This week we want to start where last week ended, in a packed room at 1 Triton Square on Thursday evening. Innovator International sponsored Venture Café's evening meet-up, teaming up with Tech Nation to co-host a session on the IFV and Global Talent routes, and if you were there, you will already know it was one of those evenings that is hard to sum up in a single post.
Richard was there alongside Karen and James, and he came away with a line that has stuck with us since. Will Baker, sharing the stage alongside Manoj Narayanan, Jessica Mendoza and Vinay Muttineni, put it simply: "It's just a connection game at the end of the day." Four founders, two through the IFV route and two through Global Talent, stood up and told the room exactly how they got to where they are now. Not the polished version. The real one.
That is exactly why we keep showing up in person. Every time we get a room full of founders together, whether that is at Venture Café, at Triton Square, or wherever we land next, we get to watch people find each other mid-journey. Someone who secured their visa last month sitting next to someone who is still gathering evidence. Someone who has just hit ILR swapping notes with someone who has barely started. It is the same thread that runs through every founder story we publish here, and this week's is no exception.
Read more about the event here:
Richard Harrison
This week's founder story: Finexer is making open banking work
Ravi had spent a decade building technology ventures at the intersection of financial services and product before one problem kept following him from company to company. Businesses needed real-time financial data and faster payments, and the infrastructure to deliver it simply was not built for them. The regulation existed. The standards existed. Most businesses still could not access any of it in a practical way.
So he built Finexer to close that gap, and he chose to build it here. Ravi describes how Innovator International helped make a difference, describing a team that took the time to actually understand what Finexer was building rather than treating it like any other startup, at exactly the point when the work was hardest to see from the outside.
Finexer is now closing its Series A, targeting 100 B2B customers and £1m ARR by the end of the year, with European expansion mapped out for the two years after that. Read Ravi's full story, including his advice for founders considering the UK route:
Harriet Fuller
EVENT: Weds 26th August - Big changes to how major pivots work
The Home Office has confirmed that major pivots to a granted visa will now trigger a full re-application, complete with the standard assessment fee. If you have grown your business, adapted to the market, or evolved your offering since being granted your visa, you will understandably have questions about what this means for you.
We have already raised some questions directly with the Home Office and are awaiting a response. In the meantime, we are hosting a live Zoom session on Wednesday 26th August at 10am to walk through what we know so far and open the floor for discussion.
Whether a pivot is already on your mind or you simply want to understand how the new rules could affect your journey, this is one to have in your diary. Sign up for your space below:
Innovator International
For everything else coming up, keep an eye on our events page and mark your calendars.
Innovator International
This week's endorsement and ILR webinar
This week we held our monthly endorsement and ILR webinar for Innovator Founder visa holders endorsed or supported by Innovator International, and it was fantastic to see so many of you join live.
As always, our team walked attendees through what re-endorsement actually involves, whether that is preparing for ILR or the Same Business route, and made sure everyone left with a clearer sense of what the Home Office and their endorsing body expect to see next.
We know these sessions are not recorded, so a huge thank you to everyone who made the time this morning to be there in person. If you missed it, the good news is this webinar runs every month, and you will learn something new with each session, we also take time to answer the questions in the room.
Keep an eye on our Upcoming Events section for the next date, and if you are approaching your next endorsement, we would really encourage you to make it a regular fixture rather than a one off.
Innovator International
A few tax dates worth putting in your calendar
Our accountants have published a useful reminder recently that tax deadlines have a habit of creeping up on business owners, especially when you are juggling everything else that comes with building a company in a new country. A few of the ones worth having on your radar over the next few months:
31 January – Self-Assessment Tax Return filing deadline, balancing payments and first payments on account
30 April – Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings returns and payments
31 May – Deadline for employers to issue P60s
6 July – P11D and Employment Related Securities reporting deadlines
31 July – Second Self-Assessment payment on account
5 October – Self-Assessment registration deadline
30 December – Deadline to file online if you want HMRC to collect tax through your PAYE code
Please note, none of this replaces proper advice from an accountant who knows your specific setup, but a quick gut check against these dates now could save a scramble later. Make sure you stay in frequent touch with your accountant, and if you don't yet have one, have a look at who we recommend through our preferred supplier network:
Richard Harrison
That's everything for this week. See you next time!
