1. Please tell us a bit about yourself, both at work and leisure.

Hi, I’m Julius. I live in Lithuania. Nowadays our country experiences Fintech boom and I am happy to be in the thick of things.  

I started my career as a salesperson in Ford dealership. My next position was a corporate buyer and a sales manager for international markets in a transport company. This experience helps me to understand both sides of supplier-buyer co-operation and speak with my clients in their language.

I’m lucky that my leading partner is a friend from old-old days, and I’m happy to have devoted and professional team members. It’s good to see how fast we grow and how the product I believe in is growing, developing, and helping our clients.  

Speaking about me, I’m passionate about cooking and wine exploring. Good food brings people together and makes life easier. I seek for bringing a delicious taste into everything I do.  

 

2. Which services do you sell and who are your competitors?

ViaCorex platform streamlines purchasing processes between buyers and suppliers. We provide deficient functionality in ERP and/or accounting systems like e-sourcing and e-procurement for buyers and b2b e-commerce and sales management for suppliers. Both sides can do everyday activities on the same platform, and it brings more synergy between partners.  

Procurement optimization is a big problem, and naturally, we have competitors. But unlike them, we offer a two-sided solution for both buyers and sellers, so our clients get a more sophisticated solution.  

 

3. How did you get your startup idea, and how did you go about launching it?

It came from my professional experience and from discussions with my partners and colleagues. During my career, I’ve participated in the procurement process on both sides – as a supplier and as a buyer. I’ve talked about supply chain and procurement with my friends, clients, colleagues, and business partners. And everybody agrees that the process is difficult to control, labor intense, full of mistakes, human factors, and generally mess.  

So, I decided to fix it. Globally. And together with my partner, we created ViaCorex platform. We can’t save the world, but at least we are working on saving our clients’ money and time by making their procurement much more efficient, fast, and secure.  

 

4. How did you finance your startup, and what learnings would you like to share from the fund-raising journey?

Like most startups, in the beginning, we were bootstrapped. During my fund-raising journey, I learned that the right investor is the one who understands and has experience in the field we work in.

Another lesson I’ve learned – you must try many times. Very seldom, startups rose investments after one pitch or startups fair. No matter how good your idea is– it takes attempts to find the investor who will see the future of your product as you see it.  

And surely, networking is vital. You have to talk about your product with those who want to listen, you have to be seeable and continuously look for possibilities and valuable feedback.  

 

5. What areas within FinTech do you personally find most interesting and why?

Naturally, products which could be added to ViaCorex platform are the most interesting for me – for instance, factoring and financing solutions, escrow services, etc. We seek to provide our clients with a complete service as it is possible. Therefore, we discuss co-operation possibilities with other Fintech companies and have intentions to expand ViaCorex platform with more financial services.  

 

6. What opportunities do you see for FinTech startups in Europe, and how can we help? 

I see an opportunity for FinTechs to develop new technologies for the B2B sector because there is still so much space for new solutions. Companies are continually growing; the competitive landscape is changing all the time, and new solutions help companies to grow faster and stay stronger among competitors.

And I am glad that FinTech Forum exists, and it’s identifying innovators and disruptors in the financial services field and bring them all together.

 

7. What tip would you like to give FinTech entrepreneurs?

It is essential to offer a solution for the real problem, not just an attractive interface.  

Another tip I’d like to share – speak to your current clients, they always have comments and advice about your product. If possible, find early adopters – the clients who would agree to use the raw product at an early stage. It would help you to grow and improve.