Gareth Lewis is the Founder and Co-Chief Executive of Delio, a fintech company that is transforming private markets by providing the digital infrastructure for leading financial institutions worldwide. He co-founded Delio in 2015 at the age of 25, and since then the company has grown to serve over 50 financial institutions across 18 countries, including Barclays, Coutts, The Earthshot Prize and Apex Group. Founded in Cardiff, Wales, Delio has defied conventional fintech norms by building a globally recognised business outside major financial hubs.
Before establishing Delio, Gareth trained as a Chartered Accountant and gained experience in corporate finance roles at Ernst & Young, IBM and Convex Capital. In recognition of his impact on the industry, he was named one of the UK’s Top Young CAs by ICAS in 2019.
Under Gareth’s leadership, Delio has become a leading authority in the international wealthtech space. His expertise and vision have been instrumental in driving the company’s global expansion, positioning it at the forefront of digital transformation in private markets.
Tell us about Delio
Delio is commoditising the workflow technologies that firms need to effectively manage private markets distribution and reporting. Our B2B, non-conflicted positioning focuses on transforming how financial firms across asset class, geography and investor bases deliver their clients access to private markets in a way that’s personalised to their individual requirements. Our headquarters are in Cardiff, Wales, but we currently work across 18 regulatory jurisdictions around the world.
Our white-label operating system, Delio Core OS, enables our clients to manage the full private markets lifecycle – from deal origination and distribution through to compliance and reporting. We can also modularise the technology to tailor for particular use cases on a more turnkey basis, which is the essence of the recent launch of Delio Core Lite. This solution will lay the foundation for a more connected private markets ecosystem with the upcoming launch of DelioConnect, a decentralised infrastructure designed to drive greater efficiencies for the sharing of opportunities and data between financial firms on an institution to institution, product by product basis.
How did you come up with the idea for Delio?
When starting Delio almost ten years ago we saw first hand how firms were forced to rely on fragmented and manual processes when looking to do more in private markets. Current market offerings lagged in terms of innovation, when compared to what was happening elsewhere. In line with this, there was a real lack of “pipes and plumbing”, yet the growth trajectory of the industry was clear to us. That’s what sparked the idea for Delio and led to us looking to build the digital infrastructure that private markets were missing. We set out to create a business that not only helped firms improve end client experience, but also unlock new business opportunities by enabling them to connect, collaborate and scale their private market offering.
More from Interviews
- A Chat with Anton Zimarov, Co-Founder and CEO at Custom Software Development Company: Erbis
- Meet AI and Marketing Teacher, Will Francis
- Agile Transformation: Danila Vasilyev Busts 5 Typical Myths And Misconceptions
- Meet Dave Smallwood, UK MD at Financial Service Provider: Mollie
- A Chat with Nigel O’Neill, Founder and CEO at Independent Strategy Consultancy: Tarralugo.
- Meet Jamie Akhtar, CEO and Co-Founder at All-In-One Cybersecurity Platform: CyberSmart
- Smarter, Faster and Still Human AdTech – Interview With Peter Kireev of Reliz
- What Does AI Really Mean? Interview With Alexandre Wentzo, CEO of iGrafx
What is your advice to aspiring entrepreneurs?
Delio started from very humble beginnings, we had very little resources and a network to match, however our biggest tool was our grit and determination. At 25/26 nothing could have prepared me for the turbulence I experienced, you hear stories about how hard starting a business can be but until you have lived the experience it is but an abstract concept in comparison.
My advice – resolve yourself to the fact it will be a long journey with dizzying highs and lows. As long as you do your research and remain committed to your core goals then things will level out. Most importantly, take care of yourself – your best performance starts with your wellbeing. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is a successful business.
What most excites you about Delio?
Just the sheer amount of opportunity in the space in which we’re operating. There’s a lot of routes we can take for growth which although at times can be a blessing and a curse, it’s exciting though as decisions are impactful and make a difference. Delio is approaching a decade since being founded, and despite that I’ve probably got more conviction in the business than ever before given how the industry is developing. There’s certainly plenty to be keeping me going!
How has the company evolved over the last couple of years?
Delio was founded in 2015 with the purpose of giving financial institutions the tools that enable them to build their private market propositions in a way that works for them, with a focus on digital experience, scale and compliance. We’ve stayed true to our roots within a market full of comings and goings which has allowed us to deliver a broad range of cases and really keep up with the pace at which the industry is evolving.
There’s certainly been a lot of change over the years though and we’ve done our best to adapt and keep building, reacting quickly to individual client demands, whilst doing more to add value across the breadth of our client base. If I had to pick one aspect of Delio that has evolved the most, I would say it is the product. It’s a fine balance when sitting at the intersection of the multiple client types and being B2B focused, but I’m really proud of how far the product has come in recent times and it’s really paying dividends in the conversations I’m able to have with potential clients and partners. I think the team has been really smart in how we think about building a product that’s flexible.
What can we hope to see from Delio in the future?
There’s plenty to come I feel! The industry seems to be really buying into the need to improve workflow, uplift legacy systems and do more to enhance client experience which is where we play really well. We have some great projects going on with some household names that we hope to share more on in due course, whilst our vision to be the plumbing that connects the ecosystem holds true now more so than ever – so I hope you’ll see some updates there in the coming months.
