CODE_n finalist Finboot: “Blockchain is like e-mail in the early ’90s”
Since the rise of Bitcoins, Blockchain has found its way to the forefront. This innovative technology is no longer only the focus of sectors like banking and finance, but also of industry companies. Its implementation and application is often complex for non-experts and that is exactly the point and where the Spanish startup Finboot comes into play. As the last startup of our CODE_n finalist series we talked with Juan Miguel Pérez, CEO of Finboot, about his company, their technology and what they’re expecting for the future.
Juan, the business solution created by Finboot is based on facilitating transactions using smart contracts, powered by blockchain technologies. Can you explain this solution in more detail?
Juan: At Finboot, we recognised the potential of blockchain technology nearly 3 years ago. This has enabled us to develop a highly competitive product in terms of technology, that is also designed to easily adapt to business and industrial structures.
We call this product ‘MARCO’. MARCO is a service that provides corporate users with blockchain applications in a fast, secure and user-friendly manner. The key point of these applications is smart contracts: software programs that enable us to automate transactions securely. One example of these transactions is certification processes (origin, quality, authorship, etc.) that can be registered and exchanged with properties such as immutability, transparency and notarisation. The limitation comes up when interacting with the technology. At the moment, blockchain is like e-mail in the early ’90s: a hobby for engineers who know how to use it. Finboot’s aim is to use MARCO to repeat the history of e-mail with blockchain and turn it into an essential tool in any office in the world.
In short, MARCO is a like a box of Legos, where the different pieces are the resources necessary for running and interacting with blockchain applications, which MARCO configures to deliver to users.
In addition to blockchain technology, what other technologies are your solutions based on and how do they work?
Juan: For MARCO to function properly, its resources (Lego pieces) have to be built with state-of-the-art cryptographic tools. To do that, we imported technology used in the communications sector and other software tools that we customised. This way, MARCO can guarantee security, authentication and privacy for its users.
With a future-oriented vision, we are staying on top of emerging quantum technologies and the impact they may have on our sector. This is an area we’re passionate about and that we’re expecting a lot from in future.
What benefits does Finboot offer its customers? Juan, do you think your solutions will have a social impact? What do you expect from this project?
Juan: Finboot offers corporate users benefits that are encompassed in three pillars: security, simplicity and flexibility. Flexibility, because we have a product designed to easily adapt to changes in the sector. Simplicity, because we feel that user experience is key and we strive to provide products that make users’ day-to-day experience easier; our aim is to introduce efficiency and new business models, not complexity. And, last but not least, security, which is why we have to make sure that all the elements we develop to provide this flexibility and simplicity don’t sacrifice the basic features of the technology.
We’ll see the social impact as the use of the technology becomes more established in society. Blockchain has an incredible capacity to facilitate access to value (capital, goods and services) and exchange this value. MARCO works like a vehicle to accelerate and simplify the digital transformation that will get us to that point.
What are your objectives? What would you like to achieve with this technology?
Juan: Our short- and medium-term goal is to move from hype to hope. The sector has been promising a revolution in multiple sectors for some time now, but we still haven’t reached that point yet, partly because we’ve been maturing the technology, which was right and had to be done. But the time has come to add value and move from experimenting to providing services. In the long term, we want MARCO to become a tool of reference for companies.
What does it mean for you to be part of CODE_n? What did you expect from this project by participating in CODE_n?
Juan: Being one of CODE_n’s top 50 startups was another achievement for Finboot. Maybe even more important is that we saw it as a great opportunity that will allow us to extend our reach in Europe, strengthen our strategic relationships and cultivate new relationships, both strategic and commercial. That was our aim for CODE_n. We wanted to identify key partners who are willing to learn about MARCO in detail and ultimately become its early adopters. A second aim, and possibly one that was almost just as important, was having a good time at the event and enjoying the surprises it had in store.
Finboot aims to revolutionise the corporate world with its new idea about blockchain through its flagship product, MARCO. To do this, they were at the 2018 new.New Festival, looking for victory in an ideal setting for startups and groundbreaking companies that were first and foremost seeking technological innovation.
