Never again run short on VAT returns, never again run short on grocery bills, never again forget to pad the savings account. Flow Your Money manages all your money flows the way you want it. Financial institutions across Europe are interested.
The Friesland-based startup recently raised 600,000 euros in investment to make the final step of the product, which is initially aimed at self-employed people. ,,We see it a lot around us. Self-employed people send invoices, get their money and spend it on a new laptop. Then the tax department comes along and it turns out there is not enough money'', says Niels Mulder (32). He founded Flow Your Money together with Daan van Klinken (32).
He calls their product "pre-accounting. ''Our technology sends your money to the right accounts as soon as it comes in. So you never have the problem of not having enough money to pay taxes, for example. A big advantage is the overview you keep that way, too.'' The services are expected to be offered in subscription form starting early next year.
Banks show interest
It's technology that doesn't exist yet, but is in demand, the startup's founders discovered. ,,We visited all the banks and they show a lot of interest. Mainly because they would like to offer such a service to their customers. We want to remain independent, not be tied to one bank, because we want to send money flows to different banks for our customers.''
Freelancers are the first group Flow targets. But that's just the beginning. ,,Students we can help like this, we are also thinking of people in debt assistance. But also to all consumers, who transfer money monthly to the grocery account, or a savings account. Our technology knows, for example, that if you spend a little less on groceries one month, less money needs to be transferred to that account the following month.''
Experts on board
It's about convenience, about service. ,,That is our drive. Before we started this company, Daan and I worked as digital product makers for companies like ING, Philips and Ziggo. Always on products that add something to people's lives. With Flow we want to make an impact on people's lives again.''
To take the final step, the startup needs a so-called PSD2 license. That is what De Nederlandsche Bank issues after thorough investigation to parties that are allowed to manage customers' banking cash flows with it. The application costs a lot of time and money. Mulder: ,,We do that together with Enigma, a specialist in this field. That party is one of the investors in our company.''
There are more like this. Attracting consultant Robert Kraal is helping to find investors. The former COO of Adyen has confidence in Flow. Runtime Ventures (also the management of the design studio where Mulder and Van Klinken worked for years), among others, invested in the startup. As did NOM, which is important as an early-stage investor in lowering the threshold for other investors. Fund manager Jens Ruesink: ,,This system is very clever. It is scalable, we see a lot of future in it. Apart from that, the team behind Flow Your Money is wonderfully passionate and determined.''
''The NOM was very important to us, also for putting us in touch with the investors,'' says Daan van Klinken of Flow. ''And with Flinc (part of NOM) making the company investor-ready.''
Early next year, Flow will be available on the App Store and Play Store. Before then, you can already use the app in the form of a pilot. Signing up to be the first to get access is already possible at http://flowyour.money.