6 Questions with Federico Monti, CEO of Notarify

It was our pleasure to sit down with Federico Monti, CEO of Notarify, which is building a 'Dropbox' that certifies files to enhance your company's legal security.

1. Can you give us an overview of your background and how you started Notarify?

I started Notarify after years of gaining knowledge in banking, insurance, and blockchain. My journey included launching several startups, focusing on servicing the north-Italian citizens with easy access to Bitcoin ATMs and facilitating crypto payments, in what became known as the Bitcoin Valley in Rovereto, Italy.

The idea for Notarify originated from a personal experience where a company I was directly investing in encountered legal issues because the other party altered a document clause. In court, it was impossible to certify the original digital document. This incident sparked the intuition to use blockchain's legal timestamp to certify the originality of digital documents, leading to the creation of Notarify.

Notarify is a blockchain company that specializes in blockchain notarization and has created an all-in-one SaaS platform for document management. The platform tracks access, identities, downloads, and file shares on the blockchain, and allows documents to be signed graphically and biometrically. Many consider it a mix between Google Drive, DocuSign, and Gmail, but with a cost, time, and platform advantage.

Our portfolio of offerings is not limited to our Saas platform, but we also have a certificate generator used by universities and academies to certify courses, a dynamic passport generator to create a digital identity of every physical asset and facilitate the regulatory standards, and a plug&play solution that can be integrated into any machinery or CRM to automatically notarize data streams.

We are currently in 5 different countries with a global team of almost 20 people. We are planning to expand soon to two more countries and help the digital world become a safer place, with access to Web3 as easy as Web2.

2. What is your favorite thing about the FinTech ecosystem right now?

My favorite aspect of the FinTech ecosystem right now is the rapid integration of AI into various processes. AI is transforming how we manage financial services, making operations more efficient and enhancing the customer experience. Some of those revolutions are already happening, with the rise of robo-investing and apps that automatically log expenses.

As a matter of fact, we are also exposed to AI, being our video biometric signature recognition driven by AI.

3. What tips can you give to entrepreneurs considering starting a business in finance/FinTech?

For entrepreneurs looking to start in finance/FinTech, my advice is to focus on understanding regulatory requirements thoroughly, as this can be a major challenge in the industry. Once the startup is operating, building strong partnerships with established financial institutions and engaging with the broader FinTech ecosystem can facilitate growth. This in turn will lead to securing diverse funding sources, prioritizing customer trust, and planning for scalable operations.

Overall, the key activities the entrepreneur should think about is to operationalize the company and remain agile and adaptable to industry changes ensuring long-term success in this rapidly evolving sector.

4. What's a great digital tool or hack you've discovered recently?

A great digital tool I've discovered recently is AI for sales. It has revolutionized how we manage funnel creation, pipeline development, and email communication. For instance, AI chatbots can handle routine customer inquiries, providing instant responses and freeing up sales representatives to focus on more complex interactions. They can also gather customer data and feedback, providing valuable insights to improve sales strategies. Within Notarify we are using AI tools to record meetings and create summaries of what it has been said during a demo or pitch with investors.

5. What FinTech startups are you personally excited about right now?

One hot startup I'm currently interested in for addressing Italy's tax evasion issues is Zabit, a Brazilian company that offers a comprehensive solution for money laundering prevention. The solution generates alerts based on predefined rules and simplifies case management to ensure regulatory compliance. This enables financial institutions to create risk matrices for businesses and regularly classify customer risk, making it a powerful tool in the fight against tax evasion.

6. What can we expect to see coming out of Notarify in the near future?

I will share something that is already in the pipeline given our fundraising campaign that will start by the end of May. In the near future, you can expect to see the development of Notarify GPT, an AI-driven tool designed to create contracts and handle all aspects of document management.

Notarify GPT will be trained on legal jurisdiction data, starting with Italian law, and will feature an AI assistant capable of reading and highlighting specific clauses in contracts. Additionally, the AI will facilitate the signature process, making the entire document management workflow more seamless and efficient.