The focus of Future Planet Capital Regional is transforming some of the most innovative business visions into reality, building a brighter future for the West Midlands and positively impacting the regional economy. We’d like to think that, as an organisation, we play a fundamental role in providing regional pioneers with the funding and wider strategy support they need to continuously push new boundaries, not just from the outset, but for many years to come.
The partnerships we form with our portfolio companies underpin our interactions with them as they forge ahead and shape their industries. A great example of this is Inicio AI. Rachel Curtis, Co-Founder and CEO of the Coventry-based FinTech company, which secured £2.6million in seed funding and FPC Regional’s Investment Director, Rupert Lyle, who is also Fund Principal of West Midlands Co-Investment Fund (WMCO), talk about the business and how it is impacting the region, and beyond.
What is Inicio AI’s key offering, and why did it resonate so much with FPC Regional for investment?
Rupert: In 2023, data showed that 30% of adults missed at least one loan payment and 15% of people used debt advisory services. However, to access support, people are often sent affordability assessments which typically include ‘income and expenditure’ (I&E) forms. These forms can be lengthy and complex, increasing anxiety for people already in vulnerable situations. This is where we recognised Inicio AI’s ability to change the debt landscape.
Rachel: As Rupert said, the affordability forms can be overwhelming, particularly for a person in crisis; which is how I was inspired to create Inicio AI. People who need to fill in this financial information can be intimidated by the scale and detail required, often meaning they avoid filling them in or have to ring call centres to be talked through the lengthy process.
We created a virtual agent called Budgie that supports people to complete affordability assessments independently, which frees up call centre agents whilst supporting those who need to access debt support the most.
For FPC Regional, Inicio AI is the ideal company to receive investment and to become a part of the FPC Regional portfolio. Inicio AI’s virtual agent walks users through the I&E forms, using conversational, accessible language which improves engagement and completion rates. This has a very real and positive impact for those needing to access these services. The automated process also reduces the cost of a single I&E process for a business by up to 90%.
In fact, this has been so successful, Inicio AI is the first ever company to be granted FCA permission for ‘passporting’; the sharing of information collected during one process with other lenders and debt advisors. Not only does this hugely reduce the admin across all financial institutions, but those accessing this support only needs to go through the process once which reduces the burden of stress for them.
In the first instance, FPC Regional led our seed round and honestly, without them I don’t think Inicio AI would still be here today. They understood the proposition, saw the huge potential across all financial services and supported us to grow our sales team and double our client base within a year. We began in the debt space but thanks to the funding and support, we are now expanding into new lending and soon, wealth management.
I think, fundamentally, we could see that with Inicio’s innovative technology overhauling an antiquated industry, consumers would be able to more easily access help when they needed it most, while reducing the workload for businesses, freeing them up to help more people.
It’s also important to recognise Rachel’s role in securing the investment. I’d say Rachel is a textbook CEO for Inicio AI, with more than 30 years’ financial services experience and by surrounding herself with NEDs and advisors with relevant backgrounds who can drive the company’s growth.
What impact do you hope that Inicio AI will have across the region and beyond?
Financial literacy is concerningly low, across the region and beyond, and the cost-of-living crisis is putting even more pressure on lower-income households. A missed payment and the inability to accurately complete the required paperwork has the potential to change the trajectory of a family’s life, and Inicio AI’s technology means that this risk can be removed for those who are most financially vulnerable.
Our product is already being used by organisations in the West Midlands such as BNP Paribas and Advance Credit Union, helping them to support vulnerable customers more effectively. More widely, we’re helping thousands of consumers each month take control of their finances and our ambition is to support more consumers as they move towards becoming debt-free.
Financial institutions have a duty of care to their customers to treat them fairly. Inicio AI is a great step towards this, automating and simplifying income and expenditure verification to improve accuracy and provide a less stressful experience for consumers.
From a regional perspective, we’re committed to creating high-quality jobs across technology, sales, client management and operations, and we’re building our business within the West Midlands. As we grow and establish ourselves in new sectors such as lending and wealth management, we hope to grow our teams based in the region even more.
What makes the West Midlands a great place to build and scale a business like Inicio AI?
The West Midlands has an innovation ecosystem that’s pretty unique to the region. Businesses – whether established or start-ups – have the ability to access support from organisations such as SuperTech WM and WM Growth, strong transport links that connect us easily at a national level and a network of collaborative founders, all passionate about the West Midlands. It’s a region that truly champions ambitious, impact-driven businesses.
We’re seeing a substantial amount of regional business growth and have seen our portfolio companies achieve great success in the West Midlands. For Inicio AI in particular, the fact that it’s addressing a societal issue when it comes to finance and debt, while starting its journey in the Midlands and employing local talent, is fantastic to see.
Organisations keen to learn more about Future Planet Capital Regional and explore investment opportunities can visit the Pitch for Investment page on our website, or get in touch with the team to find out more.