ammonite, co-founded by alumna Caroline Duff, selected for Oxford Foundry accelerator programme
OXFO Elevate, the Oxford Foundry entrepreneur accelerator programme, has accelerated 32 Oxford-led start-ups, which have gone on to raise in excess of £43 million in capital and create over 170 jobs. The programme has just welcomed its fourth cohort of entrepreneurs, and among the ten selected business ventures is ammonite, a financial advisory Fintech co-founded by Caroline Duff (2003, Physics and Philosophy).
After graduating from Exeter College in 2007, Caroline worked as a Chartered Financial Planner at Sanderson House for nearly seven years, before transferring to Sterling and Law Group plc. In 2019, Caroline took an entrepreneurial leap and founded ammonite.
‘The “advice gap” in the UK is growing at an alarming pace, and individuals with less than £100,000 in investible assets are struggling to access affordable, personal, financial advice’, writes ammonite. Caroline and co-founder Rob Harradine set up ammonite to democratise financial planning, by using technology and an innovative model to provide high-quality financial coaching and advice that is affordable and accessible to the people that often need it the most.
ammonite was an immediate success, winning the ‘2020 Business Elite’ award for Best Financial Planning Advisory, and was accepted into the Virgin Startup Collective Impact accelerator in early 2021. Caroline herself was also a finalist in the Entrepreneur category of the ‘Women of the Future’ awards 2020. Selection for OXFO Elevate, the highly competitive six-month intensive venture growth programme, will enable ammonite to further develop the service they provide.
The Oxford Foundry offers support to entrepreneurs at all levels, including Oxford students and alumni. In addition to re-launching their OXFO Elevate programme, this summer, they are offering a BAME Entrepreneurial Fellowship initiative, providing 20 BAME students from the University of Oxford with 8-week funded placements with high growth ventures. Those selected will have the opportunity to work with Oxford Foundry supported start-ups to tackle a range of world-scale problems, including climate change, healthcare equity, and cybersecurity.
Find out more about the initiative here and about the Oxford Foundry here.
