Fintech + regulated environments is one of the hardest spaces to build in — but it's also one where trust compounds faster than almost any other industry.

A few things that tend to move the needle for solo founders here:

For compliance: start with a fintech-specialized attorney for a 1-2 hour consult. Often cheaper than months of uncertainty. Some also offer startup-friendly pricing.

For licensing: figure out if you need a license at launch or if you can use a Banking-as-a-Service partner (like Stripe Treasury, Unit, or Synapse) to operate under their umbrella first.

For partnerships: regulated institutions move slowly, but they respond to specificity. "I want to partner with you" gets ignored. "I built X that solves Y problem your customers have, here's one data point showing it works" gets meetings.

What stage are you at — still validating the problem or already have early users?