After scientific preparation, a CentraleSupélec-ESCP double degree and a brief stint in the world of consulting, Samy Ouardini embarked on an entrepreneurial adventure to demystify a world that seems obscure to many French people: savings. He tells us more about his startup, Ramify.
The journey of Samy Ouardini
What is your background?
I went to high school, for a scientific baccalaureate in Morocco, in Rabat. I then did a science prep course, because my teachers told me that it wouldn’t close any doors for me. So I did prep school in Toulouse, then I joined CentraleSupélec in 2012. My dream was to join a business school and so I joined ESCP. I loved my experience at school, thanks to which I was able to travel to Korea, London, the United States and complete numerous internships to try out many professions, while maintaining a finance component. After my studies, in 2016, I joined the Oliver Wyman firm.
Why did you ultimately choose consulting?
During my studies, I had experiences in finance, consulting and even a Tech company specializing in energy in the USA. These three areas interested me, but I always wanted to find a sector that would not close any doors to me. I had entrepreneurship in mind and I realized that consulting allowed me to work on several types of projects and that it prepared me better than finance.
What pushed you to take the plunge into entrepreneurship?
I have always thought about entrepreneurship. I knew I wouldn’t spend more than 3 or 4 years in the consulting world. Entrepreneurship attracts me above all because of the fact of creating a team. I’ve done a lot of team sports and choosing the members who will accompany you in a project is what I prefer, it’s what motivates me.
Are you passionate about Fintech? Discover Cyril Chiche’s journey in our podcast!
Everything you need to know about Ramify
So you founded Ramify. What is Ramify?
Ramify is a 100% digital investment and savings platform which provides all users and savers with all the simulation, comparison and visualization tools to help them make decisions relating to investment and savings. Our site allows anyone to implement investment and savings strategies, without having any knowledge of finance. Our goal is to allow people to access this world, without being fooled.
Why did you create a Fintech around investment and savings?
I was already interested in this subject in college. Very quickly, I managed my personal finances by doing my own research. Many relatives asked me questions and I saw that they didn’t necessarily understand the subject.
During confinement, I received a lot of questions on the subject and I created Excel models with Olivier, my partner. It worked well and we thought a platform with specialization algorithms could really help people. Today, 77% of French people consider their financial education to be average or poor. They do not master subjects like life insurance or PER [Plan épargne retraite, NDLR].
What features does Ramify offer?
Today, we offer two products: life insurance and PER. Cryptocurrency and SCPIs should arrive this year, PEAs and interest-bearing savings accounts next year. Our ambition is to have a complete offer by mid-2022.
Who is Ramify for?
In the long term, the goal is to be able to address the needs of all savers. We offer free Ramify offers for students who are willing to put down $1,000 to get started. Our target is more CSP+ who will be able to deposit more money and finance our development. Ultimately, our goal is to offer three offers: Ramify Free, with a minimum investment of €1,000, for those who are starting out, Premium, for CSP+, and Black, for people who have more than €100,000 to deposit. Here, the idea will be to make tailor-made items.
Ramify today…and tomorrow
How do you finance yourself today?
We carried out a small fundraiser and collected love money from loved ones who believe in our project, but we still managed to bring together business angels more confirmed, as one of the founders of Meilleurtaux.com.
When we look at the competition, we see that there is a period of reassurance which lasts a year and a half to two years, where the objective is to make yourself known. This is what we have been doing for two months. Our goal is to move forward as quickly as possible and raise funds for scaler sales and operations and then reach series A. The question that will arise is: do I play for stability or do I do another fundraising to go even faster and aim Europe?
How do you imagine the future of Ramify?
By the end of 2022, our goal is to find a place in the savings/asset management environment in France. After creating simulators and comparators that create confidence, the objective is to create a solid box. Once we have this base, the objective is potentially to go to Europe. You just need to find the right partners to offer the same services in Spain, Italy or Belgium.
The other subject which is at the heart of our long-term vision and in which we believe a lot, but which we cannot activate without this famous reassurance phase, is B2B2C. We want to offer a complete financial well-being offer to allow companies to manage employee savings or participation of their employees. It’s a market that no one is exploiting!
A challenge that arises is also that of recruiting talent to support this strategy
We are in a very competitive industry in terms of salaries. Ramify is surrounded by funds and banks. This is also the challenge for Fintechs. In France, finance is JP Morgan or BNP Paribas. People don’t want to work in startups because they won’t get paid as much as in big banks.
For our part, we have decided to implement a very clear and demanding recruitment process. It took us a lot of time to find the right people to support us, but we realized that the key to success lay in the collaborators and you have to find the time to recruit the right person. The advice I would give to people who want to carry out a long-term project is that recruitment is a launching pad.
