Can you build a tech startup in a highly regulated company like a bank? And how do you persuade senior management that your solution is really better than what they have?
In a special episode 75, I interview Lieke Hölscher live on stage at the European Women’s Payment Network Annual Conference at the Mollie Office in Amsterdam to discover how she did precisely that. Lieke and her colleagues at Rabobank built new software to screen customer payments for possible money laundering or terrorist financing.
Key Takeaways from the episode
If you’ve ever wondered if—and how—you can be entrepreneurial within a corporate setting, this is the episode for you. Here’s what we discuss:
- How Lieke scaled her team from just 2 people to 200, while building a product from scratch. 🚀
- Creating a culture where ownership, excellence, and openness drive success.🌟
- The power of diverse perspectives for better problem-solving.🔍
Are you ready to be inspired by Lieke’s journey and learn how to launch your own startup within your company? Hit play and dive into her story!
Building a Tech Startup Inside a Bank with Lieke Hölscher | Ep. 75 – Women Disrupting Tech
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- Key Takeaways from the episode
- Be part of the movement!
- The magic you can expect in this episode 🪄
- Free ways to support Women Disrupting Tech
- What makes this episode magical🌟?
- About Lieke Hölscher
- Let me know what you think!
- What’s coming up?
- More episodes like this?
The magic you can expect in this episode 🪄
“I can do this better. Much better.”
That’s what Lieke Hölscher thought when she saw Rabobank’s software for monitoring customer transactions to detect possible money laundering and terrorist financing.
Not a female thing to do, right. Then again, she’s not your ordinary female leader. In fact, she has a beautiful story to tell.
We recorded episode 75 of Women Disrupting Tech live at the EWPN Annual Conference at the Mollie office. Here’s a a glimpse of what we cover:
🚀 Growing a team from 2 to 200 people while building a new product from scratch.
⚡ How working Agile can help you be more entrepreneurial at a big company.
🌟 Why being different and standing out can be a good thing.
Ready to learn how to unleash your entrepreneurial spirit in a corporate job? Click the button below to listen to the episode on Spotify.
Free ways to support Women Disrupting Tech
When you’re ready to support my guests in making this podcast obsolete by the end of 2032, help out by doing these two things:
- Use the share buttons below to share the podcast with friends, family, and co-workers. This way, you give the women disrupting tech the platform they need to make it happen. Use the buttons below to share.
- Rate the podcast on your favorite podcast platform. Better yet, leave a review. You can use a rating of one to five stars. This will help other people discover the podcast. And if you leave a review, it will help me improve.
What makes this episode magical🌟?
This conversation is about so much more than business strategies like leadership, team building, and selling your vision to senior management. It’s also deeply personal.
Early in the episode, Lieke opens up about her childhood struggles with gender identity. She shares how, until the age of 10, she wished she could be a boy named Bram. She couldn’t see herself reflected in female role models. Her vulnerability on stage is both brave and moving, and it adds a layer of magic to the episode.
Since we recorded this session live, we also took questions from the audience. This led to some fascinating discussions, including whether Lieke had ever thought about spinning off her “startup” from Rabobank. The Q&A section is full of surprises and insights, so make sure to stick around until the end!
Want to hear the audience’s questions and Lieke’s answers? Hit play and find out—it’s all in the episode.
“With any complex problem, it matters to have different perspectives to come to the best possible solution.”
Lieke Hölscher, Head of Transaction Monitoring Detection at Rabobank
About Lieke Hölscher
Lieke Hölscher is the Head of Transaction Monitoring Detection at Rabobank. She’s responsible for a team of 200 members who build software that monitors all transactions involving Rabobank globally for possible money laundering and terrorist financing.
Lieke was recently nominated for the Young Talent Award by Topvrouw van het Jaar. She’s also the mother of a 2-year-old boy.
You can connect with her on LinkedIn. You can also learn more about working at Rabobank and in her team on Rabobank’s jobs site.
Let me know what you think!
Please let me know your thoughts and observations in the comments below this post.
Lieke is actively looking for female senior developers, so check out the jobs site of Rabobank to find the open positions she has. And if you have any questions that we did not cover in the Q&A at the end of the episode, feel free to put them in the comments or in an email. I’ll forward them to Lieke.
If you would like to suggest a guest that I absolutely must have on the podcast, please let me know via email or send a DM on LinkedIn.
What’s coming up?
Next week on Women Disrupting Tech, we’re kicking off season 4 with another incredible guest: Stacey Engle, who’s revolutionizing legacy building using AI-powered digital twins.
After that, Angela Ursem joins the Women Disrupting Tech community to explain how she is building a beauty B-Corp. It’s a great episode for those who want to learn how entrepreneurship and impact go hand in hand.
Later in season four, we’ll move into queer territory as I talk to LGBTQ+ Journalist Pim Blom and Systemic Change Guru Karim El Oteify.
So stay tuned for an exciting season 4 with inspiring Men and Women Disrupting Tech!
With that, I wish you a wonderful day. And until we meet again in the next episode, keep being awesome!
More episodes like this?
It’s always difficult to compare, but if there are three episodes that I’d like you to listen to it’s these:
– In episode 24, Sujata Dasgupta shares how she’s inspired by the dark side when she helps banks build solutions that prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.
– Episode 42 features two Rabobank Women, Renske Melchers-Vermolen and Elena Zhebel. They explain how to create a safe space in your team (and your company).
– And in episode 59, we cover another woman in tech who started her journey inside a bank. Sonal Rattan shares how she took the problem she faced while working at a bank to build a startup.
Women Disrupting Tech | The Podcast 
Great episode! Building a tech startup inside a bank sounds challenging but exciting. Any tips for people wanting to start something like that in a big company? Thanks for sharing Lieke’s story
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Thank you. The episode is full of tips, but like with startups, solving a big problem or dramatically improving an existing solution is a great start. Finding these usually comes from your own experience as an employee.
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