A Kent-based FinTech founded by two brothers has raised 拢450,000 in pre-seed funding as it looks to grow its team and expand internationally.
Glyde was founded by Ellis and Nathan Taylor, who didn鈥檛 plan on going into business together, but 鈥榳hen the opportunity came, it felt obvious鈥�.聽
The company is looking to build a new standard for cross-border money movement. Users can choose their own exchange rates, avoid expensive FX brokers and are said to be able to save up to three times compared to alternatives.
The funding round was led by Fuel Ventures and the team of six is set to grow by three or four by the end of the year.
On why Glyde was founded, Ellis said: 鈥�We鈥檇 both seen the broken parts of cross-border finance from different angles, and we knew exactly what needed to be fixed.聽
鈥淭here鈥檚 a level of honesty and trust between us that鈥檚 hard to replicate in any other co-founder setup.
鈥淲e challenge each other constantly, but always with the same end goal, building something that actually works, and makes life easier for the businesses we serve. That kind of alignment is rare, and it鈥檚 a big part of why Glyde moves as fast as it does.鈥�
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Ellis worked in financial sales after university, whilst Nathan has a Bachelor鈥檚 in Economics from Bristol and a Master鈥檚 in Computer Science.聽
鈥淗e鈥檚 the brains behind the product,鈥� admitted Ellis. 鈥淎 systems thinker who鈥檚 spent years building scalable tech for fintechs and trading platforms.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the perfect blend of sales and software engineering. I bring the mission, he brings the architecture.聽
鈥淭ogether, we鈥檝e lived through the exact friction Glyde is solving, and we鈥檙e fixing it from the inside out.鈥�
Glyde enables users to send and receive over 50 currencies, converting them at rates they select.聽
It has also launched an FX calculator that doesn鈥檛 require any personal information and instantly shows users the true cost of using traditional providers.
Mark Pearson, managing partner at Fuel Ventures, added: 鈥淕lyde addresses a critical pain point in the modern, global economy.
鈥淓llis and Nathan have created a product that hands real control back to users. From digital nomads and ecommerce sellers to growing businesses, Glyde offers a compelling alternative to outdated FX systems.聽
鈥淲e are excited to support them in bringing more clarity and competition to this space.鈥�