In a sector where innovation often collides with regulation, few founders embody the balancing act as sharply as Doni Hoti. Raised in the fast-paced reality of a family business and later shaped by a career in finance, he has channelled both worlds into Adclear — a platform redefining how regulated brands create and approve marketing content.

From tackling the bottlenecks of compliance to enabling global teams to move with unprecedented speed, his vision reflects the new frontier of AI-powered governance in financial services.

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1- Tell us a bit about yourself, and how you got the idea for your company.

I was raised in a family business, working in the restaurant my parents set up after they moved to the UK from Kosovo, so entrepreneurship is something I learnt early on. It was more than just a Saturday job for me. Me and my brother picked up the reins when my parents struggled with the language barrier, and got used to dealing with banks and handling business operations. Then, after university, I built a career for myself in the finance world. But I soon got an itch to put my entrepreneurial skills I’d learnt working in the restaurant to use.

The manual nature of compliance review processes was highlighted by my childhood best friend Joe, whose family member worked in the industry. Together, we saw how AI could help avoid repetitive feedback and transform back-and-forth review processes burdening compliance and marketing teams alike. This led us to launch Adclear in 2024.

2- What problem/opportunity do you address, and for which customers?

Adclear is used by marketing, product and compliance teams at leading finance brands to ship creative, compliant content faster. The platform uses AI to analyse promotions such as ads, social posts, webpages and product screens, and flags up any changes required to ensure that content complies with relevant regulations. This helps avoid the traditional back-and-forth involved in compliance processes, and cuts review times by 88% on average.

Our technology is used by leading banks, fintechs, crypto and trading platforms. They include the UK’s biggest neobank, Lloyds Banking Group, PensionBee, Plum, Yonder, InvestEngine, ActivTrades, Trade Nation, and more.

3- What is your solution/USP, and who do you compete with?

Adclear’s tech is designed with regulated brands in mind. This means that the platform doesn’t just enable compliance processes to keep pace with content creation. It enables compliance teams to more easily and accurately review content, log feedback, track changes, and run audits in line with relevant regulations – with everything securely stored in one place.

These centralised workspaces are also built to be bespoke for each company, enabling teams to review content in line with organisation-specific policies as well as wider regulations.

4- What are the industry trends or market shifts in your space, and can you point us to any relevant research?

Finfluencers (influencers that give financial advice) are playing a bigger role in content creation for finance brands. Partnerships with these tastemakers can hold huge potential for companies looking for new ways to engage audiences and promote products.

But they should proceed with caution. Adclear’s research shows that 68% of finfluencer posts break Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules. This highlights the importance of robust compliance processes that keep pace with modern marketing demands.

5- What is your company’s current stage and traction?