The Changing Face of The Index Space

Revolutionising Indexing

In an exciting episode of FinTech Focus TV, Toby reconnects with a familiar face in the FinTech ecosystem: Tobias Sproehnle, CEO and Co-Founder of PANTA. This compelling conversation offers a deep dive into the evolution of the index industry, startup lessons from successful exits, the growing appetite for customisation in financial products, and how PANTA is positioning itself to drive the next wave of innovation in passive investing.

As a specialist FinTech recruitment agency, Harrington Starr brings you conversations that shape the industry. This episode not only reflects the current transformation within financial technology but also gives practical insight into the skills, mindsets, and innovations driving future FinTech jobs and business models.

FinTech Careers: From Banking to Entrepreneurship

Tobias Sproehnle’s professional journey began in the world of banking. With two decades in corporate finance, he built an extensive understanding of the financial services landscape. But after 20 years, Tobias made the bold move into the startup space, describing himself as a “late starter” in entrepreneurship. Yet his timing couldn’t have been better.

In the earlier days of FinTech Focus TV, Tobias was interviewed while in the process of building his previous venture, Mortgage Benchmarks. That business was part consulting firm, part SaaS provider—focused on index design, index administration, and calculation services offered as white-label solutions. When the last interview aired, the company was in its early stages and navigating the second COVID-19 lockdown.

Raising a Series A+ funding round during a global pandemic was a challenge in itself, but ultimately, the business found alignment with Morningstar. Although they hadn’t intended to sell so early, the vision match and synergy between the two companies were undeniable. Tobias and his co-founders decided to sell the business in September 2021, highlighting that such an early exit was a testament to the value they had created.

Life After Exit: Unexpected Challenges and New Opportunities

Many people assume that the exit is the final goal of a startup founder. However, Tobias reveals that the post-sale phase can be just as challenging. He stayed on for 18 months after the acquisition to ensure a smooth transition. In his words, the founders wanted to “pass on the baby properly”. The integration work turned out to be more complex than expected, but they successfully delivered on all the planned synergies.

During this post-exit phase, Tobias also accelerated his involvement in startup investing. Having already made early-stage investments prior to founding Mortgage Benchmarks, he now had more time to work closely with founders—especially those needing commercial and productisation guidance. This gave him a broader view of the market and reinforced his belief that there was still room for disruption, particularly in the index industry.

Reimagining Passive Investing: The Birth of PANTA

Through his investing and operational experience, Tobias identified a persistent issue in the indexing space. Despite managing more than $25 trillion in assets, the index industry remained outdated in terms of its technology and delivery models. While innovation had transformed payments, banking, and trading, index design and administration were still mired in legacy systems and manual processes.

This realisation led to the creation of PANTA, a startup with the ambition to build the operating system of the index industry. PANTA aims to bring the same level of automation, customisation, and digital accessibility to indexing that users experience in consumer tech products. According to Tobias, today's investors—especially younger generations—expect to be able to personalise their portfolios with the same ease they customise their smartphones.

He jokes that his son, a 21-year-old investor, is baffled by the lack of flexibility in portfolio building. Tobias cites the Financial Times’ quote: “Investing should be like swiping left or right.” This is the user experience that PANTA is striving to deliver.

Building the Infrastructure: The Lab and the Engine

PANTA’s platform consists of two core components: The Lab and The PANTA Engine.

The Lab is a design and modelling interface that allows asset managers and owners to create custom indices. It enables them to backtest, analyse, and refine their portfolios in an intuitive, automated environment, removing the need for repetitive Excel-based exchanges and inefficient manual processes.

The PANTA Engine, on the other hand, is the backend infrastructure for calculating and distributing indices at scale. It supports the operational requirements of running sophisticated index calculations with flexibility and scalability, ensuring that asset managers can deliver tailored products without building costly in-house systems.

This two-part model enables PANTA to offer modular, enterprise-grade solutions to a wide range of market participants—from emerging FinTech firms to established financial institutions. It also highlights the growing demand for infrastructure solutions in the FinTech jobs market, as companies look for product managers, engineers, and commercial leaders who understand both technology and financial services.

Driving Adoption in a Conservative Industry

Despite its innovation, PANTA faces a familiar challenge in the financial services world: industry conservatism. Tobias acknowledges the paradox of working in a risk-driven industry that is simultaneously risk-averse when it comes to adopting new technology.

He notes that stakeholders in the index space often question why they should outsource to a third-party provider or change systems that have worked for decades. But Tobias is confident that change is inevitable. The gap between what consumers want and what the industry delivers is widening. Customisation is no longer a luxury; it is becoming an expectation.

Just as cloud computing revolutionised data management, Tobias sees PANTA transforming index operations into a service model that empowers faster innovation, lower costs, and broader accessibility. The platform’s initial reception has been promising, with global asset managers already testing its capabilities as the startup enters its first commercial onboarding phase.

From MVP to Traction: What’s Next for PANTA?

With the technology MVP complete and its first clients onboarded, PANTA is now moving into a critical phase of growth. Tobias describes this as a journey where both the product and the business model will evolve rapidly based on client feedback and market needs.

The early traction is coming from two primary segments. First, global asset managers are embracing The Lab as a tool for streamlining index design, particularly where internal processes are bogged down by inefficiencies. Second, clients with high-volume index calculation requirements are adopting The PANTA Engine to scale operations with reliability and speed.

Crucially, PANTA is positioning itself not as a competitor to existing index providers but as an enabler. Its goal is to be the infrastructure layer that others build on, much like the role of cloud platforms in modern software development.

Lessons from a FinTech Investor: Focus and Team

Tobias’s parallel role as an investor has given him a unique lens into startup success. He has made over 50 investments in early-stage companies across FinTech, climate tech, and AI. When asked what he looks for in a venture, his answer is concise: focus and team.

At the pre-seed and seed stage, it’s the founders’ clarity of purpose and ability to execute that determine success. Tobias often helps companies bridge the gap between great technology and commercial viability. He’s particularly passionate about helping technically strong teams learn how to productise, sell, and scale their innovations.

One of the most common mistakes he sees is an imbalance between technical and commercial skillsets. At PANTA, he has made a concerted effort to build a team that blends both worlds—people who understand the index industry inside out and those who can build world-class technology.

This insight is crucial for anyone hiring or looking for work in FinTech. Whether you're building a startup or scaling a mature firm, the right mix of skills, experience, and mindset is essential. That’s where Harrington Starr’s specialist FinTech recruitment services can add value—identifying individuals who are a cultural and strategic fit for fast-moving, innovation-led environments.

Market Mindset Shift: From Hype to Sustainability

Reflecting on how the investment landscape has evolved, Tobias notes a major shift in mindset. In 2021, during the boom cycle, investors were more focused on growth, and speed than sustainability. Founders were encouraged to raise larger rounds than necessary and to prioritise expansion over profit.

Today, the market has recalibrated. Investors now ask more pragmatic questions: Does this product solve a real problem? Is the team credible? Is there a clear path to profitability? This change has benefited startups like PANTA that are focused on solving foundational issues with scalable technology.

Tobias believes this reset is healthy. It ensures that capital goes to businesses with long-term value, not just marketing hype. For FinTech professionals, it’s a reminder that product-market fit, customer focus, and execution matter more than ever—especially in a tightening economy.

The AI Bubble and Lessons from the Dot-Com Era

As a long-time AI enthusiast, Tobias also sees parallels between today’s AI funding wave and the dot-com bubble of the early 2000s. Having lived through that era, he recognises the telltale signs of inflated expectations and rapid capital deployment.

While some AI ventures will inevitably fall short, he believes the survivors will redefine the way we live and work. Much like Amazon and Apple did after the internet bust, today’s foundational AI companies could become the infrastructure of the future.

Tobias shares a humorous anecdote about how his early obsession with AI earned him a reputation as the “geeky” dinner party guest. His first investments in the sector were in 2016, and he has since built a strong portfolio of AI and climate tech companies. This dual role—as operator and investor—gives him unique insight into how technology trends intersect with financial services.

Building the Right Team for FinTech Growth

Returning to the theme of talent, Tobias makes a crucial observation: not everyone is suited to startup life. Many professionals aspire to leave the corporate world for something more dynamic but struggle to adapt to the unstructured, fast-paced reality of startup environments.

Startups require a different mindset—one that embraces ambiguity, prioritises action over hierarchy, and takes full ownership of outcomes. This has become a major focus for Tobias in hiring and advising founders.

For employers and candidates alike, this highlights the value of partnering with experienced FinTech recruiters like Harrington Starr. Understanding the nuances of startup culture and matching candidates not just on skills but on mindset is essential for long-term success in FinTech jobs.

Looking Ahead: Disrupting an Industry That’s Ready for Change

As PANTA moves into its next phase, Tobias is energised by the opportunity to transform an industry he knows intimately. He is motivated not just by the scale of the market, but by the chance to prove sceptics wrong—just as he did with Mortgage Benchmarks.

With a strong founding team, a live product, and enthusiastic early adopters, PANTA is poised to lead the charge in modernising index infrastructure. For professionals in FinTech recruitment, this is an exciting space to watch. The demand for roles in product management, data engineering, and enterprise sales within indexing and passive investing is set to grow.