Floww emerged from the realisation that the private markets lack a cohesive infrastructure. As both a founder and investor, and having personally dealt with the challenges of fundraising and illiquidity in private markets, I realised there was a need to address these gaps. This realisation played a pivotal role in shaping the Floww platform.
The absence of a platform for investors to deploy capital and issuers to raise funds creates considerable friction. As a result, private companies with exceptional ideas and innovations are often starved of capital needed for growth and expansion. Floww provides a financial infrastructure for the private markets, streamlining fundraising and investment with our end-to-end platform and expert team. Founders can completely streamline their fundraising process to access the capital they need to grow; investors can access and invest in high-growth scaling companies, angels can run their syndicates, all on one intuitive platform. Notably for VCs we’ve just launched our full venture capital fund management solution, FlowwFunds, that streamlines VC fund management. By fixing the challenges and removing the administrative burden that VCs face in structuring and running their funds, we believe we can unlock further growth and innovation across the ecosystem.
Floww aims to reboot and rewire private markets. We’ve built an integrated infrastructure to support a new generation of ambitious entrepreneurs and investors.
Tell me about the business - what it is, what it aims to achieve, who you work with, how you reach customers and so on.
Floww is a global end-to-end platform that provides the infrastructure for private companies, investors, and intermediaries to facilitate end-to-end fundraising and transaction capabilities. It is at the forefront of revolutionising private market transactions, offering integrated investment management, streamlined tracking, and connections to promising businesses for VCs and investors.
Floww is also addressing a core challenge of venture capital - to simplify the structuring, raising and deployment of funds. FlowwFunds, our latest offering, is a comprehensive venture capital fund management solution that aims to streamline VC fund management.
A key innovation of FlowwFunds is the use of Floww Certificates, a globally tradable instrument which creates liquidity. Floww gives VCs a chance to spend more time on deployment and looking for new opportunities while taking care of the rest.
How has the business evolved since its launch?
For the last couple of years, we have been providing our data infrastructure to issuers and VCs through SaaS subscriptions. Early this year, we received our FCA Authorisation enabling us to launch our transaction capability on the platform. This has led to significant growth in our sales and have a robust pipeline of customers. We’ve recently launched FlowwFunds which is an efficient avenue for structuring, raising, and deploying capital, freeing VCs to focus on what they do best - deploying funds and finding the best companies to invest in.
Tell us about the working culture at Floww
Our culture is centred around high performance – an entrepreneurial, data-driven, very agile workforce with a positive, highly collaborative and go-getting attitude. We have regular all-team meetings where every part of the business is in constant communication with each other about new developments and to celebrate successes. We also have regular check-ins with individual members of staff to gather their feedback on the working culture, so that we can manage this in a positive way; we're always looking back on and reviewing our operations, to aid continuous improvement.
How are you funded?
We have received two rounds of investment from the London Stock Exchange Group as part of a strategic partnership. Floww has also garnered support from notable tech investors, industry veterans and family offices.
What has been your biggest challenge so far and how have you overcome this?
The biggest challenge is building a business that goes against any convention for building startups. To crack this, you have to build an enormous amount of technology, and build a platform which addresses and solves a whole raft of inefficiencies associated with how the private markets work.
How does Floww answer an unmet need?
Floww is a new way of approaching private market investing. It fixes the incumbent VC model that lacks liquidity. Through its unique SPV structure, it is easier to move in and out of investment opportunities with the liquidity of capital. This ecosystem allows funding partners and eligible investors to seamlessly share deal flow and engage in primary private market investments. It also provides startups with the opportunity to access a wider network of investors, thus granting them the chance to unlock diverse pools of capital.
What’s in store for the future?
Adaptability is key in the ever-changing market, requiring investment strategies to constantly evolve. Our recent launch, FlowwFunds, helps VCs create the perfect fund structure, with specialists on hand to help structure a fund for ideal tax treatment and cost efficiency. Fund managers can customise building their fund, setting the fees, capital calls, deployment and returns. It offers the freedom to adapt strategies to different market circumstances and creates new types of liquidity and structures.
Our end-to-end platform and tech-powered back-office give investment banks, corporate finance and strategic advisors access to new deals, and support them with running private product distribution and deal execution at higher speed and lower cost.
Floww’s platform offers an end-to-end solution that uses the power of technology to streamline fundraising and investment, ensuring that cash flows more freely through the private markets, fuelling innovation.
What one piece of advice would you give other founders or future founders?
There are many ways to raise capital for a business, including family offices, banks, and various other entities. The secret to successful scaling lies in exploring diverse capitalization avenues such as angel investors, banks, family offices, Government agencies, and corporate venture capitalists. It's crucial to keep all options open and identify suitable partners. When considering investors, remember that you'll be working together for a long time. It’s important to clearly understand the reasons for seeking capital, whether it's for capital or strategic purposes. In the early stages, focus on securing capital; in later stages, prioritise the strategic partnerships.
And finally, a more personal question! What’s your daily routine and the rules you’re living by at the moment?
Building a company requires complete dedication. One needs to have the ability to be swift-paced and function around the clock. It requires a marathon-like skill set - you need to have the ability to handle extreme stress, be dedicated to routines and ensure that you aren’t distracted by anything that clutters your mind. Having a clear mind helps in effective problem-solving, a skill crucial for founders who are constantly solving problems.
Martijn de Wever is the founder and CEO of Floww.
