You graduated from King's with a degree in MSc Banking & Finance, what did you do next?
I went to work for Renault Group in their London office. After that, I joined a Belgian FinTech start-up due to my interest in finance and Web 3.0 technology. I quickly rose through the ranks to become their Head of Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia, and then Global Head of Strategic Sales. In this role, I worked with organisations such as the UN and central banks across the region to deploy (Web 3.0 based) payment and circular economy solutions in high-risk, low-resource environments.
When did you decide you wanted to become a founder?
I'm not sure if it's a case of me choosing the founder life or it choosing me! Working in a start-up environment, I saw the risks for new businesses that can be created by misaligned leadership values and goals. This can have significant negative effects, and it’s critical to address these issues early in an organisation's development.
What problem are you seeking to solve through YAVA?
In its most basic form, we link early-stage start-up founders, like those on the King’s Start-Up Accelerator, with the right tech leadership using a predictive AI called ‘AVA’.
Our research shows that every founder wears multiple hats. There's no job description and understanding tech in particular can be a challenge. Suggesting to founders that they need a CTO (Chief Technology Officer) can be overwhelming and then becomes a constraint, especially if the start-up is in a sector directly related to tech.
That's why we pair founders with skilled, external and vetted Virtual CTOs who not only bring expertise but also share the founder's interests, hobbies and values. We believe that compatibility + shared leadership vision = success.
There are a few more technical aspects to ensure our platform appropriately vets and analyses both parties, but essentially, that’s what we do. If you’re a founder looking for technical talent to help turn your business dreams into a reality, sign-up to YAVA.
How did you validate your problem?
We reached out to the start-up community, initially through qualitative conversations which equated to:
- 35+ hours of calls on MS Teams, Zoom and Google
- 300+ LinkedIn messages
- 826+ WhatsApp messages
- Coffee catch-ups, where 344 cups of coffee + 15 croissants + 12 pan au chocolates + 5 millionaire short cakes + 10 muffins and a vegan, gluten free slice of lemon drizzle cake were consumed!
The focus was to collect feedback. We explored this through quantitative research too by conducting suveys through Survey Monkey.
Why did you apply to King's Start-up Accelerator?
Through King's I met our COO Sumit Dubey, which helped make YAVA possible. King’s has top-notch facilities, cutting-edge research into AI and AI-driven economies and a global network of alumni that is truly formidable. The King’s Start-Up Accelerator provides a vast network of investors, alumni and specialists, both in residence and externally. It’s an exciting place to be, and I think it’s close to unparalleled.
What impact are you hoping to create with your start-up?
Our goal is to change the statistic that 9 out of 10 start-ups fail. We aim to enhance the resilience and success rate of the UK start-up ecosystem. Why Virtual CTOs? Every business today requires technology integration, which is a primary consideration for start-ups and needs to be done correctly.
We want to demonstrate that, in the right hands, AI can build sustainable employment and enhance operational efficiency, rather than merely streamlining operations and replacing employees.
Ultimately, YAVA aims to create high-value jobs, boost start-up success and drive rapid R&D in new sectors, contributing to the UK's economic growth. Our platform fosters innovation, scalable growth and increased economic competitiveness through equity hiring and efficient resource allocation.