Sector:
Wealthtech
Country:
United Kingdom
Year
2024
Short Description
Sidekick's platform democratizes private banking services, offering managed investment portfolios, collateralized borrowing against investments, and access to alternative investments.
Founders
Matthew Ford
,
Co-founder & CEO
Pete Townsend
,
Co-founder & CTO
Why we invested
Sidekick reflects our belief that sophisticared wealth tools should not be gated by private banks and offered to only a few. By bringing cash management, investing, tax efficiency and liquidity into one coherent platform, sidekick, gives individuals insititutional-grade control over their finances. It embodies out ambition to back fintech that empowers the mass and supporting the next generation of wealth builders.
Founder Story
Matthew Ford
,
Co-founder & CEO
Matt started in strategy and M&A consulting straight out of university. The work was intellectually demanding but felt distant from reality. Around 2012, watching technology reshape industries, he felt his skills risked becoming irrelevant unless he moved closer to where products were actually built. He joined DMG Media, who incubated a startup called OnTrees, an early open banking startup, where he led growth and slipped into product work, discovering how quickly software could create real value
After a sale of OnTrees to MoneySuperMarket, he then founded Pariti, wrestling for three and a half years with complex regulation and the grind of a hard business, absorbing lessons from every mistake. A stint in venture capital confirmed he was on the wrong side of the table; watching DriveWealth’s explosive rise from the boardroom crystallized a belief that deep, regulated financial infrastructure was the right canvas for his skills.
The company he is building now is a pan-European digital private bank for affluent professionals. Matt believes the advantages of private banking (sophisticated products, thoughtful allocation, access, and education) should not be limited to the ultra-wealthy. By combining deep regulatory permissions, modern technology, and a human guidance layer, the company’s purpose today is to unlock private banking-grade tools and support for people in the wealth-building stage of their lives.
Matt started in strategy and M&A consulting straight out of university. The work was intellectually demanding but felt distant from reality. Around 2012, watching technology reshape industries, he felt his skills risked becoming irrelevant unless he moved closer to where products were actually built. He joined DMG Media, who incubated a startup called OnTrees, an early open banking startup, where he led growth and slipped into product work, discovering how quickly software could create real value
After a sale of OnTrees to MoneySuperMarket, he then founded Pariti, wrestling for three and a half years with complex regulation and the grind of a hard business, absorbing lessons from every mistake. A stint in venture capital confirmed he was on the wrong side of the table; watching DriveWealth’s explosive rise from the boardroom crystallized a belief that deep, regulated financial infrastructure was the right canvas for his skills.
The company he is building now is a pan-European digital private bank for affluent professionals. Matt believes the advantages of private banking (sophisticated products, thoughtful allocation, access, and education) should not be limited to the ultra-wealthy. By combining deep regulatory permissions, modern technology, and a human guidance layer, the company’s purpose today is to unlock private banking-grade tools and support for people in the wealth-building stage of their lives.
Sector:
Wealthtech
Country:
United Kingdom
Year
2024
Short Description
Sidekick's platform democratizes private banking services, offering managed investment portfolios, collateralized borrowing against investments, and access to alternative investments.
Founders
Matthew Ford
,
Co-founder & CEO
Pete Townsend
,
Co-founder & CTO
Why we invested
Sidekick reflects our belief that sophisticared wealth tools should not be gated by private banks and offered to only a few. By bringing cash management, investing, tax efficiency and liquidity into one coherent platform, sidekick, gives individuals insititutional-grade control over their finances. It embodies out ambition to back fintech that empowers the mass and supporting the next generation of wealth builders.
Founder Story
Matthew Ford
,
Co-founder & CEO
Matt started in strategy and M&A consulting straight out of university. The work was intellectually demanding but felt distant from reality. Around 2012, watching technology reshape industries, he felt his skills risked becoming irrelevant unless he moved closer to where products were actually built. He joined DMG Media, who incubated a startup called OnTrees, an early open banking startup, where he led growth and slipped into product work, discovering how quickly software could create real value
After a sale of OnTrees to MoneySuperMarket, he then founded Pariti, wrestling for three and a half years with complex regulation and the grind of a hard business, absorbing lessons from every mistake. A stint in venture capital confirmed he was on the wrong side of the table; watching DriveWealth’s explosive rise from the boardroom crystallized a belief that deep, regulated financial infrastructure was the right canvas for his skills.
The company he is building now is a pan-European digital private bank for affluent professionals. Matt believes the advantages of private banking (sophisticated products, thoughtful allocation, access, and education) should not be limited to the ultra-wealthy. By combining deep regulatory permissions, modern technology, and a human guidance layer, the company’s purpose today is to unlock private banking-grade tools and support for people in the wealth-building stage of their lives.
Matt started in strategy and M&A consulting straight out of university. The work was intellectually demanding but felt distant from reality. Around 2012, watching technology reshape industries, he felt his skills risked becoming irrelevant unless he moved closer to where products were actually built. He joined DMG Media, who incubated a startup called OnTrees, an early open banking startup, where he led growth and slipped into product work, discovering how quickly software could create real value
After a sale of OnTrees to MoneySuperMarket, he then founded Pariti, wrestling for three and a half years with complex regulation and the grind of a hard business, absorbing lessons from every mistake. A stint in venture capital confirmed he was on the wrong side of the table; watching DriveWealth’s explosive rise from the boardroom crystallized a belief that deep, regulated financial infrastructure was the right canvas for his skills.
The company he is building now is a pan-European digital private bank for affluent professionals. Matt believes the advantages of private banking (sophisticated products, thoughtful allocation, access, and education) should not be limited to the ultra-wealthy. By combining deep regulatory permissions, modern technology, and a human guidance layer, the company’s purpose today is to unlock private banking-grade tools and support for people in the wealth-building stage of their lives.