Celebrity endorsements have long been seen as vital in making products and brands go global. And in the world of FinTech, there isn’t a more influential figure than Venture Capitalist and Thought Leader, Spiros Margaris.
So when it was announced that Margaris had joined the advisory board on FinTech developer Glance Technologies (CSE:GET) (OTC:GLNNF), the fast-rising Restaurant payment app startup instantly began to reap the benefits of the Margaris’ popularity and notoriety.
Prior to the announcement at the end of September, shares in Glance were trading at $0.375. However, with the added boost of Margaris’ influence, the stock kissed the $0.80 mark.
Quite the climb for the company which only began last year, signing over 230 restaurants to use their flagship app Glance Pay. The technology has now run smoothly for 8 months in operation without a single incident of fraud.
However, despite its glowing track record, Glance had yet to receive such a significant boost, in such a short period of time. And the explanation for this climb can be summed up in one word: Exposure.
“Typically the biggest problem for FinTech startups, even in the case of Glance, is in getting publicity,” said Margaris, who’s followed by a highly-devoted Twitter following of nearly 35k followers.
“When I tell someone this is a good story, they’ll listen. They don’t always buy, but they always listen.”
A typical month for Margaris and his Twitter account will garner at least an average of 4.8 million engagements. When he tweets, people spring into action.
Margaris joins an already very competent Glance team that includes a pair of market heavyweights in its stable — co-founders Desmond Griffin (CEO) and Penny Green (COO).
Griffin’s prior successes especially drew Margaris’ attention given that Griffin grew his previous venture, PayByPhone, to service over 100 cities worldwide, and to its eventual sale.
But it was the persistent Green who reached out to Margaris to make the introduction, boasting her own reputation of recognition in excellence as one of Canada’s top entrepreneurs.
“I get approached a lot in my position,” says Margaris. “So I’m always polite and respond to the requests. All of a sudden you come across something that deserves a second look.”
“When I first spoke to Desmond and Penny, it was quite clear it could work.”
According to Margaris, the trio of himself, Griffin, and Green complement each other’s strengths considerably. Now the FinTech guru wants to see together what they can do.
“If you put me, Penny, and Desmond on a panel, the audience can truly ask us anything, and I know we’d cover all of their inquiries. With Desmond you can talk strategy, and Penny knows why some strategies work better than others. It’s a great team.”
Margaris is often ranked #1 in the world in terms of FinTech Influencers, according to the InsTech Top 100, and also consistently ranks in the top 3 in InsurTech.
It’s what Margaris says about the industry that makes people listen, and follow.
Banks love his insights, calling him “A king of fintech, blockchain and payment content.”
He’s given a Ted Talk, written for Forbes, and been on panels with heads of major German banks. In the growing niche world of FinTechs, Spiros is a household name.
But it’s now Glance Technologies and its flagship business Glance Pay that Margaris wants to be a household name.
“People start trusting a company when they know a name. The more familiar with a brand name we become, the better it is for that brand to grow,” says Margaris.
“And it’s in that that I’m in love with Glance’s simplicity and arena of business. In some ways it’s like Uber, in terms of convenience. However, I think that its placement in the restaurant business is something that could turn into a huge success story.”
Margaris especially likes the bluesky potential that Glance has, given that most of the company’s spread so far has been in Canadian markets, leaving a hungry and rushed American populace to grow towards serving.
Glance Pay allows users to easily and quickly send payments to any merchant on an app that’s not only easy for the customer to use, but for the merchant to install and utilize as well.
Much like Griffin’s previous venture PayByPhone’s arc, Glance Pay is on course for rapid expansion outward into several major cities internationally. Like PaybyPhone, Glance Pay began its journey in Griffin’s home of Vancouver, and has quickly spread far and wide, gaining new locations on a steady basis.
"Our merchants can be up and running very quickly without requiring custom costly and cumbersome hardware,” says Griffin.
“Merchants can just use their existing mobile phones or tablets, while still benefiting from of our secure proprietary anti-fraud technology."
Within the restaurant industry’s inner circles, Glance Pay is gaining a lot of traction. But it’s through Margaris that the Glance team hopes the word can spread further to the market.
“My impact on the stock will only increase. I’m like a laser flashlight, pointing at Glance,” says Margaris. “As long as they execute, that flashlight will drive the stock price higher.”
The next big milestone that Margaris sees for the company is a breakthrough in a major US market, citing New York as the perfect example of a market that could truly make the app’s public recognition (and stock price) take off.
“If they can replicate what they’ve already done in Canada, in the US and worldwide, it’ll be a billion-dollar company,” says Margaris with confidence.
“If it enters a major US centre at the beginning of next year, and executes in a popular state such as New York, I can see a $5 share price. The sky’s the limit.”
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