Inside the hot new startup accelerator 'changing the DNA' of a huge bank

Portia Crowe/Business Insider

The relationship between Wall Street banks and the tech world is changing.

Technology is disrupting just about every industry — including finance — and banks need to find a way to work with the disruptors or else get disrupted.

One way to do that is through a startup accelerator.

Business Insider visited Barclays' Rise center for fintech startups in New York earlier this year.

It focuses on three "experiments," according to Derek White, Barclays' chief design and digital officer. Those are rented office or "coworking" space, a curated event space, and an accelerator program run in partnership with the accelerator Techstars.

Ten tech companies are chosen for each 13-week accelerator program. They are provided data, advice, connections, and mentorship.

In return, White told us, "Barclays gets the benefit of these companies being literally injected into the organization and changing the DNA" of the firm.

He said it is five times cheaper and three times faster for Barclays to work with tech companies to find solutions to its problems — be they cybersecurity, customer experience, or big-data problems — than trying to find the solutions themselves.

Jenny Fielding, a managing director at Techstars who helps run the Rise accelerator, said the program is divided into three stages. Those are heavy mentorship, engagement (meaning proof of concepts, experiments, and pilots), and fundraising and storytelling.

She and White showed us around Barclays Rise.

Welcome to Rise, in Manhattan's Flatiron District.

It doesn't feel much like Barclays' Midtown Manhattan banking offices.

Rise rents desks in its coworking space. White said the mere fact of being near other innovative companies can help the flow of ideas — not to mention the opportunities for networking. "This space is all about creating ecosystems — it's about creating community," he said.