Finpro Uses Applied AI to Forecast Financials Faster

pcmag.com:

Twenty years ago, Serge Amouzou was still a youth living in the West African republic of Togo. Today, he lives in San Francisco and is the founder and CEO of Finpro(Opens in a new window) (formerly Finmod). This fintech start-up applies artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning techniques to help businesses forecast financials.

Amouzou recently discussed Finpro and his road to creating it with Dan Kihanya of the Founders Unfound(Opens in a new window) podcast. A serial entrepreneur himself, Kihanya uses his platform to showcase founders from underrepresented communities, both in the tech realm and beyond.

According to Amouzou, Finpro's technology enables teams to forecast financials 10 times faster than the hours typically spent building business models in spreadsheets. It achieves this by drawing from multiple data sources, such as accounting software, bank accounts, and payroll systems. You can even throw your own inputs into the mix, such as headcounts you were projecting or your own revenue forecasts. Once all this data is in, Finpro uses its algorithms to surface insights and make recommendations.

Another important aspect of Finpro is its reporting capabilities. Often, businesses lack a standard format for financial reports, making it hard to communicate financials across teams. Finpro's forecasts are applicable to everything, including marketing budgets, sales, revenue, headcount, and expenses, so each team can output its reports using the same shared template. This, in turn, lets executives log into the software and see a complete picture of the company.

Founding a fintech start-up wasn't always Amouzou's goal. He moved to the United States in 2005 to live with his mother, who was already in Baltimore, and