At a time when traditional wealth-building models are failing a new generation, Belong is rethinking what it means to invest — and who investing is really for. Founded at the intersection of behavioural science, fintech innovation, and human-centred design, the company is tackling one of the UK’s most urgent financial challenges: turning passive cash savers into confident, long-term investors.
In this Q&A, Avion Gray shares the thinking behind Belong’s AI-native platform, the behavioural insights shaping its product, and why the UK is approaching a pivotal moment for wealth creation. From regulatory shifts to cultural change, this conversation offers a rare look at how the next generation of wealth platforms is being built — and why now is the moment to pay attention.
1- Tell us about yourself / your co-founder(s)
My co-founder and I were introduced by the late Nick Hungerford, who founded Europe’s first robo-advisor, Nutmeg. Nick was resolute that outsized success in the wealth space would be anchored in a deep understanding of human behaviour. As a founding team, we bring the winning combination of “rational” and “behavioural” to tackle one of the most urgent challenges of our time.
I started my career as a leveraged finance banker, followed by more than 10 years in fintech. Most recently, I led the U.S. launch and global expansion of Clover, as a Product and Commercialisation leader. I helped scale Clover from pre-revenue to 6 markets and $1.5 B of ARR.
My co-founder Samantha is a published economist and behavioural scientist, with expertise in financial decision making. She previously founded and scaled a retail fashion brand in South Africa.
Paul, our Head of Engineering, is a master architect and experienced wealth tech CTO, who previously led SelfTrade’s tech journey from startup to 200K customers. He has led engineering teams at Interactive Investor, RBS and 10x Banking.
2- Who are your target customers, and what problem do you address for them?
Demographically, our target customers are professionally employed 25 to 45-year-olds, who are priced out of the property market and not investing early, or enough, to bridge the wealth-building gap. We’ve found that the deeper pain points are behavioural and emotional: Choice overload, generic go-to-market tactics, brand “sameness”, and the lack of compelling product innovation have left cash savers uninspired and apathetic about investing.
At the same time, forces like present bias, instant gratification, an illusion of control, and a lack of financial enlightenment (especially through data) are quietly sabotaging the financial lives of millions in the UK. The result is a generation of spenders and cash savers who feel overlooked and misunderstood by the market.
Belong is built with behavioural science and radical innovation at its core. We are addressing these pain points to help unlock hundreds of billions in latent demand for investing.
3- What is your product / solution, who do you compete with, and what is your USP?
Belong is a new, AI-native, wealth-building platform. We’ve built a delightful, customer-centric investing journey that is simple, slick, and inclusive. We are also the global pioneer of the “mortgage on stocks”, where customers can apply for a low-interest loan to initially double a cash investment in broad equity indices. The optional Boost loan is a game-changer and highly compelling “hook”, with an added element of democratisation.
Other investing platforms in the UK either target the lower end of the market, with much lower AUM per customer, or a more financially savvy customer. Few players have innovated their product offering or GTM strategies, and even fewer understand how to stimulate the levels of engagement and loyalty that we are already seeing.
Our differentiation lies in the Boost loan, as a market wedge, the diversification and potential 5x amplification it brings to our business model and future revenue streams. The integrated investing-plus-credit offering spans both sides of the personal balance sheet, from a data and value-creation perspective, and is the only product positioned to offer wealth acceleration alongside credit-building as a fringe benefit.
There is also a defensible moat in Belong’s go-to-market strategy, including the sequencing of B2C and B2B2C distribution for outsized scale, and our behavioural approach to financial enlightenment and unblocking first-time investors.
4- What is your current stage and traction, and how can our network help you in the next 6-12 months?
Belong is live with 33% average MoM growth in sign ups, 95% lifetime retention and 100% 180-day retention. We raised an over-subscribed £3M Pre-seed round to build, secure regulatory clearance, beta test and launch.
Over the next 6 to12 months, we would benefit from introductions to financial institutions and lenders, who could be strategic enablers of the Boost loan feature, as a start. We’d also welcome connections to B2B2C distribution and referral partners, embedded product partners and industry experts. We are currently raising £4M to scale in the UK, our ignition market, before pursuing geographic expansion.
5- How do you go to market? How are banks or insurers working with you (or can work with you)?
Our go-to-market strategy is to build a standout consumer brand rooted in community, emotional resonance, and a new social identity of being long. We will then use this consumer groundswell to scale through B2B2C distribution and partnerships, several of which are already in progress. We have clear distribution plans to reach £150M AUM and £3M ARR over the next 12-18 months.
Banks and insurers can work with us via reciprocal referral partnerships or by powering our lending, KYC/AML, payments, custody, or asset management. For Boost loans, we can either act as a broker to third-party lenders, or accommodate warehouse funding through a segregated entity. Our API-first, modular design makes it easy to partner or integrate at multiple points in the investing or lending journey.
6- Any relevant industry trends or market shifts we should be watching?
The UK is our first market and it’s approaching an exciting inflection point for wealth-building. This is largely driven by strong demographic, policy, and regulatory tailwinds:
- Industry trends unlocking a massive TAM:
- Homeownership rates have halved from Boomers to Millennials, traditional wealth managers and IFAs are an ageing class (average age of 60 years) and UK Millennials are poised to inherit £5.5T over the next 2 decades.
- Only 11% of UK households have a stocks and shares account. There is £276 billion of cash in UK bank accounts, earning 0% interest and approx. £740 billion of total cash could flow from UK households into the stock market.
- Direct policy actions: the UK government is pushing to create a “nation of investors”. The 2025 budget drastically reduced incentives to save in cash and made financial education mandatory in schools for the first time in history.
- Regulatory loosening to promote investing: In December 2025, the FCA introduced “targeted support”, a new regulated activity that allows firms, like Belong, to provide investment suggestions to its customers, without conducting individual suitability assessments or giving financial advice. The FCA has called this a “once-in-a-generation” reform to financial advice rules.
7- What’s on your bookshelf or podcast app? Your favourite place for a coffee or a drink?
My favourite books that I come back to time and again: The Untethered Soul (Michael A. Singer), Presence (Amy Cuddy), and Don Miguel Ruiz’ The Four Agreements and The Mastery of Love.
For a drink: The Holborn Dining Room, which boasts the largest gin collection in London. I adore the taste of gin and grapefruit so the Casablanca is my go-to. For a coffee: anywhere with fast, reliable WiFi.
Belong’s journey is a powerful reminder that the future of wealth isn’t just about better products — it’s about better understanding people. As policy, technology, and culture converge, founders like Avion and Samantha are redefining how investing fits into real lives, real emotions, and real ambitions.
Stay with us as we continue to spotlight founders who are challenging convention, building with purpose, and shaping the next chapter of fintech and financial empowerment.