In Candid Conversation with TBF , Ulrich Pietsch is the Founder of ecolytiq have shared some insightful views and highlighted the influences made by their company to be the most recommended fintech solution provider.
Q. Brief us about the Company journey of rich experience – origin, inception, early issues, success stories, and major milestones, to name a few.
ecolytiq was founded in March 2020 – when the world was shaken by the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic. Where others saw despair and gloom, the ecolytiq founders – David Lais and Ulrich Pietsch – saw hope. David and Ulrich founded ecolytiq in the deep belief that, notwithstanding the pandemic, climate change is an issue far too important to be ignored any longer. ecolytiq was founded on the principle that every bank transaction has an impact. Millions of consumers (= bank account owners) deserve transparency on their personal influence on the environment and guidance on what they can do every day to fight climate change. ecolytiq’s first major milestone was developing a software based on the Open Payment Standard by NGO ‘Organization for Sustainable Consumption’. More months of hard work flowed into the further development of both the product and the growth of the team from 4 dedicated employees to over 40 impact-driven people. In November last year, ecolytiq joined the Visa Fintech Partner Connect Programme, opening up new business opportunities all over the globe.
Q. Brief us about the CEO/Founder of the Company.
Throughout his life, Ulrich Pietsch has been fascinated by technology and started programming computers when he was only 10 years old.
Later on, he stuck to his childhood passion for technology, and has founded multiple companies that enable new, disruptive business models through software and digitalization.
Thinking about his next step and purpose in life, a triggering moment came about when watching a movie with his two sons about the future of the planet, explaining what would happen if humanity failed to solve the climate crisis. His sons started crying, and Ulrich decided to act and apply his knowledge in technology for the purpose of sustainability. He is convinced that technology is the game changer to tackle climate change on a broader basis.
Q. Kindly talk about the exclusive products or services offered by the Company, How does it distinguish you from your competitors?
ecolytiq offers three core products: ecoAware (where bank customers see their environmental footprint, e.g. CO2) for each bank transaction through their online banking), ecoEngage (bank customers learn what they can do right now to lower their carbon footprint and, through feedback loops, how their sustainability score is performing over time), and ecoAction (how people can offset their footprint by donating to certified sustainable organizations, plus the option to invest money into ESG funds). These three products are unique, because they incorporate the core ideas of sustainability: education and action. Sustainability-conscious consumers will be more inclined to consider ESG funds, which makes sustainability a strong business case for banks.
Q. What is the vision and mission of the Company?
We educate consumers about their individual impact on the environment and empower them to contribute to a better world. We offer Sustainability-as-a-Service for financial institutions.
Q. What is the present scenario of the Fintech sector? How are you contributing to making it better?
Investments are the land of milk and honey for banks. Instead of considering the climate crisis a “challenge”, banks should rather view it as the greatest opportunity. We are in dire need of completely overhauling our infrastructure, and this can only be accomplished through massive investments in the right areas. Banks need to recognize what the right investments are and which of those investments benefit our planet and our society. From a regulatory standpoint, this appears very complex at first. What is lacking, is transparency that many businesses still refuse to provide. “Data is the new gold” – which is true in many industries, but this approach does not support sustainability. Solving the climate crisis is a joint effort, which means that we must learn to share our data. Not personal information, but the crucial information that affects our impact on the environment. We need transparency and data – which is why digitalization is the key. The financial world can be a great pioneer in using existing data to create transparency, but also define new standards and requirements to encourage companies to share their sustainability data. FinTechs and banks are at the core of a sustainable tomorrow.
Q. What are the marketing strategies adopted by Company?
We are operating in a B2B2C business model: the customers, who purchase our Sustainability-as-a-Service software, are the banks and financial institutions. The benefit of our technology is for the consumer. Our business model is holistic and, through being a Visa Fintech Partner, we are currently rolling out our solution to banks in Europe and will be doing the same in the US this year.
Q. How do you portray the future of the Company in the next decade?
We want to enable thousands of banks offering Sustainability-as-a-Service to billions of consumers all over the globe and be the centre of change for a sustainable tomorrow.
Q. What advice would you give to the upcoming entrepreneurs and professionals?
Look for a purpose, something that leaves a positive impact in our world. “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Technology is a game changer, only with technology we can solve the climate change issue. Ulrich Pietsch has been an entrepreneur all his life – together with his co-founders, he built ecolytiq as a company of entrepreneurs, valuing creativity, sustainability and an unbroken belief that technology can be used for the greater good.
