Tell us about yourself
Greetings to everyone. My name is Furkat Kasimov. It is a great honour and privilege to be a judge for the 2025 Techround Fintech 50 competition. I will share with you why I think I am uniquely qualified to help select this year’s winner.
My career started in 2006 when I joined a startup in the insurance industry called InsuranceLeads.com which grew to over 100 employees. It was sold in 2011 to a private equity firm and merged with AWL.com.
After helping with the merger transition, I co-founded LeadsMarket.com, a digital marketplace that helps close to 100 Fintech companies buy and sell leads. LeadsMarket.com grew to nearly $100 million in annual revenue. I partially attribute this success to “Win-Win-Win-Win” business philosophy that ensures value for all stakeholders – consumers, suppliers, buyers, and the company.
In the last 3 years I have built two large SaaS applications: a data management platform and another a digital marketplace application. These were large software development projects that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars each and took around a year to finish.
As an angel investor I have invested in several Fintech companies before they became Unicorns: Robinhood (now publicly traded), CreditKarma (acquired by Intuit), Addepar (still private), BetterMent (still private), and Public.com (still private).
I look forward to learning about your companies. I’m here not just to judge, but to find the next big thing.
Tell us about your company
I am not here to promote my companies. It would be more useful for entrepreneurs to learn about my book titled: Don’t do This: A Guide to Business Survival. In this book I share lessons I learned from business mistakes. Being an entrepreneur is not easy. You always have startup risk and there is no guarantee of success. Even if you were to fail you will still learn a lot and maybe it is the second or third time that comes around. You can learn more about it on dontdothis.ai website.
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- A Chat with Alice Li, Investment Partner and Head of North America at Foresight Ventures
- A Chat with Dan Buckley, CEO at AI-Powered SaaS Company: Cognexo
- A Chat with Chelsea Kelly, Founder at Women’s Gymwear Brand: ATIA Active
- A Chat with Giorgia Granata, Co-Founder at Eco-Friendly Wet Wipe Company: Wype
- Meet Michael Jerlis, Founder and CEO of EMCD and TechRound Blockchain32 Judge
- A Chat with Jonathan Mark, Founding CEO at On-Demand Streaming Service: Begin
- A Chat with Bernardo Saraiva, Co-Founder and Director at World Talents
What advice do you have for companies entering the FinTech50 2025?
If you are not keeping up with technology you are falling behind. Show me traction, not just a pitch deck. Demonstrate a deep understanding of your target market and a clear path to profitability. Be prepared to answer tough questions, and for heaven’s sake, know your unit economics. The future of finance is built on data, not dreams.
How do you suggest entrants should stand out from the crowd?
A slick presentation is table stakes. What will set you apart is a clear articulation of your competitive advantage and a compelling vision for the future. Show me you’ve thought about regulatory hurdles, scalability, and exit strategy. And if you can demonstrate a working prototype, even better. Execution is everything.
Any final thoughts?
The next wave of fintech innovation will belong to companies that effectively harness AI and machine learning while maintaining human connection and trust. We are seeing more financial services being embedded in non-financial platforms.
The fintech revolution is just getting started. The opportunities are vast, the challenges are real, and the rewards will go to those who are resourceful, and relentless. Find something that you are passionate about and be committed to it. Embrace the grind, learn from your failures, and remember: disruption favors the bold. Stay hungry, my friends.
