WOMEN IN FINANCE
Chermaine Hu Business: Episode Six Founded in: 2015 About the Business: Episode Six is creating fresh and innovative technology for financial uses and payments products that give consumers and businesses the best experiences possible. episodesix.com
Chermaine Hu entered the fintech realm after a 14-year career in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) banking at Morgan Stanley in London and New York. Though her stint at Morgan Stanley was fulfilling and successful, Hu knew she had to make the switch to fintech, a sector that includes any technology utilized in the financial services industry, if she wanted to have more ownership in the company she worked for and oversight into the results she helped produce. When looking into the industry, Hu remembered John Mitchell and Futeh Kao, her former coworkers from a payments technology company. The trio had bonded over a mutual vision of redefining what’s possible in financial services and payments industries. So in 2015, with that inventive goal in mind, they decided to found Episode Six, a company that gives banks, fintechs and brands freedom to quickly design and bring payment propositions to market. They were going to change everything, and with Episode Six, Hu can confidently say they did just that. According to Hu, the payments and banking industry had been burdened by outdated legacy systems for an unfortunately long time. So she and her co-founders have worked to open up opportunities to streamline payments and banking processes, and open the exchange and flow of value around the globe. “[We] found it important and rewarding to address the gaps in the industry by incorporating modern and flexible technology,” Hu says. “Our mission now is to…bring innovative payment propositions to market that enable the transfer of value of any kind: paper currency, crypto, reward points, gold, securities or anything else you can imagine.” By leaving M&A banking and creating her own business, Hu fulfilled herself and her ambitions in ways that would have been impossible otherwise. “As a co-founder and CFO at Episode Six, I enjoy having a hand in directing the company’s journey as we have scaled up our investments and global presence since launching in 2015,” she explains. “I find it rewarding to have made a clear impact on the business goals, alongside my co-founders John Mitchell (CEO) and Futeh Kao (CTO). 52 | AUSTIN WOMAN | NOVEMBER 2021
“I enjoy overseeing the different puzzle pieces that scale our company,” Hu continues. “Every business, operational and people decision has an impact on our financial performance and the future of our company. I love bringing all of those aspects together to find the optimal sweet spot and then working with my co-founders and our teams to make the right decisions for future success.” Hu and her co-founders now operate their business across 23 countries and four continents. They have operations in most major cities including Austin, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore. “Our team couldn’t be more proud of what we’ve built and the company we keep,” she says. Despite Hu’s incredible success, she has had her fair share of setbacks, challenges and adversity. A 2020 study conducted by the AnitaB.org Institute found women make up 28.8% of the tech workforce. Women founders in the tech sector are even less common, especially in fintech, says Hu. She steadfastly refused to let this hinder her. She is wholly unashamed of her femininity and welcomes diversity in the workplace. “Born in Hong Kong, educated in the U.K. and now based in Austin, I myself have a pretty diverse background, which is why I value diverse teams and want to uphold diversity and inclusion values in the fintech field,” Hu says. “I have embraced being a woman in fintech and aim to lead a path for others who choose this field. It is full of exciting opportunities, and I want women to know we need their knowledge, skill sets and diverse perspectives in order to introduce even more innovation to the world.” Hu offers mentorship and guidance to all her peers but makes sure to offer strong and specific advice for women employed in the technology and finance fields. She has helped to create and implement programs dedicated to mentorship, leadership and professional development. She works to give those who are less experienced the advice she would have wanted when she was in their shoes. “[One thing] I wish someone would have shared much earlier in my career is to take time to build and nurture relationships, both personal and professional,” she says. “Don’t skip that lunch with an ex-colleague. Don’t forget to send a thank-you note to your co-worker in another department who helped you with something just because you are too busy with your ‘real’ work.”
