Inclusion in FinTech as a Competitive Advantage

As a FinTech recruitment business, Harrington Starr is committed to promoting conversations that support diversity, innovation, and growth in financial technology. This episode aligns perfectly with that mission. 

What Drives a Passion for FinTech Innovation? 

Kicking off the conversation, Nadia invites Kristina to share more about her personal mission and professional journey. Kristina describes herself as a “true FinTech enthusiast,” someone who is driven by the transformative potential of technology in financial services. Over the last three and a half years, she has dedicated her work to helping FinTech founders integrate AI, streamline processes, and bring their visions to life through cutting-edge technical solutions. 

Kristina’s approach goes far beyond technical architecture. Her consulting work spans idea generation, product strategy, and building teams that can scale a product effectively. In her view, the power of FinTech lies in its ability to solve real-world problems, and her mission is to help founders turn great ideas into real, functional platforms that people want to use. Whether it’s an app, a wallet, or a complex infrastructure tool, her focus is on seamless delivery with user experience front and centre. 

This opening segment sets the stage for the rest of the discussion, reinforcing that innovation in FinTech is not just about having the right tools, it’s about having the right people and purpose behind them. 

Supporting FinTech Startups Through Every Stage of Growth 

Nadia asks Kristina to share more about the work she does with businesses, particularly those in growth mode. Kristina explains that the FinTech sector operates at an incredibly fast pace, which requires founders and their teams to stay constantly updated on technological advancements. Her role is to help startups and scaling companies navigate this landscape, turning abstract ideas into tangible, scalable products. 

She supports founders in translating their business concepts into technology, be it a payment platform, a user-facing app, or another type of solution. But her advice doesn’t stop at development. She emphasises the importance of understanding customer needs, defining clear marketing strategies, building the right technical teams, and conducting the right research before bringing anything to market. 

The journey from idea to product, she says, takes a village. And her consultancy exists to guide founders through that entire journey, offering strategic, technical, and operational guidance along the way. For those hiring in FinTech or seeking startup talent, this underscores the importance of building diverse and skilled teams from the ground up. 

AI in FinTech: Demystifying Fear and Embracing Possibility 

It wouldn’t be a modern FinTech discussion without mentioning artificial intelligence. As Nadia points out, AI is dominating every industry conversation. She invites Kristina to unpack how AI is influencing the FinTech space, especially from a customer experience perspective. 

Kristina acknowledges that while AI is on everyone's radar, it still causes anxiety for many, particularly founders unsure of how to implement it meaningfully. Some fear it might replace jobs, while others struggle to find the right use cases. Her goal is to help clients overcome these barriers by showing where AI can drive value, whether through automation, customer engagement, or product personalisation. 

She explains that some founders fail to identify any AI applications due to fear, while others identify too many and become overwhelmed. Part of her work is guiding them through these decisions and helping them focus on the areas where AI can have the most meaningful impact, both financially and operationally. 

Importantly, she adds that AI isn’t a silver bullet. It doesn’t need to be part of every solution. That’s why critical thinking, market research, and customer feedback are so vital when determining if and how AI should be used. This is especially relevant for FinTech recruitment professionals sourcing roles around AI product development, data science, and customer-focused engineering. 

Designing FinTech Solutions with Inclusion in Mind 

From AI and customer experience, the conversation flows naturally into inclusion, a topic at the core of FinTech’s DEI Discussions. Nadia challenges Kristina to define what inclusion means to her and why it matters in the FinTech ecosystem. 

Kristina calls inclusion “the secret ingredient of success.” Innovation, she says, thrives on difference. She highlights how diverse backgrounds, whether in terms of race, disability, gender, or experience, bring new perspectives to problem-solving and creativity. These diverse viewpoints help build better products, drive broader adoption, and ensure that the technologies being developed actually serve the full range of potential users. 

She gives a compelling case for the value of women in FinTech, emphasising the unique qualities they often bring to leadership teams, such as collaboration, communication, and customer centricity. These are all crucial traits in developing user-first FinTech products that stand out in crowded markets. 

Kristina also points out that inclusion must extend beyond representation. Founders and businesses need to be intentional in who they hire, how they design job roles, and how they build cultures that welcome people from all walks of life. For those in FinTech recruitment, this reinforces the need to actively champion diversity in hiring practices and client consultation. 

The Role of Founders in Driving Inclusive FinTech Cultures 

Nadia then shifts the focus to industry-level change, asking Kristina what she would like to see more of from companies and the FinTech sector as a whole. Kristina’s response is clear: it starts with founders. Founders, she says, must lead by example. They must break down barriers, open up opportunities, and be bold in their approach to hiring and co-founding teams. 

She explains that creating inclusive teams starts with inclusive job descriptions, roles defined in ways that encourage applications from people with diverse backgrounds, including underrepresented groups. Companies also need to look at where their product lands in the market and who they are designing for. Inclusion must be embedded not only in team structures but also in the core strategy of the business. 

Kristina also links inclusion to business value. By embracing diversity, businesses are not just doing the right thing, they are gaining access to ideas, markets, and innovations that homogenous teams often miss. This aligns with the FinTech recruitment sector’s responsibility to challenge client assumptions, open up candidate pipelines, and advocate for broader thinking around talent acquisition. 

Introducing The FinTech Doctor: A Blueprint for Founders 

Towards the end of the episode, Nadia brings the conversation to Kristina’s new book, The FinTech Doctor. She calls it the part she’s been waiting to discuss throughout the episode, and Kristina does not disappoint. 

The FinTech Doctor is designed as a step-by-step guide for founders launching their first FinTech product. Kristina describes it as a “blueprint” that helps readers avoid the common pitfalls, what she refers to as “accidents and emergencies.” The book offers comprehensive guidance on everything a founder needs to consider, including customer research, niche selection, co-founder relationships, team dynamics, legal structures, and mindset. 

Too often, she explains, founders focus only on the tech, overlooking critical areas like marketing, operations, and compliance. Her book highlights the interconnectedness of all these areas and presents a holistic framework for building FinTech companies that last. 

This resource is invaluable not only for founders but also for investors, advisors, and FinTech recruiters looking to support early-stage businesses with clarity and direction. It can also serve as a conversation starter in the hiring process, encouraging teams to think about growth beyond code. 

A Call to Action: Build Better, Together 

As the episode wraps up, Nadia poses one final question: how can we all contribute to a better, more inclusive FinTech workplace? 

Kristina’s answer is both simple and powerful. It starts with creativity, letting ideas flow and daring to imagine new ways of solving problems. But beyond that, it’s about building the right team. Surrounding yourself with the right people, whether technical experts, marketers, or strategic advisors, can turn a great idea into a game-changing product. 

She encourages listeners to be brave, to tap into the wealth of talent already available in the industry, and to embrace inclusion not just as a moral imperative but as a business advantage. 

For FinTech recruitment professionals, this is a call to action. It’s a reminder that behind every successful FinTech product is a team, and behind every great team is thoughtful, inclusive hiring. 

Why This Conversation Matters for FinTech Recruitment 

At Harrington Starr, we believe the future of FinTech will be built by inclusive, agile, and visionary teams. This episode of FinTech’s DEI Discussions reinforces our core belief that great technology starts with great people, and that diversity is a catalyst for innovation. 

By sharing stories like Kristina Mydlar’s, we aim to support founders, hiring managers, and job seekers alike in creating workplaces where everyone can thrive. Whether you're hiring AI specialists, product leaders, or inclusive culture champions, we’re here to connect you with the talent that moves the industry forward. 

As FinTech continues to evolve, so too must the way we hire, build, and support the teams shaping its future. At Harrington Starr, we specialise in FinTech recruitment that goes beyond filling vacancies, we connect companies with the people who will define their culture, drive their innovation, and help them stay ahead of the curve. Whether you're launching your first product or scaling a global platform, finding diverse, skilled, and values-aligned talent is critical. This episode of FinTech’s DEI Discussions with Kristina Mydlar is a timely reminder that inclusion, innovation, and impact all begin with people. Let’s keep building workplaces and an industry, that truly work for everyone.

 The FinTech Doctor by Kristina Mydlar