Podcast · Episode 13
Inside the FinTech Innovation Lab
This time we learn about the Accenture FinTech Innovation Lab, the benefits of joining, and how to make an impression if you're applying to take part.
Episode Description
In episode 13 of the LFG! podcast, we chat with Chui Yan Yau, director of Accenture's FinTech Innovation Lab in London.
Chui talks us through the 12-week accelerator programme, which operates in New York, Hong Kong and São Paulo, and how fintechs can unlock their growth potential by finding the right partners, mentors, and institutions.
Chui walks us through the selection process for the cohort. There's no shortage of competition for the handful of places available, and here we get in insider's take on how to make an impression. There are many things you can do to stand out, but one thing is for certain; you need to focus on a fintech opportunity with demonstrable demand.
In 2026, this led to a cohort with specialisms in data and AI; digital assets and market infrastructure; risk, compliance and security; and customer propositions built for the next generation of consumers.
If you intend to make a great application to be part of the 2027 cohort, Chui explains how to do it and also how not to. She also provides a deep dive into what the programme offers and how the 100+ hours of coaching will improve your sales and go-to-market, enterprise readiness, investment readiness and fundraising.
Applications for the next cohort open in September. Make sure to give this podcast a listen if you're keen to apply.
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This transcript was produced with transcription software and lightly edited for readability. It may contain errors and might not be a word-for-word record of the conversation. If anything looks off, the audio and video are the definitive version.
Hello everyone, and welcome to LFG. I'm Ian Horne, and today we have an interview that's right in the sweet spot for Let Fintech Grow. I say that as I'm joined by Chui Yan Yau, Tech Innovation Strategy Manager at Accenture and Director of the Fintech Innovation Lab London, which is what we're going to be talking about today. So Chui has been running this year's cohort for the lab, which has just closed, and it brought together some of the most dynamic fintech startups in the country. I think we can get inside some trends from this, but more importantly, in my opinion, or at least from this podcast's perspective, the hurdles and opportunities that today's founders are facing. So, Chui, I have high hopes, no pressure. Welcome to LFG.
Good afternoon everyone. My name is Chui. Ian already gave a perfect introduction of what I do. So I'm a Tech Innovation Strategy Manager at Accenture, and I run the lab for this year. My background is always in financial services innovation, digital transformation, digital assets, emerging technologies. And then this year I had the privilege to work with some of the amazing fintechs in the UK fintech ecosystem. So yeah, it was a really great experience.
Amazing. And from your own perspective, obviously doing digital assets and things like that, it sounds like you've been at the bleeding edge of innovation for quite some time now.
Yeah, literally. I've been at Accenture for eight years now. I was in the innovation team and started getting involved in blockchain technologies, and I found it really interesting. Because we're always interested in emerging technologies, the Fintech Innovation Lab is really closely aligned to what we do. So I got a message from one of the leadership asking if anyone was interested in running the lab for the 2026 cohort. I was like, "Yeah, I'm interested." So that's why I started it. And it was an amazing year of experience, working with the fintechs and also running the three-month programme.
Let's just do a quick overview, to get it from you rather than from me. The Fintech Innovation Lab, I've been aware of it for many years. I've never been heavily involved with it, or even close; I've never actually been to a session. I'd love to know more about it. So could you tell the listeners more about what you do?
Yes. So the Fintech Innovation Lab was first established in New York, and then we had the London lab established in 2012. Since then, we've been running the lab every year. The Fintech Innovation Lab programme is a 12-week accelerator, funded by Accenture, and it's designed to connect high-potential fintechs with Accenture partners and financial institutions and our industry mentors. The main aim is to help these startups validate their product-market fit, refine their propositions, build meaningful industry relationships with financial institutions, and accelerate their growth.
That sounds really, really valuable, and that's a very cool thing. In time, anyone who listens further will hear how you can get involved, of course, and we'll talk about some success stories too. But what I'd like to know is: this year you've had, is it 12 or 13 companies? Fourteen. Okay, great, so 14 companies. I'd like to know how you select those people. Do they apply to you, do you scout them, or is there something else entirely?
Yeah, so we selected these 14 fintechs from over 200 applications. At the beginning of this financial year, we interviewed more than 30 clients to understand their strategic priorities. At the same time, we scout fintechs in the relevant areas, and startups looking at innovative technologies to solve real industry problems. From there, we then selected some of them for client scoring. After the client-scoring assessment, we select them for our full-on interview week, we invite them to come and do a pitch and demo. On the scoring panel we have our mentors, we have our Accenture clients who are interested in the innovation area, and we also have Accenture leadership and SMEs in relevant areas to score these startups. And from there we select 10 to 14 fintechs every year to form the cohort. This year we have 14 fintechs across the areas of data and AI; digital assets and market infrastructure; risk, compliance and security; and next-generation customer propositions. So these are the areas of fintech really closely aligned to what the financial institutions are interested in, and to the other tech trends currently on the market.
That's absolutely fascinating, starting from a position of demand, knowing who your clients are looking for, and then choosing from that. I think that's a really sensible starting point. But can you go into more detail on those areas? Obviously you've given me the headline names for them, but what are clients saying to you? What kind of pain points did they want resolved?
Yeah. So we're seeing a lot of companies wanting to see real, well, enterprise solutions. They're not just looking at experimentation. Most of the time, they'd like to see the fintechs already have an MVP, or a prototype, or a live solution, so that they can definitely work with them. One of the highlights of our programme is the key relationships we have with our Accenture partners who can potentially work with these startups. So we'd like to see the startups already have a prototype and a real-life solution. We're seeing a lot of firms moving beyond experimentation and focusing on real enterprise adoption, governance, trust and operational value. Especially in data and AI, it's not just about experimentation but more about real use cases: AI governance, infrastructure, agentic AI, enterprise onboarding automation. In the digital assets area, we see a lot of interest in digital currency, digital money and tokenisation. In risk, compliance and security, we're seeing a lot of traction and interest in cybersecurity, cyber risk, compliance automation and operational resilience. And in next-generation customer propositions, we're seeing interest in open banking, financial wellbeing and better advice. So we have all of these in our cohort this year. We also involve our Accenture SMEs to give them an industry perspective, so they can get prepared to work with financial institutions and our Accenture clients.
Very, very cool. And actually, those themes really mesh well with what I've been seeing in the Fintech Scout piece I do every week on the newsletter, these are exactly the areas where companies are coming from. But you also speak to something relatable to me, which is receiving 200 applications and having to sift it down to 14. It intuitively reminds me of my work at Money20/20, when I'd receive a thousand-plus speaking applications and have to pick a small selection of people from that group. So I'd like to ask: if someone is trying to apply to be part of the cohort, what does a good application look like?
Right, very good question. So we're looking for an application with a pitch deck, and it would be great to see a demo or a pitch video, because that helps us understand the founders, the actual solutions they're selling, and the technology they're trying to build. We're also looking specifically at product differentiation, what's the problem statement they have, what's the USP they'd like to articulate, what's the value proposition, and do they already have traction with some of the financial institutions? Which enterprises are they looking to partner with? So I think these are some of the key things we look at when we filter through all the applications.
Yeah, I can see that as well. I'm increasingly seeing companies speak about what they're actually doing versus what they say they're going to do, and I think that, certainly if you're looking to join these schemes, appears to be more important than ever. I guess the flip side is: what should people avoid doing? Again, I received some wild applications for Money20/20. I had someone apply to pretend to be a shaman, for instance, which I thought would have been great, I would have loved to have seen it, but I wasn't going to put my neck on the line and be the person who booked a shaman. I'm not expecting you had anything like that, but if someone is trying to apply, what should they avoid doing?
I think, avoid not filling in the key questions we ask them to fill in. So, literally
People always do that, don't they? People always just leave things blank.
Yeah, because I know the founders are really busy. We did have feedback from some of them saying our application form is too long, so we're trying to refine it a little for next year, so that it's really asking the key questions that determine whether the application goes through or not. But at the same time, we'd appreciate the founders really filling in the application form, so we don't falsely remove an application. And also, make sure they have a pitch deck, rather than sending us a website link, because the pitch deck and the official website are very different. We don't really understand that much from the official website, whereas the pitch deck and the video they've created help us understand a lot better what their product is, and the solutions they're trying to build. So that massively helps us go through the details of the startup's application.
Yeah, I enjoy this, you're speaking to certain things that I like talking about. On the marketing side, differentiation, which you mentioned earlier, is really crucial in today's market. But then also, as you say, actually putting the time in to explain what you do, be it through a deck or your website or whatever else, is really important. And I'm always astonished that people don't fill in the forms, because if you're going to get someone to commit resource to what you're doing, surely you fill the form in. But that's my own gripe, from years of doing this. I also know they can take a long time, it's just one of those things. Your process sounds sensible to me, anyway. I haven't tried to fill in the form, but who knows, maybe one day I'll have a reason to. So I guess the next thing is to go to the accelerator itself. What kind of support do you offer to founders?
So, normally over the three months of the programme, we help the founders in the areas of sales and go-to-market strategy, enterprise readiness, investment readiness, fundraising and proposition development. We create a programme that involves workshops delivered by mentors or our Accenture partners. And we collaborate with our clients to organise partner days, where these startups are invited to the client's office to pitch to executives, or do a deep-dive session with their SMEs, to help them validate their value proposition or positioning in the market. So they can iterate on it, based on the feedback they get from the SMEs. Over the programme, we'll have more than a hundred hours of coaching and mentoring sessions, not only from the workshops and partner days we organise, but we also assign them mentors who are ex-founders, or very credible in the industry, or ex-executives of large enterprises, or investors themselves, to give the startups feedback on how to pitch in terms of investment readiness and enterprise readiness.
Yeah, that's really comprehensive, and definitely useful stuff. What is it that founders have a habit of getting wrong? I can imagine you're flooding them with advice, which is great. So what are the common mistakes you see people making before they enter the programme?
The core mistake during the programme, do you mean?
Before the programme, because they're obviously coming to you, what's the thing that founders maybe need the most guidance on that you can help with?
Okay. So I think the founders are looking for enterprise partnership and adoption, because one of the key highlights of our programme is the client relationships and partnerships we can offer to the fintechs. Most of the fintechs in the programme are B2B or B2B2C business-model startups. So they're really looking for the client relationships, and they want to talk to these clients as soon as possible, to establish a relationship and potentially have the opportunity to work with them, do a POC, or further deploy their solution with the enterprise. But I think one of the key things we'd like to give the founders is: we ask them to be patient, and make sure they get all the feedback from the workshops and mentors, to refine their proposition and go-to-market strategy, so they're more prepared to talk to the clients. And also to help them refine their pitches, so they're more targeted and focused. We also want the founders to be a bit more coachable, so they can take in all the critical or constructive feedback given by our mentors. So these are some of the things we'd really like the founders to have when they join the programme, because that's really key for them throughout, since a lot of mentors and partners will be giving them feedback.
Yeah, absolutely. I think asking for feedback is moderately hard, but actually receiving feedback is genuinely difficult, especially if you're a founder looking to run your own business, or you've held senior roles for years. But what do you think is the biggest misconception most founders have about their own business, what is it that people get wrong about what they're doing?
I think one of the common mistakes I see is that they can't really articulate their storyline well, even though they have a really good technology. If they can't make the business people understand what they're doing, it's really hard for them to sell their solution, even though they have a really cool product. If the buyers don't understand what they're actually solving, what the business outcome is they're trying to achieve, it's a bit hard for the startups to keep going, they just wouldn't be able to get traction.
I love that. So basically, hire a storyteller, which I'm happy to work on board with, because that is one of the services I offer as a freelancer, in case anyone cares. Thank you for that wonderful setup. And just to be clear, I keep drilling down on what people get wrong, but it's not that I want people to get stuff wrong. It's more that I can imagine, if you don't join the cohort, or don't join an accelerator like this, what is that bit of feedback they're not getting right? What's the lesson to learn? Because people can build brilliant things, but then, like you say, they don't necessarily know how to position it, or how to distribute it, or forge partnerships. So it's all really valuable stuff. I don't know if you're able to do this, but could you provide an example of a company you've worked with, either this year or a previous year, where you can point to real value you've added?
Yeah. I think I can mention Veris, who just won our "One to Watch" award this year. Veris create a solution that is a trust and governance layer for AI agents. They help organisations verify capability before deployment, and ensure accountable behaviour in production. They were really good at pitching, they used a very simple example to articulate their story, what they're doing. They address a very critical challenge in enterprise AI adoption lately. They help organisations have more confidence, oversight and control as autonomous agents become embedded in most enterprise business operations. So it resonated really well with banks, because successful AI adoption increasingly depends not just on performance but also on governance, transparency and risk management. They were really good at articulating what they're doing and how they can deploy it to different enterprises in their business workflows. So we helped them engage with most of our partners, and a lot of the feedback was that their solution was really relevant, and the partners were very interested in discussing next steps with Veris.
And I think there must be so much interest in AI this year, and that's reflected in the cohort you've just had. What kind of support do you offer for an AI business? Because it's still quite an early space, right? There are AI experts notionally, but I think most of us are just figuring out where this all goes. So how do you support an AI business effectively?
So, other than our partners and our mentors, we also have Accenture SME support. We've engaged with our data and AI practice's Accenture SMEs to give industry insights to these startups. Our SMEs give them insight into the challenges the enterprise financial institutions are facing, and the potential opportunities and strategic themes those financial institutions are looking for. So we try to give a bit more insight, and help them approach the financial institutions and with enterprise adoption. So those are some of the support we're trying to give the startups.
And I'd like to look at a more human angle now, because you clearly have a passion for working with startups and scale-ups, and you've no doubt learnt a lot being so close to them and helping them through their journey. With that in mind, what are the biggest lessons you personally would pass on to founders of fintech companies?
I think, definitely, what I just mentioned before: being coachable and iterating quickly. It's really important that they listen to advice, and this will help them refine their proposition, go-to-market approach and customer messaging, which is the storyline I was talking about earlier. And then, make sure they have a clear use case and value proposition, because most of the time the buyers won't just buy the technology, they buy the solution to a specific business problem. So if they can clearly articulate the problem they're trying to solve, and the measurable value they're trying to deliver, that will help them create a bit more market traction. And one last thing is to make sure they have a defensible moat. A good idea isn't enough. Founders need to understand what makes their business difficult to replicate, especially as the AI world is moving really fast. They need a differentiation: why do we need to use you, rather than building it ourselves, or using other AI firms or solutions? So that would be really key.
Yeah, the defensible moat point, I think, is crucial, especially for software and software-as-a-service. That's a massive thing now. The other thing is, as I said, you're passionate about this area. Do you ever get the urge to found your own fintech? Have you ever been tempted?
Not yet, but very tempted to. You definitely need to have the passion and ambition to build a solution. A lot of founders build their own business because they saw a specific industry problem in the area they were working in, and they were trying to create their own solution to resolve those big challenges. So, not yet, but maybe potentially one day I'd love to establish my own business.
Amazing. A question about London as well, because obviously the lab spans different countries, but the one you're working on is in London. Do you still feel like London is one of the key places to be for a startup? I have a feeling you're going to say yes, I can see you nodding. But everyone can tell, listening from my accent, that I'm British. We love talking ourselves down; we do that almost professionally, don't we? So can you say something nice about London, please?
Yes, definitely. We actually receive a lot of applications in the UK and in Europe. The London market is really a big market for people not just in the UK but in Europe, which is why we open up our Fintech Innovation Lab London to countries outside the UK. This year we actually have five startups from outside the UK, one from New York, one from Lithuania, one from France, one from Ireland, and one from Switzerland. So, definitely, the UK is one of the biggest fintech hubs globally. And the US market is also one of the key areas for fintechs to expand to, which is why we have the Fintech Innovation Lab New York, which was established before London. Sometimes we get referrals from the New York lab for startups who'd like to expand to the UK market, and sometimes we refer our startups to the New York lab when they want to expand to the US.
Yeah, that's cool, the cross-pollination between the groups is really interesting.
Yeah. I want to mention as well, we actually have a Hong Kong lab in APAC, and we've recently established the fourth lab, in Brazil, São Paulo, so we'll have traction there too.
Great stuff, that's awesome. For people listening in who'd like to get involved with the next cohorts, how can they do that?
So, we normally open our applications in September and October. We've just finished our 2026 cohort programme, so we're doing some preparation work for next year. We'll announce the application opening on our LinkedIn page, Fintech Innovation Lab London, in the September and October time. We'd love any referrals and applications to our lab. Normally referrals are the best quality we receive, so we'd love our fintech ecosystem to refer any quality, good fintechs they've seen in the innovation area.
Great stuff. I think that referral point is such a good bit of knowledge to pass on, and it's good that it makes a difference, so people know that. And look, I think that brings us more or less to an end. Is there anything else you'd like to add before I wrap this one up?
No, not really. I think it's been a really great year working with all the fintechs. They're very passionate. I'm really glad that our Fintech Lab is not just helping the startups build great technologies, we're helping them build technology that financial institutions actually want to buy and deploy. So it's been really great. We got a lot of positive feedback from our startups, our mentors and our partners about how organised and structured our programme is, and how much good relationship they've established through the programme. So it's really great to hear all the feedback we've got.
Thank you. Great to hear that it's been successful, and that you've heard all that nice stuff. And again, a reminder to anyone listening who's interested: reach out and apply if you'd like to be part of it. So thank you, Chui. It's been a lot of fun chatting with you, and thank you for sharing your thoughts. Likewise, thank you to everyone who's listened in. Make sure to subscribe to the LFG podcast and newsletter, your support will be massively appreciated. Until next time, it's goodbye from me.