"I was really frustrated by how inflexible the process was and how reliant we were on accessing a paper case file in the office."
Infinity Works co-founder, Dan Rathbone, has joined entrepreneur Simon Horsfall to launch BINDER, a new online portal for mortgage and insurance advisers.
Simon, who has been a mortgage and insurance adviser for over 15 years, said he was inspired to develop BINDER to manage and organise cases for his clients and to create a more efficient, streamlined, and secure way for his customers to provide the necessary confidential and personal data such as passports, bank statements and pay slips.
Simon said: “I was really frustrated by how inflexible the process was and how reliant we were on accessing a paper case file in the office.
“I needed something more streamlined that would allow me to work from anywhere and access all the information needed for any of my cases at any time, in any place.
“The existing services available were overly complicated, with long set-up processes and costs that kept changing monthly; I was determined to find a simpler way to manage my cases.”
Dan has 20 years of experience in the tech industry, having started his career as a software engineer and going on to co-found digital transformation consultancy Infinity Works.
After the sale of Infinity Works to Accenture, Dan joins the BINDER team, applying his tech knowledge accrued by working with companies from start-ups to blue chips.
With features such as document management, BINDER enables advisers to request the documentation needed and for clients to upload them safely and securely, whilst a live chat function allows real-time communication that is stored securely alongside the case.
Dan commented: “When Simon told me about BINDER, I could immediately understand his frustrations and see its potential.
“It has been great to apply my technical experience and industry knowledge to create a solution that is simple and easy to use and has a real impact on users’ productivity.
“BINDER works on any device; it’s tablet, desktop, laptop and mobile friendly so that it can be accessed from anywhere and at any time. The self-service nature of BINDER makes it very clear and transparent, like the Netflix model; you can sign up, with one simple flat fee.
“My industry experience of knowing what ‘secure’ looks like has given Simon the confidence that his client data will be stored securely.”
Simon added: “Half the battle was collating all the information before you could even start to advise. Clients send documents in various formats and methods – WhatsApp, text, post even fax. Manually printing and collating the information in one place was very time-consuming.
“One of my favourite features about BINDER is that my clients can upload everything directly via the portal, and the system will tell me when everything is in and ready for me to start working on the case, saving time for both my clients and me.”
