“Often we only see the result of success stories, but we don’t see the many years of work, mistakes, and failures that lie behind them. Sustainable business is usually built not in months, but over many years,” says Darius Noreika, co-founder of alternative financing company “Finbee”, recalling how he took his first steps into the business world in 2015.
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He reveals that his biggest fear at the time was very simple – would what he was trying to create be needed by residents at all? Would they trust it? Would he really be able to answer all customer questions?
However, the entrepreneur immediately adds that over a decade of company growth, he understood one very important thing that can be applied to any business – it’s impossible to know all the answers in advance. The most important thing is not to be afraid to look for them and move forward.
Changing people’s habits helped adapt
D.Noreika recounts that a decade ago, he and his colleagues decided to enter the market with the idea of a peer-to-peer lending platform. At that time, quick loan companies dominated the market, so he knew it wouldn’t be easy. The business model itself seemed unfamiliar to many people and did not inspire trust.
“In the lending business, there’s a classic “chicken and egg” problem – to lend, you need capital, but to attract capital, you first need to prove that the business model works. At that time, we saw that the peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding model effectively solves this problem. It requires significant investment in IT systems, attracting investors, and serving them, but we weren’t afraid of that and set out to create it,” recalls the financial market expert.
Today, D.Noreika admits that one of the key factors in his business growth is the significantly changed societal habits over the past decade.
As an example, he cites investors who, in the past, were mostly young people interested in technology and looking for alternative investment methods. Meanwhile, today both students and older people invest, for whom investing previously seemed too complex or risky.
However, even more importantly, according to D.Noreika, is that over the past decade, public financial literacy has significantly increased, which can be identified as one of the key factors that helped many companies operating in the financial market grow.
“If people used to simply keep money in a bank account, today more and more of them are interested in investing, risk management, and financial planning. I believe that the growth of the “fintech” sector, the emergence of various investment apps, and reduced entry barriers have had a significant impact on this. Investing or seeking financing opportunities has become simpler, faster, and more accessible to practically everyone,” he reflects.
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It took time to realize the business had grown
Today, the entrepreneur, who feels strong in the “fintech” market, reveals that even after entering a faster growth phase, it still seemed that the business was small and only growing. Only at the beginning of last year did he realize the current scale of the business, and this was further contributed to by the moment when the company’s loan portfolio exceeded the 100 million euro mark.
“Only at such moments did the realization come that we are no longer a niche player. Essentially, we only managed to understand how much the business had grown when we saw that we were already surpassing some market participants, whom we could only dream of overtaking once,” smiles D.Noreika.
He considers that the strengthening Lithuanian “fintech” ecosystem over the past decade also contributed to the growth – talents, technology specialists, risk management experts, and investors.
Today, “Finbee” manages a loan portfolio of over 115 million euros, and the team employs 76 professionals in their field. The platform unites a community of over 70,000 residents, businesses, and investors. This year, “Finbee” attracted an investment from the unicorn “Tesonet”. The company is also a member of the Lithuanian Fintech Association. This is the largest “fintech” community in the Baltic States.
Don’t be afraid to start and don’t overdo it in pursuit of perfection
Although the growth of the company founded by Darius and his colleagues over a decade seems impressive, Darius himself remains modest and believes that any business can grow successfully through trials, errors, continuous learning, and changes.
“The most important thing is not to be afraid to start. It often seems that before starting, you need to know all the answers, have a perfect plan or an ideal product. Although in reality, businesses usually grow by going through various challenges and looking for ways to overcome them,” he is convinced.
On the other hand, according to the entrepreneur, it is very important not to overdo it in pursuit of perfection. A perfect result, according to him, is impossible to achieve, so it is much more significant to start moving, talk to customers, hear their needs, and be able to adapt.
Finally, the entrepreneur advises choosing a team responsibly.
“A good business is rarely built by the efforts of one person. Only when you have people you can trust by your side does it become easier to make decisions, survive difficult stages, and grow faster,” says D.Noreika.
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