Of the things you expect to encounter in a financial firm nowadays, hope is not high on the list. Panoramic views, insincere receptionists, plates of uneaten biscuits, yes. Optimism, no. But this is a time of huge opportunity in finance-as long as you are something other than a bank. Take one of British finance's minnows. Marketlnvoice is a start-up that runs an electronic marketplace in which small firms sell their unpaid invoices to investors at a discount. This lets credit-starved businesses get hold of cash faster than they otherwise would, and gives the buyers a return on the invoices they snapped up. Small firms have received ￡40m ($64m) via Marketlnvoice since it was launched in 2011. Anil Stocker, an ex-Lehman banker and one of the firm's founders, says his big problem is controlling growth, so as to maintain the quality of the invoices.
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