Upvest Pitch Deck: Slide-by-Slide Breakdown

The Securities API: Upvest's Infrastructure Play

Upvest’s pitch deck is a clinical example of how to present a B2B infrastructure solution. It avoids the trap of over-explaining technical architecture too early, instead focusing on the strategic 'why' and the pedigree of the team building it. Founded in 2017 and based in Berlin, Upvest entered the market at a time when 'embedded finance' was transitioning from a buzzword to a core requirement for consumer fintechs.

Slides 1-5: Credibility and Team

Slide 1: Title The deck opens with a clear, functional title: "The Securities API." The subtitle, "Offer investment products in your app," immediately identifies the customer (businesses) and the value (speed to market).

Slide 2: Transition A simple blue divider asking "Who are we?" leads into the company overview.

Slide 3: Company Overview This is a high-density traction slide. It establishes the following facts:

Location: Berlin-based. · Funding: €14m+ raised to date. · Traction: €100m+ in AuM. · Regulatory: BaFin Licensed. · Team Size: 25 full-time employees.

The bottom of the slide features logos of prestigious former employers of the team, including UBS, Goldman Sachs, and Klarna, signaling institutional-grade experience.

Slide 4: The Upvest Leadership Team This slide reinforces the 'pedigree' narrative. It lists Martin Kassing (CEO), Tobias Auferoth (CFO), Parker Crockford (VP Growth), Til Rochow (CPO), and Juha Ristolainen (CTO). Each profile is backed by logos of high-growth fintechs like Finleap, Raisin, and TransferWise, suggesting the team has already scaled the types of companies they are now selling to.

Slide 5: Supported by Leading Investors The deck displays logos for Notion, Partech, HV Capital, and Earlybird. It also mentions support from the European Union Regional Development Fund, which adds a layer of public-sector validation often valued in European fintech.

Slides 6-10: Market Momentum and The Big Picture

Slide 6: Growth Trajectory This slide uses a bar chart to show exponential growth. It claims €10m in volume for 2019, €100m for 2020, and a projection of €1bn+ in AUC (Assets under Custody) for 2021. This 10x annual growth rate is the primary hook for a Series B investor. It also lists early clients like Bitwala and Cashlink.

Slide 7: Transition A divider asking "What’s the big picture?" shifts the focus from the company to the macro environment.

Slide 8: The Fintech Mandate Upvest argues that "Any fintech needs to offer investment products soon." They cite three drivers:

Negative interest rates: Banks are penalized for holding cash, forcing them to find yield-bearing products for users. · Millennial wealth: Projected to reach $20T by 2030, with a preference for seamless digital experiences. · Margin pressure: Regulatory costs have increased 800% over 10 years, making securities brokerage an attractive way to increase Customer Lifetime Value (CLV).

Slide 9: Brokerage-as-a-Service This is the 'Stripe' slide. It maps the evolution of fintech infrastructure:

2010 (Payments): Led by Stripe and Adyen for apps like Uber and Shopify. · 2015 (Banking): Led by Mambu and SolarisBank for apps like N26 and Revolut. · 2020 (Brokerage): Led by Upvest for apps like Coinbase, Trade Republic, and Bux.

By positioning themselves as the natural successor to Stripe and Mambu, Upvest frames their success as an industry inevitability.

Slides 11-15: Product and Use Cases

Slide 10: Transition A divider asking "Why are we needed?" leads into the product differentiation.

Slide 11: Upvest lets fintechs scale A comparison table pits Upvest against "DIY & Incumbents." Upvest claims three advantages: 1. State-of-the-art API: Scalable microservices vs. legacy system maintenance. 2. Modular ecosystem: Access to high-margin products vs. standard securities only. 3. Internationalization: EU-wide roll-out with taxes and licenses covered vs. country-by-country integration.

Slide 12: Use Cases This slide demonstrates the versatility of the API. It highlights four categories:

Direct investments: Fractional products for N26 or Coinbase. · Saving plans: Automated investments for Revolut or Bitwala. · Round-ups: Converting spare change into securities for Visa or Apple Pay. · Cashbacks: Converting rewards into securities for Uber or Zalando.

This effectively expands their Total Addressable Market (TAM) from just 'fintechs' to any consumer platform with a loyalty program.

Slide 13: User Experience Upvest shows a mobile UI flow (Investment offering -> Order request -> Confirmation -> Success -> Overview). The key message is that while Upvest provides the plumbing, the fintech "owns the UX," allowing for a white-labeled experience.

Slide 14: All-in-one Infrastructure A technical block diagram shows the full stack: Brokerage (Trading Gateway), Settlement (Transaction domain), and Custody (Customer Data, Tax, Reporting). It explicitly mentions the "Securities trading bank licence" as the foundation of the stack.

Slides 16-17: The Experts and Contact

Slide 16: Fintech Infrastructure Experts The deck circles back to the team, providing more detail on three key figures:

Christian Schäfer: Built a securities trading bank from scratch at Flatex. · Juha Ristolainen: Scaled TransferWise Business from 20 to 80 people. · Til Rochow: Led product at Raisin and worked at McKinsey.

This slide is designed to de-risk the execution of a complex, regulated product.

Slide 17: Contact The final slide features the CEO, Martin Kassing, and a cloud of icons representing the various assets Upvest supports (ETFs, Shares, Commodities, Crypto, etc.).

What Works in the Upvest Deck

1. The Regulatory Moat: Mentioning the BaFin license on Slide 3 and Slide 14 is a powerful signal. In fintech, technology is often easier to replicate than regulatory approval. By leading with the license, Upvest tells investors they have already cleared the hardest hurdle.

2. The Category Comparison: The chart on Slide 9 that aligns Upvest with Stripe and Mambu is highly effective. It uses the success of existing unicorns to explain Upvest's potential, making the business model easy to grasp for generalist investors.

3. Use Case Breadth: Slide 12 does an excellent job of showing that Upvest isn't just for stock-trading apps. By including logos like Uber, Zalando, and Lufthansa for "Cashbacks," they suggest a massive horizontal market for embedded investments.

What is Missing from the Upvest Deck

1. The Ask: There is no slide stating how much capital is being raised in this Series B or how it will be spent. While this is common in decks that are leaked or shared after a round, a fundraising deck should ideally specify the milestones the new capital will unlock.

2. Unit Economics: The deck mentions "high growth" and "€1bn AUC," but it does not explain how Upvest makes money. There is no mention of basis points on AUC, per-transaction fees, or SaaS implementation fees. Investors need to see the path to profitability, not just volume growth.

3. Competitive Landscape: While they compare themselves to "Incumbents," they ignore other API-first competitors in the space (such as DriveWealth in the US or other European infrastructure players). Acknowledging the competitive landscape and explaining their specific edge (e.g., the tax engine or the specific license type) would strengthen the pitch.

What a Founder Should Copy

1. The 'Pedigree' Slide: If you have a team from top-tier companies, use Slide 4’s format. Putting the logos of former employers directly under the headshots is a shorthand for "we know what we're doing."

2. The Macro-Trend Justification: Slide 8 is a great template for a "Why Now?" slide. It doesn't just say "people like investing"; it points to specific economic pressures (negative interest rates) and demographic shifts (millennial wealth) that create a sense of urgency.

3. Visualizing the 'Plumbing': Slide 13 is a perfect way to show a B2B product. By showing the end-user's mobile screens but labeling them as "Powered by Upvest," you clarify that you are an invisible but essential layer of the stack.

Final Verdict: Upvest’s deck is a sophisticated, high-level pitch that relies on the strength of its team and the clarity of its market positioning. It successfully frames the company as a critical piece of the next generation of financial infrastructure.