Q&A with Pav Gill Founder and CEO of Confide Platform

Hey FinTech Fanatic!

Today, I’m excited to share my latest Q&A with Pav Gill, Founder and CEO of Confide Platform.

Before diving in, I recommend:

• Following him on LinkedIn,
• Checking out Confide Platform

Let’s get to it!

You were the whistleblower in the Wirecard scandal, a deeply personal experience. How did that shape your vision for Confide Platform?

My experience with Wirecard was undeniably life-altering. It wasn't just about exposing serious criminal activity; it was about recognizing the systemic failures that allowed it to happen. That fueled my desire to empower others and create the future of trust in business.

That's why I started by building a truly comprehensive whistleblowing solution – one that goes beyond simple reporting to facilitate thorough, secure, and confidential investigations. But I always knew that was just the first step.

Whistleblowing is often a last resort, a sign that other systems have failed. True impact comes from preventing those failures in the first place. That's the driving force behind Confide Platform.

My co-founder and I have firsthand experience building risk and compliance programs from the ground up. We understand the challenges, the complexities, and the sheer time commitment involved. With the Confide Platform, we're eliminating those hurdles.

Imagine this: out-of-the-box access to industry-leading policies, pre-built workflows, templates, and everything else needed to establish a robust GRC framework. Whether you're a startup seeking to build trust or an enterprise aiming to streamline and strengthen your existing program, Confide Platform provides the tools and resources to confidently manage all your stakeholders, customers, investors, regulators, and everyone in between.

Confide started with whistleblowing software. Why expand to a full GRC platform now? Was there a tipping point or a specific client need that drove this evolution?

While we initially focused on whistleblowing, our vision always extended to a broader GRC offering. We experienced firsthand the challenges of finding affordable and effective solutions for various compliance needs. That's why we built Confide Platform with flexibility in mind, allowing us to easily adapt and expand into new areas.

When we started receiving consistent feedback from clients and industry contacts expressing a need for our technology in other GRC domains, we knew the time was right to expand.

Can you elaborate on the "Receive, Manage, Resolve, Comply" framework? What are some real-world examples of how this works within the platform for different compliance use cases?

Our "Receive, Manage, Resolve, Comply" framework reflects the natural lifecycle of any compliance workflow. Each pillar represents a critical stage in the process, supported by tailored features and functionalities within Confide Platform.

Let's take a complex AML investigation as an example. Imagine a scenario where a sanctioned individual transacts on your platform.

• Receive: Confide Platform seamlessly integrates with your existing systems to instantly alert the right team about the suspicious activity, ensuring swift action.
• Manage: The platform provides a centralized hub for investigation, equipped with tools like case management, secure document storage, and collaboration features to streamline the process.
• Resolve: Confide Platform enables you to efficiently conclude the investigation, generate comprehensive reports with audit trails, and prepare all necessary documentation for regulatory bodies or internal stakeholders.
• Comply: The platform ensures ongoing compliance by maintaining detailed records, facilitating ongoing monitoring, and generating reports for audit purposes.

This framework translates seamlessly to other areas like supply chain risk management. You can conduct thorough due diligence on suppliers, utilize the platform's tools to manage investigations, generate detailed reports, and maintain ongoing compliance with regulatory requirements.

While the specific use cases may differ, the underlying principles of "Receive, Manage, Resolve, Comply" remain consistent. Confide Platform provides the flexibility and functionality to adapt to diverse compliance needs, empowering organizations to manage risk effectively and build trust with stakeholders.

Startups and enterprises face very different compliance challenges. What are some of the biggest pain points you're addressing for each group with Confide Platform? 

You're absolutely right, startups and enterprises face distinct compliance challenges. For startups, it's often about speed and efficiency. They need to establish a robust GRC program quickly and cost-effectively to secure funding, attract customers, and satisfy regulators. Confide Platform addresses this with our Startup Compliance offering by providing a streamlined path to compliance maturity, with out-of-the-box solutions and automated workflows that save valuable time and resources.

Enterprises, on the other hand, grapple with scale and complexity. They need a flexible and adaptable solution that can keep pace with evolving regulatory demands and consolidate fragmented compliance operations. Confide Platform offers them the agility to respond to new regulations without constantly investing in new tools, while also enabling them to centralize their GRC activities, reducing redundancy and enhancing oversight.

Many startups view compliance as a burden. How does Confide Platform change that narrative? How does it help startups turn compliance into a competitive advantage?

You're right, compliance can be a burden. It takes time to develop policies, processes, and implement everything properly. We make that easy. Startups need to realize that a mature GRC program is essential for attracting investors (passing due diligence), securing licenses, and winning customers. We make that part easy too.

Looking ahead, what's next for Confide Platform? Are there plans for new modules, features, or integrations?

Simply put, yes lots and coming fast, our team is working around the clock with industry leaders to execute on our vision. Stay tuned.

Ultimately, what impact do you hope Confide Platform will have on the broader business landscape? What's your vision for the future of GRC?

My vision for Confide Platform extends beyond simply streamlining compliance. I believe it can fundamentally reshape how businesses build and maintain trust. I envision Confide becoming the central nervous system for an organization's GRC program, providing a transparent and accessible platform for managing every aspect of governance, risk, and compliance. As we like to say, Confide will own the GRC real estate for every organisation.

We're at a fascinating crossroads in the regulatory landscape. On one hand, we see deregulation efforts in certain regions, creating opportunities for businesses to optimize their compliance processes, save costs and focus on real risks. On the other hand, other jurisdictions are introducing more stringent regulations, demanding greater agility and efficiency from compliance teams.

Confide Platform is designed to navigate both sides. In the short term, we help organizations to streamline their compliance efforts, reduce operational costs, and adapt to changing regulatory demands. But our vision extends far beyond that.

In the mid-term, we're developing AI-powered models to automate up to 90% of the manual tasks currently burdening GRC professionals. This will free them to focus on higher-value activities and more “approval” rather than “execution”.

Building a comprehensive GRC platform like this requires significant resources. How have you funded Confide Platform's development to date, and what are your future funding plans to support its growth and expansion?

It's been an incredible journey building Confide Platform to this point, and I'm particularly proud that we've achieved it without relying on large institutional funding. While bootstrapping can be challenging for a startup, it has given us the freedom to stay laser-focused on solving real pain points for our customers.

More than just capital, it's crucial to have the right support and belief in our vision. We've been fortunate to attract investors who are seasoned industry professionals: C-suite executives from legal, risk, and compliance backgrounds at major global companies. They've experienced these challenges firsthand, understand the magnitude of the problem we're solving, and recognize the potential for significant returns.

While we will explore further funding options in the future, our priority remains partnering with investors who align with our vision and bring strategic value beyond just capital. We're building a company for the long term, and we're committed to doing it the right way.