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Founder@ Interview
Interview with Chris Papathanassi
“I would give the same advice that I gave my younger self above. I think it’s important to aim high, no matter if you’re just starting out or are on your journey already. .” – Chris Papathanassi
Today we feature Chris Papathanassi, the founder at Oneiro Solutions. We hear their story in their own words, their successes, their challenges and their insights.
Let’s start by getting to know you. Can you please tell us a little bit about you and what you do?
Fueled by the lack of financial security throughout my own childhood, I’ve made it my mission to never face those same issues.
This is what lead me to work within the financial services industry at banks such as The Bank of Cyprus, Anglo Irish Bank and RBS and leading software vendor Finastra.
With my new system, DLX (Digital Loan Exchange) at Oneiro Solutions, I’m determined to change the way the syndicated loans space currently operates.
A great introduction and start to this interview. Can you please tell us, how did you start, from what age, and what made you decide to change direction and start?
I’ve been in the industry for more than 15 years and witnessed very little innovation as far as the available syndicated loan administration software was concerned. The systems and processes used by the industry were, and still are, founded upon ageing technology.
The majority of the syndicated loan’s market still communicates using email, fax and spreadsheets. This old-fashioned way of working is slow and not compatible with today’s fast-paced world; it exposes all parties to operational risk, high costs and poor services. This is what Oneiro Solutions plans to change.
With my business partner, George Druncea, we have a background in administering syndicated loans within banks, to selling syndicated lending solutions to the market. We know first-hand of the pain experienced and how underserved the industry is from a technology point of view.
The corporate banking world is far behind the retail banking world when it comes to online, digital services and the discussions with market participants from borrowers, agents and lenders highlighted that there was a demand for services that was not being met.
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Leveraging our industry experience, we decided to embark on a journey to bring to market the world’s first digital syndicated loan administration tool.
Thank you for that insight. So can you tell us…What does your business do and where is your company based?
Oneiro Solutions is an entirely cloud-based syndicated loan administration platform, its purpose is to offer a retail-like experience to all parties involved in the lifecycle events of a syndicated loan such as loan drawdown request, rollovers, interest, fee and principal payments, amendments and waivers and compliance monitoring.
It offers a digital self-service dashboard that can be accessed 24×7, by Borrowers, Agents and Lenders, it simplifies the transaction, keeping each party aware of every step of the loan’s journey and providing real-time deal data for ultimate transparency.
Designed to provide ease and peace of mind, Oneiro Solutions reimagines the administrative process with next-generation technology. Agents can serve customers to the highest of standards with a unique self-service driven approach to loan servicing.
Our platform gives banks a strong point of differentiation with their customers whilst also increasing operational efficiency and reducing the cost to manage the business.
What’s the story behind your success? What led to your aha moment? how did you get to where you are now?
I have dreamt of owning my own business all of my life. I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do, nevertheless, I have been working towards it my entire career, knowing that one day I will need to have the resources to quit my day job and become an entrepreneur. I’ve always loved the idea of building something from the ground up, something I can genuinely call my own and make that a success so I can help people in a number of ways.
Thank you for sharing that. What’s been your life’s biggest lesson so far?
Traditionally this software has been extremely complex to build and I was told time and time again that it was not possible to do. However, through persevering to find the right team (extremely important and took a very long time) who made the right technology choices, we were able to build a product that not only handles the complexity of this business but allows very rapid development timeframes.
The pandemic! It has been both positive and negative. On the positive side, the demand for digital services increased significantly throughout the pandemic and that really put pressure on the industry to expedite their digital transformation projects. On the negative side, the restrictions on travel have meant that we have not been able to meet our prospective customers in person which is an extremely important part of the job.
If you were to go back in time, what piece of advice would you give to your younger self?
I love this quote from Les Brown: “Most people fail in life not because they aim too high and miss, but because they aim too low and hit.” Do not live your life believing that you cannot do the thing that you have always wanted to do.
What do you know now that you wished you had known before?
The pandemic! It has been both positive and negative. On the positive side, the demand for digital services increased significantly throughout the pandemic and that really put pressure on the industry to expedite their digital transformation projects. On the negative side, the restrictions on travel have meant that we have not been able to meet our prospective customers in person which is an extremely important part of the job.
What has been your greatest or proudest achievement or moment?
The delivery of our demonstrable ‘Minimum viable product’, which allowed us to start demonstrating the software to our prospective clients. We have had resounding validation from the market.
What future life goals do you want to achieve and why?
I have 3 goals: To have our early adopters live on our platform, to establish ourselves as the next generation /premium syndicated loan administration platform, and to establish a global presence through a growing client base and partnerships. Achieving these will help Oneiro to become a market-leader in the syndicated loans market and help achieve my own personal mission of financial stability.
To finish our inspire questions…”We believe that sharing inspiring words can inspire others.” If there was one positive thing you would say to someone to inspire and empower them what would it be and why?
I would give the same advice that I gave my younger self above. I think it’s important to aim high, no matter if you’re just starting out or are on your journey already.
“Thank you it has been great learning more about your founder story and Oneiro Solutions”
To learn more about Oneiro Solutions Visit https://www.oneirosolutions.com/
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