Alex Forsyth-Thompson (Float): Helping Consumers Buy Now and Pay Waaay Later, Responsibly.

The Startup Club Podcast

In this episode, we’re thrilled to sit down with Alex Forsyth-Thompson, Founder and CEO of Float, Africa's first card-linked instalment platform that's disrupting traditional BNPL and encouraging responsible spending, by letting shoppers split big-ticket payments over time using existing credit.

Despite reaching an executive position at a leading financial services business in his late twenties - Alex took the leap into tech entrepreneurship after spotting the gap to offer BNPL in a way that better serves the customer and merchant alike.
After 18 months in "the wilderness" (as he describes it) building an MVP, he landed his first equity partner to bring the product to life. In the 3 years since (and with only a team of 10), Float has onboarded 1000 merchants - including big names like Apple, Samsung and The Pro Shop - and has raised meaningful equity, alongside an $11m debt facility from Standard Bank. They also placed top 5 in the Visa’s Everywhere Initiative in 2023. But as expected, there’s always more to the story.
We talk about:
• Alex's upbringing, early career and wanting to start a business of his own.
• Navigating "big" life and career decisions.
• Making the leap from young corporate executive to fintech disruptor.
• Building a disruptive fintech business in crowded sector.
• The Float mission, vision and what comes next.
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Connect with Alex on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-forsyth-thompson-cfa-cfp%C2%AE-6b42a75a/
Connect with Mathew on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathewmarsden/
This episode was brought to you in partnership with our friends at ALX - the world-class tech skills and entrepreneurship accelerator, creating access to training for millions of young people in Africa. For more info, visit alxafrica.com.

The Startup Club Podcast dives into the stories of South Africa's leading tech startup founders and investors, their journeys of innovation, failure, resilience, and triumph and is an initiative of Startup Club ZA - the country’s fastest-growing tech startup and investor community. If you're passionate about entrepreneurship, innovation, solving hard problems, backing the change-makers and co-creating a better country, then you're invited to join us! 🇿🇦
Connect with us:
Website - https://www.startupclubza.com
LinkedIn - https://za.linkedin.com/company/startup-club-za
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/startupclub.za/

Chapters

1. Alex Forsyth-Thompson (Float): Helping Consumers Buy Now and Pay Waaay Later, Responsibly. (00:00:00)

2. A word from today's episode partners, ALX. (00:27:53)