Simon Taylor has left Barclays to join 11:FS, a fintech consultancy.

Taylor worked at Barclays for three years, joining on the mobile app development side, and most recently serving as vice president for entrepreneurial partnerships. While at the bank, he worked relentlessly to promote awareness of innovative technologies such as blockchain, as well as setting up and supporting the bank’s start-up accelerator.

Taylor tells GTR he is moving on to keep on building something new, as he feels that the Barclays innovation project no longer needs him: “There are more than 150 people involved, it’s got a life of its own and it will be successful. I need to go start something else.” Anthony Macey has replaced Taylor as head of blockchain R&D at the bank.

Taylor joins the 11:FS group, who describe themselves as “fintech evangelists,” referring to the expertise they developed in different aspects of this sector: Jason Bates is co-founder of app-only banking start-up Mondo, David Brear is Gartner’s former head of global digital banking, Chris Skinner is a fintech commentator, author, and chair of the Financial Services Club networking forum across Europe.

We’ve assembled people who broke the mould and we want to use them to break the mould for everybody else. Simon Taylor, 11:FS

Taylor would not disclose the meaning of the group’s name (he says it’s a secret), but he explains that its focus is on three areas. The group has developed a platform displaying the various bank competitors in the marketplace, currently focusing on retail banking. They also offer advisory services promising to stick around for the project’s execution. Finally, they are putting together a fund to support the right initiatives. The goal is to raise US$50mn by the end of the year and a similar amount, if not more, next year. As investors, they are targeting a mix of tier 1, 2, and 3 banks – the plan is that they are geographically diverse and not directly competing with one another, “so we can create something that works well with everybody”, explains Taylor.

11:FS’ ultimate goal, he tells GTR, is to change the industry: “We’ve recognised that a lot of banks feel they are plagued by legacy technologies and legacy culture. We’ve assembled people who broke the mould and we want to use them to break the mould for everybody else. We’re like ice breakers: you can send us in, we’ll get rid of the ice and we’ll make it work for you.”