IF THE CASHFLOW IS WEAK , OR THE INVESTMENT REQUIRED IN

THE PLATFORM IS TOO HIGH ,

THEN THE SUSTAINABILITY OF A COMPANY IS IN CONSTANT

JEOPARDY . perfectly suits our growing business . We have built a strong proposition on the Temenos platform and knowing that we can costeffectively scale our infrastructure to match our customer growth , we decided to extend our relationship an easy one .

We are wary of embedding cost in our business , so the subscription model – based on growing the business – works well for us . The knowledge that we can add preintegrated components to facilitate the launch of new features and products was a critical consideration in choosing to remain with Temenos as we move beyond our previous constraints with the fresh investment from Uphold .

Can you tell us more about your expansive growth plans and what the future of Optimus Cards looks like ?

Optimus aims to be a preferred supplier to its target audiences . We ’ ve no desire to be the next international monoline but do intend to make significant inroads into the chosen markets in the EEA and to build out our capability to support customers in the US .

I can see an operation headquartered in the UK , with a strong representation in the EEA , and a presence in the US . While spreadsheets can give us any answer we want , our growth plans are realistic and should see the company growing four or five-fold over the next two to three years . I want to make Optimus a strong and profitable contributor to the Uphold balance sheet and our European and US expansion is the key to achieving that goal .

In your opinion , what are the best practices for start-ups when looking to grow their portfolio ?

It ’ s a cliché , but cash ( flow ) is king . Ambition is great . Strong suppliers with scalable and flexible solutions are fine . Nice customers are a bonus . But if the cashflow is weak , or the investment required in the platform is too high , then the sustainability of a company is in constant jeopardy .

It ’ s always tempting to go above and beyond to support a customer as they grow their own market , if they ’ re not settling their invoices on time , then it ’ s no use pretending that it ’ ll all be fine next month . Quite reasonably your own suppliers will demand payment for their invoices on time and inadvertently providing credit to customers to support their growth is unlikely to prove to be a winning strategy – it almost invariably ends badly . �

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