The best of the IT and financial world

Expertise in artificial intelligence and an open financial ecosystem – these two factors play a decisive role in helping startups such as Advanon from the Zurich economic area shake up the financial world. Advanon’s platform for pre-financing invoices is setting an international example.

Advanon's three founders - one of whom, Phil Lojacono, is Swiss - met at Google in Dublin. But it was clear to them from the get-go that they wanted to base their fintech startup in Zurich. They need the best of both worlds - financial and IT know-how - as well as an open ecosystem that allows them to combine the two.

They developed the Advanon platform with a mission to revolutionize factoring through a marketplace for crowdfunding. It brings small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) together with qualified investors, allowing SMEs to offer open invoices for pre-financing while they still await payments from customers. And their system works: Since the company was founded in 2015, invoices in the amount of 83 million Swiss francs have already been financed, giving countless SMEs financial leeway.

The knowledge edge

Phil Lojacono is convinced that this would not have been possible without being based in Zurich. And in his opinion, this is thanks to an outstanding infrastructure for startups. In the past, Advanon has received support from big players such as Partners Group co-founder Urs Wietlisbach, Silicon Valley financier Daniel Gutenberg, and Eric Sarasin.

Another main argument for Zurich is the knowledge edge provided by specialists. Says Lojocano: "Good IT specialists are in great demand internationally, so we have the best opportunities here. You also find excellent, experienced financial experts in the Greater Zurich Area."

Advanon benefits at times from the fact that the universities in Zurich have a top reputation in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), giving the startup access to highly trained graduates. "We're building a great deal of skills in AI. It's our pet project, and we're already very far ahead of the competition," says Lojocano.

For instance, Advanon uses AI when a comprehensive assessment of a company's financial structure is required. "Ultimately, we want to help SMEs structure their finances in the best possible way. While this includes personal advice, the perfect foundation here is the most intelligent analysis of business data possible." A welcome side effect: Processes on the platform also run more and more efficiently.

Ready for action

Established players have long noticed that startups in Zurich with clever solutions are ahead of the game and carve out a lead for themselves through cooperation. Advanon has already carried out pilot projects with a number of major banks at home and abroad. And together with the insurance group Axa, Advanon launched FlexCash, a partner offer for pre-financing invoices that even won an Efma Accenture Innovation in Insurance Award this spring.

"Our core competence is the technology. If we can introduce this with strong partners, then all the better," says Lojacono. The successful Advanon principle is also expanding: The platform is already present in Germany, with further European markets in sight. Playing into the hands of the startup in this respect is that the rules of the game for EU payment transactions are being redesigned and interfaces for third-party providers are opening up. Advanon is precisely at the forefront with its clever solutions.