
Validate, Raise & Scale!
The Foundry from FinTech Wales focuses on helping incubate, accelerate and scale new ventures within the Welsh ecosystem and beyond! The Foundry's free three month programme, backed by major partners, is no longer accepting applications for it's 2022 programme, with successful applicants to be announced shortly.
About Us
Season 2 Underway
As an emerging tech region, Wales has the fastest growing digital economy outside London. The growth of the financial and professional sector in Wales has led to a thriving FinTech cluster that has produced industry leaders such as Admiral, Confused.com and Go Compare. These and other success stories from the region are made possible by a world-class ecosystem of supporting organisations and talent that create the optimum conditions for FinTechs to thrive.
Perfect for early to late stage seed ventures, FinTech Wales is excited to launch the second season of its accelerator programme focused on helping the fund raising process. This free, no equity, accelerator programme helps you close a round with minimum fuss & maximum impact.
The selected Season Two cohort are…
TropoGo — Building real-time flight insurance for drone and more!
QuoteOnSite – Financial Invoicing and Messaging software for small businesses.
Yacooba – Mixing blockchain ticketing protocol with a one-click-buy travel marketplace to generate more revenue for promoters and rewards for audiences.
Finalrentals – Powering local car rental companies with insurance, financing, and an international voice (AdTech meets FinTech).
BOMADU – Helping first-time buyers finance property deposits in an innovative way .
AGAM Services – Helping the unbanked get essential finance with progressive analytics and profiling.
Cufflink – Helping finance companies and more limit the likelihood and impact of a data breach breaches and loss of personal data.
Everknock – A personal assistant to manage your home-buying journey. Helping users take control, save money/time, and reduce stress.
Validate
Raise
We want to help you become investor-ready. This means: understanding your business, breaking it down to it’s core components, helping you understand what makes you unique, where you want to go and where your most valuable commercial opportunities lie. From here we’ll then build you back up, help you pull your investor materials together, get you talking to experts and ultimately help you prepare to get the investment you need to scale your business.
Scale
In a way, raising money is the easy part. The hard work comes the day after you close your investment round. This is when you have to put your plan into action and deliver on the promises you made in your investment deck.
The accelerator will help you form a clear post-investment plan to help you scale faster and deliver quicker.
By being on the programme, we aim to increase your chances of closing your investment round and and securing your future success.
Our Partners
Who's involved?
The Foundry works with more than 25 supporting organisations including Admiral Financial Services, Principality Building Society, and Cardiff Capital Region as partners. Each has agreed to lend time, expertise, or resources to our founders for free on the understanding that, by working together, we can achieve more for Wales.

Admiral Financial Services
Partner
Admiral Financial Services

Principality Building Society
Partner
Principality Building Society

Cardiff Capital Region
Partner
Cardiff Capital Region

Google Cloud
Google Cloud

Amazon Web Services
Amazon Web Services

IBM
IBM

Microsoft for Startups
Microsoft for Startups

Stripe
Stripe

EY
EY

Salesforce
Salesforce

Welsh Government
Welsh Government

Capital Law
Capital Law

Innovate UK
Innovate UK

SeedLegals
SeedLegals

Hubspot
Hubspot

BGF
BGF

Cardiff Council
Cardiff Council

Merkely
Merkely

Deloitte
Deloitte

Twilio
Twilio

High Growth Knowledge Company
High Growth Knowledge Company

Red Hat
Red Hat

M-SParc
M-SParc

Tramshed Tech
Tramshed Tech

Development Bank of Wales
Development Bank of Wales

Cardiff University
Cardiff University

British Business Bank
British Business Bank

Global Welsh
Global Welsh

Real Inbound
Real Inbound

Illustrate Digital
UX and tech consultancy specialising in financial services
Illustrate Digital

Louise O'Shea
Confused.com
Louise O'Shea

Chris Adelsbach
Founder @ Outrun Ventures
Chris Adelsbach

Carol Hall
Regional Manager @ Angels Invest Wales
Carol Hall

Eileen Burbidge
Partner @ Passion Capital
Eileen Burbidge

Thomas Bull
UK Head of FinTech @ EY
Thomas Bull

Rachel Hillier
Partner @ Capital Law
Rachel Hillier

Nigel Morris
Managing Partner @ QED Investors
Nigel Morris

Pryderi ap Rhisiart
Managing Director @ M-SParc
Pryderi ap Rhisiart

Hannah Waters
Investor @ BGF
Hannah Waters

Aled Miles
CEO @ Sauce Labs
Aled Miles

Anthony Rose
Founder & CEO @ SeedLegals
Anthony Rose

Mike Hope
Insurance Enterprise CTO @ IBM
Mike Hope

David Rozier
Director @ Deloitte
David Rozier

Kim Jones
Director @ High Growth Knowledge Company
Kim Jones

David Parker
David Parker

Arman Eshraghi
Professor @ Cardiff University
Arman Eshraghi

Cai Gwinnutt
CTO @ Tramshed Tech
Cai Gwinnutt

La-Chun Lindsay
Welsh Government Envoy
La-Chun Lindsay

Ben Joakim
Head of Strategy @ Principality
Ben Joakim

Julie Barber
Founder @ Spark! Consulting
Julie Barber

Farhan Lalji
Investor @ Anthemis
Farhan Lalji

Julie Collins
Founder @ CollinsCollins
Julie Collins

Gino Brancazio
Senior Entrepreneur Engagement Manager @ Tech Nation
Gino Brancazio

Brady Last
Managing Director @ EY Breakthrough
Brady Last

Lynsey Walden
Co-Director @ Front Door Communications
Lynsey Walden

Julian Wells
Director @ Whitecap Consulting
Julian Wells

Ian Brewer
Chairman @ Skunks Works
Ian Brewer

Janos Barberis
Founder @ SuperCharger Ventures
Janos Barberis

QED Investors
QED Investors

Matthew Hyde
Director @ Recruit 121
Matthew Hyde

Simon Hitchcock
Investment Manager @ Deloitte Ventures
Simon Hitchcock

Tony Dowling
Co-Founder @ Real Inbound
Tony Dowling

Bonnie Buchanan
Professor @ University of Surrey
Bonnie Buchanan

Russell Fisher
COO @ Admiral Pioneer
Russell Fisher

Alex Pughe
Associate Director @ City Executive Search
Alex Pughe

Alex Murphy
Head of Marketing @ Admiral
Alex Murphy

Adrian Jones
Director @ The Alacrity Foundation
Adrian Jones

Iain Mansfield
COO @ Principality
Iain Mansfield

Paul Bryant
Paul Bryant

Karl Foster
Head of Legal @ Credas
Karl Foster

Rachael Bayona
Senior Business Development Manager @ Welsh Government
Rachael Bayona

Bethan Bannister
Senior Manager for Wales @ British Business Bank
Bethan Bannister

Claudine Ang
Investor @ Ang.el Capital
Claudine Ang

Frank Y Owusu
Ecosystem Developer, EMEA & Global Emerging Markets @ Twilio Startups
Frank Y Owusu

Tech Nation
Tech Nation

Simon Baker
Developer Advocate @ IBM
Simon Baker

Sadique Maskeen
Associate Director @ EY Breakthrough Incentives
Sadique Maskeen

Ellie Marsh
Market Assessment and Insight Lead @ Admiral
Ellie Marsh

Eamon Tuhami
Founder & CEO @ X8IQ
Eamon Tuhami

Anne-Claire Lo Bianco
Community & VC Manager @ Microsoft for Startups
Anne-Claire Lo Bianco

Siôn Tudur
Partner @ Loosemores Solicitors
Siôn Tudur

Alex McLaren
Senior FinTech Manager @ EY
Alex McLaren

James Logan
Director @ Merkely
James Logan

Sarah Williams Gardener
CEO @ Fintech Wales
Sarah Williams Gardener

Tashi Gyaltsen
Computer Sciences @ Swansea University
Tashi Gyaltsen

Tramshed Design Centre
Tramshed Design Centre

Lewis Pitman
UX/ UI Designer @ Tramshed Design Centre
Lewis Pitman

Ian Coupland
Head Of Design @ Tramshed Tech Design Centre
Ian Coupland

Edith Szendrodi
Programme Manager @ Microsoft for Startups
Edith Szendrodi

Matthew Roberts
Startup Partner @ Stripe
Matthew Roberts

Edward Jones
Economics Lecturer @ Bangor University
Edward Jones

Oliver Woodhouse
Associate (FS Regulatory | Fintech | Insurtech | Cryptoassets) @ Capital Law
Oliver Woodhouse

Andrew Mazeika
Solicitor @ Capital Law
Andrew Mazeika

Charlotte Gregory
Senior Associate @ Capital Law
Charlotte Gregory

Catrin Povey
Associate @ Capital Law
Catrin Povey

Jordan Thomas
Associate @ Capital Law
Jordan Thomas

Christopher Coughlan
Senior Associate @ Capital Law
Christopher Coughlan

Maria Coggins
Partner @ Capital Law
Maria Coggins

Angharad Aspinall
Associate @ Capital Law
Angharad Aspinall

Rebecca Mahon
Employment Solicitor @ Capital Law
Rebecca Mahon

David Lewis
Partner @ Capital Law
David Lewis

Phillippa Ellis
Senior Associate, Business Crime and Investigations @ Capital Law
Phillippa Ellis

Alexander Franklin
Human Resources Business Partner @ Capital People Consultants
Alexander Franklin

Michael Bolous
Paralegal, Banking & Finance @ Capital Law
Michael Bolous

Sarah Drew
Solicitor @ Capital Law
Sarah Drew

Jennifer Hill
Head of ECRM @ Admiral Group
Jennifer Hill

Dan Pierce
Principal Product Manager @ Veygo UK
Dan Pierce

David Lloyd Roberts
Principal Product Manager @ Veygo UK
David Lloyd Roberts

Mike Long
Chief Executive Officer @ Merkely
Mike Long

Jonathan Coull
Creative Director @ Merkely
Jonathan Coull

Bruce Johnston
Head of Digital Marketing @ Merkely
Bruce Johnston

Ryan Joyce
Head of FinTech UK&I @ Salesforce
Ryan Joyce

Sarah McKenna
Account Executive, Start Up Financial Services @ Salesforce
Sarah McKenna

Simon Williams
Commercial Disputes @ Capital Law
Simon Williams

Damon Chapple
Founder @ Sonovate
Damon Chapple

Carrie Gwyther
Commercial Disputes Solicitor @ Capital Law
Carrie Gwyther

Aristos Peters
CEO & Founder @ D-Risk It
Aristos Peters

D-Risk It
D-Risk It

Vanessa Carey
Managing Director @ Venturer Consultancy
Vanessa Carey

Venturer Consultancy
Venturer Consultancy

David Barton-Grimley
Director @ Capgemini Invent
David Barton-Grimley

Paragon Brokers
Paragon Brokers

Eloise Morgan
Director of UK FI @ Paragon Brokers
Eloise Morgan

Ed Ventham
Cyber & Fintech Insurance Specialist @ Paragon Brokers
Ed Ventham

Barry Maxwell
UK Start Up Business, Financial Services & FinTech @ Salesforce
Barry Maxwell

Alex Christen
Senior Associate Employment and Immigration @ Capital Law
Alex Christen

Sarah Morgan
Trainee Solicitor @ Capital Law
Sarah Morgan

LimestoneGrey
LimestoneGrey

Matthew Jones
Managing Director @ LimestoneGrey
Matthew Jones

Lisa James
Marketing Manager @ LimestoneGrey
Lisa James

Mazuma
Mazuma

Lucy Cohen
Co-Founder @ Mazuma
Lucy Cohen

Mark Hipperson
Founder & CEO @ Ziglu
Mark Hipperson

Alacrity Foundation
Alacrity Foundation

Wil Williams
CEO @ Alacrity Foundation UK
Wil Williams

Adrian Jones
Director @ Alacrity Foundation UK
Adrian Jones

Caroline Thompson
Head of Partnerships @ Alacrity Foundation UK
Caroline Thompson

Anna Gordon
Go to Market Partnerships UKI @ Hubspot
Anna Gordon

Nicholas Richards
Head of Investor Partnerships @ SeedLegals
Nicholas Richards

Simon Thelwall-Jones
Director of Technology Ventures @ Development Bank of Wales
Simon Thelwall-Jones

Passion Capital
Passion Capital

Ffion Jones MCIPD
Founder @ Beautiful Minds
Ffion Jones MCIPD

Leigh (Peters) Gaffney
Associate @ Assurant Ventures
Leigh (Peters) Gaffney

Assurant Ventures
Assurant Ventures

Huw Rees
Huw Rees

Louise Harris
Co-Founder & Director @ Tramshed Tech
Louise Harris

Richard Theo
FinTech Entrepreneur, Investor & NED
Richard Theo

New York Welsh
New York Welsh

Ty Francis MBE
Chief Advisory Officer @ LRN
Ty Francis MBE

Marc Walby
Senior Managing Director @ FTI Consulting
Marc Walby

Lean Enterprise Academy
Lean Enterprise Academy

Darren Walsh
Senior Lean Coach @ Lean Enterprise Academy
Darren Walsh

Edward Reid
Manager @ PwC Raise
Edward Reid
Our Impact
Recent accelerator results.
£9M
Fundraising pipeline with VC's and angels
£2.5B
Eight ventures combined market size
12
New senior roles created
20
New hires across the cohort
Our Differentiators
What makes the Foundry unique?
More Information
Foundry FAQ
The Foundry was created by FinTech Wales to help leverage the experience of its ecosystem for good use. Our partners include Admiral Financial Services, Principality Building Society, and Cardiff Capital Region together with more than 25 supporting organisations from tech, legal, public sector, academia, and more.
Our application data is shared with partners who, after numerous rounds of due diligence, will create a shortlist of candidates for interview. After the interview process successful applicants will be offered a place in the programme.
The Foundry is a no equity programme and does not invest any capital or appear on any cap tables. We do, however, help our founders raise rounds by introducing them to our curated network of angels and VCs via our investor days and introductions.
No, you do not need to incorporate in Wales but be able to attend the once a week in-person sessions in Cardiff, UK during the programme.

Validate, Raise & Scale
The Foundry from FinTech Wales focuses on helping incubate, accelerate and scale new ventures within the Welsh ecosystem and beyond!