Ralf Heim has been named Entrepreneur of the Year 2025, a major recognition for the co-founder and co-CEO of fincite.
The award was presented by Bitkom and Payment & Banking during DigiFin 2025, marking a significant milestone both for Heim personally and for the wider fincite team. Shortly after receiving the award, Heim reflected on building a company in one of the most competitive and highly regulated areas of financial services.
Speaking about fincite’s early years, Heim recalled how the company began with a belief that the investment experience in Europe was failing to meet client expectations. He said the real challenge was not identifying potential, but finding the right product positioning. This required years of testing, refining, and working with banks to understand their operations. Heim explained that around 2019, the company finally realised it could transform reporting from a static process into a dynamic, data-driven experience. That breakthrough helped fincite establish itself within the WealthTech sector and was the basis for scaling digital advisory services across multiple financial institutions.
On the subject of long-term entrepreneurship, Heim described working in FinTech and wealth management as demanding and often slower than other technology sectors due to heavy regulation and lengthy procurement cycles. He said competing with rivals raising close to €100m did not change fincite’s strategic approach. Instead, the company focused on patience, product maturity and customer trust. Heim also noted that joining Harvest Group was a strategic continuation of that philosophy, as major financial institutions increasingly look for fewer but deeper partnerships with technology providers.
When asked about AI, Heim emphasised that founders in WealthTech have a responsibility to deploy AI in ways that genuinely enhance financial decision-making rather than simply offering novelty. He said fincite experiments with multiple AI use cases including portfolio intelligence, data automation and advisory support, but stressed that compliance and auditability remain central. “Founders in WealthTech do not just ship features. We shape the guardrails for how AI enters one of the most trust sensitive industries in the world,” he said.
The conversation concluded with lighter reflections on industry trends, including his view that more wealth is now managed through neobrokers than traditional banks expect. Heim said if an AI version of himself could take over any task, it would likely manage all scheduling, logistics and follow-ups. He described the current phase of fincite’s journey as “The Forge of a European Champion – From Local Sparks to a Continental Fire”, showing that while the award is a major moment, the company sees it as part of a longer story still unfolding.
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