The fintech hiring landscape has changed significantly over the past two years, especially at leadership level. Both companies and candidates feel the pressure – the market has become more competitive, more selective, and much less forgiving when decisions take too long.
To understand what it takes to build winning teams in this environment, we spoke with Anastasia Zencika, founder and CEO of Evotym, a European recruitment agency that specialises in fintech recruitment, executive search, and outstaffing, working with businesses of every size – from startups to scale-ups and larger enterprises.
With over 10 years in fintech, more than 1000 interviews conducted personally, and 100+ successful hires across 10+ countries, Anastasia knows firsthand what makes the difference between a great hire and an expensive mistake.
She will be sharing her insights on this topic at HIPTHER Baltics: Riga on 11 May 2026.
Rushed hiring is the most expensive shortcut in fintech
Most hiring problems begin long before the first interview. A company urgently needs someone to “manage accounts,” so they bring in a junior hire to send invoices. Six months down the line, they discover what they truly needed was someone who could automate the entire invoicing workflow – a completely different role with a far greater long-term impact.
This happens because the pressure to fill a gap right now gets in the way of thinking about what that role should actually look like a year from now. When a fintech company is growing fast, priorities shift quickly – and the tasks you’re hiring for today might not be the tasks that matter most by the time your new hire has settled in. The numbers make the cost painfully clear: 70% of fintech companies say they struggle to find the right talent, the best candidates are usually off the market within 10 days, and yet companies take around 40 days to make a hiring decision. When you add up recruiter fees, stakeholder time, interview cycles, delayed projects, team burnout, and leadership distraction, an executive hiring round can easily start at €100000 in total business cost.
“The goal isn’t the cleanest CV match – it’s finding the person who can move the business forward,” says Anastasia Zencika. “Executive hiring should always start with a business problem, not a job title.”
The takeaway is simple: always hire for the role that will still be relevant and impactful 12-24 months from now, not just the problem sitting on your desk today. Before posting a vacancy, map out your growth plan and figure out which hires will actually accelerate the company towards its next milestone – whether that’s entering a new market, adopting new technology, or scaling customer acquisition.
Match the person to the stage – not the title
One of the most common mistakes in fintech recruitment is assuming the same title means the same job. It doesn’t. A Head of Sales at a 15-person startup is building the entire sales engine from scratch – prospecting, closing, hiring the first reps, and iterating the playbook in real time. The same title at a 300-person scale-up means aligning a mature commercial function with the company’s broader strategic goals, mentoring senior managers, and shaping how sales operates across the business. The expectations, working environment, and definition of success are entirely different – even though the job title looks the same on paper.
Each growth stage demands a different type of person. At the early stage, you need people who are not afraid to start from scratch – generalists willing to experiment, test, and take initiative across different tasks. Once the company starts growing, the most impactful hires are often mid-senior specialists: people with enough experience to avoid common mistakes but still hands-on enough to ship work and lead small teams. They’re the bridge between startup chaos and scalable operations. At the scaling stage, you need strategic leaders who think across markets, functions, and timelines – people experienced in managing complexity, not just executing tasks.
The strongest fintech teams blend seasoned professionals who have navigated regulatory complexity with high-potential newcomers who are ready to be challenged. Experienced hires bring credibility, networks, and calm under pressure. Newer talent brings energy, adaptability, and fresh thinking. Pairing them intentionally is what keeps a team both grounded and moving forward.
But skills and experience are only part of the picture. Cultural fit matters just as much, and it’s often the part that gets overlooked. A technically brilliant candidate who doesn’t match the pace, communication style, or decision-making culture of the team will struggle regardless of how strong their CV looks.
“We’ve seen that ex-bankers, for instance, often struggle in fintech environments,” Anastasia notes. “They’re used to hierarchy and formal processes, and they find the pace and improvisation overwhelming. That doesn’t mean they’re less capable – it means the context has to be right. When you’re hiring, always ask whether this person will thrive in how your team actually works, not just in what the role requires on paper.”
Onboarding is where winning teams are actually made
Even the best hire can get lost without a solid onboarding experience. The first two weeks shape how a person sees the company, and the first 90 days determine whether they become a high-impact team member or quietly disengage. Companies that share the big picture from day one, set clear success metrics, and let the new hire co-create their own plan see faster results and stronger retention.
“Prioritise hiring as if your future depends on it – because it does,” says Anastasia Zencika. “But the work doesn’t end when the offer is signed. If onboarding is rushed or unclear, even the best hire can feel lost before they’ve started.”
Strong people build strong teams
In fintech, your team is the thing that determines whether you succeed or fall behind. Every hire is a strategic decision, not a box to tick. The companies that get this right are the ones that hire with a clear plan, match people to business stages rather than titles, and onboard with real intention. They treat the entire process as something deeply human, because it is.
This article covers the foundations, but there is much more that goes into building a winning fintech team: where to find the best candidates when they’re not on job boards, how to write job descriptions that attract the right people, what to look for in interviews, and which red flags should make you pause.
Anastasia Zencika will go deeper into all of these on the TechXperience stage at HIPTHER Baltics: Riga on 11 May 2026, 10:30–11:00. Save your spot here.
