Mareike Turner moved to New York from Hamburg, Germany to pivot from “offline” trade to “online” trade, which led her to become the first female manager at Payability.
You moved from Hamburg to New York; how has this shaped the trajectory of your career?
I grew up in a 300-person town in northern Germany, so moving to New York City was a huge transition. I began my career in the import/export industry in Hamburg, Germany. Hamburg ranks as the third-largest container port in Europe, so international trade is a main source of their economy. After working a few years in a medium sized company, I transitioned into an early stage start-up within the same industry. I thrived in the fast-paced environment and being able to have an impact with processes, strategy, and company culture.
Moving to New York gave me the opportunity to map out my career goals and pivot from “offline” trade. As I thought about my non-negotiables for a new role, I knew I wanted to be in tech, client facing, and ideally, working in a start-up and/or with start-ups or small businesses. My roles at both Etsy and Payability checked these boxes.
How have you been able to pivot your career from Etsy, a unique ecommerce based platform for small businesses, to Payability, a FinTech company providing flexible finance solutions for e-commerce businesses?
I’m curious by nature and always looking for ways to learn. Payability approached me with an opportunity on their Client Services team; I was instantly convinced by the business model and product market fit of providing this service to a wide range of marketplace sellers. Knowing how much Etsy sellers value their daily payouts, I knew that I wanted to shape the Customer Experience.
It is a very exciting time to be in the payments sector right now as it is ever changing and expanding; where do predict this area to grow in the near future?
Payment processing and access to funds needs to become increasingly flexible and available in real-time, at the customer’s convenience. Customers want to be able to make transactions on the go and have access to their capital around the clock. In the eCommerce space, we see the need for payment solutions to be integrated and flexible, allowing the merchants to have full control over their cash flow.
Payability is a platform that can assist e-commerce businesses with financial solutions through accelerated payouts and capital advances for e-commerce sellers; where do you think the FinTech space can make the biggest impact within the SMB/e-commerce sector?
Mobile commerce, including online shopping and mobile payments, is driving eCommerce growth. Buyers and sellers can complete transactions online and FinTech plays a huge role in connecting the two and making currency available across borders.
Payability empowers eCommerce marketplace sellers with flexible funding and tailored cash flow solutions. Since 2016, we’ve helped thousands of marketplace sellers scale their businesses by providing over $1 billion in financing.
What are the main differentials that make Payability unique credit and financing provider for SMBs?
Payability strives to provide friction free and fast financing for eCommerce sellers. We are different from traditional lenders because we do not do credit checks or take credit scores into consideration. We look at a client’s selling history as well as risk factors that are unique to the marketplace they are selling on. Payability is in the unique position to really understand the customer’s business model and give them the growth capital they need to scale their businesses.
You volunteer as a mentor at Built by Girls, which is an organization that helps prepare young women in their careers starting in the tech industry. What drew you to be part of the organization and how has this impacted you?
I came to New York and had literally no network or anyone who could provide me with guidance or a job referral -- I had to start from scratch and, as a career changer, I had to work hard to convince employers to give me a shot in the tech industry. I worked hard to get to the level I’m at today so I want to share my knowledge and encourage young women to be bold. Companies are focusing on diversity these days but I found that it’s hard to find female role models as you move up in your career and Built by Girls is working to change that.
Reach out to Mareike on LinkedIn.