Blue Ocean Global Technology Interviews Patrick DeBattista | Financial Coach, Educator, and Global Speaker

Patrick is Malta’s first full-time Financial Coach with 20 years of experience studying and working in Finance. In 2023, he founded Finance For You, a community built to democratize financial knowledge for everyone and help people manage their finances. He is a CFA charterholder and Certified Public Accountant with Master’s degrees in Financial Analysis and Accounting. Previously, he held management positions working in Business Advisory at Deloitte and RSM. He also lived and worked in London and Spain. Patrick holds individual financial coaching sessions and provides financial wellbeing programmes to businesses who wish to invest in their employees’ financial futures. Patrick is a Lecturer at the University of Malta, MCAST, and various business schools at Master’s degree and ACCA levels. Patrick promotes financial literacy by collaborating with global media platforms through public speaking, videos, articles, and podcast appearances. Going forward, Patrick’s goal is to be the voice of personal finance in Europe.

Blue Ocean: Could you tell us about your professional journey and what led you to become a financial coach, educator, and global speaker?

Patrick: I spent the last 20 years studying and working in finance. I began as an accountant by profession, in tax. After working my way up to tax manager at BDO, I decided I wanted a change. I went abroad, completed my second Master’s degree in Spain, and then returned to Malta to live and work in management positions at Deloitte. I also worked at various entities in private equity, including in a South African firm, which is why I am familiar with Cape Town. That gave me a broader perspective on global finance.

From a young age, I stumbled upon teaching and started lecturing. Every time I taught, I would see people struggle with basic financial concepts. What came easily to me, like cash flow and compounding, I realised people would struggle with inwardly. After many years of working and climbing the corporate ladder, I obtained a CFA qualification while at Deloitte. Later, I thought, why not blend my accounting, advisory, and lecturing background into one holistic financial coaching practice that makes an impact? Since then, I’ve created my social media channel, coached individuals, and delivered. Currently, I provide financial well-being programs for businesses and collaborate with institutions.

Blue Ocean: As a financial coach and educator, what does a typical day look like for you?

Patrick: Every single day is completely different from the previous, and even within the day, I do multiple things. For example, today I started with a three-hour financial well-being session for a business on our sister island in Gozo. I then returned and had a one-on-one session with a client, helping them with their financial plan. Later in the day, I gave a finance lecture for a Master’s degree for another three hours. After this interview, I’ll be heading off to an event where I’ll be speaking on personal finance.

At the core, my activities are rooted in education, and there’s never a dull moment. It’s a privilege I get many different things to do with various people, meeting hundreds of them daily. Some days I feel like I overstretch and overbook myself, which is a problem.

Blue Ocean: In the finance industry, what are some exciting trends that you’re looking forward to, and how do you think they will develop over the years?

Patrick: The main one, I think, is the big shift in the rise of accessible investing platforms. Back in my days, we couldn’t invest digitally in the S&P 500 in individual stocks on a fractional basis. It wasn’t at our fingertips the way it is today. That is a development nowadays with which you can invest €50 or $50 and grow what you have. You can even pay yourself first with a low salary, which is great. On the other hand, it is also a double-edged sword in my view because many people are jumping in without the right knowledge. Some of these platforms are being gamified, which could prompt emotional decisions made from short-term thinking and lead to over-trading.

Moving forward, I have seen more institutions and entities take it upon themselves to start educating the public. They include Girl Power Talk and some regulatory entities such as the Malta Financial Services Authority. While it may not be their core business, spreading the knowledge is a noble cause. This is because they see that these day-to-day investor trends could do good. However, if done wrongly, it could be catastrophic; therefore, a need for education. I hope this trend goes in a more positive direction.

Blue Ocean: What do you think is the key to your success and how do you stay ahead in the finance industry?

Patrick: The way I deliver messages has changed over the years. Before, we used to study and read from textbooks. We would use complicated language, and the more complicated it was, we believed that we sounded smarter, at least in my case. I’ve completely changed tack to become this guy with a white t-shirt who explains concepts to people as if they’re 10 years old.

My mantra has been the ability to simplify complex concepts in ways that people can understand. If not, then you need to change your message. That simplicity has somehow struck a chord with people and made my message relatable. I mix certain aspects that were not traditionally mixed in finance. I think people like listening to me because I do unconventional things such as writing content, shooting videos, posting regularly, and speaking in layperson’s terms. It’s a bit like seeing someone doing different things that you’re not used to from a corporate financial analyst perspective.

Blue Ocean: What do you believe is the biggest financial need that people still fall for? How do you try to change that?

Patrick: You have to be rich to invest, or investing is for the rich, or we cannot achieve financial freedom. I dare say that being broke is a temporary state. There is this quote that being broke is a temporary situation, but staying broke is a decision. Sometimes I give workshops to people who are underprivileged or have gone through tough times. I have gone through hard financial times, and it’s a tough spot to get out of.

In Malta, we have a minimum salary level. Once, I gave a workshop to a manufacturing company, and there was a group of individuals who were getting a little above minimum wage. I was telling them that it was possible to save, invest, and achieve a lot. One of them stopped me and asked whether I was one of those people who are ‘thinkers of the future’. I agreed because I believe you should think of your financial future. He said, “That’s all well and good, but when you’re struggling to pay the bills, when you’re divorced, or when you’re trying to feed your kids, you don’t think about the future. You think about the present.”

Still, after saying that, we created a financial plan. I inquired about his income, expenses, and how much he could save that month. He said 10 euros. I told him to save that amount in that month and repeat the following month. In February, he had saved 20. He started gaining confidence and became consistent, though he saw it as a game. Before he knew it, by the end of the year, he had saved up 500 euros and could start investing.

It is tough to change your mindset because when you think you are broke or you cannot make it, the default answer is no, for sure. When you try to find, explore, and learn, your mind automatically starts going into a “how can I do this” mode.

Blue Ocean: Outside of the relatability, what would you say is something unique that you offer, either when you teach or speak in general?

Patrick: I have been told about the charisma aspect. You don’t go to sell a product, but to speak to people, to educate, and to give back. What I found through this journey I’ve been on is that when you give something you are passionate about, give without expecting anything in return. You are just sharing knowledge.

What I’ve done, and still do, is teach classes to 10, 15, or 20 people at the university. I thought they always used to love and engage in it. Why not replicate it and scale it up to a global audience? That’s exactly what I do with my content. In that case, I think the primary message I would say is that when you give something that adds value without expecting anything in return, the results somehow come. In the most unexpected ways, you will get opportunities just like this that seemingly fall out of nowhere through an innocuous meeting with someone who lives in Pennsylvania and goes to New York.

Blue Ocean: Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of work? How do they help you maintain a work-life balance?

Patrick: Work-life balance is an elusive term. I don’t have much balance, but it’s something I’m working on. What I did, however, was set myself a theme every year. For 2025, that was physical health. Last year I ran myself to the ground working. I would wake up at 5 a.m. and finish at 7 p.m. every day. While that routine works for some people, it felt like crazy hours to me. I cannot consistently do that from Monday to Sunday, so I thought that something had to change. At the beginning of January this year, I started doing CrossFit and High Rocks. It’s a trend here in Malta, and has honestly been life-changing.

I enjoy reading as well. I am more into audiobooks and podcasts, particularly on the psychology of money, money-related behaviour, and leadership. These feed directly into how I coach and teach as well. I also have my dog, whom I love to bits. He is a rescue dog and my best friend. I take long, random walks with him, which you may see in my videos sometimes, and I get some of my best ideas while at it.

Blue Ocean: Do you have any other sources of happiness and inspiration that you can share with us?

Patrick: Definitely, Billy, my dog and best friend, is a true example of unconditional love. Of course, there are also family and friends. Today, I was sitting in a workshop giving a class, and someone just commented, “Man, your videos changed my life and my perspective.” Sometimes I could be walking in the street randomly, and someone stops me and says “Hey, thank you for your videos. I learned a lot from you, and I really appreciate it.” It makes me happy to make a difference in people’s lives. Making knowledge accessible to everyone is my source of happiness.

Blue Ocean: Is there anything that you are really grateful for?

Patrick: Yes. At the ripe age of 36, I finally found my purpose in life. People sleepwalk through their entire lives without finding a purpose in their careers. There was a guy, for example, whom I worked with who was counting the days till he retired. He had a calendar and believed that you had to wait until 65 or 67 to discover your purpose.

Blue Ocean: What is a quote that you find that resonating with you deeply?

Patrick: I am not going to make this about money for a change. My friend Olivia shared a quote with me in a workshop, and it resonated with me. The quote was ‘The only people you need to impress in life are two people, your five-year-old self and your 85-year-old self’. Your five-year-old self, because when you’re five, you are full of hopes, dreams, and aspirations for what the future would look like. So, make that person proud of what you’ve become. Your 85-year-old self, because you want to look back on a life lived that is fulfilled and enough. I think the quote is so powerful, and it blew me away.

Blue Ocean: What advice would you give to your younger self?

Patrick: What I would say is start earlier, but also do something that comes easily to you, and is hard for others. If I were born to do two things, they would probably be teaching and writing. While many people suffer from glossophobia, I did not struggle with public speaking on simple financial concepts. Instead, I loved it.

Conclusion

Patrick De Battista found purpose and meaning in teaching complex financial structures in simple and unorthodox ways. Through his passion, he has touched countless young lives and continues to cause a global impact.