Of Freedom Piperopoulou
Just two years after its founding, Finny, the New York-based fintech startup and an intense Greek imprint, as her co-founder is the Greek Victoria Tolis, is developing into one of the fastest growing companies in the field of health management. Victoria Tolis, along with her co-founders Theodore Janson and Eden Ovadia, has been included on the American list "Forbes 30 Under 30", while the company now numbers 35 employees and has raised a total of over $20 million from investors, with its valuation reaching $150 million.
Finny, who participated in the Y Combinator program in the summer of 2024, develops artificial intelligence tools aimed at financial advisors in the US, with the aim of helping them acquire new customers, better manage their existing clientele and develop their businesses.
AI at the service of the financial advisors
The company was created to address one of the biggest problems of the financial consultants industry: the time and resources needed to attract new customers.
As explained in Capital. gr and Forbes Greece Victoria Tolly, in the US there is a strong stream of independent financial advisors, as more and more leave the large banks to create their own companies, but without having the appropriate tools.
How's Finny?
Finny's platform acts as a development tool for advisors, utilizing artificial intelligence and a large volume of data in order to identify the most important opportunities. The company gathers publicly available information from different sources and creates a single profile for each candidate or existing client.
These data may concern job changes, real estate markets, business developments or other important events that may mark a new economic need. Through the F-Score algorithm, Finny evaluates the possibility of a prospective client working with a consultant, helping the latter to prioritise contacts with the highest value.
At the same time, the platform creates personalized messages, proposes the appropriate communication channel and automates processes such as follow-ups and meeting programming.
According to the company's co-founder, the goal is not just automation, but strengthening the personal relationship between consultant and client through artificial intelligence. As he points out, the main reason why a customer is being removed from his financial advisor today is not necessarily the return on his investments, but the feeling that he does not receive the necessary attention and that the relationship of trust is absent.
From lead generation to overall development
Finny started with the automation of the approach of new customers, but now extends its scope to the whole range of economic consultants. The company helps advisors enhance their online presence through their websites, content they create and overall their strategy on digital channels. At the same time, it uses artificial intelligence to highlight opportunities that already exist within each consultant's existing clientele.
For example, if he identifies that a customer works in a company and there is a significant development that can affect his financial situation, he informs the consultant that this may be the right time for a personal communication.
The question, as he points out, is not about replacing the human relationship but about strengthening it through technology. "What we are trying to do is offer a more personified experience on a larger scale so that the financial advisor can send the right message, at the right time, with the right advice," Mrs Tolis explains, noting that Finny's mission is to contribute to the "democracy" of qualitative financial counseling.
This need becomes even greater, as, according to it, there is a significant gap in the US market, with about 100,000 fewer financial advisors than is needed to meet the needs of the population.
Development and financing
Since its launch in early 2024, Finny has developed its clientele significantly. According to the company, more than 400 companies are using the platform.
In December 2025 startup announced Series A funding of $17 million, led by Venrock and the participation of investors such as Activant, Jason Wenk of Altruist, as well as existing Y Combinator, Maple VC and Crossbeam Ventures. In 2024 he had completed a funding round of $4.3 million.
Greece, the ecosystem and the next step
Finny's activity is currently limited to the US, as expansion in Europe presents greater challenges due to the different data protection framework and the restrictions created by the GDPR.
Although the company does not have an office in Greece, Victoria Tolis leaves open the possibility of a next business attempt to have a Greek base and declares optimistic about the progress of the Greek innovation ecosystem.
As he argues, Greece has high-level human resources, strong dispersal and significant potential for development through partnerships with universities and research institutions. At the same time, he estimates that quality of life can function as a pole of attraction for both Greeks abroad and foreign professionals.
However, it considers that further improvements are needed in the business environment, with less bureaucracy and easier companies being established, while notes that in Greece there is still greater fear of failure than in the United States, where taking a business risk is an integral part of startup culture.
Referring to the image of Greece abroad, Victoria Tolis estimates that, despite the significant progress made in recent years, especially in the field of technology, the country is still on several occasions being treated through the "filter" of the economic crisis.
She, however, estimates that the country has changed significantly in the last decade, since she left for Stanford studies and began her course in the field of technology. In its view, a realistic model for Greece would be to follow Tel Aviv's path, creating a powerful technological ecosystem that attracts investment, talent and new business efforts.
"Greece is now a different country. When I left when I was 18, I would never think about coming back. Today I would like, with a next business effort, to create something in Greece and feel like I'm offering back to the country," he concludes.
