Welcome to our X-Europe startup interview series. We have virtually sat down with a number of our founders from past cohorts to hear all about their solutions, vision for the future, and what made them tick during our X Europe programme. So whether you are a deep tech founder looking for startup support, an eagle-eyed investor, or simply interested in the possibilities that technology can bring to society, then we welcome you to take a read. Please meet Kidbrooke, a tech company providing B2B automated financial analytics via APIs.
Can you briefly explain what your solution is all about? What’s unique about it?
It's a powerful financial simulation engine used by our customers to provide better financial guidance and advice. It is unique in that it combines a very realistic and flexible underlying model with high performance to enable interactive analysis. This is hard to achieve technically and generally not available from other solutions.
What led you to start or join your company? What is the key motivation and mission behind the startup?
Our vision is a world where everyone can make educated financial decisions, and this very much embodies why I and my co-founders and now also colleagues work hard every day with this project.
What’s the biggest milestone your startup has achieved so far, and what has surprised you most on this journey?
The biggest milestone by far is signing our first enterprise customer Skandia Life in Sweden. This has given us a great foundation on which to continue to build our company.
The most surprising thing is how much personal development and adaptations you have to go through to cope with the constant challenges and problems thrown at you. Trying to build a business really forces you outside of your comfort zone, almost daily.
How has X-Europe helped you during the past few months?
The one-2-one mentoring sessions have been by far the most valuable sessions where we've got great input on marketing and sales strategy which for us at the moment is the most important area.
Secondly, I'd say it has been both fun and interesting to see what the other companies are doing and their products and progress, etc.
What are your goals over the next 3, 6, and 12 months?
Short-term goals are fully focused on sales and continuing to build our already impressive pipeline. Medium-term we are looking to add a few key features to our main product OutRank which will also improve our packaging.
What advice would you give to an entrepreneur trying to pave his/her way in the Fintech landscape?
Go b2b, but make sure you have a long runway in terms of funding, preferably through a very low-cost base. B2C is tricky due to the high customer acquisition costs once you are through the early adopters of the world.
What one piece of advice would you give your 21-year-old self?
To be more open and interested in not only the "production" side of the corporate world but also the sales and marketing side. This is really something I've had to learn from scratch as an entrepreneur.
What’s unique about the X-Europe program?
The broad spectrum of participating companies I think stands out a bit. Also, it is a rather comprehensive program with a genuine will to help the included companies. My impression is that many of the corporate-run programs are as much or even mostly marketing vehicles for the corporation running them.
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