David Brown, Founder, Freedom

Today I'm delighted to speak with David Brown, Founder of Freedom, a retirement fintech platform offering pension providers tools to retain and engage members.

With a strong track record building and scaling ventures including Oxygen Finance, Remitia, and Previse, David shares his candid journey into retirement innovation and his vision for simplifying one of life's most complex financial transitions.

My questions are in bold - over to you David:

Who are you and what's your background?

I am a fintech entrepreneur, with a strong track record in payments and pension innovation. I have built and scaled multiple ventures at the intersection of finance and technology, and my expertise lies in strategy, partnerships, and product design.

I started out in enterprise software and e-commerce with OpenText and CommerceOne, and then went on to establish several fintech ventures including:

• Oxygen Finance – transforming payment processes into new revenue opportunities for businesses.
• Remitia – enabling instant payments for SMEs through data-driven analytics.
• Previse – using machine learning to optimise invoice payments and reduce risk.
• Hi Group & Violet.ONE – increasing transparency in payroll and time tracking.

My new venture is retirement fintech platform, Freedom. Which is aimed at pension providers who want to retain and engage their members post-retirement. Freedom will enable them to give their members real-time fund visibility, smart defaults with automated reminders - the tools to have greater choice, control, and confidence in managing their post-retirement income. Freedom is pioneering Retirement as a Service (RAAS), a new category redefining how pensions are accessed and retained.

What is your job title and what are your general responsibilities?

As the founder of Freedom. I work with the CEO to set the strategic direction of the business, shape the product vision, work with regulators and partners, and lead discussions with pension providers, investors, and payment companies. I focus on building solutions that genuinely improve retirement outcomes while staying fully compliant in a highly regulated environment.

Can you give us an overview of your business?

Freedom is a B2B fintech platform that helps pension providers tackle major retirement challenges, including member retention and responsible decumulation. A key risk for providers is that members often access their pensions too quickly and disengage, while members themselves face complex decisions about spending, tax, and long-term planning, frequently without support.

Our platform simplifies pension access, presenting it through a familiar digital banking interface. We provide members with guidance to make informed decisions, while handling the underlying administration, tax, and regulatory complexity for providers. This approach, which we call "retirement as a service," combines ease of use with robust compliance and member support.

Tell us how you are funded?

We are currently bootstrapped and have grown the business as far as possible organically. Now, we are preparing for a major funding round in January, driven by strong traction with institutional partners. One of the world's largest payment companies is considering becoming an anchor investor, providing strong validation of both our model and the market need. This funding will enable us to move fully into execution and scale rapidly.

What's the origin story? Why did you start the company?

I started Freedom reluctantly, and that's the honest answer. After applying for over 200 roles without a single interview, despite a strong background and network, I experienced ageism firsthand. At the same time, people in the industry told me they valued my thinking, but wanted me back as an entrepreneur, not as an employee.

I find entrepreneurship is stressful and demanding, and initially I wasn't eager to go down that path again. But the alternative would have required a fundamental compromise on my family's future. With the support of early sponsors, I got back in the saddle and built Freedom to solve a clear problem: retirement has become unnecessarily complex and poorly supported. Freedom will make retirement simpler, helping people make confident decisions and feel in control of their future.

Who are your target customers? What's your revenue model?

Our target customers are pension providers. We help providers improve engagement, retention and long-term outcomes for their members, keeping assets, relationships and value within the provider ecosystem. Our revenue model is based on providing this platform and service to providers as part of their retirement offering.

If you had a magic wand, what one thing would you change in the banking and/or FinTech sector?

I would introduce the law of common sense. In financial services, regulation is necessary, but too often it comes at the expense of logic. For example, asking pensioners to re-prove their identity after saving with the same provider for 35 years, simply to access their own money, does not make any sense Regulation needs to evolve alongside innovation, not force new models into outdated frameworks.

What is your message for the larger players in the Financial Services marketplace?

Do not be complacent. History shows us that complacency destroys companies. You just need to think of Blackberry underestimating the power of smartphones or Microsoft initially dismissing the internet. Innovation doesn't always look disruptive at first, but it can fundamentally reshape markets. Defending legacy models instead of embracing innovation is a dangerous strategy.

Where do you get your Financial Services/FinTech industry news from?

I read widely. Bloomberg and the Financial Times are daily staples, and I also follow financial reviews and alerts via my phone. Staying informed is about consistent reading rather than relying on a single source.

Can you list 3 people you rate from the FinTech and/or Financial Services sector that we should be following on LinkedIn, and why?

I would say Simon Taylor who is a respected fintech commentator and analyst, with a strong background in innovation at Barclays and clear insight into the fintech landscape.

Secondly, I would say Level39 alumni and founders as so many of today's fintech leaders came out of the original Level39 group, which has played a pivotal role in shaping UK fintech. Having grown alongside them at Level39, I have seen how they've become such influential advocates for fintech innovation and policy.

What FinTech services (and/or apps) do you personally use?

I use Monzo, Revolut, Santander, Barclays, NatWest, as well as multiple pension apps. Each serves a different purpose, and this also highlights how fragmented financial services still are. Revolut, for example, started as an FX tool for me and has since become a primary banking platform.

What's the best new FinTech product or service you've seen recently?

I'm most interested in the ongoing battle between Monzo and Revolut. The outcome is far from settled. While Revolut may be larger, being number two often means you try harder, and it's fascinating to watch how that competition plays out.

Finally, let's talk predictions. What trends do you think are going to define the next few years in the FinTech sector?

I think there will be a major correction, particularly in crypto and AI, and many people will lose money. But, as we saw during the dot-com boom, a small number of standout companies will emerge and go on to define the future.

I'm especially interested in the intersection of AI and robotics, where developments that once felt like science fiction are starting to become reality.

We'd like to thank David for taking the time to share his insights with us. You can learn more about Freedom and their innovative approach to retirement services on their website.