Alana Parsons hails from Essex and is the COO of fintech company Caxton and CEO of Nimbl. She started her career during Easter when on a break from college. As part of the start-up team at Caxton, Alana quickly realised her passion for fintech and her head for business and now, 21 years later, Alana reflects on her journey and what she feels makes a successful businesswoman.
Q1: Can you tell us a little about your background and your company?
“I started this journey 21 years ago during my Easter holidays. I was studying to be a legal secretary when the opportunity to get into the working world briefly arose. I worked as an administrator, sending faxes, dealing with the post etc, but it wasn’t long before I realised how much enjoyment I was getting from my work. I decided I wanted a career in business. Caxton was a Fintech before Fintech was even a thing, but I had a passion for it, so I decided to stay and work with Caxton, a start-up at the time.”
“Since then I have taken all the opportunities that have come my way and worked in numerous roles in the company, eventually becoming COO. Then, two years ago, I wanted to start a pocket money card for children and we acquired Nimbl. My experience in product and B2C made me a good fit for CEO of Nimbl which is now going from strength to strength.”
Q2: How did you create awareness for your brand?
“How we go about raising awareness of both Caxton and Nimbl, is the core of our business strategy. I and my team believe that our customers are the heart of our business and it is how we treat them that fuels our growth. When we treat our customers with the respect and kindness they deserve, we find awareness is driven organically. We don’t have millions of pounds to spend on fancy campaigns, we keep it simple and strive to be there when our customers need us. That is what keeps them coming back whilst also raising awareness of what we do.”
Q3: What strategies helped you secure funding and scale your business?
“Caxton has always been a private company, built on a strong ‘bootstraps’ mentality from the very beginning. As an early entrant to the market, we started in payments when our only competition was banks. We were the second-ever payment card introduced in the UK, following the Post Office, establishing a lasting legacy with our customers.”
“We keep this alive by continuing to scale through innovative strategies and mutually beneficial partnerships. For example, a lot of the growth work we are doing for Nimbl relies on the strong database that we’ve built over the years. We can reach out to schools and offer financial education knowing that they already trust in our brand.”
Q4: What have been your biggest successes so far?
“Looking back and seeing how much I have learned in the last 21 years is crazy. The fact that I have done it all with the same company is amazing and the businesswoman I have become makes me proud. Covid was one of the toughest periods for Caxton but we pivoted and are now stronger for it. How we all pulled together during that time was a huge success and brought us closer as a team.”
Q5: What challenges have you faced, and how did you overcome them?
“I remember just before covid, we had to migrate our database to new a provider as the existing one was pulling out of the market. Midway through this huge task we were thrown a curveball with the pandemic and had to pause temporarily. When we resumed, we managed to instigate a large live migration with no disruption to our customers. I remember the relief and sense of accomplishment having navigated such a tricky task in an environment so different to the one we first started in.”
“My approach to overcoming challenges is to embrace them. Challenges are often seen as negatives but I like to view them as opportunities. Over the years I have had to face many challenges and in doing so, have become a stronger and better leader.
If you see a challenge as something to be fixed and then succeed, there is no greater feeling but you need to have the right mindset.”
Q6: What are your plans for the future?
“As the CEO of Nimbl, I want to focus on its growth for current and future users. There is so much potential at our fingertips and I want to use it to innovate our products and services. I want to give parents the tools to help navigate their children through their financial journey so that when they go out into the world, they know about savings and investments, tax and paying the bills. I see Nimbl as an opportunity to help create a financially sustainable future for younger generations so we have a lot to do.”
Q7: What advice would you give to aspiring female entrepreneurs?
Believe in yourself and trust your gut. If you feel that the direction you are going in is the right one, then don’t be swayed by other opinions. Use them to help you navigate and improve your journey but don’t be dissuaded from doing something if you feel it’s right.
Q8: What are your top three tips for entrepreneurial success?
- “Whatever it is that you’re starting, it needs to solve a problem. Make sure your product or service is a solution for your target demographic. That’s the only way you’ll build a solid business.”
- “Build a strong network. You don’t have to be the best at everything but you should try to be a good leader. Surround yourself with the right people who can help you grow.”
- “It may seem obvious but you need to have a customer-first mindset. If your customer isn’t happy, forget it.”
Q9: Who are five people who inspire you the most, and why?
“I am constantly inspired by the people around me personally and in business. It is my goal every day to be a sponge and soak in the successes of others so that I can learn, adapt and grow. I have picked three famous women however, who have consistently inspired me throughout my career.
- Emma Grede is a businesswoman from East London, near where I grew up, and I find her story so inspirational. She comes from humble beginnings and has worked her way up to being co-owner of some of the world’s biggest brands like Skims. I also love her take on empowerment and have a lot of time for what she has to say.
- Karren Brady is another woman I highly admire. In a male-dominated profession, she is breaking boundaries every single day. She is chair of the football club I support, Westham United F.C. and of course, does a lot of work supporting women in business.
- Arianna Huffington is a woman I admire for her sheer determination and resilience. When she wanted to publish her second book she was turned down by 36 publishers and still picked herself back up and kept trying. She didn’t let failure win and believed in herself. She went on to get her book deal and of course, founded The Huffington Post!”
Q10: What are your favourite inspirational or motivational quotes?
- “Fearlessness is not the absence of fear. It’s the mastery of fear. It’s about getting up one more time than we fall down.” “This is by Arianna Huffington and is a testament to her journey. I am always motivated by her sheer will to just keep trying.”
- “Success doesn’t come from what you do occasionally, it comes from what you do consistently.” “This one is by Marie Forleo, an American entrepreneur and again, highlights that trying and consistency are the biggest hallmarks of success.”
- “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” “I love this quote by writer Mark Twain, it is something that has stuck with me my whole life. When you get started, don’t wait for something to be perfect, just go for it! There is nothing worse than realising it’s too late.”
Q11: Where can our readers connect with you?
“You can find me on LinkedIn! I am always happy to connect with other women in business – we have a lot to learn from each other.”
