1. Tell us a bit about yourself / your co-founder(s)

I’m Lukas, CEO of Layest and I’m a serial tech founder with +10 years of experience in the fintech sector (previously at Rendity and LIQIMO, among others). My co-founders and I have been working together for many years and we bring a unique combination of deep financial expertise and advanced technical knowhow, ensuring that we understand both the complexities of investment management and the importance of cutting edge technology in driving efficiency and growth.

2. What problem or opportunity do you address, and for which target customers?

Managing client investments involves major complexities: Regulatory requirements, decentralized data, manual workflows, complex and inefficient operations, inflexible deal structures, no single source of truth about sensitive information, lack of integrations with other tools, etc.

Our target customers are companies within the financial industry like investment funds, SPVs, investment clubs, capital brokers, investment advisors and other financial institutions.

3. What is your solution, and who do you compete with?

Layest is a cloud based all-in-one platform for investment management and fund administration. We compete with BlackRock Aladdin or Bloomberg AIM, among others.

4. Relevant industry trends or market shifts to watch, and associated research or articles you can point us to?

The market for investment management platforms presents a significant opportunity, driven by increased AuM, regulatory requirements, a rising focus on ESG, and the ongoing digital transformation of the financial industry. 90% of operational processes in European investment firms are expected to be automated by 2028 due to a report of PwC.

5. What is your company’s current stage and traction?

We have a unique product offering AI agents for the financial industry. We have existing customers. We have a great team with a lot of experience managing investments.

6. Your plans for the next 6-18 months, and how can our network help?

Currently we are structuring our first financing round. We are constantly working on improving our product, adding new features and acquiring new customers. Within the time period of 6-18 months we expand to UK, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein. The Fintech Forum network will help us to build a large company, take advantage of a high-potential B2B SaaS Market and to grow rapidly.

7. What’s on your bookshelf or podcast app? Your favourite place for a coffee or a drink?

We build Layest out of Vienna, famous for our coffee houses like Café Sacher or Café Central. However, next to Café Central there is a small unknown coffee place in the Palais Ferstel called CaffèCouture. Reading old but gold 1984 from George Orwell there!