Welcome to The Ledger, the podcast dedicated to invoice finance and lending technology from Dance Race. It's time for another episode of Meet the Team. Our meet the team segments give listeners a window into what it's like to work at Dance Race and introduces the experts that our lenders work with every day.
This week we're meeting James Bramham, james joined us in July as customer success manager with his most recent role at Aldermore.
Georgiana Campbell, Marketing Manager: Hi, James. Thanks so much for taking part.
James Bramham, Customer Success Manager: Hello. Thanks for having me.
GC: James, tell us about your journey to Dancerace
JB: Having worked in the IF industry, I've been a user of Dancerace systems for a number of years now. I wasn't actively looking to move out of IF, but when I saw this role, it really intrigued me. I like the idea of seeing what else Dancerace have to offer, aside from the core c3 product. The team here were also really open to bringing someone in with industry experience rather than tech experience, to be able to put a different perspective on things, so it felt like the perfect fit.
GC: We love having a diversity of experience when it comes to our new hires. Your experience working within lending businesses means you've got a deep understanding of the challenges our lenders face. What does your day-to-day role look like at Dancerace?
JB: My role is quite varied. I'd say it's like a relationship manager, project manager, and technical support all merged into one. I'm a point of contact for our lenders, and whilst I'm not a tech expert, it's my job to coordinate other parts of the business and resource as and when they're needed to help our clients get the most out of our products. Each day is different. There's no routine as such, and I like that. It keeps things interesting. Especially when it comes to r3, having experience in a risk management role previously really helps guide the team in the right direction when it comes to knowing what lenders want and need from a risk platform.
GC: That's definitely a useful experience for r3. What attracted you to Dancerace?
JB: I think that it's the same but different in a way. c3 and e3 are both familiar to me from my days at Aldermore, so my experience could be put to good use here. But at the same time, it's a completely different industry. We're in a world that revolves around technology, and I wanted to broaden my knowledge in that area.
GC: You’ve moved from the lender side to the technology side. What are the greatest differences you've noticed so far?
JB: It's a huge learning curve, much bigger than I first thought. I think the biggest difference though, is the ability to problem solve. Working in finance, you're often faced with similar problems each day and having familiar ways of solving them. But in tech, there's no such thing. Every problem is different and needs investigating in its own right, which is much more time consuming than you'd think.
GC: It's very different in ways that people wouldn't expect. What are you most looking forward to in this role?
JB: For me, it's the fact that there are no boundaries. It's much less restrictive than working in a bigger organisation. And we're not limited in terms of the direction we want to take our products in. Being part of that development journey is really exciting.
GC: And now for the most important question in our meet the team series, what are three things you'd pack for a desert island and why?
JB: First of all, I think a laptop or a phone. Not so I could call for help, but more so I could watch Netflix. I'd hate to miss a good Netflix documentary while being stranded on an island. Secondly, I'd say a fishing rod. It's a bit boring, I've never fished in my life, but I think it'd probably be a good time to start. And finally, something to pass the time. I've never been able to solve a Rubik's Cube before, so I think I'd take one of those with me, see if I could finally solve one.
GC: That is a very diverse list of things to pack for a desert island. Something to use if your laptop runs out of battery, something to find food, and something to test your brain, which is probably pretty important if you're stranded on a desert island. Well, thanks for taking the time to sit down with me, James. It was great to get to know you a bit better.
JB: No problem. Great to chat.
GC: Huge thanks to James for sitting down with me, and thank you, the listener, for joining us. To hear more from Dancerace, sign up to our newsletter at Dancerace.com and make sure to follow us on LinkedIn.
My name's Georgiana, and you've been listening to The Ledger. Until next time.
