“One of the best assets our team brings to startups is that we know financial services so well. We have a broad network of relevant decision makers across the industry, and that can be a helpful sounding board for strategy and ideas. 

I know how important it can be to have a sounding board you trust. When I started my own company many years ago, I learned that I don’t like working alone. I need people around me to help me reach my own potential. It taught me that I would rather have a small role in something massive than the leading role in something really small. It’s horrifying to be the only person that cares. And it’s not that fun to be successful alone, not that it’s even really possible.  

The thing I’m most proud of is building this business—FVS—and assembling a team of amazing talent organized to help founders be successful. It’s a work in progress, but it certainly is a lot of fun!

I love the feeling of spotting amazing talent early and then seeing that person or team blow past even their own goals. Even having a marginal role in that kind of success is hard to beat.

The most successful early stage entrepreneurs I’ve known are fast and have the ability to keep people focused on singular goals. The really great founders are able to still observe new data points in that environment and make adjustments—often extreme ones—while keeping their teams focused. The first thing can be done lots of ways. The second thing requires a lot of humility."

—Ryan is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Restive. He has spent the last 15 years identifying, supporting and leading market-changing innovations in technology. Since 2015, he's invested in 40 early-stage fintech firms, which have grown to represent approximately $3 billion in aggregate equity value. Prior to founding Venture Studio, Ryan led the development of the Financial Solutions Lab, a partnership between JPMorgan Chase and the Financial Health Network. Before managing the Lab, Ryan worked with leading tech firms to develop payment solutions at Silicon Valley Bank. He also served as Strategy Group Lead at Enclude Solutions, overseeing global strategy consulting work around mobile-enabled financial products.

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