 is designed to be modular and adaptable, supporting both regulated exchanges and smaller marketplaces with complex or emerging use cases.

This transition is mirrored across the FinTech sector. Increasingly, product-led growth is shaping how firms go to market and what kind of talent they need to succeed. Businesses must now recruit product managers, platform owners, customer success leaders, and technical architects who understand how to build for reuse and rapid deployment. These are core recruitment areas for Harrington Starr as we help FinTechs transition from custom software builds to scalable product offerings.

Technological Acceleration in Capital Markets and the Exchange Renaissance

Toby observes that 2025 feels like a breakout year for innovation in capital markets. Dan echoes this sentiment, describing a “sea change” in how exchanges and trading platforms operate. Technologies such as blockchain, real-time clearing, and cloud-based infrastructure are no longer experimental; they are actively reshaping the industry.

Dan explains how traditional exchange models are being challenged by more decentralised structures. Custody, for example, is now frequently handled on DLT, while clearing is moving towards real-time or even pre-trade settlement via managed service providers. In this new paradigm, EP3 can serve both centralised and decentralised markets, depending on how the customer wants to build their trading ecosystem.

For financial services firms, this pace of change presents both opportunity and complexity. They need people who can navigate regulatory frameworks, leverage cutting-edge infrastructure, and drive innovation, all while ensuring uptime and security. As a FinTech staffing partner, Harrington Starr helps organisations find technologists who are comfortable operating at the intersection of regulation, innovation, and scale.

Supporting Every Stage of the Exchange Lifecycle with EP3

One of the standout messages from this episode is how Connamara’s platform can support the entire lifecycle of an exchange, from ideation and market design to full production deployment. Whether it’s a full-service exchange, an auction-style platform, or a niche marketplace, EP3 has the flexibility to support the buildout, with Connamara’s custom engineering services available for deeper integration needs.

Dan highlights that clients host the EP3 platform themselves, giving them full control over uptime and infrastructure. This is critical for trading venues, where even a few seconds of downtime can result in lost liquidity, regulatory exposure, and damaged reputations. EP3 is designed for resilience, and the support model is equally robust: clients communicate directly with the engineers who built the product, bypassing slow customer support hierarchies.

In FinTech recruitment, this kind of mission-critical uptime creates a need for a very specific type of candidate. We help clients find engineers who understand low-latency systems, security professionals who can defend high-frequency platforms, and site reliability engineers who can maintain robust uptime under pressure.

Customer-Led Product Development and the Growth of Prediction Markets

Rather than projecting a roadmap, Connamara listens to its customers and evolves the platform based on their needs. This approach has already yielded remarkable results in the event contract or prediction marketspace.

Dan announces that a customer, Railbird Exchange, has just received CFTC approval and will be launching a prediction market platform in the US. This makes them one of several EP3-powered players entering a market that already includes Kalshi, ForecastX, and international competitors like Polymarket. These markets aim to improve price discovery by allowing users to speculate on outcomes like elections, economic indicators, or sporting events.

For FinTech talent specialists like Harrington Starr, this trend signals rising demand for professionals with niche expertise, particularly in regulatory compliance, market microstructure, and applied data science. As these platforms emerge, they will need developers, quants, analysts, and commercial leaders who understand how to operate within new market structures and regulatory frameworks.

Supporting FinTech Innovation with the Right Talent at the Right Time

Throughout the conversation, Dan reiterates that Connamara Technologies is not just selling software, it’s empowering people to innovate. Whether it's a seasoned exchange operator or a new entrant with a bold idea, EP3 is designed to lower barriers and unlock new opportunities for experimentation, growth, and scale.

This sentiment resonates deeply with us at Harrington Starr. As a FinTech recruitment business, we know that technology is only as good as the people behind it. We work with firms like Connamara to help them hire the developers, engineers, product leaders, and operational specialists who will turn ambition into action. From infrastructure hiring to leadership appointments, we’re committed to driving growth through people.

Final Thoughts and Industry Reflections from FinTech Focus TV

Toby wraps up the episode by reflecting on the synergy between Connamara’s platform and the broader goals of the TradingTech Briefing. With industry-wide conversations centred on efficiency, productivity, and real-time innovation, EP3 seems perfectly positioned to thrive in today’s market.

Dan closes the discussion by joking that the platform delivers “80% of what you need”, but the real value is in how it enables clients to inject their secret sauce and scale up to 100%. This balance of robustness and flexibility is what makes EP3 a standout in today’s crowded FinTech infrastructure landscape.

The interview is a masterclass in how product-led growth, responsive engineering, and customer partnership can redefine what’s possible in exchange infrastructure. It also offers a valuable blueprint for how FinTech businesses should think about their hiring, roadmaps, and partner ecosystems in a time of accelerating change.

Harrington Starr is a leading FinTech recruitment firm, dedicated to connecting the most innovative financial technology companies with top-tier talent across the globe. With offices in London, New York, and Belfast, we specialise in sourcing high-calibre professionals across software engineering, infrastructure support, product management, data, quantitative finance, cyber security, and sales and marketing roles. Our deep industry knowledge, long-standing client partnerships, and consultative approach set us apart, enabling us to match fast-growing FinTech firms with the people who will shape their future. Whether supporting global investment banks, start-ups, scale-ups, or trading platforms, we are committed to delivering exceptional hiring outcomes that drive innovation, growth, and competitive advantage across the financial services landscape.