I
held off posting about FeatureSpace until actual completion (silly superstition but there you go!). The sale to Visa has been well trailed but regulatory approval was understandably necessary. That’s now happened. Congrats all.
FeatureSpace was born out of Cambridge University – the late Mike Lynch being a key part of the inauguration of the business. The UK is in debt to him and the late Prof Bill Fitzgerald for their visionary ability in creating Autonomy, Darktrace and Featurespace, to name but a few. In 2012, Mike introduced Martina King to Dave Excel, the co-founder of Featurespace and, as they say, the rest is history.
I met Martina at a dinner just after she had taken the CEO role. Martina’s experience was evident but what most stood out was her candor. At that time the business was exploring which market was most suitable for its technology. Martina never hid from that challenge. 4 years later the fit was clear – FeatureSpace would apply its behavioural analytics technology to detect financial fraud.
We were fortunate enough to lead a round of investment in 2017. We actually lost the initial deal before winning it back but that’s another story. Further investment came from Insight, Mission OG and Chrysalis. There is plenty of capital for successful companies in Europe.
More important was the product development and team evolution. Our solutions moved from on-prem to cloud, from detecting fraud to other financial scams and AML. The team expanded, winning on a global market. New leadership joined Martina to professionalise all areas. Forecasting became a precise art at all levels (a company that can predict the future is wonderful).
The Visa exit was over 2 years in the making. The hardest I’ve ever witnessed. A wonderful outcome for all. Yet there is a little regret: I will truly miss working with the FeatureSpace team. The last 7 years have been a great learning experience and good fun.
Massive thanks to all.
The awesome executive team: Martina King (world class leadership and cultural North Star); Dave Excel (clever chap); John Shipsey (mr accurate); Tim Vanderham; Rowan Link (always people focused); Pat Hitchin (mr delivery); Carolyn Humberger (USA all the way); Don Riddick (ridiculously good); Jus Palmanic (impactful and insightful); Kendra Rogers (always on message); Zoe Molloy (amazing coordination); Mark Andrews (kept us safe); David Sutton (innovations galore); Karthik Tadinada; Matt Mills
My fellow board members: Robert Sansom; Jon Edington; Lonne Jaffe; Gene Lockhart; Gardiner Gerrard; Nick Williamson; Len Laufer; Gordon Hurst
The awesome advisers: CitiGroup (Rahul Singla; Shiv Kak; Benjamin Perry) and Wilson Sonsini (Ross Davies; Martin Korman; Sarah Anne Jackson)
I apologise for those I’ve missed. No ill intentions just my memory reduction 😉
Finally a message to Visa. You’ve bought the best team and tech solution in the market. Congratulations.
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