Stride.VC is a London-based seed-stage tech fund targeting startups in the UK and France. Founded in 2018, the firm is headquartered in London, England.
The situation
It is a truth universally acknowledged that AML is typically a manual, painful, and time consuming process in the VC world. Tech-savvy investors and companies in this space also expect a slick customer experience - something that isn’t often the case with manual, back-office processes.
“It’s been a personal pain point for over 10 years”, partner Ross Waide says. “And we’d looked hard at a new process for almost a year before finding and being comfortable with First AML.”
How they found First AML
Stride heard about First AML through another one of First AML’s customers having been users for another fund in a personal capacity. The team were intrigued after hearing about their experience. “We need to be simplifying the process as much as possible and removing email trails”, Ross says. “That’s why we wanted a more modern approach to AML.”
"First AML has been one of the best improvements we have made."
The team were nervous about changing their due diligence processes from their tried and true methods. Even so, they were willing to embrace how technology could streamline their processes.
Using First AML
“In the last three years, First AML has been one of the best improvements we have made for our firm and our Limited Partners (LPs) that we work with”, says Ross. “First AML makes the complicated seem very simple with its workflows and support available.”
Stride migrated their previous AML data information into the platform to create a single source of truth. They now have multiple users on the platform to submit, review, and approve cases.
“The platform and processes work really well, it’s intuitive and easy to use for both us and the end user. We couldn’t go without it.”
“The platform and processes work really well, it’s intuitive and easy to use for both us and the end user” adds Ross. “We couldn’t go without it.”
The team appreciates how easy screening checks now are when onboarding. “The screening checks work really well. It makes the process so much easier and we don’t need to deal with the usual admin around it.”
What’s next
“We’ll be putting all LPs and investments through the First AML platform going forward”, says Ross. “We’re excited about bringing order to the chaos of this part of our back office while giving a better onboarding experience at the same time.”
“If you map out your own workflow, then compare it to First AML’s system - it will be an obvious choice.”
In terms of advice for others that might be considering First AML, Ross says the answer is clear. “If you map out your own workflow first, then compare it to First AML’s system - it will be an obvious choice.”
About First AML
First AML simplifies the entire anti-money laundering onboarding and compliance process. Its SaaS platform, Source, stands out as a leading solution for organisations with complex or international onboarding needs. It provides streamlined collaboration and ensures uniformity in all AML practices.
First AML transforms an otherwise complex and manual process into one that is simple, cost-effective, and compliant for businesses. By delivering efficiency and time savings, it protects reputations and enables companies to stay on the right side of history in the face of global threats.
Keen to find out more? Book a demo today! No time for a long demo? No problem. See what Source by First AML can do for your business in 2 minutes – watch the short demo here.