In software, hundreds of start-ups consume millions of euros every year, while only a handful will ever become the next unicorn. Most of them don’t start with a bad idea. Quite the opposite. Many start with a very good idea , talented people and plenty of ambition. So what makes one company successful while another, with an equally promising idea, quietly disappears? Everything starts with an idea , of course. Unfortunately, the world is full of good ideas. Spend an hour browsing LinkedIn, Finextra or any technology forum and you will probably discover a dozen ideas that make you think: someone should build this . Having the idea is therefore rarely the real differentiator. This is why people often say that execution is everything . An idea is worth little if you cannot turn it into something that actually works. But even great execution isn’t enough. Technology history is full of companies that executed perfectly well and still lost. MySpace and Friendster created social ...
2026 is turning into another expensive year for financial institutions when it comes to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance . Despite billions invested in compliance departments, sophisticated monitoring systems, Know Your Customer (KYC) processes and regulatory reporting, banks continue to receive enormous penalties for failing to detect or report suspicious financial activity. And the amounts involved are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. In the United States, Bank of America was hit with more than $1.2 billion in penalties over serious AML deficiencies, including failures to report billions of dollars in suspicious transactions. American Express faced a $350 million penalty for weaknesses in its AML framework, with regulators identifying approximately $13 billion in potentially suspicious activity that had not been adequately monitored or reported. Other significant cases in the US include penalties against UBS Financial Services ($125 million) and Canac...