28 Mar 2025

Paranoia & Perseverance: The Secrets of a Fintech Soonicorn

Bumper was born a decade ago after its founder, James Jackson, “living paycheck to paycheck” in London, was hit by an unexpected car repair bill.

He took that £700 cash flow problem and turned it into one of Europe’s fastest-growing fintechs, a high-flying startup he’s confident will do more than £1bn worth of business this year.

In this episode of Traction: The Technology Growth Show, James Jackson talks to Pete Hopton and James Taylor about:

  • How he launched “a Klarna for car repairs” and took it to five European markets.
  • The importance of paranoia and perseverance when building tech companies.
  • How Bumper raised a £40m Series B round in a challenging funding climate
  • Why Bumper chose Sheffield for its HQ
  • The prospects for further expansion and even an IPO for the company he hopes will soon be Yorkshire’s first fintech Unicorn.