Meet Alex: the entrepreneur with an innovative new product helping people to avoid scams

• Business name: Ask Silver 

• Industry: Cybersecurity 

• Product launched in: April 2024

• Top business product: Business insurance 

• Key learning: “There’s not a one-size-fits all funding solution for every new business, so you have to do your research.”

Scams are now a constant threat in everyday life, but how can you make sure you won’t be the next victim?

Alex Somervell and his business partner, Jonny Pryn, have recently founded a new product that hopes to help this issue. Ask Silver is a free scam checker that uses AI to highlight whether something is a scam. The tool lives inside WhatsApp, and anyone concerned can send a screenshot of a text message, website or email to find out whether it’s a scam. 

Here, Alex shares more about this innovative idea and why he’s keen to partner with UK banks. 

What motivated you to start your business? 

It was definitely a personal motivation, because I had a close family member who was scammed out of most of their life savings back in 2019. They lost almost £150,000 in three separate scams over four months. Then last year, scams just kept coming up in conversations with my family and friends, so it felt like a really big problem that needed to be solved. We then launched Ask Silver around six months ago. 

How did you come up with the technology that could help this problem? 

We spoke to victims of scams so we could understand how it happened and what could have been done to prevent it. One of the crucial insights was that we found people were asking their friends and family whether they thought it was a scam - almost like a personal scam checker. So we decided to build a tool that replicated human behaviour and for it to sit within WhatsApp, as that’s the home of a family chat for a lot of people. It works by adding Ask Silver’s number to your contacts and then you can message us any time with a screenshot of a potential scam. We’ll then reply instantly with AI. 

How would you describe the first six months of your business? 

Progress has definitely been quicker than we anticipated. My business partner Jonny and I have worked on a number of businesses together and this one has taken off much quicker than others. We’ve already had three major banks approach us and say they’re interested in potentially working with Ask Silver. We’ve also had an incredible amount of PR for such an early stage in the business. 

What’s been the biggest challenge so far? 

I think many people think if they’ve been scammed then it’s because they’ve been “stupid or careless. The reality is  no-one self-identifies as being vulnerable, but we are all susceptible. That’s why we’re keen to work with banks to protect their customers. We can show the value to the banks because keeping their customers’ money safe is their core value proposition and they also have to refund their customers that have been victims of scams due to regulation.. It doesn’t matter the demographic, anyone could be scammed and there needs to be tools available to protect people. 

What financial products did you need when you set up the business? 

Business insurance is key and we used a company called Superscript. This was a recommendation by other FinTech business owners and the experience has been really positive. The Superscript team was incredibly responsive and made sure we were fully covered. We researched other providers, but it can be difficult to find someone who understands this type of tech business and costs vary wildly. However, with Superscript we told them what we did and then they went away, did the research and got us a great quote.  

For our previous business we got a business loan from Virgin Start-ups. There was a lot of paperwork, but it was a positive experience. The nature of this business meant it wasn’t applicable, but it should be a consideration for some types of businesses. In terms of other funding, we’ve also submitted an application for an Innovate UK grant and we won a Finnovate competition which gave us £10K. So all these things will help our business to get off the ground. 

I think it’s always worth having a chat with an experienced business owner in your space to point you in the right direction of funding. There are a lot of options available, and it’s important to go with the option that’s right for your business/industry. There’s not a one-size-fits all funding solution for new businesses, so you have to do your research. 

What’s next for your business? 

First and foremost it’s partnering with banks. In October, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) announced a new rule for banks to reimburse customers who are victim to Authorised Push Payment (APP) scams, so this problem has been magnified for them and they are really keen to adopt new technologies. If we can prove to banks that we can help them protect their customers and lower the incidence of scams, they will have a clear ROI as they’ll be refunding customers less. 

What would you say to someone who is about to start a business? 

Everyone thinks that starting a business is hard, but that’s the easiest part. The hard bit is when you have to scale the business. So I would say, reach out to someone who has a similar business and ask for their advice. This can cut hours of research and they’ll be able to share any common pitfalls or opportunities. The good thing about entrepreneurship is that everyone has been at the beginning without any contacts, so they understand what it feels like. I’m always happy to help as I want to pay back what others did for me. The important thing is to just launch it though, don’t spend long brainstorming the perfect product.

This case study is for informational purposes only and is not intended as financial or professional advice. The results described are specific to the individual's personal experience, so please consult with a qualified professional if you need financial advice.