1. Tell us a bit about yourself / your co-founder:
Riccardo Conti (CEO): Riccardo has a strong technical and business background with a degree in Computer Science and a master’s in Management, Finance & Entrepreneurship from EPFL. He has experience in entrepreneurship, having previously founded a move-to-earn startup, raised capital, managed a team, and launched a product that reached 30k active users. He also launched Cryptoro, an Alternative Investment Fund focused on digital assets. Riccardo has served in the Swiss Army Special Forces.
Marc Bickel (CTO): Marc is an EPFL engineer with a master’s degree in Computer Science and extensive experience in web development and project management. He has a passion for blockchain and basketball (top league referee). Before focusing entirely on Fume, Marc worked at a leading IT consulting company.
Why are we building this? The need for Fume protocol comes from the direct pain we’ve experienced managing our own investment fund in traditional finance. In a world where blockchain technology exists, we can’t stand trying to manage an investment fund paying enormous fees to fund administrators to perform tasks that could be automated. Nor do we accept the idea of paying 20-80 bps to move capital around. Finally, we were personally heavily impacted by the FTX collapse. We need to build a better alternative, where intermediaries are no longer the point of failure.
2. The Thesis:
Problem: Fume addresses inefficiencies and opacity in the traditional fund management industry, plagued by too many intermediaries, high costs, and slow processes. The market is enormous, with the total addressable market (TAM) for all collective investment schemes at $3.36 trillion per year, and a serviceable available market (SAM) of $690 billion per year for alternative investment funds.
Trend/Market Shift: The trend towards on-chain asset tokenization is expected to reach $16.1 trillion by 2030, pushing the financial system towards innovative solutions like Fume. Moreover, 23% of crypto hedge funds plan to tokenize their funds, signaling a strong shift towards blockchain in fund management.
3. What problem or opportunity do you address, and for which target customers?
Fume solves the inefficiency and opacity in traditional fund management by removing intermediaries, automating processes with smart contracts, and enhancing transparency. The primary target customers are fund managers looking to create regulation-compliant on-chain investment funds, particularly those managing digital asset funds, Web3 VCs, and crypto hedge funds.
4. Who are your competitors and what is your USP?
Fume faces competition from platforms that try to improve the current model by connecting intermediaries or decentralizing databases but still rely on the legacy fund model.
USP: Fume’s unique selling propositions include on-chain fund management that eliminates traditional intermediaries, a strong compliance and regulatory focus, and broad asset support, including stocks, real estate, and commodities. These differentiators make Fume a pioneering solution in the on-chain fund management space.
5. What is your current stage and traction?
Fume has been live since Q4 2023, with its first on-chain fund pilot launched in Luxembourg. The platform now supports three tokenized investment vehicles.
Soon, Fume will introduce the first tokenized L-QIF (Limited Qualified Investor Fund) in Switzerland.
Additionally, a pilot project is being prepared in collaboration with an administrator in the UAE.
Fume raised capital from Tenity (a fintech VC), a fund manager, a blockchain-focused family office, and various business angels, including legal experts and professionals from the Swiss stock exchange.
6. What are your plans for the next 6-18 months and how can our network help?Over the next 6-18 months, Fume plans to focus on product development to audit our technology and expand its market presence. Support from your network could help in further fundraising efforts, business development with asset managers, and establishing strategic partnerships with fund administrators.
7. What’s on your bookshelf or podcast app? Your favorite place for a coffee or a drink?
Digital bookshelf only, I’m a big fan of audiobooks. Mostly business-related (e.g. $100M Offers, Alex Hormozi) and biographies (e.g. Breathe, Rickson Gracie).
Battersea Park, London. Morning run followed by a walk in the park with a takeaway coffee.