Treasury
From a treasurer who believes in revolutionary tools to a driver of change
June 6, 2024
·
Martin Frérot
·
4
min
June 6, 2024
·
Martin Frérot
·
4
min
In early 2022, when I first met Pauline and Jo, Payflows was merely a nascent, theoretical idea, not yet formalized: the desire to transform the role of a financial function often overlooked within companies: treasury.
The first lines of code had just been written, but the founding team sought to understand week after week my daily routines and those of my colleagues.
"A product that would revolutionize my daily life as a treasurer, bringing more speed."
From the initial exchanges with Pauline and Jo, a special connection was established through a shared vision and ambition to build a product that would revolutionize my daily life as a treasurer, bringing more speed to it. What stood out most was the team's passionate nature and curiosity for subjects that might seem uninspiring at first glance.
This curiosity became a catalyst for me, pushing me to question myself, to bring meaning back into my habits and practices. Between each meeting, ideas emerged that I eagerly noted down. I once told Pauline, founder and CEO of Payflows, "thanks to you, the light has come back on up there, and I have no desire to turn it off again!"
After working with the same tool for nearly fifteen years, I embarked on an adventure - not knowing exactly where it would lead me - as the first design partner.
My role was to bring my knowledge of treasury operations, my challenges, and my desires to breathe life into the initial vision. Immersed in the heart of developing the solution, I witnessed a small miracle every week: the ideas I had discussed the previous week were materializing.
"I witnessed a small miracle every week: the ideas I had discussed the previous week were materializing."
I bridged the gap between theory and practice, between need and the product's response to that need, providing real-world perspective to what would become a next-generation TMS. Each feedback, each suggestion was another step towards a product that I felt would fundamentally change how treasury teams worked on a daily basis.
Transitioning from design partner to first customer was not just a formality; it was a commitment, a declaration of trust in a team and a solution that needed to prove their value and robustness under all circumstances. So, I decided to implement Payflows in my treasury team at Swile in early 2023.
With Swile representing a total of 3 billion euros in flows, choosing another TMS required certainty and assurance. However, I knew what I was giving up, and contrary to the saying, I also knew what I stood to gain.
"Adopting Payflows into my business daily life at Swile was not just a logical decision, but also a reflection of my deep conviction."
After months of close collaboration, adopting Payflows into my professional daily life at Swile was not just a logical decision, but also a reflection of my deep conviction in their ability to build, in just one year and with a brilliant tech team, a revolutionary tool for treasury. I also knew we would continue to evolve the product and remain closely aligned with treasurers' needs to provide the most relevant solution possible.
The most surprising and transformative step of this long journey was my decision to join their team. After months as an external partner, a small voice urged me to try, not to fear, to become more than just an ambassador or user, and to take the leap.
This decision, carefully considered, driven by unwavering faith in the solution's potential to change the paradigm of financial teams, marked a radical turning point in my career and in my life: evolving from a Treasurer to a technical sales role to help other finance teams have the best tools to manage their treasury effectively.