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If you’ve read Edelman’s 2021 Trust Barometer, an annual report gathering data from nearly 30 global markets, you’ll know one thing for sure: 2020 saw trust decline rapidly across the globe.
From government institutions to corporate brands to social media to CEO credibility, 2020 proved to be a turbulent year filled with systemic inequality, misinformation and general sentiments of panic. Trust, according to Edelman’s report, is at an unprecedented low.
Incode, a fast-growing Silicon-Valley-based technology company, is responding to the trust crisis.
“Above all, we generate trust,” said Ricardo Amper, CEO. “Whether it’s between suppliers, customers, brands, the world becomes less skeptical and more trustworthy by default once basic identity verification is removed from the equation.”
Incode’s proprietary, AI-powered software for identity recognition and authentication is considered to be one of the most robust, advanced and secure solutions to a complex problem: identity verification in a fully-remote world.
Originally launched in 2015 as a secure photo-sharing application, Amper realized the technology he and his team had created had big potential – and pivoted into the world of identity management.
“I’ve always been passionate about privacy and access,” said Amper. “But for me, it’s also about the larger-scale impact our technology can have on the world: secure election/voting digitization. In 10 years from now, I believe all elections globally will leverage digital identity verification for secure remote voting.”
Verifying identity in the most secure way for remote or “mail-in” voting becomes another major use-case for Incode’s technology. The digitization of elections and modern voting systems has always been blocked by one major issue: privacy and identity verification. With Incode’s proprietary platform, managing and verifying identities of voters submitting ballots from anywhere in their country (or beyond) has the potential to transform election systems (and election outcomes) entirely. Fast-changing laws, corruption or difficulty of access have historically “blocked” voters in rural areas in countries like Mexico from exercising their fundamental rights. Incode’s technology becomes a unique, powerful solution.
Access to financial services is another use-case Amper and his customers have seen. Incode’s technology also allows users in those same remote, rural communities to have access to financial services they normally wouldn’t have access to. With more financial access and “trust” between consumers and institutions comes less risk – and, eventually, lower interest rates, higher wealth and lower poverty rates.
With a recent Series A raise of $25M, it’s clear that others agree in the power behind Incode. Led by DN Capital, 3L Capital and with participation by Formentera Capital, Incode’s latest round means tripling headcount and accelerating commercialization. Having experienced 4.5X growth in their first year in-market, with major customers in the banking world like Citi, Sabadell, and Banorte quickly joining onto Incode’s platform, the future is bright for the team.
When asked about Formentera Capital’s participation in Incode’s most recent round of funding, Amper knew he had met a VC firm aligned with his values.
“I quickly realized that Formentera Capital is a group of talented entrepreneurs who really believe in using tech for positive impact in the world,” said Amper. “After meeting Cherif {Habib} by chance through a Hackathon our companies participated in, then meeting other Formentera team members, I realized these were excellent advisors who were searching to build true partnerships – which resonated with me.”
The big goal for Incode?
“More trust, more democratization, more security, more access and less poverty,” said Amper. “Impact. It’s what makes me most excited about building Incode, today and moving forward.”
Formentera Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm investing in tech-enabled companies that are good for the world.
If you feel apprehensive about home renovations for fear of having a bad experience, you are not alone. According to a Léger survey conducted in October 2020 for Billdr Canada Inc. (Billdr), more than three-quarters (77%) of Montrealers say they still find it stressful today to undertake and coordinate major renovation work. Billdr was established with the mission to make renovation work simple, transparent and efficient in order to bring peace of mind to homeowners. The company has launched an online marketplace that supports homeowners and contractors throughout their projects.
The intelligent platform assigns a dedicated renovation expert that guides and supports homeowners step by step throughout their home renovation project.
“Billdr brings peace of mind to homeowners by offering a tailor-made quality support service. We cover all stages of the renovation, from the detailed definition of the project, development and review of architectural and engineering plans, detailed cost estimates, selection of a certified general contractor, to secure payment,” explains Bertrand Nembot, co-founder of Billdr.
Founded in early 2020 and based in Montreal, Billdr has gained the confidence and funding of angel investors in Canada (Formentera Capital), the UK (Simple Capital) and US (Aleka Capital) to finance its expansion, demonstrating international interest and need for such a solution.
The pandemic has accelerated or triggered the desire of more than a quarter (28%) of Montreal homeowners to undertake renovations. Since the start of its activities in February, Billdr has witnessed this trend firsthand. About $10 millions worth of projects were posted on the platform, mainly through word of mouth.
Within the context of a pandemic, many homeowners are having difficulty finding trusted contractors. All the more reason to turn to reliable resources on the market, especially when one considers that only 48% of Montreal landlords indicated they had conducted some form of background check before selecting a contractor and only 28% claimed they had conducted a check on the validity of the contractor’s permit with the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ).
“Billdr defines itself first and foremost as the trusted intermediary that creates and facilitates relationships between owners and general contractors. At Billdr, we work exclusively with certified and insured contractors who have a true passion for the trade and very high service standards,” says Bertrand Nembot. “And while the vast majority (85%) of Montreal homeowners are satisfied with the results of their renovations, only 52% report a good customer experience. So we’re here to respond to a real need to improve the customer experience.”
Read the full press release on Billdr here & visit their website here.
The partners of Formentera Capital have been actively investing in entrepreneurs for over a decade. Supporting fast-growth, high-impact startups from across the globe has been a passion for years now. But like so many individuals have felt since March 2020, there’s something about a moment of crisis that helps put things into focus. We realized that today, perhaps more than ever before, entrepreneurs with big dreams needed support, guidance and mentorship to weather the storms the world was throwing at us.
Formentera Capital is built by founders, for founders. We’ve been entrepreneurs for the majority of our lives – and we’ve lived through failure, experienced the rollercoaster and understand how to make it out of complex situations even stronger than when we entered them.
We formalized Formentera Capital for one main purpose: to provide real support (capital, network access and operational guidance) that passionate entrepreneurs need more than ever.
A deep sense of grit and resilience is the first thing we look for in entrepreneurs. We know what true grit looks like because we’ve learned to build it within ourselves. While this hasn’t been the first crisis we’ve lived through, we recognize it will be for many early-stage startups – and we are eager to help navigate the tumultuous waters a crisis brings on. Being able to remain steadfast, focused and persistent in the face of complex challenges is partly a learned skill and partly innate. If there’s one thing we’ve learned over the years, it’s that it’s the grittiest entrepreneurs who commit to finding a way will always be the ones to find success.
Every partner at FC has experienced failure. Some of us have seen it so frequently that, in many ways, failure helped to build up an “underdog” mindset that we bring with us every day – even if we haven’t had any major failures in a while. Jean-Nicolas, for example, has some incredible stories around the failures he’s lived through – and because of them, he understands almost better than anyone what the entrepreneurial struggle truly looks (and feels) like.
Accordingly, every entrepreneur we invest in has an innate ability to push past fear. One of the first thing we ask ourselves after a pitch: “Has this person seen failure? Did they find a way to overcome that fear of failure? Do they feel like an underdog?”
We’re active members in the entrepreneurial community – and we care about supporting it. From our involvement as leader-members of Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) to supporting the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) to being mentors and advisors in numerous startup competitions, we’ve committed hundreds of hours outside of our own businesses to support entrepreneurship across the globe. The entrepreneurial community has given us so much – and we are committed to giving back to that same community. We launched FC with one main goal: to provide much more than capital to entrepreneurs with big visions. We all know the value of capital injection (especially when you need it most); but our firm was founded on one key differentiating principal: we want to share knowledge, help implement structure and provide support that goes way beyond monetary value. We believe we’re all members of the same entrepreneurial community – and your success matters to us on a level beyond spreadsheets and ROI.
Grit and resilience, pursuing without fear and being part of a community are the main reasons we launched this firm. It may have taken a pandemic to sharpen our focus – but now more than ever before our focus is on supporting inspiring entrepreneurs across the world. We’re in it with you.
-Formentera Capital Team
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