Meet Alex da Silva, Product Lead And SaaS66 Judge

Alex da Silva is a Product Leader with vast years of experience building and delivering digital products ranging from payment solutions to financial accounting solutions. Alex holds an MBA from the prestigious Aston Business School and works at Thomson Reuters as a Product Manager where he leads product development and integrations for one of Thomson’s Reuter’s flagship products.

Alex is also a product mentor and member of Tech London Advocates and Global Tech Advocates.

Tell us about yourself

At Thomson Reuters, I lead product development and integrations with Accounting Firms and Banks across EMEA, North America and APAC regions for one of strategic/flagship fintech products, Confirmation for financial data verification. My background includes years in Fintech both in Africa and Europe spanning across Product development, Quality assurance, Product management and delivery. My career has been marked by a relentless pursuit of innovation and excellence, leading to the creation and successful launch of several globally-used products and features.

These products have not only achieved significant market penetration but have also revolutionized how financial services are delivered and consumed. The joy of building and managing products that have scaled to support businesses globally, helping financial partners streamline their business processes and improving efficiency is one I take pride in. I am a Product Mentor and a member of Tech London Advocates and Global Tech Advocates.

I love to be around and interact with tech enthusiasts as I am passionate about ideas that challenge current systems and as they are turned to reality, the opportunity to grow/scale further always excites me. Change is a continuous motivator for me, I like technology innovations that trigger change as well as societal and industry changes that trigger technology development and advancement.

What are you looking for from this year’s SaaS66 entrants?

In this year’s SaaS66, I am eager to see entrants who push the boundaries of innovation while maintaining a strong focus on customer needs. I am looking for startups that bring a fresh perspective to solving existing problems, particularly those that can demonstrate a clear and compelling value proposition.

Scalability and sustainability are also key factors; I want to see business models that are not only viable today but have the potential to grow and adapt in the future. I’m interested in seeing how entrants are able to show consistent use of market data for holistic and creative problem-solving. I would like to see entrants present clear visions that stand out for innovative and robust solutions tand effectively translate their vision into executable roadmaps.

Any advice for SaaS entrants this year?

To this year’s entrants, my first piece of advice is to stay customer-focused. Understand the pain points and needs of your users better than anyone else, and ensure your solution is tailored to address these effectively. This customer-centric approach should be evident in every aspect of your business, from product development to marketing strategies.

Innovation is important, but simplicity can be just as powerful. Don’t overcomplicate your solution; the best products often solve problems in the most straightforward and user-friendly way possible. Secondly, be prepared to showcase not just your product, but the traction and validation you have achieved thus far. Investors and judges want to see that there is real demand for your solution and that you have a strategy for acquiring and retaining customers. Innovation is important, but simplicity can be just as powerful.

Don’t overcomplicate your solution; the best products often solve problems in the most straightforward and user-friendly way possible. Good luck to all the entrants! I’m looking forward to seeing the groundbreaking solutions you have to offer.